Kai left the changing booth and stepped in front of the mirror, wearing a casual pair of jeans and a white tee.
"This is as basic as it gets," Felicia said. "A classic combo anyone can pull off."
"Cool, great. Can we leave now?"
"Leave? No, no, we are just getting started," she dumped another set of clothes in his arms. "Try these. Go on, chop-chop."
Kai grunted and headed back into the changing booth.
The fox-girl wore a different outfit than the last time he had seen her, replacing her plain robe with a black skirt and a white, sleeveless blouse.
"I don't understand why I gotta try on all these clothes. If the jeans and T-shirt work, then let's just buy them and get out."
"What's the rush? We have the whole day ahead of us."
"The whole day?!"
"What are you complaining about? Trying on clothes doesn't cost you anything, and besides, it's fun."
Felicia and Bella have a strange idea of fun, he thought as he left the changing booth and stepped in front of the mirror once again.
"Hm…" The fox-girl scanned him carefully.
"I don't like it," he said, stretching the tight yellow shirt that emphasized his fat belly. "And why yellow? It draws too much attention."
"The color isn't the problem, and it was Vira's request, so I'm afraid we are sticking with it whether you like it or not. The problem is how it sits on you; I think you need something else, more loose, at least until you start losing weight."
"Not a bad idea," a new voice spoke from behind them, and they both turned.
"M-Ms. Ward," Felicia stuttered and blushed.
The elderly woman smiled. She looked good despite her years, like an aged actress—skinny, with great posture and thick, white hair.
"Is the dog outside yours?" she asked.
Bella sat outside the store, glaring at the untrustworthy fox, her leash tied to a pole.
"Ah, yes—well, no—she's my neighbor's."
"And your neighbor won't happen to be John Isaacson by any chance?"
Kai blinked. "You… you know Mr. Isaacson?"
"Indirectly, yes. I knew his wife."
"Ah. Really?"
"Ms. Ward, if you have any advice, I'll be honored to—"
"I think you have things well in hand…" The woman smiled, then tilted her head. "You seem familiar," she said to the fox-girl. "Have you been to this store before?"
"I have been around a few times. I'm glad you remember," the fox-girl put a stiff hand forward. "My name is Felicia. It is truly a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Ward."
The elderly woman shook her hand. "You can call me Evelyn," she said, then she turned to the Oathless. "Could you tell John I said hi?"
"Ah… sure."
"Good," she threw another acknowledging smile at Felicia before turning to leave, heading toward another customer.
The fox-girl watched her walk away, starry-eyed.
"What was that about?"
"Excuse me?"
"You were totally fangirling over her."
"No, I wasn't."
"Yeah, you were."
"So what? Evelyn Ward is an icon in the fashion world, or at least she was before she retired." She picked up a folded, buttoned shirt and held it up to get a better look.
"She's retired? I thought she worked here."
"Yes, yes, she manages this store and might occasionally give advice to up-and-coming stylists, but she doesn't do shows anymore." She threw the shirt at him. "Try this one, and keep the pants."
He clicked his tongue. "You realize I need to take Bella back at some point, right?"
She shrugged. "Then take her. I'll wait for your return." She grabbed a summer dress from the hanger stand. "There are some outfits I'd like to try, anyway."
He grunted and shuffled back to the changing booth. He wasn't getting away from this one so easily.
***
"Evelyn Ward says hi," Kai said as he returned Bella to her owner.
"She does, eh?" Isaacson rubbed the dog's ear, his broken leg raised on a stool in front of the TV. "You realize what that means, don't you, boy?"
"Ah… no."
The old man scowled. "You took Bella outside the district, even though I told you not to."
Kai began to sweat. "Wha—no, ah… I just happened to run into her nearby."
"Don't lie to me, kid."
"I'm… I'm not, I swear."
"Aha."
Kai gulped. "Ah… she said she knew your wife…" He glanced at the photo hanging on the wall. "Was she a model or something?"
Isaacson remained quiet for a long moment. "She did some of that for a time."
Kai pursed his lips, jealousy twisting in his gut. The more he found out, the more it didn't make sense… How could a guy like him get a girl like her? A garbage man and a supermodel. There had to be more to the story… something wrong with her, or maybe something deeply wrong with him.
"Here's your money," Isaacson held up the bills for the Oathless to take, but didn't let go as Kai grabbed them. "And don't take Bella there again."
"Why not?" he asked, pulling the money out of the old man's hand.
"Some things are better left in the past…. Understand?"
"Yeah, sure," he said and headed out.
***
Kai spent the rest of the day with Felicia at Evelyn's trying on different clothes and accessories until the sun began to set and the elderly woman had to close.
"Do you… mind if I ask you about her?" he said as she locked the door.
"About who?"
"Mrs. Isaacson…"
"Hm… Whatever questions you have about Wendy, I'm sure John can answer them better than I can." She began walking down the street, and he followed, with Felicia fast behind them.
"That's the thing, though, he doesn't really answer anything. He is just grumpy… and bitter… and rude…" He shook his head. "I don't understand what she saw in him."
She smirked. "Maybe you should ask yourself what he saw in her."
"What do you mean, 'what he saw in her?' She was gorgeous."
"Sure… but other than that…" She stopped by her car and pulled out her keys.
"Other than that? What else is there?"
She laughed, thinking he was making a joke, but frowned as she realized he was serious, then snickered to herself, covering her mouth. "You've never been in a relationship, have you?"
Kai blushed.
"Wendy was a lovely girl, but she was careless and irresponsible. She was lucky to be with someone as reliable as John. That said, if you think beauty is the only thing that matters…" She crossed her arms and leaned back on the vehicle, giving him her full attention. "Would you date me? I look well enough, don't I?"
"Ms. Ward, you can't be serious!" Felicia protested.
"You think I'm ugly?"
"What? No, that's not what I meant! You can't be serious about… dating him."
"I had marriages built on shakier ground, I assure you," she joked.
"Even still…"
"I am speaking hypothetically…" She looked at Kai expectantly.
He pursed his lips, his face growing redder by the minute.
"There's more to a relationship than sex appeal and wealth, darling."
"Really?" he challenged. "How many of your marriages were to poor, ugly men?"
"Well… if we must go down memory lane… my first husband was wealthy, but too controlling, the second was handsome, but disloyal, and the third…" She hesitated for a long moment. "He was a great guy… but we wanted different things, and ended up growing apart." She nodded. "I won't lie, beauty and money were what got me into relationships with these men, but they weren't the reason things ended. The first husband was more wealthy when I left him than when we met, the second was just as handsome, and the third… he was always a good man."
Kai remained silent, digesting all of it. What she said didn't entirely contradict his own worldview; he still needed to improve his looks and his financial situation… but neither of those would guarantee him a long-term relationship.
Maybe that was fine. Maybe he didn't need a long-term relationship. Not as long as he was able to find someone new every time…
"In the end… I think I am better off this way," she opened the door of her car.
"This way?"
"I've been single for almost a decade now, and I'm honestly the happiest I've ever been. No commitments, no night-long arguments, no stupid in-laws—just me, getting what I want, when I want it." She got in and closed the door.
"Wait!" he shouted as she backed out of the driveway.
She rolled down the window. "Like now, for example," she yelled over the engine. "I feel like…" She put a finger to her lip, thinking, then smiled. "Sushi." She drove off.
"Wait!" he called after her as she sped into the sunset. "What about Wendy?" he asked.
But there was no answer.
***
"I hope you are ready for another day of fun," Bella left the bushes where she had her transformation and stretched in her human-form. "We are going to start by having a run around the park, since we are already here, and then do some—"
"Wait, before we start—"
"I don't want to hear any excuses, Mr. Holloway, especially after yesterday. You were supposed to walk me, not tie me to a pole and spend the rest of the time changing clothes."
"Trust me, changing clothes isn't as easy as it looks. But that's not what I was trying to say."
She tilted her head to the side.
"Could you… tell me about Wendy?"
"The mistress?" Her ears drooped.
"Yes. Was there something wrong with her? Like a… disability or something?"
The dog-girl lowered her head. "There was something… very, very wrong with her… especially toward the end."
"Really?" He struggled to keep a smile from his face. This was it, the answer to the mystery—the thing that would explain the anomaly that was grumpy Mr. Isaacson.
"The mistress was… sick."
"Sick? Like, sick in the head? Mentally disturbed?"
"What? No, not at all. She was ill, Mr. Holloway, bedridden. She spent her last days in a hospital, connected to machines."
Kai frowned. "Ah… but before that… she didn't have any issues?"
"Issues?"
"Ah…" He became self-conscious all of a sudden and realized how ghoulish and petty he was being. "I don't know… Was she blind or something?"
"No, nothing like that, not as far as I recall…" The dog-girl's eyes grew distant.
There had to have been something wrong with her, he insisted. Because if there wasn't… if a man like Isaacson can get a woman like Wendy, then… why can't I?
"They loved each other very much…" Bella said, a sad smile stretching across her face, her tail wagging lazily. "I don't know how they met or why they got married, because I wasn't with them for that long, but… I know that they were happy when they were together, and that when she… died." Her tail stopped moving, and her voice cracked. "It was the only time I ever saw my master cry."
Kai pursed his lips. You are a real piece of shit, you know that? He told himself as she wiped her eyes. "Right, sorry to bring it up, Bella, I was just curious."
The dog-girl shook her head. "It's okay, Mr. Holloway, you don't have to apologize." She turned to face the trail leading through the park. "We should get to it now, no more delays." She smiled at him, but her tail didn't wag. "Ready, Mr. Holloway?"
"Yeah, sure."
She started jogging at a light pace, and he followed after her.
Maybe there really wasn't anything wrong with Wendy, he thought. Maybe the real reason she married Mr. Isaacson was because, for some ungodly reason, being with him made her happy… And if that's true… If beauty and wealth didn't matter that much…
Then why can't I find a girlfriend?
He had turned the idea in his head time and time again throughout the run, and each time he came to the same, inevitable conclusion.
There must be something deeply wrong…
With me.