FICTION

ONE AFTERNOON

IN A DEPARTMENT STORE

Renee 56-G-3 FPE

One afternoon, I was in a department store where I had my measure- ments taken for a new suit. The clerk had written them down on a piece of paper and had left it on the manager's desk. I was looking at the tissues, with the clerk, when a lady came in. She started to talk with the manager, and, while talking, she looked at the paper showing my meas- urements. Suddenly, she took it in her hand and her face showed signs of excitement which turned suddenly into a happy expression. She talked in a low voice, to the manager, pointing to me with her finger.

I was asking myself what she was saying about me when the manager came to me and asked me to meet the lady. She was in charge of the ladies' fashion department. She was putting on a fashion show in a few minutes and the girl, modeling the wedding gown, had not shown yet. She was looking for a tall, slim girl to model the gown. Seeing my measurements, she found they exactly suited the measurements re- quired for the gown. She had the idea of asking me to model the gown.

I TOLD HER I was a man, not a girl, that I had never worn a dress in my life and that I would look ridiculous in a wedding gown. She re- plied that it would be a great help to her if I agreed to model the gown. I would not have to do anything difficult and the makeup artist and the hairdresser would take care of my appearance. The only thing I would have to do was to walk slowly, on stage, holding the arm of the "groom."

36