Page 91 of Plane Passion

“Ooh, an engagement, miss?” asked her attendant. “I’ll make sure you’re simply glowing.”

Marriage? Who said anything about marriage? It was simply a date. Beth, as usual, was blowing things out of proportion.

“And I bet nothing of the sort will happen.”

“How much?” As usual, Beth was ready to place a wager. “You know I never lose.”

“You will this time. I bet you ten dollars.”

“You’re on. And no hiding the ring from me when you get home.”

Millie shook her head. “When have I ever cheated?”

“Miss, please don’t move,” the attendant said, gently repositioning her face.

“I’m just making sure,” said Beth, “because I’m going to win.”

Marry Ernie. What a thought.

Did she want to?

Even though it was unlikely he would ask tonight, Millie agreed he was probably going to ask eventually. What would she say?

Life with Ernie would be very different than her life with Beth. Would she move into their family home in Brooklyn? She rather liked the idea of that.

It would be nice to be in a busy house full of people. In her early years, the house was always full of her parents’ friends from the circus and their families. She liked the cacophony and camaraderie that came with having lots of company.

And Ernie… Would he be a good husband? Certainly, he would be an attentive lover. He had just demonstrated his loyalty to her beyond a shadow of a doubt by insisting she get her job back. And he loved her. She didn’t doubt it.

Still, some sliver of uncertainty plagued her. She’d trusted Barney. Could she truly open herself up and allow herself to be that vulnerable again?

“Finished,” her attendant announced.

“I’m finished too,” said the woman working on Beth.

Millie sat up and examined herself in the mirror. She looked radiant, even without makeup.

“You really are miracle workers,” said Beth, all vestiges of the night before banished from her face.

“Are you ready for shopping, dear?” Beth asked, turning to Millie.

For the rest of the afternoon, Beth dragged her to boutique after boutique along Fifth Avenue, looking for the perfect ensemble. Each storefront sported display windows with the latest fashions, some of them scandalously short, some of them simply unwearable, some of them too sumptuous to be believed—all displayed with theatrical elegance. It was a feast for the eyes, and Beth ended up with more than one outfit. But none of it felt quite right for such a mundane activity as ice skating in the park.

At last, they went to Lord & Taylor, entering the massive stone temple to fashion through the large arched doorway. Wafting past mannequin after mannequin in the latest fashions, they finally found an outfit they could agree on. It was a light blue dress that brought out her eyes with a mock turtleneck and a row of buttons that started at her left shoulder and went down to mid chest. The buttery fabric folded into wide pleats below the fashionably low waist. She also bought a matching baby blue coat with cream-colored fur at the collar and the ends of the sleeves with a straight cut and a belt at the hips. Beth selected a matching hat, gloves, and stockings to complete the ensemble. Finally, Millie bought a pair of two-tone black and cream boots with pointed toes, kitten heels, and buttons up the side.

Loaded up with too many parcels to carry, they flagged down a cab and headed back to the apartment just in time for Beth to do her hair and makeup before heading to the park to meet Ernie.

As her cab approached the corner of Fifth Avenue and Sixtieth Street, Millie’s heart threatened to pound out of her chest.

Peering through the crowds, she spotted him at last.

People swirled around him like eddies of snow, and he stood there, devastatingly handsome, watching every car that came by.

Millie paid the cabbie and rushed across the street.

Their eyes met.

Time slowed down.