Avery gripped the metal pull tab of her zipper, standing before the full-length mirror as a sharp wave of frustration set in.
The structural silk across her upper back was stretched entirely too tight, leaving her fingers completely without the required leverage to force the closure. She executed a lateral pivot, attempting to direct the zipper upward from an angled stance, when her peripheral vision captured a tiny silhouette infiltrating the perimeter of the dressing room doorway.
Dorothea was clad in her green dinosaur fleece pajamas, her bare soles pattering across the plush wool carpet as she initiated a quiet run toward her mother.
"Mommy."
"Yes, baby."
"Are you vacating the house tonight?"
Avery disengaged her fingers from the trapped zipper mechanism, turning to drop into a l
