The Beaded Bag
by Annie Cox
Includes Bonus Story The Doc Martens
by Annie Cox
Copyright 2012 by Annie Cox
Published by Metamorphosis Press
The Beaded Bag photo by Linda Jordan
The Doc Martens photo by minerva86, licensed by Deposit Photos
Smashwords Edition
Contents:
Trina squeezed between the racks inside Bibi’s Bargain Boutique. She needed to find a costume. Any sort of costume. For the bloody office Halloween Party. Tonight.
She hated costume parties and had managed to bail out of it last year, but her boss had given her a chat about team players earlier in the week. Layoffs were rampant. So she decided it was important to show up.
Everyone else had clever, trendy costumes planned. She didn’t even want to socialize with most of her coworkers. That’s why she got this job, which she loved, testing software. Because everyone was a geek. So why did they have to pretend they wanted to hang out together and dress up?
She wove through the crowded shop, sneezing from the incense, and flipped through the usual assortment of angels, devils, slutty, sexy whatevers and found nothing that worked. Maybe she’d just draw a face on a brown paper bag, cut eye holes in it and call it a day.
As she wandered, looking at cool lamps and coffee tables, she felt surprised at the wide range of stuff the store carried. She didn’t usually shop in thrift stores, but this one had more character than most with terra cotta walls and a metallic gold ceiling. It was loaded with antiques, imports and just run of the mill retro or vintage stuff. Trina didn’t really shop much at all. Just online for clothes once a year or at the grocery store for the week’s meals.
Her wardrobe consisted of: jeans, T-shirts or turtlenecks, depending on the weather, and walking shoes. She supposed most people would find her life boring, but she pretty much liked it. Except for the lack of boyfriend thing. At twenty-eight, she still hadn’t solved that one. Out of all her friends, she was the only one who’d never had a boyfriend. Well at least since high school. And she wanted a lover. A partner to share her life with.
She made another pass through the clothing rack, searching through scarves and accessories. That’s when she spotted the most lovely pink and gold beaded bag. It was small, covered with cloth roses, pearls, lace, fringe and sequins. Of course she had no place to wear such a thing. It wasn’t practical, would only hold her cell, some ID, money and maybe her keys.
Trina picked the bag up, almost before she realized it. She opened the small purse, admiring how well sewn the floppy bag was and its over the top girliness. It felt silky and frilly in her hands. The price was ten bucks. A little steep for used. She set it down, almost hesitantly and walked back over to look at the clothes.
Focus she told herself. Halloween costume. She needed to find a costume. Pulling out her cell to check the time. 12:45, ten minutes before she needed to get back from her lunch hour.
She moved from the costume racks to the dressy dresses. There was a size 8, pink tank-dress. Simple. It just needed stockings, jewelry and shoes. And the pink bag! Now that would be a costume, because she was so not a pink girl.
Trina grabbed the bag before anyone else could. She found a pair of pink and gold shoes, even though they were major heels. She slipped one on over her thick socks and it fit, although she wasn’t convinced she’d be able to walk in them. She found a not-too-gaudy rhinestone necklace which worked and even a pink and gold shawl to top things off. She could run to the drugstore and get some stockings between work and the party.
She went to pay for her things. A small chalkboard sat next to the cash register. It read “Quote of the Day. Get a taste of religion. Lick a witch.”
The woman at the counter, with wild, orange hair was dressed all in black with flashing bat earrings. She looked at the bag and said, “This is gorgeous. It’s very special, you know.”
“I love it, but what’s so special about it?” asked Trina.
“I don’t exactly know. It has great vibes,” she said, ringing up Trina’s purchases on an ancient cash register. “I’m Bibi, the owner. I just knew there was something extraordinary about this bag when I first touched it.”
Trina said vaguely, “Maybe that’s why I like it so much.” She didn’t really want to get into a woo-woo conversation with a complete stranger. Even if she had time.
She rushed back to work. Periodically, throughout the afternoon, Trina pulled the bag out and caressed it. It wasn’t that fancy, more on the funky side, but she appreciated the craziness of it, the way the fringe and beads moved. It really was unique.
After work she ran over to the local drugstore and stuffed pinkish nylons into the small shopping basket. Then she found eyeshadow and realized she should get some lipstick and mascara as well. And the pink nail polish with gold glitter. And there was some gold glitter spray for both hair and skin. With all that, it might actually look like she was wearing a costume, not like a normal person who was dressed up for a night out on the town.
Trina rushed back to work and changed in the crowded restroom. The dress made her feel self conscious with its tight, glove-like fit, although she knew it looked great. She wriggled into the panty hose. She hadn’t worn those since sometime in high school. Then slipped into the heels.
“Oh my god,” said Georgia. “You look fabulous!”
“Thanks,” said Trina, “You too, sort of.” She grimaced. Georgia was applying fake blood to her face to complete the zombie costume.
“My brother’s showing up in about five minutes. Only date I could scrounge up. He’s gonna love you.”
Trina smiled a fake smile and moved on to doing makeup. Eyeshadow, mascara and lipstick. She smeared a small blob of lipstick on each cheek for a cheap easy blush. Then put the necklace on and misted herself with the glittery spray. She pulled out the bag, already filled with her essentials, slipped it over her shoulder and wrapped herself in the woven shawl. Then stuffed everything else back in the shopping bag. She found a corner of the mirror and gave herself a final look.
She looked pretty good. Not at all like herself. Like someone different. In high school she’d done all the girly stuff. But this was different. This look was almost sophisticated, but a little over the top.
Walking by her office, she dropped all the extra stuff off and went up two floors to the meeting room. It had been decorated with orange and black balloons, crepe paper and lots of twinkle lights. Human Resources obviously didn’t have enough to do, she decided.
She wandered over to the food tables and grazed on sushi and sake. Japanese food for Halloween. Very bizarre. The room was filling up with all sorts of odd creatures. A kangaroo suit danced to the awkward beat of old songs from the Grunge Era. The head of HR liked to pretend that here in Fremont, both the Grunge and the Tech worlds were still booming and that there had been no ensuing bust. The woman lived in a Seattle of the past.