Yes!

Saturday morning, determined to forge ahead, I called to make an appointment with a personal shopper at the Nordstrom in Corte Madera. I explained my predicament, and was told I'd get a call back over the weekend. By Monday evening, I hadn't heard from anyone.

On Tuesday, I arose in an optimistic state of mind. I walked the dogs, had a little smoothie, did a little work on the computer and prepared to shop alone. Off to Marin.

The first stop was Macy's, to return the brown dress (see previous post). I thought about cruising the dress department there, but I was on a mission to Nordstrom.

Next stop, Nordstrom's customer service counter, returned the silver dress. Easy-peasy. The customer service gal asked (as they often do) if I'd like to open a Nordstrom's account. I asked if there were any discounts on a first purchase if I did, knowing that there was a possibility I would be plunking down some serious dineiro. There was, so I signed up for a card. (Danger! Danger! In my twenties, this would indeed have been a dangerous thing to do, but I have since learned that plastic money needs to be backed up by REAL money.)

I walked about ten paces away from the desk, then thought what the heck, and went back to ask about the personal shopping services. A call was made, a personal shopper was available, and in moments, the angel appeared.

Norah has been working at the Corte Madera Nordstrom since it opened in 1985. "When I opened the store, darling, we didn't have a dress under $300." She was dressed in a navy and white dress with a pebbly texture and gold details, a thick hammered-gold choker and moderate heels. Her sandy-colored hair was cut in a classic bob, framing her large, roundish glasses.

Originally from England, Norah's british accent was all but gone, leaving behind a diction that more closely resembles a kinder version of Mrs. Howell from Gilligan's island. She may have actually sprinkled her sentences with "dear" and "darling" or I may have imagined it.

We introduced ourselves and got right to work. "What is the occasion, dear? Ah...what time? Evening? Ah, there will be lots of black, black is always elegant. Let's go to the dress department, then. What's your size?"

At first, she just cruised the racks with me, quizzing me and pulling everything close to my size. "What about this? Do you like purple? You're young, so you can show the arms, darling, not like when you get old and they go all crepey. This has a lovely neckline, you wouldn't need jewelry, and this...how about a little color? Do you mind a print? Let's just try it." And so it went until we had an armload of dresses in my size. She ushered me to a dressing room, "Let's find you a nice room, darling," and there I was. "Take your time. I'll check on you from time to time. Be sure to come out into the corridor if there's something you really love."

Just under a dozen frock contenders lined the walls of the dressing room. The fourth one from the left had many alluring qualities on the hanger, but as I've learned the hard way, you have to try it on to know. I remembered what my friend Karen said about her terrific dress: "of the meager selection they had, it was the one that fit me best" and I set myself to finding the one that simply fit me best.

I started working my around from the left. The first dress was not quite right. I can't even picture it now. The second, the same, not quite it. Norah peeked in a time or two. The third, a red and white wrap number (...a copy of a Von Furstenburg, darling) wasn't even tempting. As I used to do with my stack of books when I brought them home from the library as a kid, I very quickly abandoned my pre-decided order and jumped to the one I really wanted.

The black one. The fourth from the left. On the hanger, it was heavy. I slipped it on and had a heck of a time reaching the zipper to get it all the way up. I thought of calling for Norah, but I figured if I can't zip it, maybe I shouldn't wear it. Then I turned around.

(Is that the opening baseline of "Brick House" I hear in the background?)

I brought my black slingbacks with me from home, so I popped them on and trotted down the corridor to look for Norah. As soon as she turned from the rack she was working on, she said, "Look no further, darling. You've found it. Don't try on another dress."

I think I got goosebumps.

I did go ahead and try on the rest of the dresses, and some of them weren't bad. But she was right, none of them worked quite as well. I left the store (after less than an hour, mind you) reeling with the high of a successful hunt.

Well, I almost left. The woman at the Kiehl's counter must have spotted my delirious demeanor. She slapped some pretty smelling lotion on me and massaged my hands and I just said yes to everything. She was a pro. Crinkled some paper to get my attention, asked if I'd tried their new lotion, told me it would make my skin look pretty (lotion? not unless it is laced with diamonds or hallucinogens, which this one might be) gave me samples and caught my eye wandering to the lip gloss, cha-ching. Another pretty smelling sucker with goopy lips. I had to get the heck out of there.

When I got home, Mike didn't rave the way I'd hoped he would, but he did say, "YEAH. That's it, that gives you this (two-handed gesture meaning bounty) and this, (another two-handed gesture meaning waist-definition). Good job, sweetie."

So the saga of the elusive dress comes to an end. For now.

Now for the reunion itself....