the red dress (m)

A couple of years ago, I tried losing weight by going to a top-flight nutritionist.  One of the exercises she put me through was "visioning" whereby I would envision how I would look when I reached my goal weight. "Be very specific," J said.  "What are you wearing?"

I haven't given it any thought, I replied.   I was debating what size I thought was realistic to target given where I was.  I hadn't planned my wardrobe.

"No, this will work better the more specific you are.  You're meeting some old friends who haven't seen you in a while.  You are wearing jeans and a white shirt with a nice belt," she said.

No belt, I said.  I'm short...that will cut me in half.

J sighs. "Okay, so no belt.  Jeans and a white shirt."

I don't do sleeveless.  Is the shirt sleeveless?

"You need to take this seriously.  Wear whatever shirt you want."

J...  the problem is... I don't want to wear jeans and a white shirt, okay?  I want to wear a red wrap dress with a v-neck.  I want the dress to have some lycra in it so it is slenderizing.  I want to have on one of those Spanx things underneath and I want to wear a jet necklace.  I look best in red and black.

And that's what I envisioned. With a tan, of course.

Today, I got a catalogue in the mail.  The dress was in there!

I called immediately.  First, I ordered it in my new size...in black.  Then I thought about ordering it several more sizes smaller --and in red--but I thought that was too frivolous.  Then again, I may not find this dress in this color in that size when I need it. 

Jerome was the customer service rep on the line.  He suffered through my thought process.

Okay, Jerome, we're going for it.  I'll take the dress in red ...three sizes smaller.

I hear the keyboard clicking in the background.  Jerome comes back on the line and informs me that the red dress is on backorder in that size.  It may not be available for a couple of months.  Do I want to wait?

It's fine, Jerome.  I don't need the dress for about a year.