The Happiness Project: A laugh-out-loud and utterly feel-good romance by Helen Bridgett
Author:Helen Bridgett [Bridgett, Helen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Choc Lit Contemporary Romance: A Joffe Books Company
Published: 2024-05-28T00:00:00+00:00
Chapter Twenty-One: Lady in Red
The red dress takes itself back to Pattyâs so we can dump the clothes she came out in this morning and I can change into something a little more glamorous. It then hops onto the tram and into the city centre. Neither Patty nor I sit down; instead we hold the overhead rails as if weâre riding the subway in downtown New York. My slate-blue dress is nowhere near as eye-catching as Pattyâs, but Iâve borrowed some of her scarlet lipstick and I feel invincible. I guess thatâs why they call it warpaint.
âWhere shall we take Poppy?â asks Patty, and I instantly realise that sheâs named her dress.
âAs sheâs new in town, I think we need to do some culture first â perhaps the art gallery?â I reply. âThen dance class and a cocktail â what does she think to that?â
âOh, sheâs very keen on both those ideas,â says Patty, âparticularly the cocktail part.â
Bizarrely, taking âPoppyâ out for the day feels far more exciting than if Patty and I had just decided to head into town. Itâs as if we have a new friend and weâre honour-bound to show her a good time. We disembark near the beautiful central library and walk the short distance to Manchester Art Gallery. An early afternoon chill is starting to embrace the city now that weâre in the shadow of its splendid Victorian buildings but thereâs no way weâre putting our coats on. We simply turn the walk into a stride and are soon through the glass doors of the entrance and back into warmth.
âSo, what would Poppy like to see?â I ask as we look at the list of collections and exhibitions.
âI think sheâd like to see the costumes,â Patty says. âTo see if anything is as fabulous as she is.â
We head to the lift and press the button for the first floor. After all, we canât walk the stairs and risk ruining our current levels of gorgeousness with underarm sweat stains, can we?
The collection is organised in chronological order, running from the Victorian to the modern age. Despite thinking ourselves the beeâs knees, these dresses showcase the most incredible craftsmanship.
âI think even Poppy would have to admit weâd look fairly plain by these standards.â I nod to an elaborate velvet dress with a full skirt.
âSheâs just pleased we no longer have to wear those.â Patty points at a torturous-looking corset with an impossibly small waistline.
âHow on earth did they ever fit into those? Did they make women smaller back then?â
âSmaller and often invisible,â Patty says.
Beside the dress is a walnut parlour table with a silver tray containing sherry glasses, alongside an explanation that the dress would have been worn at social gatherings.
âAlthough, if thatâs the size of glass they drank from during their girlsâ nights out, then maybe that explains things,â Patty adds. âCompare that to a gin balloon.â
âYou couldnât even fit an ice cube in that,â I say. âThey must have had the gin neat.â
We move through
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