Hope is a gift we give ourselves, and it remains when all else is gone.
Naomi Judd
Just two days before Queenie’s birthday party, I tried on my finished dress in preparation for the photo shoot. I could hardly believe how wonderful I felt with it on. Dahlia got so excited that she decided to Skype the whole event with Nadia.
“Turn around, Katie.” Nadia’s voice sounded from the speaker on Dahlia’s laptop.
I complied, showing off the mid-length train on the back of the dress.
“Great job, Dahlia.” Nadia sounded impressed, but she didn’t gush. Maybe it wasn’t in her nature to gush. “It’s going to be perfect for the photo shoot. Now, Katie, I don’t want to tell you how to pose for the photos, but do your best to show off the dress if you can, okay?”
“I will.”
“Since we’re billing you as the Someday Bride, I thought it would be nice to give you a stand-in groom. You okay with Brady playing that role? I think his basketball fans would eat it up, and it would certainly increase the sales for the magazine.”
“Brady?” I felt my cheeks grow hot.
“Sure.” Nadia’s businesslike voice clipped along at a steady pace. “Ask him to put on a tuxedo and go along for the ride, okay? If the photographer asks for a groom, he’ll be ready to go.”
“You don’t think that’ll confuse his fans?” I asked.
“We can explain that he’s a good sport.” She grinned. “Get it? Good sport? It’ll show that he’s a team player, and that should make Stan happy.”
“I doubt it,” Madge called out. “That old coot’s never happy.”
Nadia laughed. “True. But let’s just play out this day like the fairy tale it is. And remember, Katie, you represent every someday bride. I ran the idea by Jordan Singer and he thought it was perfect. His readers will eat it up. You’ve spent your whole life dreaming of the perfect dress, the perfect wedding . . .”
“The perfect groom.” Madge elbowed me but I shushed her.
“Well, do your best not to get the dress too wrinkled on the ride over there, okay? Are you riding in Brady’s truck?”
“Yes ma’am. My car would never make it.”
“You don’t have to call me ma’am, Katie. Just Nadia will do.”
“Yes ma’am.” I put my hand over my mouth and giggled. “Sorry!”
“Dahlia, go ahead and bustle the gown now,” Nadia said. “When you all get to the stockyard, keep the dress bustled until the last minute. God forbid you should drag that train in the mud or”—she shuddered—“anything else. There are animals everywhere, after all.” She paused, but before anyone could get a word in edgewise, she added another thought. “When you’re ready for the first shot, unhook the bustle and let down the train, but be very careful.”
“Will do, Nadia,” Dahlia said. She went to work bustling the back of my gown, carrying on all the while about the embellishments on the bodice and the gorgeous ruffles on the skirt. “I daresay even Ms. Loretta Lynn herself would be happy to wear this dress.”
“We might just have to ask her that question,” Nadia said. “I’ll ask Jordan to try to contact her.”
Wow. I could hardly believe it. Maybe Queenie’s favorite singer would put her stamp of approval on my wedding dress. The one I wasn’t getting married in . . . at least not anytime soon.
When we ended the Skype session with Nadia, Crystal and Twiggy went to work doing my hair and makeup in preparation for the event.
I noticed Crystal’s silence while the other ladies gabbed. “Are you okay?” I asked.
“Hmm?” She shrugged. “I guess. Days like this are hard.”
“Why?”
She sighed. “I sometimes wonder if I’m ever going to get married. I guess I’m just one of those someday brides that Nadia talked about.”
“Aren’t we all?” Dahlia asked.
“Count me in,” Twiggy said. “I’m a someday bride too.”
“Looks like we’re all in the same boat,” I said.
Crystal took a seat on the bench. “By the time I’m engaged, I’ll be an old woman.”
“Like me?” Madge’s voice sounded from behind us.
“You’re not old, Madge.” Dahlia walked over and gave Madge a kiss on the cheek. “You’re forever young.”
“And you’re still a someday bride too.” Crystal gave Madge a knowing look and then giggled.
“With hips like mine, I’ll never fit into an A-line gown,” Madge said.
“When the time comes, you’re going to be a beautiful bride, Madge,” Dahlia said. “I’ll make your dress myself and you’ll look like a million bucks.”
“Whatever. I was never meant to be a beauty queen. And the only thing polished about me is my wit. No one can argue that point.” Madge winked. “Truth is, I’m doing the best I can. All women my age are. And if we don’t look the part—if our makeup isn’t perfect, if our figure isn’t the same as it was when we were teens—then the world will just have to go on spinning anyway. I have it on good authority that we all age. Our bodies change. Don’t believe me? Look at Robert Redford.”
“True.” Crystal’s nose wrinkled.
“And Jamie Lee Curtis. She’s never been one to disguise her age.”
“I’m going to age like Dolly Parton,” Crystal said. “That woman is per-pet-ually thirty-nine.”
This led to an interesting discussion about country music, which led them back to talking about my gown. I swished and swayed, checking out the dress from every angle, and gave a blissful sigh. I caught a glimpse of Madge in the mirror, staring at me like a proud mama hen. I couldn’t help but smile.
Several minutes later, Brady appeared at the fitting room door. I hardly recognized him in the sleek tuxedo, but he took my breath away. Literally. “Whoa.” I didn’t mean to say the word aloud, but who could blame me?
“Wowza.” Madge whistled. “You clean up nice, boss.”
“You can say that twice and mean it.” I bit my lip to keep from saying anything that might embarrass either one of us. “You really do look great, Brady.”
“I look like a cake topper.” He checked his appearance in the mirror and groaned. “Don’t I?”
That got me tickled. Before long I was laughing so hard the girls had to stop working on my makeup. I promised Crystal that I’d double-check my appearance before the shoot began and take care of any necessary touch-ups.
“Trust me, you’re the prettiest bride to ever grace the cover of a magazine.” Brady gave me an admiring look. “You won’t need to change a thing.”
“Aw,” all of the females said in unison.
“Thank you, Brady.” I gave him a smile and then tried to look as if his words hadn’t affected me. The heat in my face gave me away, though.
Dahlia’s eyes narrowed. “Boss, are you flirting?”
“Me? Flirting?” He cleared his throat.
“Well, it’s time to get this show on the road.” Madge put her hand on Brady’s back and nudged him out the door. “We’ve got a full day ahead of us. C’mon, folks.”
Brady extended his arm. “Are you ready, Katie?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
I held tight to his arm as we walked through the shop, so as not to get tangled up in the cumbersome ruffled skirt. Several people stopped me to comment on my gown. I felt like a princess wearing it.
Just before we reached the door, a young woman entered. Madge reached for her walkie-talkie and whispered, “Incoming Joie de Vivre.”
“Joie de Vivre?” I stopped in my tracks, intrigued by this one.
“Rediscovering life after a recent catastrophe,” Madge explained. She gestured to the woman, who stood off in the distance, examining a gown. “Her name is Penny Jones. And she’s our most recent Joie de Vivre Bride.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” I said.
“Notice the smile on her face? It’s as broad as the sun up above. But the mist of tears in her eyes? They tell a different story. This is a young woman whose first husband passed away in Afghanistan. She didn’t think she would ever remarry. But then she met her current fiancé, and hope, once dead, sprang to life.”
“Joie de vivre. Hope springs to life.” I whispered the words, realizing how closely they matched my situation, then threw my arms around Madge’s neck. “Madge, you’re a remarkable woman. So intuitive.”
Brady let out a snort. “You mean nosy?”
“No, I mean intuitive.” My heart flooded with joy for her. “She sees things that the rest of us don’t see. She even notices the little things.”
“In spite of all my flaws?” She quirked a brow.
“I see no flaws in you. In fact, you’re the most beautiful woman here,” I said. “And I really mean that. Your heart makes it so.”
“I might have to argue that point.” She leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. “I would argue that you’re the most beautiful. I haven’t known you long, kid, but I can say in all honesty that they grow ’em sweeter in Fairfield.”
“And I might just have to agree.” Brady placed his hand on my back and smiled.
“Yep.” Madge nodded. “Now listen up, you two. Once we get to that photo shoot, I’m counting on you to knock ’em dead. Take the best possible pictures for Texas Bride and show the world that Cosmopolitan Bridal is the best place on earth to buy a wedding gown.” She glanced at the Joie de Vivre Bride. “I’ve got a customer to take care of, but Dahlia and I will meet you there in a few minutes, after I make sure the other girls are okay to manage the store without us. Now scoot.”
Brady kept his hand on my back, gently guiding me out the door. In that moment, with the eyes of everyone in the store on the two of us, I felt like a bride. I felt lovely. It had nothing to do with the makeup or the hair, though those things certainly didn’t hurt. No, what I felt came from a deeper place than that. Madge had touched a nerve with her joie de vivre comment. With those words, hope sprang to life. I would one day wear this dress for real. It would be more than just a pipe dream. In the meantime, Brady and I would play the role of cake toppers, giving the photographer all of the pictures he needed for the magazine, even if we had to playact to do it.