Moving Closer - Checking out

[Authors Note: I have tried to bring out the fashion statement of Rachael in this chapter.

As a cherry on top I have tried bringing a surprise element for readers who are crazy about fashion at the end of the chapter.

I hope you like it. Happy Reading and keep voting Cheers! ]

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She got of the washroom and went to the attached balcony of the hall and dialled her friends number.

The phone rang for few seconds before someone received the call from the other end.

"Hey Rachael, good morning, I was waiting for your call from the last 2 days. Any change in plans?"

"No Amelia, no change in plans. I should have called you yesterday to confirm but I got stuck in some work and missed calling you."

"That's okay, tell me what time shall I be in the mall, i will ask my cousin to drop me to the mall"

"Don't worry about getting dropped to the mall. I'll pick you up on my way. Just text me your address and be ready by 11:30 ish. I'll be leaving my home by 11:00."

"Sure thing, Rachael. I'll send you the address and be ready by then. See you later bye" with that Amelia hung up the call.

Rachael went back to the kitchen to help her mum with the rest of the work.

By the time everyone had breakfast it was close 9:30 in the morning and Rachael hurried up to get ready. She told her mum that she will be going out with her friend and will not there for lunch.

With that she rushed to take bath and get ready. She had planned for a casual yet chick look. Once she finished bathing, she picked a casual blue jeans, Liofer women's 3/4 sleeve blouse loose strapped cold Shoulder top and topped it up with plaid wrap coat from Polo Ralph Lauren.

She brushed her hair and left it open. She then paired her look with a Black bag from her Victoria Beckham' collection and Louis Vuitton Boots. She was thinking if she had to also carry the soul space back but dropped the idea for now.

As a final touch she went for a classic red lipstick from L'Oreal Paris Rouge Signature Matte Lip Stain in I Don't. And she applied the perfume - Christian Dior Poison.

Rachael was a natural beauty. A little grooming took her to the next level. And with this look she adorned today, she looked no less than a model.

Ethan and Ray were in the hall busy discussing something when Rachael got out of the room. Ethan was facing the room directly and he gasped when he saw his wife. She looked stunning. Seeing his reaction Ray turned back to look.

He was used to his sister's fashion sense and sheepishly grinned at Ethan. Probably Ethan had never seen his wife like this. For him she looked like a goddess who had come down from heaven. He immediately closed his wide open mouth before Rachael could see his reaction.

[ Authors PoV: I guess I have exaggerated a little more than required Lol :P ]

Rachael just said a bye without looking at them and walked out of the door, closing it behind her back. She headed to the garage and started her Dad's car.

Ethan was not aware of his wive's plan so he looked at Ray who just shrugged his shoulder indicating that he was not aware as well.

Rachael fed the location of her friends place into the GPS once she started the car and drove away to pick her friend.

Amelia had gotten ready and was waiting. Once Rachael was less than 5 mins to Amelia's place she texted her to come out. Once she neared Amelia's cousin's place, where she was staying for the holidays, she saw Amelia walking down the stairs which seemed to be attached to the portico of the house.

Once Amelia got into the car, both of them headed to the mall which was a 30 minutes drive from where Amelia got in.

After reaching the mall, Rachael parked the car in the third floor basement. She had parked the car in the parking space, where the car could not be easily seen by the other cars which were entering the mall. She knew that Ray and Ethan would be coming over to the mall in few hours and she did not want to risk Ethan seeing the car.

Both the ladies then took the elevator to the ground floor of the mall. A huge crowd gathered near the centre of the mall caught Rachael's attention. It was the new and an additional decor which was added to the mall after Christmas along with the earlier Christmas decorations. The Christmas decorations were still kept intact.

A huge peacock structure which was completely covered with red roses adorned the centre of the mall and was the main attraction. A cut out of the year 2023 which was decorated with different coloured roses to match the peacock decor was placed in front of the peacock structure. You could see young and old couples, kids and teens waiting in the queue to get their pictures clicked in front of this statue.

Although Rachael and Amelia were tempted to get their pictures clicked, looking at the long queue they decided to skip it for now. If they still had any energy left after the entire shopping, they decided to come back after their shopping spree.

Both of them took the escalator and headed towards the first floor. Although most of the shops for dresses were in second floor she had seen a few shops in first floor while she had visited last time. The first floor had shops mostly for gifts and kid's clothing.

Rachael had other plans. She had planned to check out that mysterious shop again and alert Ray if she found anything suspicious this time around.

She first checked out the only two clothing stores for women in the first floor. Rachael was extremely choosy when it came to selecting the her outfits. She could spend hours trying to find the right one.

Amelia knew how Rachael was a perfectionist and she admired both her dressing and fashion sense. This was an opportunity for her to check out Rachael's shopping skills and that was one of the main reason she had agreed to shop with Rachael for her New Year dresses as well.

When both the ladies could not find any appropriate outfit, they decided to explore shops on the second floor. As they were closing the escalator to go up Rachael pulled Amelia near the railing

"Amelia I had to buy some gifts for New Year. And once we go up I don't want to come down again, just for that. The cafeteria is in the fifth floor. After a quick meal or snack after shopping, we can take the elevator directly from fifth floor to basement."

"Sure Rachael, do you have any specific shop in your mind to check out the gifts?"

"Yes, I had seen one the last time I was here. I don't recall the name exactly but I guess it was named "Mystic Vibes" something like that. It's right next to the Pumpkin Patch."

said Rachael.

"Okay let's go there then"

"Sure Amelia, but I need to go to the washroom first. Please can you go ahead and wait for me in that shop? I'll join you in less than 10 mins"

"Sure Rachael, take your time, no rush."

With that Amelia headed towards the shop which Rachael had told her.

The shop was on the other end of the escalator. After Amelia left, Rachael looked around and without moving she mentally uttered a level 1 of distance reducing spell which she had learnt it just a year back.

This distance reducing spell would reduce the distance between the object and the person using the spell. Level 1 spell was the basic spell which was sufficient to see objects at short distances.

Rachael could see the shop very clearly. After confirming the shop was still present, she went towards the washroom.

She entered one of the empty toilet rooms. After closing the door, she slowly uttered in a whispered tone a series of spells that would remove the effect of, distance reducing spell as well suppress all the super power aura she had.

All the shops she and Amelia had visited so far, were on this side of the escalator and the mysterious shop which Rachael had planned to check out was on the other side of the escalator.

Rachael had been careful enough not to go towards that side of the mall where this mysterious shop was present.

Once she got out of the washroom she headed towards that shop. With all her powers suppressed she was just like any other person in the mall.

As she was nearing the shop she saw her friend outside of the shop leaning on the railing checking out something on her phone.

When Rachael reached the shop she called out to her friend.

"Hey Amelia, I thought you would be waiting inside the shop" to which Amelia replied "Rachael I couldn't find the shop you were looking for. There is a different shop out here. Look !"

Rachael turned to look and yes Amelia was right. With her powers suppressed she could see what everyone else could see. It was another kid's shop which had occupied that place.

Beads of sweat appeared on Rachael's forehead and Amelia did not notice it.

[To be continued.... ]

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[Authors note: Dear Readers, I just tried putting together Rachael's look in Instagram. Hoping the links will work. Not sure thought. Giving it a try.]

Top and Jeans:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJOXB8mhy4J/?igshid=1b8fxma5uqrud

The Plaid Wrap Coat:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJOZtR-BwQY/?igshid=17aq0hqeihdio

Victoria Beckham Bag collection

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJOa3vcBo7e/?igshid=1mpvunhropnqk

The Red Lipstick look

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJOmjg1BlUC/?igshid=fed8i8xj1u4p

Louis Vuitton Boots

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJOcLsVBHbz/?igshid=nmtd3ebsttqv

If you feel I could style better please drop in your comments.

Also if you have ideas on how I can style Ethan and Rachael please feel free to comment.