Spiral Bound Journal

Working Day and Night

Much as Dana wanted to take the stairs, she worried that her new dress would fall out of her arms somewhere in the four flights she would need to ascend. Plus the elevator would give back a couple minutes she could use to admire her bespoke acquisition. She wanted to make sure the dress stayed vertical as much as possible before she took it with her to Chicago. That gave her about a week to have it hanging around before donning it for the VidCon afterparty.

The ding of the elevator alerted Dana to the door sliding open, and she wasted no time stepping out of the elevator car. She hurried to her condo and heard the door unlock before she could retrieve her keys. She tested the handle and stepped inside to finding Quinn standing near the door.

"Thanks," she whispered as toed off her slip-on sneakers. "Even with some texture this garment bag is slippery."

"I take it that's your dress for VidCon," Quinn asked.

"Sure is. It'll take me a few minutes to get settled, but I can show you the finished product once that's all done."

"Sounds good. Want me to set it somewhere?"

Dana pondered Quinn's inquiry. "The bed for now."

She handed the garment bag to her husband before unzipping her black puffer vest. After hanging her vest and unzipping the hoodie underneath, Dana made her way to the bedroom. Flipping on the lights, she found Quinn had placed the bag in the middle of the bed. The clear window at the top of the bag offered a peek of the bolero, but Dana knew there was much more to this outfit.

"Alright," she mumbled. "Let's do this."

While Dana had tried on the actual dress for alterations, she hadn't had a chance to to take her time and soak in the details of the dress. She unzipped the bag and stepped back. This allowed her to view the full dress with bolero. Both pieces were crafted from gray-ish blue dupioni silk. Muted gold trim made the bolero cuffs and neckline pop. Parting the bolero, Dana revealed the dress bodice, replete with more muted gold in the form of piping and trim along the straps.

"Are we taking bets on which guy at VidCon will trip over himself first when he sees you wearing that dress?"

Dana turned around to find Quinn standing in the bedroom doorway. She snickered and shook her head.

"Well, not right now, anyway," she told him. "I feel like HarHar might try to get a pool started, but I don't know who he'd include."

"You know who all will be in attendance at VidCon, right?"

"I got the list of creators and staff, but I'll be honest. I only recognize about a fifth, maybe a quarter of the names."

"Well, obviously HarHar. Who else?"

Dana paused to flip through her mental Rolodex. "Well, a number of them are in the anti-MLM space, which I'll have to see if I can go to one of the panels outside of photography work, but that's beside the point."

"Anti-MLM?"

"Anti multilevel marketing, like LuLaRoe and other such, ahem, 'business opportunities'. Scams, really?"

Quinn smirked. "Speaking of scams, will Morgan be there?"

"Oh yeah, and I can hardly wait to see what those panels will be like. I already know I'll be photographing one of them. Of course, the bigger question is how well Morgan will handle the panels."

"You think he'll freak out?"

At that, Dana shrugged. "He wears his introversion almost like a badge of honor, and him presenting live to thousands of people sounds like the stuff of nightmares for him. Although, now that I think of it, I think the meet and greet portion might be worse. I know he's hesitated on having fan meetups in the past because he feels like the fans know more about him than vice versa."

"I don't think he minded meeting up with us last year," Quinn replied.

"Well, those were rather extraordinary circumstances. Then again, I met Gus and Fiona under extraordinary circumstances."

"Speaking of Gus and Fiona, since VidCon is in Chicago, will they be there?"

"Yes! They've been hemming and hawing over whether to commute in or get a hotel, but I think with the schedule being what it is they'll likely end up getting a hotel, especially for the after party. I mean, hello, this dress is for that."

"I imagine Gus will appreciate it."

Dana gave Quinn a smile as she struggled not to bust out laughing. "Yeah, I bet he will."

"The real question is will he appreciate it as much as Morgan probably will?"

"Ooh," Dana whistled. "That's a tough call."

"After all, Morgan doesn't have a problem with me."

"Yeah, but Gus doesn't read my livestream messages when Fiona's in the house. Now that I think of it, I'd be really curious to see what would happen if Gus and Morgan met."

"Do you think they will? I just can't see an investigator and a cultural differences commentator really crossing paths."

"Well, if nothing else, there is the after party, but I'm pretty sure there are some welcome activities for the content creators to get to know each other before the con begins. I don't know because I was not invited to those events."

"Will either of them attend those events," Quinn asked.

"Gus and Fiona probably will," Dana answered. "I can see HarHar dragging Morgan to one, especially since there are other crypto researchers that have been invited."

"Hmmm...maybe Fiona can let you know how that goes."

"Maybe, but sometimes she can be a bit...quiet, I'd say if I'm involved. I think she sees me as competition, which to be fair she's half right."

"Oh, I know. So have how been able to try it on since the alterations have been completed?"

"Once, but that was mostly to check the fit."

"Want to try it on one more time? Since I won't be at VidCon, I won't get to see you wearing it in person."

Dana flushed. "Sure. Given me just a moment."

Quinn wandered off, prompting Dana to remove the dress and bolero from the bag. She still had on her strapless bra, which allowed her to undress and the redress with ease. After removing the dress from the hanger, she stuck her hands into the skirt and pulled it over her head. With the bodice being rather snug, she knew she wouldn't be able to step into the dress as she preferred to do. It took a little coordination to get the zipper pulled up, but she managed. From there, she added the bolero, making sure to button it near the waistline. With that completed, she grabbed the skirt to keep it from dragging on the floor and walked into the living room.

"Here we are," she announced. "All of this for the low, low price of eleven hundred dollars!"

Quinn looked up and down before shooting Dana a smoldering gaze. "I'd say it's money well spent."

"And it all stayed in Minneapolis, thankfully. I take it you look it."

"Indeed. Makes me wish I could go to VidCon with you."

"That would be cool. And probably entertaining while also being a bit terrifying."

"Yeah, Gus and Morgan would both definitely have problems with me for real at that point."

That sent Dana into a roaring fit of laughter. "Too true! Well, as comfy as this thing is, I should probably make sure it stays on the hanger for now. Cant' afford to trip over myself and rip it before I go to Chicago."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"I'll have to see about wearing it at least once in town, though. Since I paid this much for it, I should attempt to get my money's worth."

With that, Dana headed back into the bedroom to change clothes once again.