Page 55 of Forever, Maybe
Nell couldn’t help but smile. Her mum sounded genuinely awestruck.
“Of course you can!”
And fair play to Stephanie, who, without hesitation, twisted her arms behind her back, reached for the zip and started shrugging it off her shoulders. It dropped to the floor, puddling at her ankles. Underneath, she was wearing a pair of black Spanx, the material starting at her waist and continuing to cover her bottom, along with a black, push-up bra and fishnets.
Nell shot Stephanie a look and mouthed,Stockings? Seriously?
Stephanie shrugged.
Nell had to hand it to her—possibly the last woman alive still willing to cosplay the male fantasy of high heels and stockings. The whole outfit looked murderously uncomfortable.
Stephanie stepped out of the dress and held it up.
Nell moved forward. “Right, Mum. Want to give this a try?”
Cate nodded eagerly. “Oh yes. Yes, please!”
Stephanie joined her. “Okay! Let’s get this jumper off, shall we?”
Her mother’s current outfit couldn’t have been more different from the one she was about to try on—a pale blue, baggy jumper made of some cotton-wool blend, definitely M&S, and a navy blue skirt with tired kick pleats, finished off with the same colour Sketchers Mary Janes with their cross-over straps.
Cate rose to her feet. Some instinct must’ve kicked in—something ingrained since childhood—because when a woman told you to raise your arms to take your top off, you just did. Nell remembered that well.
Cate lifted her arms obediently. A musty wave of unwashed clothes and stale sweat hit Nell full in the face, making her flinch. Whenhadher mother last showered?
If Stephanie noticed—or minded—that the dress was about to come into close contract with an unwashed body, she didn’t let it show. Not even a flicker.
She whipped Cate’s jumper off with a flourish, making Cate giggle as she theatrically tossed it aside.
“Now, the skirt!” Stephanie announced.
Cate spun around obligingly, revealing the zip.
“I’ll do it,” Nell said quickly, a wave of discomfort hitting her. She and Stephanie had undressed in front of each other a hundred times. But undressing her mum? That was different. That was hard—mostly because it hinted at what might (would) come, a time when Cate could no longer do anything for herself.
But for now, Cate tugged the zip of her skirt down on her own and let it fall to the floor.
Stephanie held out a steadying hand. “Right—don’t want you taking a tumble. Cate, step out of the skirt!”
More giggles. Cate followed instructions to the letter, lifting one foot, then the other, stepping neatly out of the fabric puddle.
The contrast between the two women was stark: Stephanie, still in her Spanx and sheer black bra, looked like an underwear ad; Cate, in sagging cream knickers, the laced edges, tucking in and out, and a greying, wide-strapped bra, tummy spilling slightly over the waistband, completing the look with a pair of tan-colour tights that had seen better decades.
Stephanie turned to Nell. “Bring forth the dress!”
It lay on the bed, a red whisper of glamour. Nell picked it up. It was infused with Stephanie’s signature perfume—something rich and floral, with top notes of rose and jasmine. This had seemed like a good idea. Was it still?
She looked at her mum, face wreathed in smiles. Maybe she wouldn’t remember this in an hour—or even ten minutes—but right now, she looked like someone having the time of her life.
Nell thrust the dress forward. “Here.”
Stephanie took it, grinning. And Nell, for a moment, loved her more than she ever had. Willing to lend her favourite dress to an old woman who smelled faintly of neglect. If that wasn’t friendship, what was?
Getting Cate into the dress was another matter entirely. Her body carried weight in all the places Stephanie’s didn’t—where Steph was all boobs and bum, Cate was thicker around the waist and hips. The dress slid easily over her shoulders, then halted stubbornly at her middle, refusing to go any further.
The silk georgette and lace bunched awkwardly around her stomach, creating a sort of fabric traffic jam. In the tall, freestanding oval mirror, Cate looked almost cartoonish—swallowed by a hoiked-up, over-the-top dress, her disproportionately skinny legs poking out beneath it.
From the other side of Cate, Stephanie caught Nell’s eye in the mirror. Both were visibly trying not to laugh. Nell broke first.
