“Oh, goodness, I’m so happy. It’s amazing what a good fit does to a gown. Beautiful, beautiful”

Mina

M

rs. Davidowitz waited.

I turned to check if Yocheved was watching us, but my sister wasn’t in the showroom anymore.

Why was this woman putting me on the spot like this? It wasn’t fair. I was finally on good terms with Yocheved, and I was determined to keep it that way.

I was tempted to tell Mrs. Davidowitz, No, I don’t want to talk to you. Whatever it was she wanted to discuss, I didn’t like the fact that she was pulling me aside like this, covertly, obviously shutting Yocheved out. Forcing me to choose again, between my principles and my loyalties, and I didn’t want this.

Mrs. Davidowitz sent her daughter to wait for her in the car. Then she turned to me again. “Hmm?”

I inhaled slowly, grasping the doorknob. “What is it?”

“My Dassi’s gown,” she started.

My stomach contracted. Her daughter’s gown. The crazy price, could I do something about it? Convince Yocheved to give her a discount?

Mrs. Davidowitz coughed. “I heard you do gown consignments?”

I froze. “You — y-yes, I do.”

She rubbed her eye. “How does it, uh… can you tell me how it works?”

I released my breath. So she wanted to consign her daughter’s gown after the wedding. Great. Yes! This wasn’t about Yocheved. I could help this woman without hurting my sister, without things getting sticky.

“Of course,” I replied, smiling. “It’s pretty simple. You drop the gown off at my house after the wedding. I show it to kallahs, and we’ll either sell it or rent it to them. I can explain the pricing structure if you want, depending on whether the gown gets rented several times or bought right away, but you’ll be recouping a big chunk of your expense either way.”

Mrs. Davidowitz nodded earnestly. She had a few more questions, and I explained everything she wanted to know.

“So I guess I’ll be in touch with you again about this after the wedding,” she concluded.

“Yes,” I agreed. Then I cleared my throat. “I’m just curious,” I said as I watched her zip her faux fur jacket closed. “You know, I’m always trying to spread the word about these consignments, but I never formally advertised or anything. Where did you hear about this?”

Mrs. Davidowitz stuck her phone into her pocket and reached for the door. “Yocheved,” she answered. “Your sister told me to talk to you.”