“I found my dress,” Trish announced as she walked into the main area of the dressing room wearing a floor length pale orange gown with an understated sparkle and a halter neckline. She looked over at Gracie. “What do you think?”
Gracie had just finished wiggling her way into a wedding dress that appeared to be mostly made of sheer flowing layers and ruffles. She managed a half-hearted smile for Trish.“I like it. You look hot. David's not going to be able to keep his hands off you.”
“I'm actually kind of looking forward to seeing his reaction. He's never seen me all dolled up before.” She carefully fluffed her long black hair so that it feathered loosely around her face. Her gray eyes looked wide and a little too bright in the dimly lit dressing room.
Gracie pursed her lips at her own reflection. “You'll probably get a better reaction out of David then I'll get out of Cal.”
“Oh, come on now.” Trish clucked her tongue at Gracie. “You're gorgeous.”
Gracie crossed her arms over her breasts and glared at her reflection in the three-way mirror. “Not in this rag, I'm not. For the record, I've figured out that I don't like ruffles. There isn't any point in me trying on any more dresses that have them. Ruffles are hideous and they make me look fat.”
Trish rolled her eyes at Gracie as Katie stepped out of her own dressing room. She was wearing a burgundy dress that was similar to Trish's. It was eight inches too long and did nothing at all to accentuate her tiny curves.
“That is getting to be a very long list,” Katie said as she joined Gracie in front of the mirror. “In the last two months we have learned that you don't like tea length dresses, simple dresses, any dress that is too bright a shade of white, A-line dresses, ball gowns, sleeves, feathers, rouching, ruffles, strapless dresses, corsets, spaghetti straps or, and I quote 'itchy lace'.” She was ticking each item on the list off on her fingertips.
Gracie nearly smiled. “You make it sound like I'm being difficult.”
“Are you?” Katie pursed her lips at Gracie.
“Maybe just a little,” Gracie admitted. “I really wish we could give up and come back another day. I'm really not in the mood for wedding dress shopping.”
“No, we can't give up. You're out of time to pick a dress.” Trish had ducked back into her own dressing room to change back into her regular clothes.
Katie began stripping out of the burgundy gown. “Wedding dress shopping for you shouldn't be this hard. You've got a body to die for. You have yet to look bad in a dress.”
“I don't like any of them.” Gracie kicked at the pile of skirts that had fallen down around her ankles. She stepped out of the dress wearing nothing but her mismatched bra and panties. She crossed her arms over her chest and flopped down into the fancy embroidered chair in the corner of the dressing room. “I don't like dresses, period.”
“I'm starting to think that your brother was right and your problems picking out a dress aren't even about the actual dresses.” Katie pulled the yellow dress off its hanger and stepped carefully into the skirt. “Want to talk about it?”
“The dresses?”
“No. Whatever it is that's making you reject every dress you try on.” Katie wiggled her bare toes in the plushy carpet as Trish stepped back into the room wearing the same casual blue sundress she'd come into the store in. “Spill it, Gracie. Why won't you pick a dress?”
Gracie sighed. “If I told you that I'm holding out for that magical moment where I find the perfect gown and feel a mystical connection to the dress, would you believe me?”
“I'd be pretty skeptical. You're not usually sentimental.” Trish zipped Katie into the yellow dress. It looked good on her.
“But maybe I want to be? Just this once?” Gracie pursed her lips at her reflection. “I don't know. Maybe I'm waiting to find the dress that's going to just blow Cal away. I've been watching all those wedding shows on television and the perfect dress always makes the groom tear up. Maybe I want to see Cal cry.”
“The only thing about a wedding dress that's going to make Cal cry is the price tag,” Katie said. “Besides, Cal thinks you're gorgeous regardless of what you're wearing. I don't see what you're so worried about.”
Gracie exhaled a long breath she didn't even realize she'd been holding. “Everything's just gone to hell.”
“Mmm, yes. And that would be different from every other day around here how?” Katie asked. “Everything's always going to hell.”
“Cal doesn't care about the wedding,” Gracie blurted out.
Trish frowned. Katie looked more curious then concerned. “Why don't you think Cal cares?”
“Because he doesn't. He's completely and totally preoccupied with work. He hasn't been remotely interested in anything that has to do with the wedding. He didn't even care when I told him that someone was trying to ruin our wedding. He says none of it matters.”
“I don't think he was saying that you don't matter,” Trish said after a moment's pause.
“Cal's never liked being the center of attention,” Katie reminded Gracie gently. “You know that he loves you. You know that he would do anything for you. If Cal thought he could put a stop to the sabotage, you know he would do it in a heartbeat. Don't stress yourself out over the dresses or the flowers. Addy will figure out who's trying to sabotage your wedding. I have faith in him.” Katie leaned her head against Gracie's shoulder and smiled.
“What difference does it make if he does catch them?” Gracie wanted to be comforted by Katie's words, but nothing Katie could say was going to make her feel any better about her relationship or her wedding. “He can't go back in time and undo what has already been done.
Neither Trish or Katie had anything to say to that. After a minute, Gracie continued talking. “I'm just... I don't know. I had all these preconceptions about how my wedding would be and nothing has lived up to my expectations. Do y'all remember the last time we went to the bridal boutique in Beauton? Remember the girl who was getting her dress fitted at the same time that we were?”
Katie and Trish both nodded.
“She looked like a stuffed sausage in that dress.”
“Oh Gracie!” Katie snorted.
Trish nearly choked on air. She covered her mouth with her hand to hide the laugh that bubbled up. “Don't be ugly! She obviously liked that dress. Maybe all the others looked even worse.”
“It was two sizes too small and her gut was the first thing my eye went to. It looked bad, and yet-.” Gracie put her hands in the air, struggling to find the right way to explain how she felt.
“And yet?”
“Her mom was crying. Her friends were cheering. She had an entire entourage of people who came dress shopping with her and they were all totally and completely ready to lie to her and tell her she looked pretty in that disaster.”
“Okay.” Trish's expression was carefully neutral.
“I was jealous.”
“You were jealous?” Katie did a double take. “You looked a thousand times prettier-. No wait, this isn't about being pretty, is it?”
“Not at all,” Gracie admitted. “I wasn't jealous about how that girl looked in her dress. I was jealous because so many people obviously care about whether or not she has her perfect moment and finds her perfect dress. I was jealous because she had fifteen people with her and they all wanted to make sure that she knew they thought she looked pretty. I'm jealous because her fiance will probably cry when he sees her walking down the aisle.”
“You want an entourage?” Trish looked more thoughtful than insulted. “We could have rounded up a crowd of adoring fans if you had really wanted one.”
“Right, because David totally cares what dress I pick?” Gracie shot Trish a skeptical look.
“Okay, no. David wouldn't know a sweetheart neckline from an empire waist if it bit him on the ass. He'd still show up if we told him to. So would your brother.” Trish licked her lips and then shrugged.
“Miss Loretta would have come dress shopping with us if you had invited her,” Katie said. “She cares what your dress looks like and if you feel pretty.”
“I know, but-.” Gracie rubbed her hands over her face. “I don't know why I didn't invite her. You're right. She would have loved to come with us. I should have invited her.”
“But you didn't.”
“I didn't,” Gracie admitted. “I didn't invite Miss Loretta because I wanted my own mother to come dress shopping with me.”
“They're still refusing to come to the wedding, aren't they?” Katie's sympathy was clear in her eyes.
Gracie nodded. “My mother says that I'm making a horrible mistake and she won't support me in it. Dad can't be bothered standing up to her. Addison is going to give me away. I know that he loves me, but he's not my Daddy. It seems like a stupid thing to be hurt over, but I'm hurt. My wedding has really driven it home to me that I'm never going to have a good relationship with either one of my parents. Mom and I are not on the same page in life and we never will be. Truth be told, the older I get, the more I realize that she probably never has liked me.”
“Gracie-.”
“No. Don't try to make me feel better about it.” Gracie held up her hand and shook her head hard enough to make several strands of hair come loose from her bun. “My shitty relationship with my parents is something I'm going to have to accept. Mom's reaction to my wedding has brought back all the crappy memories I have of her from childhood. She was never there when I needed her. She didn't show up to any of my softball games or choir concerts. Addison had to take me to buy my first box of pads when I got my period because Mom was working, Granny Pearl was out of town and Dad threw a $20 at me when I told him what had happened. Addy and David taught me how to drive. Addison signed Dad's name on the form that let me get my driver's license. To this day, Mom has never ridden in a car when I was behind the wheel. She didn't take me dress shopping for any of my middle or high school dances. Miss Loretta always bought my dresses and did my makeup. Miss Loretta is the one who taught me how to apply and wear makeup. She's been more of a mom to me than my own mother has.”
“But you didn't invite her to go dress shopping with us?”
“No. I didn't. My mother really can't stand Miss Loretta. She says that Miss Loretta is one of the main reasons she and I have never had a good relationship. She says that Miss Loretta has taken over her role and set my expectations unrealistically high. We always get into a huge fight when the topic of Cal's Momma comes up. I was trying to be more accepting of my own mother. I invited her to come with us every time we went dress shopping instead of inviting Miss Loretta. I gave my own mom an opportunity to be with me and help me choose what is supposed to be the most important dress I'll ever wear.”
“Oh.”
“She didn't bother showing up. She couldn't even call to tell me she wasn't coming. Typical Jane May.” Gracie sighed and picked up one of the wedding dresses that was hanging in plastic from a hook on the wall of the dressing room.
“I don't know what to say except for that I'm sorry,” Trish said.
Gracie shrugged as she stood up to inspect the last few wedding dresses that were hanging on the dressing room wall. “Don't be. It is what it is. I'm just...I don't know. I'm hurt. I'm angry. I'm frustrated. I feel like I don't matter.”
“You matter.” Katie smiled gently at Gracie. “Maybe your parents aren't supportive but you do have Miss Loretta and your Granny Pearl, both of whom love you like there's no tomorrow. I love you. Trish loves you. Cal adores you. He'd die for you if it came to that. Addison loves you. David loves you like a sister.”
Gracie gave Katie a small but genuine smile. “I'm feeling sorry for myself, aren't I?”
“A little bit.” Katie held out her hands to Gracie and gave her a quick hug. “But I don't blame you for being upset about your Mom or any of the other disasters that have taken the joy away from what should be one of the biggest celebrations of your life. I just don't know how to fix it for you.”
“I'm not asking anyone to fix it.” Gracie held the dress up to her breasts and then turned so that Trish could fasten the back. “You and Trish have both been amazing friends and I'm really grateful for everything y'all have done for me.”
“Awww, we love you.” Katie smiled at Gracie.
“We do,” Trish confirmed.
“I love you guys too,” Gracie said as Trish fiddled with the back of the dress. It fastened with several dozen tiny buttons and doing them up properly was time consuming.
Gracie studied herself in the mirror. This dress really wasn't half bad. It was a mermaid style dress, which Gracie had previously been reluctant to try on because she hadn't thought it would look right. Surprisingly, the gown fit like it had been made for her. “What do y'all think of this dress?”
“I like it.” Trish smiled as she finished with the buttons. She fidgeted with the back of the dress for a moment longer, tightening a sash and adjusting the way the skirts were sitting. “I think we just found your new dress, Gracie. The mermaid cut suits you and the sweetheart neckline is adorable. You look gorgeous.”
“I love the lace,” Katie said. “It's so elegant and classy.”
“Girls, I think we've found a winner.” Gracie pursed her lips thoughtfully. The dress she was wearing looked good and so did the bridesmaids dresses.
“Hallelujah.” Katie made a praying gesture with her hands.
“If we hurry, maybe we can make it back to Cal's parents house in time to get some of that rehearsal dinner,” Gracie said. “I'm freaking starving.”
“Let's pay for our dresses and get out of here,” Trish said. “I'm really looking forward to that nice steak Miss Loretta promised me.”
“And the crab cakes,” Katie said. “I've been dying to get my hands on a good crab cake.”
“Just help me get out of this dress and we'll go,” Gracie promised. “We just have to swing by the hardware store on the way home.”
“What for?”
“A set of padlocks so that we can keep the new dresses under lock and key until the wedding tomorrow,” Gracie said.
Katie burst out laughing. “Oh, you're being bad.”
“Who said I was joking?” Gracie asked.