shopping with sisters {pig}

[LIZZIE SPENCER]

A tea party! Oh, it was such a marvelous idea. Lizzie wondered why one hadn't been planned sooner. She knew most of the girls attending by word of mouth. She'd never actually had full conversations with Maggie Sinclair and Amy Winston but Lizzie was sure they were both absolutely lovely. She looked forward to meeting both of them properly and sitting down for tea afterwards.

Of course, a tea party just wasn't the same without the suitable attire. Lizzie was out shopping with her darling sister today. She was to make sure Pig picked proper clothes. Lizzie wasn’t quite sure how she could stop her sister from choosing what she wanted – all Lizzie knew was that a pretty dress would be nice and as long as Pig chose a pretty dress, things should be just fine.

They were at one of the higher end stores in the mall, with clothes made of lace and silk and expensive prices. Could clothes be made of expensive prices? No, no, probably not. That didn’t make any sense. Still, the dresses at this store were very pretty. Lizzie just wanted to try all of them on. She almost wanted to buy quite a few of them too. That definitely wasn’t a good idea but she couldn’t seem to shake it.

“I think all of these dresses are perfect for a tea party,” said Lizzie with a bright smile. She ran the fabric of one dress between her fingers – smooth and the prettiest blue she’d ever seen. “That should make this easy, right?” She asked, looking at her sister. With so many to choose from, surely Pig would be able to pick one that she liked and that was ‘suitable attire.’

Lizzie already had a few in mind that she wanted to try on. She figured it was best to take it one step at a time – if she took too many into the dressing room, she might feel overwhelmed. Lizzie played with her necklace, watching Pig carefully, waiting for her to find a dress that she liked enough to give a chance. Lizzie hoped it would be easy enough but she could never be sure with Pig.

outfit!

[GEORGIANA 'PIG' SPENCER]

Georgiana 'Pig' Spencer --- ✁_ _

Everything was stupid, and nothing was logic.

That's what Pig decided when she stepped into the boutique with the middle Spencer Sister, Lizzie. It wasn't fair, and she was mad about it. Mary Anne had played it all so keen to. Calling Mummy up with a new potential client, making her come get this stupid dress with Lizzie, who they knew Pig didn't have the heart to make fun of. Not that her sisters heart wasn't in the right place, or that she wasn't even bright in her own way. In fact, in some ways, Pig found Lizzie to be quite wise. But smarts, no, the poor girl was a bit lacking on. She was the gentle soul, torn between two shrewd and stubborn sisters. In some ways Pig envied her out look on the world, and in others she reviled it.

Like right now.

This Sinclaire woman didn't even know Liz, or Pig! What the hell were they being invited to a tea for? And who just has teas in the states? Weren't they big on coffee or something? Pig hated tea, absolutely loathed it. It was odious to the tongue, bitter unless you put gads of cream and sugar in. And, honestly, at that point what was the point? Everything should have a point! That was just logic.

Pig dressed to as Pig usually dressed, never mind the 'grown up' 'adventure' Lizzie had dragged her to. Standing by her sisters side, Pig's arms crossed stubbornly with her sunglasses firmly on the bridge of her nose, mouth pursed in distaste for the affair. Her tights were tye-dyed and her galoshes didn't match. The hessian sunflower band on her combed and crimped hair was askew, and Mary Anne would have claimed the plaid skirt too small as it brushed against the middle of her thighs. Covering her arms was a form fitting striped top, but over that was a large men's shirt that proclaimed 'I'm with stupid' and contributed nothing to her slight shape. Finally, she wore clunky bangles, and her old dead and gone dog Pepper's dog collar around her neck.

Her face remained impassive in the bask of Lizzie's excited glow. Did she really look like she was the most fashion forward girl? "These prices are hideous." She announced, not quieting for the sake of the passing sales clerk. "Who would have thought the price of those little Asian sweatshop kids hard work was worth so much. It's a shame they don't make commission." Dear God, she hoped no one recognized her in this place. The last thing she wanted was for the Davenports to catch wind that she shopped in places like this, seeing as how she didn't.

Passing a rack of trousers priced two hundred shiny dollars with a scrunched nose, Pig let out a heavy and pained sigh. "What does this woman want with us anyway? Isn't she The Governess's friend? I mean, as much as I love being told I'm going to hell for listening to that dang old rock and roll, I had other things in mind for my afternoon that would be a little more fun... Like gouging my eyeballs out with rusty hooks..." It wasn't fair to be cross with Lizzie, because she very well knew it wasn't her sweet dispositioned sisters fault. Elizabeth Spencer was merely a victim of proximity. "I mean, do you want to go, Liz? You don't even know the lady, and if her and Mary Anne are such best mates, I bet she's a real hag. A real religious wing nut wanker and all that, you know what I mean? Hardly a cheerful afternoon."

[LIZZIE SPENCER]

Lizzie wondered if she could find an employee to help. She was sure that finding a dress for herself would be easy enough -- there wasn't a shortage of dresses that Lizzie liked. All she needed to figured out was color and fabric. Of course, she hadn't a clue what would look best on her. She never really had. A lot of girls she'd met in her life sometimes spoke of being a certain season, which she had never understood. They picked up on fashion like it was second nature, whereas she was left, still trying to understand what it meant to be an autumn.

Pig had her own sense of... style. She certainly dressed how she wanted, seemingly without a care as to what anybody else thought. Lizzie had always admired it. She tended to blush from embarrassment when she realized her shirt was inside out or her shoes mismatching (in public, nonetheless). She had always been unlucky when it came to clothes, though... neatness in general, really... Lizzie could only hope that Pig would find a dress she'd like that still sutied her own clothing preferences.

Shooting an apologetic look at the sales clerk, Lizzie briefly wondered how she could feel bad for something Pig had said. It was a rather simple answer: Lizzie always felt bad about most things, even when they weren't her fault. "Money isn't really an issue, though..." She murmured, stepping away from a particularly pricy blouse, telling herself she didn't need it. Lizzie followed Pig throughout the store, pausing a couple of times, thinking maybe Pig would like this dress or that one before continuing, deciding it'd be best if her sister found one on her own.

"Yes, she is. Though, you never know... she could be so nice, we become friends with her too?" Lizzie suggested, stopping to admire a very pretty white dress. It was possible (for Lizzie, anyway, as she got along with near everyone). Rubbing at her eyes, Lizzie flinched at the very thought of gouging them out with rusty hooks. That sounded very painful. Surely Pig didn't think a tea party would be that bad? Looking back to her sister, dress still in hand, Lizzie looked very much like a deer caught in the headlights. The question seemed so sudden and random, it had startled her.

Recovering quickly, Lizzie smiled and nodded. "I do want to go." How could she not? She hadn't been to a tea party in ages. "Right, I don't know her. So, I can't really assume what she's like... now can I?" Lizzie shook her head and pulled the dress from the rack. She'd never been one for judging people before she'd meant them. "At the very least, there should be some snacks and sweets." Lizzie had always thought finger food went along very nicely with tea. Holding the dress up against her body, Lizzie looked to her sister for an opinion. "What about this one?"

[GEORGIANA 'PIG' SPENCER]

Georgiana 'Pig' Spencer --- ✁_ _

Money had never been an issue for the Spencer family? How could it be? Their Father sold tea for bloody damn sake. Selling tea in England was as simple as selling formula to infants. Even if one did not like it, they knew someone who did. Hell, in proper society, when a daughter had a horrible day- say she menstruated in class while wearing white trousers- a Mother's best comfort was 'I'll put on some tea.' At least this was the case with Victoria Spencer. The woman made great money selling wedding dresses to stupid brides, willing to pay any amount for their dream day. In the business sense she was savvy as an alley cat, but she was probably as emotionally connected with her children as a wolverine.

But why shouldn't money be a problem. Basically the entire world was in a recession, wasn't it? Why did the Spencer's live unscathed. To suffer is to learn, but other than a few childhood miscarriages of justice, what had Pig suffered. A stupid name? A dim and rabid set of twins to call sisters, and an emotionally stunted for the sake of what's proper set of parents. "There are better things we could be spending this money on. We could buy that bum down the block a bottle of vodka, so he stops convulsing in the streets every few hours. We could adopt a bloody puppy. Buying a dress for this much is just.. wanton." On a certain level, she was just whining. True, she didn't do it with a nasally inflection, but it was a whine just the same.

By Lizzie's expression, Pig could assume sweet Lizzie never considered if she wanted to go. And, sadly, she did believe her sister to be excited about going. "Well, that's all very good for you, I suppose. But I shouldn't have to go to this. I could be spending time with my friends. Eating sweets and treats with them. I don't see why Mary Anne needs to drag me in her dung. She doesn't even like me." At the dress raised by Lizzie, she shook her head. No, in good conscious she couldn't buy anything from this place. It hurt her eyes to look at these price tags, and annoyed her when the sales women stared at her with such a disapproving eye.

Pig could admit, she didn't come in here looking for friends, but damn. Was she to pretend to be happy as a clam? Just prance along as if she was high on mushrooms and feel all the fabrics? "I'm not trying to be difficult for you, Lizzie. Mother probably picked you because I'd be the less ornery for you, in fact. But nothing about this appeals to me. I don't even like tea."