on Sunday afternoon, after a failed attempt to paint a rainbow landscape, i ended up shopping on Lonsdale with my very favourite Lisa and my person, Brad. introducing Lisa to Blue Sky Clothing was a revelation for her and sent me home with a lovely new spring blouse in a fabric i’ve been coveting for two years. BSC is right next door to Plum, which is a store i’ve never been able to shop in, so now that i can, i really want to (even though it’s ridiculously expensive and way too fancy for my daily life). so, after Blue Sky, we popped into Plum, where i inadvertently left Brad holding my bag(s) — sorry, love! — while i tried on ridiculously beautiful and expensive items of clothing.
it’s so weird to be trying on size 10’s. seriously, size 10?!
anyway, they had this really amazing red dress. i wasn’t going to try it on because when do i need a red dress that fancy? plus, i’d just bought fabric to make a red dress for myself the other weekend; but, it was beautiful and i was already there. what could it hurt? so, i picked up the sizes 10, 12 and 14, not knowing which would work with my new body. locking myself in the changing room, i unzipped the 10, thinking it’d be a funny joke to try that one on first. you can imagine my face when it actually fit. i popped out of the room and turned around to ask Brad to zip me up, as there was no way i could have done so on my own.
and… it was perfect. it fit perfectly. the bust wasn’t too loose. the waist wasn’t too tight. the short sleeves weren’t too short. the length hit the exact right spot. it. was. perfect.
too bad it was $160.
there’s no way i could afford that kind of money for a super fancy red dress i had no occasion to wear it to. i’ve bought way more clothes than i could ever put on my (still changing) body. there was no way to justify that kind of expenditure on a truly frivolous purchase. so, back on the rack it went. i sighed heavily and we left the store wishing for a winning lottery ticket or a sugar daddy to make such daydreams come true.
twenty-two hours later, i let myself in my apartment after a very weird Monday at work to find that exact dress hanging from my hallway closet door.
Brad, my incredible, lovely, amazing, awesome, spectacular, ridiculous, crazy boyfriend, went back to Plum on his lunch break and bought the dress and left it for me to find in my apartment when i got home. who does that? Brad, obviously, but… yeah.
to say i was shocked and amazed and overwhelmed is an understatement. i am not accustomed to such acts of generosity and attention to detail. i don’t feel deserving of such things and spent the rest of the night (and most of this morning) reiterating to him that i don’t need him to buy me things like that. then he reiterated that it’s not about the things, it’s about me having something that brought me so much joy and made me feel as beautiful as he sees me to be.
yeah, i know. he’s kind of perfect, too.
last night was the second round of a speech contest Brad’s competing in, so he asked me to wear the dress to the competition. so, i put it on and casual-fancied it up with some cute flats, slightly more shiny earrings and a cropped jean jacket. a quick slick of eye makeup and we were ready to head out so he could put on an equally casual-fancy outfit for the occasion. and, damn, we looked good. i only wish we’d asked someone to take our photo. especially after he won and will be moving on in the competition!
there are so many feelings i have about this whole situation. i’m dumbfounded at his kindness and generosity. i think he’s crazy to think i’m beautiful. i am unaccustomed to being someone a person would want to show off as their partner. i am thrilled and amazed that i’ve somehow managed to stumble into this incredible relationship with this incredible man who is able and willing to show and tell me how much he cares for me. it is a revelation. and, i’m amazed that i can wear such a beautiful size 10 dress from a store i’ve never been able to shop in. *sigh*
my life, it’s pretty great right now. i’m so very lucky.