The Grumpy Neighbor Wants the Size 22 Girl Upstairs, and the Walls Are Thin novel · Chapter 9 of 24

Chapter 9: The Green Dress

"We only go up to a sixteen, hon," said the girl at the boutique.

She said it with the same bright smile Chandler uses.

Shannon and I stood in a store full of silk and sequins on Saturday afternoon.

The party was six weeks away, and I had nothing to wear.

I had been holding a green dress, a size 22 that I'd found on a clearance rack.

She was already taking it back.

"It's the only one we have in that cut," the clerk said. "You might try online."

"This one's a twenty-two," I said.

"It's a floor sample. It's not for sale."

"It's on the rack."

"You really wouldn't like how it fits."

Shannon stepped in so fast that her gold earrings swung.

"Sweetheart," she said, in her sweetest salon voice.

"My best friend is the most beautiful woman in this city. You are not going to tell her how clothes fit."

"I'm just being honest."

"You're being rude. And you're out of a sale."

"Shannon," I said.

"I'm not done."

"You are," I said, and put a hand on her arm.

I looked at the clerk.

She was maybe twenty-two, and she had no idea what she'd said.

"Take the dress back," I said gently. "I'll find a better one."

I walked out with my head up and my eyes burning.

Shannon caught me on the sidewalk.

"I should've gotten her manager," she said.

"You should've gotten me a coffee."

She laughed and linked her arm through mine.

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