#35 GLORIA'S DRESS

Gloria knew how gorgeous she looked walking into her cousin Dore's wedding reception at the Ritz Carlton--it had been precisely planned, months in the making; the perfect dress, a racy haircut, sexy shoes, a high-gloss salon radiance from head to toe. She needed all the armor she could carry. Her ex-boyfriend, Trevor would be there with his new girlfriend whom it was rumored he planned to marry at the end of the year.

Gloria had been avoiding Trevor for the past six months, ever since he'd left her abruptly, sending an e-mail explaining his reasons that she thought unreasonable, sketchy; needing time, not sure about his future, not ready to settle down. The e-mail went on to suggest a time for her to move out of his apartment, at her convenience of course, but sooner rather than later as he would probably need to get a roommate to help with expenses. Gloria sarcastically hissed at that one knowing his father paid his rent, or rather, owned the building. Obviously he'd forgotten his sorrowful confession one drunken night--how much it bothered him to be beholden to his father at age twenty-nine.

Gloria arrived a little late, also planned, but she was promptly given her due. "You look marvelous," her aunt Gwen said. "I love your new hairstyle. I've always loved the bob. And how nice you've lost some weight."

"You’re a goddess," said her mother, admiring her daughter without objection. Trevor won’t be able to take his eyes off of you, oh, sorry, I didn’t mean that. Forget about him. Is he here, by the way?”

There were other platitudinous compliments from various relatives and Gloria took them in stride but most of the admiration went to her dress: a sylphlike, scintillating Alexander McQueen cocktail dress that cost as much as two months rent, a load of psychic energy and several credit cards to pull off even though she'd gotten an online discount.

Gloria, in the weeks before the wedding gave plenty of thought to this extravagance but finally decided in a rash moment, late one sleepless night, if she didn't have it she would not have the confidence to attend the wedding and the reception afterward with Trevor and his new girlfriend. She knew she was over-compensating for arriving alone, unattached, still hung up on Trevor, still wishing for him to admire her, to say he'd made a mistake though if he was to be married, this was unlikely. Still Gloria had her fantasies and could do nothing about them, she thought. Her friends and family thought she was long overdue for a reality check and all said seeing Trevor with Jessica would probably do it. She would then be ready to move on. That was the reason he was invited by her cousin, that and various family connections making it hard to slight him. Gloria only hoped he would notice how buff her body had become, shown to beautiful effect in the McQueen that would at least be the most outstanding, expensive dress at the reception, notwithstanding the bridal gown of course.

Gloria knew how gorgeous she looked but wondered what the curious glances she was given first by her friend, Macy, then her aunt Meg, but when her sister rushed up to her with a look of panic she was confused. Were her bra straps showing? Did she have unsightly panty line? Was her necklace askew? Had she left rollers in her hair? She had the feeling something about her appearance was amiss so she darted toward the ladies room. Just at that moment she spotted Trevor, alone, calmly sipping champagne and talking to her brother in the corner by a large potted plant of a tropical origin. Gloria brushed past her sister Linda and plastered her biggest, brightest smile across her face; she would play up her own swellness before she lost heart, before she was forced to hear of his plans, before she got drunk, before she met his new girlfriend and was forced to congratulate them. Maybe she could avoid it all if she just brashly plowed in, said hello to Trevor, got it over with and silently ignored them the rest of the night.

The smile, so wide, so brimming with good intention went slightly haywire when she spotted another woman wearing her very own McQueen. At first she thought she was seeing a reflection of herself in the wall of mirrors on the opposite side of the room. Gloria clutched her heart, felt blood rush to her head, no longer worried about Trevor, who turned to greet her just as the second McQueen sidled up behind him. Was it a copy? No, the real thing she quickly discerned, even the same dark indigo shade, so of the moment, so chic, so flattering, how could something this nauseating be happening? She felt the juice and sparkle drain from her carefully wrought image and her sister, expecting this, was instantly on hand with a glass of champagne. "Here doll, drink up. It's going to be a long night," Linda said, fearing for her sister’s composure.

Gloria stared in horror, took the glass with total detachment unable to find a reasonable place to park her eyes: on the woman in the McQueen or at Trevor, but it was solved in an instant when Trevor said "Gloria, come here, I want you to meet Jessica."

Jessica, with a frightening grimace on her face also clutched her heart, her face going from red to blue, her eyes rolling about, her poise, a moment before so in evidence, reduced to startled disdain. "Nice to meet you, Gloria," she sputtered, unable to look her in the eye. She felt she might cry and hoped she could make a quick exit.

"Whoa, you guys dressed alike," chortled Trevor who found this highly amusing. "Did you plan it to freak me out?" Jessica now slightly unsteady, ghostly, stood at his right and Gloria on his left, both awkward, uneasy. He was dumbstruck between the two women wearing identical dresses, each glaring at the other. Obviously they were not amused, Trevor thought, and adjusted his facial expression accordingly hoping someone would intervene quickly.

"Nice to meet you too Jessica. Love your dress," Gloria lamely joked and then gulped her champagne and made a hasty retreat saying she needed to see her mother, stumbling heedlessly for the ladies room or the bar, she wasn't sure which. Linda was on her trail, leaving Trevor and Jessica in close tense communication, Jessica now a pale, shrinking version of who she had been upon arrival. The couple left shortly after, Trevor making apologies, showing good manners despite the fact that he was confused and irritated beyond belief having to abruptly leave a party he had been looking forward to for weeks.

Gloria on the other hand, once over her shock that someone would actually be wearing her McQueen at the same occasion, (what were the odds?) drank and ate excessively, danced wildly with all members of the opposite sex including a ninety-two-year-old man, an eight-year-old boy and all the cousins and uncles, too numerous to recount. She was more than a little tipsy but knew she was in fine form, that she had prevailed. Her attachment to Trevor, so volatile and relentless was finally over and this is what she was really celebrating. He looked so pitiful trying to escort Jessica out of the reception rooms with false dignity, everyone watching and knowing he was being dragged out against his will. He had always loved Gloria's unruly family and had been so happy to be invited to this wedding. Her brother Ted was his best friend in college and Trevor looked up to him. He was an only child of busy parents and envied the closeness in Ted's family. He had loved Gloria but she intimidated him. He was hoping they could be friends with no hard feelings.

Jessica meanwhile, threw up in Trevor's car on the way home, getting some on her fantastic McQueen dress she'd paid full-price for just to impress people she didn't know and outshine his ex-girlfriend she'd heard too much about. She too had gone nearly broke over this dress. She did not know what she would do with it now; probably sell it on eBay; she could never wear it again. She began calculating the loss suffered both financially and emotionally plotting how she would make Trevor pay for both.

The marriage of Gloria’s cousin produced three children and much happiness. Gloria wore her dress many times over the years; to another wedding reception, to a prestigious cocktail party given by the architectural firm she worked for, to a graduation and on several dates of varying success. She had been horrified and angry at first but Jessica was more so she reckoned and for that she retained a love for her McQueen cocktail dress long after it had gone just a touch out of style. When the designer passed away she had it cleaned and lovingly placed it in a cedar chest that had been in her mother’s bedroom since before Gloria was born.

Trevor and Jessica never married. It was really only a rumor in the first place. Trevor never knew what caused Jessica to cool. Why did she expect him to pay for her dress? She was the one who threw up on it and when she mentioned a $3,000 price tag, he suspected she was trying to rip him off: it was the same dress Gloria was wearing, it couldn’t have cost that much; she was too sensible about money. Gloria never returned his calls or emails and eventually married an architect though Trevor and her brother Ted remain great friends today. Trevor never married; women are too complicated, he always said but had many affairs, usually with married women. Gloria heard all about it from her cousin Dore, who also loved to retell the story of her wedding and Gloria’s dress, more memorable today than the bridal gown and those of the seven bridesmaids.