Emilie:
Setting: Veronica's Office
Wednesday, 3:57 p.m.
Interacting: Veronica Fox ("Rex Caofino")
It was a relief to see her parents pleasantly surprised by Mr. Caofino. The three of them followed him back into his office. Finally, the moment of truth: time for Emilie to show her designs. Heart pounding in her chest, she flipped open her sketch book and started into the pitch she'd rehearsed over and over in her mind on the way down.
"Okay, I'll try not to take too much of your time, sir. Here is a gown for performances, red lace over satin, with a mermaid silhouette and high collar. Tassel earrings highlight the Asian influences. I've drawn it here with blue underneath, but it could just as easily be made with white or cream satin under the lace."
She flipped to the next page. "Here is a modern take on a classical theme--"
"Is that bare skin?" April asked, pointing toward the openings that slanted down toward the center of the torso.
"Uh, no, actually, it's a transparent weave..." Emilie said, fighting down nervousness. "There are patterns of translucent sequins along the lower side," she said, pointing toward a sketched-in pattern of small circles on the drawing, "that are meant to be hard to see from a distance, but will sparkle under the spotlights when she's on stage."
"Isn't that a little too...revealing?" April said, giving the design a dubious look.
"Well...not in terms of how
much skin you see...I mean, if you look at the gowns singers wear in movies, they'll usually go with plunging necklines. Not to mention the way the cigarette girls dress, and as a whole it covers way more than a swimsuit," she said, hoping her mother wouldn't decide she'd already gone too far and drag her out of Mr. Caofino's office by her arm. "The, uh, idea here is to make Miss Fox stand out by changing what's covered and what's not, to convey an
essence of daring without actually being scandalous. The Neoclassical lines convey class and dignity, allowing Miss Fox to play with the contrast during her performances."
Time to move on! she thought, flipping the page. "These next couple are ideas I had before Miss Fox called me, and they'd probably be better for dinner parties and galas than for performances, but that'd be up to Miss Fox. The concept here is the coming Age of Mobility. If Geld is what the future looks like as they say, with all the multi-lane highways and such, and if the airlines eventually start using the jet engines we now have on the latest military planes," Emilie said, grateful that her brothers loved
Popular Mechanics and other magazines of that genre, and that she'd had the chance to look through some of them herself, "then everything is going to be built around cars and airplanes, and people will be getting in and out of vehicles all the time.
"So, think sleek, streamlined clothes without petticoats, ribbons, ruffles, or other things that could get caught on doors or be awkward when getting in or out of a car or airplane seat. This is a shift dress in mid-weight crepe that would go well with a pillbox hat." She flipped the page again.
This is a pleated cape dress in silk gazar. If we do switch from trains and ships to cars and airplanes over the next few years or so, I think fashion could move toward a simpler, more streamlined look. So if she likes these designs, it could be a way for her to get out in front and be the trend-setter." Emilie turned the page again, showing a sketch of a
sleek red dress with an attached flowing cape. "OK, this one has a lot more cape...I guess I just like capes. Maybe that's why I got into superheroes? Oh, speaking of superheroes..." Emilie trailed off, flipping the page again.
"I know Miss Fox didn't want me to design a hero costume for her, but I always try to design a costume to express the essence of the hero it's for, so I drew one for her to give her an idea of my design process. Since she doesn't get in fights as far as I know, this is designed for...appearance and appeal rather than combat, to, uh, fit with the 'Vixen' theme. From what I've read about her, her powers seem to be focused on knowledge. So, the headgear is meant to be reminiscent of an open book, but her face comes through because she isn't just reading, she's also speaking the knowledge...like she
is the book, in a symbolic sense.
"Of course if I were to actually design a costume for her, I'd want to talk to her about her specific needs and what she wants to express with her costume. This is just to give her an idea of how I go about it." She noticed Rex checking the clock.
Curses! He's bored! Of course Father had spent the whole time gamely trying to look interested in a showcase of women's fashion for his daughter's sake, but he wasn't the one she was hoping to impress. "So, uh...what do you think?"
"These designs are marvelous, by the way." Rex nodded to Emilie as he flipped her sketchbook to one of the designs. "Red is definitely Veronica's color. Contrary to popular belief, she prefers showing her figure more discreetly instead of parading around in revealing dresses. Much of the public has not let her cabaret days go even as she pursues singing."
Rex sighed. Strangely, he sounded sad.
Darn! I shouldn't have brought the Neoclassical one! Emilie thought.
"These dresses are for her to wear to her performances so eye-catching sequins work great. Sparkling beads, not so much. It's a torture to attach and even more to care for in the long run. Silk and lace are fantastic." Rex leafed through the sketchbook, pointing to the designs he referred to. "And if you're unsure, go with deep colors and long slits."
"OK," Emilie said, wishing she'd had time to flesh out an Art Deco design. The ones she'd seen had complex inter-weaving parallel lines of sequins or beads, and Emilie had bet on Veronica preferring more modern designs. She quickly whipped out a pocket tablet to take notes in shorthand.
Silk, lace, sequins, slits, deep colors.
"Right," he said, then set the sketchbook down and went over to...lock the door? "I won't be needing a new piece too often. One every month or two is perfect. But we really need to talk about your superhero costume designing business."
Rex went to stand behind the desk, propping his arms on the table and leaning forward. "I think it's time you met Veronica. Or...Vixen, to be accurate."
The illusion began to fade. Rex Caofino's congenial smile and unique looking suit blurred into a mix of colors, as if their vision became bad for a moment. Veronica's face and features sharpened into view, in the pink dress she was wearing, with the scarf still on her neck, now she was about a head shorter than her other persona.
"There we go," she said cheerfully. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jameson, Mrs. Jameson, Emilie. My name is Veronica Fox."
Emilie's tablet slipped from her fingers and hit the floor. "That. Was
amazing!" Emilie said, her face bright with wonder. She looked back at her parents with an expression that said, 'See?
Now can you understand why I want to be part of this superhero thing so much?' They looked at Veronica with stunned expressions.
"He...you..." Vander stammered. Emilie was pretty sure her parents were having a harder time wrapping their heads around the idea that the young man they'd been talking to was actually a young woman, than around the concept of the superpower itself. Emilie's mind was still too enraptured with what she'd just 'seen' and whether Veronica could just change her own appearance, or if she could make it seem like they were in a medieval castle, wondering if her hand would have passed through empty space if she'd tried to touch 'Rex's' face, or if Veronica's power could make her think he was real. She had a
million questions. The possible implications of Veronica's 'sex change' didn't even register.
Before Emilie could fully recover from astonishment, Veronica continued talking...and then broached the subject of safety. That snapped her parents out of it too; Veronica had their full attention. As she spoke, Emilie's blood ran cold, and her heart sank. Numbly, she took the offered whistle.
"But..." Emilie stammered. It never occurred to her that villains might want to hurt her and her family. After all, the Mob didn't attack factories that made police uniforms, did they? Still, if Veronica Fox said they were in danger, she had to be right. Simple as that.
"Thank you very much Miss Fox," Vander said. "I am sorry that we've wasted your time. I'm afraid we can't allow our daughter to be involved with any of this. It's too dangerous. As soon as we get home, we're going to call the phone company and get our number changed. Then you're going to call the paper and have them stop printing that ad."
"But..." Emilie fiddled with the whistle, holding it out almost like a talisman.
"Dear, if some criminal with death-ray eyes comes after you, you're not going to have time to blow a whistle and wait for someone to come rescue you."
Emily paled as it sunk in that she was putting not only herself, but her whole family in danger. "The number will still be in the phone book. But...if I had a power of my own..."
"Absolutely not! Don't even start. I forbid you to go anywhere near that shop ever again, do you understand me? We're going home this instant, and that's final. Thank you for your time and trouble Miss Fox, but we must be going."
Just before the office door closed behind them, Emilie looked back at Veronica with a look of longing for the wondrous, magical world she was being taken away from forever. In the back seat of the car, swerving around traffic on one of Geld's multi-lane highways, it hit Emilie that they'd left her sketchbook and notepad behind in their haste.
