Amber
It’s just a date. No big deal. I’ve been on dates before.
But not with unicorns. Two. Unicorns.
I’d suggested a restaurant I enjoyed, not too expensive but good food and a pleasant atmosphere. They did well enough, but no lines out the door or reservations required. Nobody ever pushed people to rush with their meals or finish up a conversation, which I thought made it perfect for our date.
Also, I didn’t have the wardrobe for fancy evenings out, and I didn’t want to have to go buy something if I could avoid it.
I made a good living, but I suppose I’d gotten in the habit of being thrifty as a woman on her own.
Saving for retirement and for emergencies of all kinds made me feel in control and safe.
So, on the day before our big date, I found myself in the middle of my room with my entire closet emptied out on the bed.
My plan to avoid buying anything new wasn’t looking very promising.
I had work clothes, jeans and shirts, some nice slacks for the times when I had to meet with clients or attend meetings.
Low-heeled shoes, a couple of blazers and cardigans in black, white, and gray.
How long since I’d been out with a man? And what had I worn then?
I didn’t even remember. Somehow my past relationships, if they could even be called that, had not gone very far.
While my friends were oohing and aahing over the boys we knew, most of them left me cold.
I’d even wondered if I might be interested in girls, but one coffee date proved that wasn’t it.
Some people just never found a partner, I supposed, and I might be one of those.
I had a good life, for sure, with a job I found interesting, a nice place to live, my books—and now my book club as well. With these unicorns coming to meet me, I was more excited and nervous than I’d ever been in the past.
Could it be that I always was going to be attracted to shifters?
Or…or…these particular shifters? Fated mates were only for them, right?
Not for simple humans. Except, sometimes, in the romances, the human girl did have a fated mate.
Those were my very favorite tales. I never was drawn to the Vikings or princes or other types of romance.
And now, out of nowhere, I was going on a date with not one but two shadow unicorns. Magical beings. I once again surveyed the items laid out on my bed. Well made, intended to last. Mostly earth tones, gray and brown and beige, white and black. Appropriate for blending into the library stacks.
But not in the least appropriate for a night out with two of the sparkliest beings on the planet. If they were indeed sparkly, being shadow unicorns and all. But whatever they were, they deserved a little effort on my part. Not the time to be cheap.
It was time to shop. And not at the conservative shop where most of these things came from. I swore they had nothing that wasn’t neutral there except maybe black—was black a neutral color?
Our city was not large as such places go, but we did have many stores, most of which I had not visited, but I climbed into my car and headed for the outdoor mall.
I’d been there for lunch with friends and such various times and even gone into some of the stores with them while they purchased clothing very different from what I typically wore.
The weather was lovely this time of year, with warm breezes and flowers blooming in hanging baskets all along the pathways. I’d never been here after dark, and I’d been a little concerned that I might not find the stores open, but it was much livelier than when I’d been here for lunch.
Strolling along the brick pathways, I window-shopped, looking for just the right kind of place to buy an outfit for my date.
Many were clearly geared to teenagers, others for children, and some for men.
There was even a branch of the store I usually shopped at, and looking at the shoppers inside made me wonder why I was shopping like a middle-aged matron.
Suddenly, all the clothes that had felt so comfortable and so right were all wrong.
I watched a woman at least twice my age trying on a sweater I’d bought just a month ago and thought I loved, but now wished I’d never even seen.
Shaking it off, I made a sharp right into the next shop, one whose window display featured bright colors and fitted styles.
Surely, I’d find something in here that would work for my date.
The racks inside were filled with sundresses, shorts, bathing suits, and tops that were half an inch too long to be called crop tops.
Similar to the teen stores with a little more of a sophistication and accommodation to the fact that women in their late twenties were built just a little different than fifteen-year-olds.
The other shoppers were about my age, but they already wore clothing that was age appropriate, unlike me. For a second, I panicked, afraid I didn’t fit in, but then a cheerful young shop assistant bounced up to me and smiled. “You look like you need an update, STAT.”
She couldn’t have said anything better.
“I agree. Suggestions?”
“Trust me?”
I looked her up and down. She was a few years younger than me, but she was dressed beautifully in a pair of jeans that fit as if they were made for her. Without trying to strangle her. “If you’ll tell me where you got those shoes?”
My shopping angel locked me in a dressing room and brought in armloads of clothes in beautiful colors and styles.
I left with five big bags, directions to a shoe store down the way, and an appointment with her hairstylist for the next morning.
I was going to take the day off work and spend it primping. I had lots of vacation time saved up.