The Perfect Dress

by Brown, Carolyn

  “If this brings in the business that I think it will, we won’t have time to make tuxes.” Mitzi set the wig on the counter and told the lady which mannequin they wanted.

  The cashier rang up the total. “Take the sales slip and pull around back to the service doors. The guys will load it for you there.”

  When they finished the transaction, Mitzi handed Graham the papers. “See you at the party store on Main.”

  “I know where that is. You girls want to ride with me?” he asked.

  Dixie only hesitated for a minute. “Sure we do. You might get lost and need us to show you the way.”

  When they left the store, Graham and the girls went right. Paula, Mitzi, and Jody went left toward the front parking lot. Paula could hardly contain the giggles until they got in the van.

  “Y’all were flirting,” she sing-songed.

  “Mitzi and Graham sittin’ in a tree,” Jody started the grade-school chant.

  “Go ahead.” Mitzi backed out and headed toward the party store. “Get it all out of your systems. And yes, I was imagining him in a custom-made tuxedo. Matter of fact, I was picturing him all sweaty with a hammer in his hand, too. I like a man who’s not afraid to work and show his muscles.”

  “Good for you,” Paula said.

  Mitzi caught every red light from the place they’d bought the mannequin to the party store. When they arrived, Graham was waiting, but the girls were nowhere in sight. He opened the door and stood to one side.

  “Well, thank you, sir.” Paula smiled.

  “My pleasure,” Graham said, but again his eyes were on Mitzi as she brought up the rear.

  Dixie and Tabby rounded the end of a display. Their eyes were lit up like they’d just found the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Then suddenly Dixie’s expression changed dramatically.

  “What’s the matter?” Mitzi asked.

  “Gloria just came through the door,” Dixie whispered.

  “Who’s Gloria?” Paula asked.

  “The girl I put on the ground for her smart mouth,” Dixie said.

  “Ignore her,” Mitzi said. “If you say or do anything, she’ll have power over you. Pretend like she’s an ugly old mangy dog.”

  Dixie’s giggle turned into a guffaw. “That’s the funniest picture I’ve had in my head in years. Now I’m going to laugh every time I see Gloria, and ‘dog’ is right because she is a bi-atch.”

  “Dixie!” Graham said.

  “Well, she is,” Tabby agreed with her sister. “She better keep away from me. I didn’t get to hit her, and we’re not on the Greenville school property. I might take her down,” Tabby said, and then frowned. “A woman is waving at y’all.”

  Graham glanced in that direction and held up a hand. “That’s your mother’s cousin, Kayla. She came and spent some time with us right before you girls were born. Haven’t seen her since then.”

  There was no doubt the woman was pregnant and due to deliver any day from the size of her baby bump, but it was the man walking behind her who caused the room to start spinning. Paula steadied herself on a cart that had been left empty in the aisle and hoped that she didn’t faint. With her luck she’d cause that cute little unicorn display to tumble, too, as she went down.

  Jody nudged her with an elbow. “Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost.”

  “I’m fine,” she answered. Right there, not six feet from her, was the father of her child, and he was acting like he’d never seen her. And his wife looked like she was a hell of a lot further along than six months.

  Kayla laid a hand on Graham’s arm. “I haven’t seen you in years. I’d like you to meet my husband, Clinton, and this”—she laid her hand on her stomach—“is our second son. Maybe we’ll get a daughter next time.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Clinton.” Graham stuck out a hand.

  “No!” Jody whispered. “Is that . . .”

  Paula nodded. “It is.”

  Clinton shook hands with him. “Likewise. How do you know my wife?”

  “I’m a cousin to his ex-wife, Rita,” Kayla answered. “She and I have been in this area to plan our grandmother’s funeral, and we’ve been going through her house, getting it all ready to sell. Congratulations on y’all going to give it another try when she gets a divorce. I always thought you made a cute couple.”

  Clinton was careful not to make eye contact with Paula, but she glared at him the whole time. She’d bet he was never separated from Kayla, and now that bi-atch, as Tabby had called Gloria, had ruined everything for Mitzi as well. It was a good thing that a stuffed unicorn’s horn couldn’t kill a man, because even with a touch of dizziness, Paula couldn’t miss his black heart at that distance.

  Her eyes wandered to Kayla’s big belly. Was that twins? When was the baby even due?

  “Rita told me at the funeral that you’d moved back to Celeste but you still run the dealership here.” Kayla flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder and shifted her focus to the girls. “She said the girls were all grown up, but good Lord! Last time I saw y’all, you were just babies. Which one is Dixie and which one is Tabby? Mercy, but y’all are big . . . I mean, t-tall . . . girls,” she stammered.

  Dixie waved a hand. “This is Tabby. I’m Dixie.”

  “I’ll see you at Lizzy’s wedding, I’m sure, but right now I’m starving for pizza, so we’re off to a late lunch. Been craving it ever since I got pregnant. Who are all y’all?” She looked from one person to another in the group.

  “I’m sorry. I should’ve already introduced all y’all. This is Mitzi, Paula, and Jody,” Graham said. “And Kayla, Rita was wrong. We’re never getting back together.”

  “Never say never,” Kayla said.

  “Nice to meet all y’all.” Clinton finally made eye contact with Paula.

  The tension was so thick it would take a machete to cut through it. Dixie and Tabby looked like they could chew up two-by-fours and spit out Tinkertoys. Mitzi had one of those forced smiles on her face.

  Jody bumped Paula on the arm and whispered, “Are you okay?”

  “Later,” Paula answered, but she gripped the handle of the cart so tight that her hands ached.

  The awkward silence deafened them until Clinton finally pulled Kayla close to his side and spoke up. “Darlin’, we’d better get you fed and headed toward home. I didn’t even want her to come down here this close to her due date but”—he kissed her on the cheek—“women have a mind of their own.”

  “When are you due?” The words slipped out of Paula’s mouth so fast that she wasn’t sure she’d said them out loud.

  “Next week. We left our three-year-old home with Clinton’s mama. She adores him and Timmy thinks he’s on vacation when he gets to stay with his nana. It’s good to see you, Graham. I was always sorry that things didn’t work out between you and Rita, and I’ll be praying that y’all can forget the past and move on to a wonderful future together. There’s nothing like a close-knit family.”

  “Not going to happen. Have a nice day.” Graham turned his back on them.

  Clinton escorted Kayla away with his hand on the small of her back, and Paula turned to watch them. “She looks like she could go into labor any minute.”

  “Yes, she does,” Mitzi said. “Do you feel okay? You are really pale.”

  Paula sucked in a lungful of air and let it out slowly. “It’s a small world. I never thought I’d see Clinton again.”

  “You did good,” Jody whispered.

  “That was . . . oh, my, God,” Mitzi said.

  Dixie had already pulled Graham a few feet away. Her hands were on her hips and Tabby shook a finger under his nose. Evidently they didn’t want Kayla’s prayers to reach God’s ears.

  “We’ll talk about it when we get home,” Paula said. “I don’t want to say anything in front of Graham. He’s got his hands full. So let’s go finish up our shopping.”

  “That’s not so easy right now,” Mitzi said.

  “If you let Kayla or Rita get un
der your skin, then they’ll have power over you, and God might even hear those prayers.” Paula pushed the cart forward. “Girls, are y’all ready to help us design some cute napkins for the bridal fair?”

  “This ain’t over,” Dixie told her dad.

  “We’ll finish talkin’ when we get home,” Tabby said.

  Graham reached out and laid a hand on Mitzi’s shoulder. “We should talk about this tomorrow.”

  “I agree.” His touch sent all kinds of tingling vibes throughout her body, but if there was even the remotest chance that he still had a thing for Rita, then she should be fighting the attraction. “But for now we’ve got work to do, and I don’t want to ruin the day for the girls.”

  “You’re amazing,” he whispered.

  “Why would you say that?”

  “You’re putting my girls first.” He dropped his hand and followed the others.

  An hour later everything had been designed and ordered and they’d bought a new folding table. Graham carried it out to his truck and they parted ways—again the girls riding with him so there would be more space in the van.

  “I wonder if there’ll be anything left of the inside of that truck when they get to Celeste.” Jody pulled the seat belt across her body.

  Mitzi backed out of the parking space and headed out of town. “Why would you say that?”

  “They put their anger on a back burner in all the excitement of picking out things, but it’ll come forward pretty quick when we’re not around,” Paula answered for her. “I got the impression that they damn sure don’t want Rita back in their lives.”

  “Not even if Graham still loves her?” Mitzi asked.

  “Not even if she sprouts wings and dons a halo,” Paula answered.

  “She’s bad,” Jody piped up from the back seat. “But what about that sumbitch, Clinton?”

  “We’ll talk about that later. I need some time alone.” Paula laid her head back and closed her eyes.

  Graham’s truck was parked in the driveway, but the girls weren’t there. Mitzi pulled in behind him and got out of the van. She raised an eyebrow and asked, “You still in trouble?”

  “Not anymore. I reassured them that their mother and I weren’t getting back together. Then Alice called and invited them to go swimming with her at the lake. They said for me to tell y’all that they had the best time today, and that they’d see you in church tomorrow,” Graham said.

  Paula stomped past them and onto the porch. She unlocked the door and disappeared inside. Jody nodded toward them as she carried the wig into the house.

  “I’ll hold the door for you to bring in the mannequin and the table,” Mitzi said.

  “Thanks,” Graham said. “Lookin’ forward to seein’ you tomorrow.”

  “Me, too. I don’t mean to be rude, but I need to go in and . . . it’s a long story, but we need to support Paula right now,” she said.

  “Something happened with Kayla back there, didn’t it?” Graham lowered the tailgate and picked up the mannequin.

  Mitzi nodded as she grabbed the handle on the edge of the folding table. “It did, but I’m not free to talk about it right now.”

  “Didn’t mean to pry,” he said.

  “You aren’t. We were all right there in the awkward situation,” Mitzi assured him.

  “I’ll be ready to put together that arch tomorrow. You need to tell me how wide and tall you want it and then we’ll go to work,” he said as they made their way to her porch.

  “I’ll be there by two o’clock,” she told him. “And thank you again for helping us today.”

  He set the mannequin in the middle of the kitchen floor. She leaned the table against the wall and walked him to the door. She felt like she was in a vacuum with no sound or emotions. Everything had been sucked right out of her when Kayla made those comments, and yet at the same time, there was still chemistry between her and Graham when he turned and gave her a sly wink.

  “That really is your gorgeous hair color.” He nodded toward the Styrofoam head sitting on the coffee table.

  “You really think I have pretty hair?”

  “I think you are a beautiful woman, Mitzi. See you tomorrow.” He tipped an imaginary hat and walked outside.

  Jody came out of the sewing room with two beers. “I hid until y’all got done in case you wanted to talk.” She handed one bottle to Mitzi and tipped the other one up. “It’s been a helluva day, hasn’t it?” She rolled her eyes toward the stairs. “Do we leave her alone until she comes out or barge in and make her talk?”

  “If she don’t spit it out, she’s goin’ to explode,” Mitzi said.

  “I’ll get the ice cream and meet you there in a couple of minutes,” Jody said.

  Mitzi nodded and took the stairs two at a time. By the time she reached the top, Jody had joined her with a quart of rocky road ice cream and three spoons.

  “Do you think this will do the trick?” Jody asked. “Or do I need to run back down there and bring up a package of chocolate cookies?”

  “I think that’s enough,” Mitzi whispered.

  Jody knocked gently on Paula’s door.

  “Go away. I’m not through crying,” Paula sobbed.

  Mitzi turned the knob to find it locked. “Either let us in or I’ll kick the damn door in.”

  They heard the click when Paula unlocked the door, but the door remained closed. Mitzi threw it open and marched right into the room. Paula was curled up in a fetal position in the middle of the bed, her hands over her eyes, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

  “I’m pregnant and hormonal and in shock and I’m stupid,” she said between sobs.

  “I can agree with three, but that last one is up for debate.” Mitzi crawled up into the center of the bed and laid a hand on Paula’s shoulder. “Sit up, honey. Talk to us so we can help. And if you don’t stop crying, then I’m going to start, and you know what that does to my face.”

  Jody followed Mitzi’s lead, settled cross-legged to her left, opened the container of ice cream, and stuck three spoons in it. “And with all the drama in my life right now, I sure can’t let you two cry without me sobbing, so let’s eat ice cream and scream, bitch, yell, kick holes in the wall—whatever it takes to get over this. I can’t believe that sumbitch acted like he didn’t even know you.” Jody dug deep into the ice cream and shoved the spoon toward Paula’s mouth. “Open up or it’s going to drip all over your shirt.”

  Paula sat up and took the spoon from Jody. She laid a hand on her stomach as if she was protecting her child. “She just kicked. I think she’s tellin’ me everything’s gonna be all right.”

  “Of course she is. Just like that Kenny Chesney song—somewhere in the lyrics it says that the monkey on his back jumped off. If you’d have knocked the shit out of Clinton today, that monkey would sure be off.”

  “Tastes pretty good,” Paula said. “I saw your face when Kayla said that about Rita, and I’m so sorry, Mitzi.”

  The lyrics to the Chesney song ran through Mitzi’s mind. The chorus talked about a sign hanging on the wall that said everything’s gonna be all right, and she wanted so badly to believe that.

  Jody shoveled a spoonful into her own mouth and groaned. “This tastes so good.”

  “I’m so gullible. I believed all his lies. I bet he thinks a fat woman is so desperate for attention she’ll believe anything,” Paula said.

  With so many tangled-up relationships going on around her, Mitzi began to think that maybe she was the lucky one of the three. Sure, she was attracted to Graham, but she’d have to think long and hard before she gave that bit of chemistry a chance. Not when Rita was evidently so determined to worm her way back into his life.

  Paula went on. “Remember what I told you at the time about his wife just finding out that the in-vitro procedure had finally worked with their first child? And now I find out he’s got a three-year-old son with her, too.” Paula grabbed her head. “Brain freeze.”

  “Good!” Jody said. “It might help fre
eze the stupid feeling that you’ve got about yourself.”

  “You’re not stupid. You are not fat,” Mitzi said. “You trusted him. He lied. Now he has to pay for it.”

  “Do you realize his wife was already pregnant when he was sleeping with me? And he had a toddler at home? What a jerk!” Paula dug into the ice cream again. “The son of a bitch didn’t even act like he knew me, but if he had, then his sweet little wife, who’s probably a size six when she’s not pregnant, would have had questions.”

  “Makes me wonder how many more kids he’s got out there.” Mitzi stuck her spoon in the ice cream and shifted her position to lean against the headboard.

  “You might want to get our little girl tested so you can compare DNA with all her boyfriends when she starts to date,” Jody suggested. “Wouldn’t want her going out with her half brother.”

  “I may just move to Australia. I don’t think he’s ever been there, but then who knows, the way he lies.” Paula stuck her spoon in the ice cream and rested her hand on her stomach. “I know for absolute sure now that I’m never telling him about this baby. And this is one time I’m glad I’m a large person and don’t look all that pregnant.”

  “What are you going to tell the baby when she asks?” Jody asked.

  “I’ll cross that bridge when I have to. Maybe I’ll tell her that he died.”

  Mitzi gave Paula a sideways hug. “Which might be the truth if he messes around with another woman with a temper hotter’n yours.”

  “We can always keep an eye on the obituaries from that part of the state,” Jody said.

  Paula leaned forward and hugged Jody. “Or I could make a voodoo doll and poke pins in all the appropriate places.”

  “Now that sounds like a good thing, only I’d rather take him out in the woods, nail one of those appropriate places to a tree stump, and give him a knife. When he’s brave enough to cut it off, he can try to make it home before he bleeds to death,” Jody said.