US of A. Come on, let’s get back to the flat, fire up the laptops and start looking.’
Chapter Eleven
Lana hits Manhattan:
Green and white summer dress (Anthropologie)
Yellow high heels (borrowed from Elena)
Green messenger bag (Fossil)
Total est. cost: $180
‘A Flirtini? Go on, Mum …’
As soon as Annie told Elena about the £10,000 she was prepared to invest in Perfect Dress, spirits rose in the tiny apartment.
Then the idea of an American factory, of dresses ‘Made in the USA’, appealed to Elena too and for the rest of the afternoon and early evening the trio were extremely busy trying to find out what they could do to make this happen.
They Googled, they searched, they phoned. Annie found herself having a long and involved conversation with Pete from the American Cotton Council. Emails flew out, telephone enquiries were made. The optimistic energy began to infect them all. Now that there was some money, even just this little bit of money, everything suddenly felt possible and doable, if they just put their minds to it. The hours flew past.
‘We need to take a break and go out,’ Elena declared from her bedroom, where she was working from her bed with her laptop and mobile.
‘Uh-huh, I am totally burned out,’ Lana, on the sofa with Annie’s laptop, agreed.
‘Yeah, there’s just one more guy I want to get hold of,’ said Annie. ‘I have his mobile number so I’m going to try him right now.’
She plugged in the number, but the answering service clicked in. ‘Voicemail,’ she told Lana, ‘it’s probably a sign. A sign that I need to unwrap my unbelievably lovely new bag, dress it up and take it out to play.’
She could just get dressed up and go straight out, Annie realized with a hit of astonishment. There was no babysitter to arrange, no putting babies to bed, no leaving an entire list of emergency numbers taped to the fridge – she really could just slip into another outfit, apply make-up and leave the building. Not even knowing where she was going to go!
The dizzying sense of freedom this gave her was like a rush to the head.
‘Where can we go? Where’s good to go?’ she called out to Elena, not that there was really any need to raise her voice as Elena’s bedroom was only two feet away from the kitchenette.
‘I know very hip bar. Very cool, lots of Sye’s friends go there. Is on Seventh Avenue, close to Condé Nast building, many magazine peoples go there.’
Annie caught the astonished look on Lana’s face.
‘Cool!’ Lana breathed.
‘Fantastic,’ Annie enthused, though honestly, she was experiencing an inner dither. Had she really packed an outfit finger-on-the-pulse enough to withstand entry to a bar frequented by glossy magazine types? Yes, the new bag could probably endure the gaze of Vogue editor Anna Wintour herself, but Annie couldn’t get inside the bag. She would have to think of something to wear with the bag.
Lana was looking properly excited at the evening ahead.
‘I’m going to put on my new dress,’ she began: ‘you know, from that amazing shop we were in on the first day. I’ll go and shower first. Is that OK, Elena?’
While Lana showered, Annie rummaged through the clothes in her suitcase. There was no space to unpack in the tiny apartment, so she and Lana were trying to live out of their bags as neatly as possible. There was also no washing machine, so at some point in the near future they would have to make use of the communal laundry room, which apparently was down in the building’s basement.
Dress … dress … Annie needed something lightweight but with long sleeves, something that went with the bag and her highest heels.
‘What are you going to wear?’ she asked Elena, who sounded as if she was rummaging about in her bedroom.
‘Something new, maybe … I go out this afternoon to Century 21. So cheap there, I always find something.’
Elena appeared at her doorway still wearing the lilac dress she’d put on earlier in the
Chapter Eleven
Lana hits Manhattan:
Green and white summer dress (Anthropologie)
Yellow high heels (borrowed from Elena)
Green messenger bag (Fossil)
Total est. cost: $180
‘A Flirtini? Go on, Mum …’
As soon as Annie told Elena about the £10,000 she was prepared to invest in Perfect Dress, spirits rose in the tiny apartment.
Then the idea of an American factory, of dresses ‘Made in the USA’, appealed to Elena too and for the rest of the afternoon and early evening the trio were extremely busy trying to find out what they could do to make this happen.
They Googled, they searched, they phoned. Annie found herself having a long and involved conversation with Pete from the American Cotton Council. Emails flew out, telephone enquiries were made. The optimistic energy began to infect them all. Now that there was some money, even just this little bit of money, everything suddenly felt possible and doable, if they just put their minds to it. The hours flew past.
‘We need to take a break and go out,’ Elena declared from her bedroom, where she was working from her bed with her laptop and mobile.
‘Uh-huh, I am totally burned out,’ Lana, on the sofa with Annie’s laptop, agreed.
‘Yeah, there’s just one more guy I want to get hold of,’ said Annie. ‘I have his mobile number so I’m going to try him right now.’
She plugged in the number, but the answering service clicked in. ‘Voicemail,’ she told Lana, ‘it’s probably a sign. A sign that I need to unwrap my unbelievably lovely new bag, dress it up and take it out to play.’
She could just get dressed up and go straight out, Annie realized with a hit of astonishment. There was no babysitter to arrange, no putting babies to bed, no leaving an entire list of emergency numbers taped to the fridge – she really could just slip into another outfit, apply make-up and leave the building. Not even knowing where she was going to go!
The dizzying sense of freedom this gave her was like a rush to the head.
‘Where can we go? Where’s good to go?’ she called out to Elena, not that there was really any need to raise her voice as Elena’s bedroom was only two feet away from the kitchenette.
‘I know very hip bar. Very cool, lots of Sye’s friends go there. Is on Seventh Avenue, close to Condé Nast building, many magazine peoples go there.’
Annie caught the astonished look on Lana’s face.
‘Cool!’ Lana breathed.
‘Fantastic,’ Annie enthused, though honestly, she was experiencing an inner dither. Had she really packed an outfit finger-on-the-pulse enough to withstand entry to a bar frequented by glossy magazine types? Yes, the new bag could probably endure the gaze of Vogue editor Anna Wintour herself, but Annie couldn’t get inside the bag. She would have to think of something to wear with the bag.
Lana was looking properly excited at the evening ahead.
‘I’m going to put on my new dress,’ she began: ‘you know, from that amazing shop we were in on the first day. I’ll go and shower first. Is that OK, Elena?’
While Lana showered, Annie rummaged through the clothes in her suitcase. There was no space to unpack in the tiny apartment, so she and Lana were trying to live out of their bags as neatly as possible. There was also no washing machine, so at some point in the near future they would have to make use of the communal laundry room, which apparently was down in the building’s basement.
Dress … dress … Annie needed something lightweight but with long sleeves, something that went with the bag and her highest heels.
‘What are you going to wear?’ she asked Elena, who sounded as if she was rummaging about in her bedroom.
‘Something new, maybe … I go out this afternoon to Century 21. So cheap there, I always find something.’
Elena appeared at her doorway still wearing the lilac dress she’d put on earlier in the
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