The Perfect Dress

by Brown, Carolyn

  Jody rolled her eyes. “Do you know him?”

  “’Course I do. He’s just one of the richest oil men in North Texas. Ever heard of Wildcat Oil? You know the one on the billboards with a big mountain lion on the side of the trucks? He started the business from scratch and did very well for himself,” Fanny Lou said.

  “He was just returning the lawn chairs he thought I’d left behind,” Jody explained.

  Fanny Lou took a long drink of her beer and burped loudly. “Never did learn to do that like a lady. Now tell me the whole story.”

  Mitzi listened to Jody’s and Paula’s stories with half an ear and tried to figure out a way to downplay the kiss, but it simply wasn’t possible. Every time she thought of it, heat filled her face in a blush.

  Chapter Seventeen

  We need a trailer with our logo on the side,” Mitzi groaned that Monday morning when she was listing all the things that had to go to the bridal fair the next Saturday.

  “We’ll rent a U-Haul. It won’t have our logo, but we can get everything in it,” Paula said. “I’ll be in charge of that. We can pull it behind your van.”

  “We’ll look like the poor country cousins,” Mitzi whined.

  “But, honey, when we get in and get set up, The Perfect Dress will be the belle of the ball,” Jody informed her. “How many of these things do you figure we went to when we were dreaming about having our own shop?”

  “And the way we always voted on which one was the best of the whole show?” Paula cut out Chantilly lace to cover the satin bodice of a dress.

  “Well, we’re going to get that honor this year,” Jody declared. “Even if we don’t have our own personal van with our logo on the side.”

  “Maybe we’ll get enough business that we can buy one for next year,” Mitzi said.

  “That can be our goal.” Jody nodded.

  “We’re here,” the twins called out from the foyer.

  “And we’re ready for you,” Mitzi yelled. “Meet us in the fitting room.”

  “Yes!”

  Mitzi caught sight of Dixie pumping her fist in the air as she led her twin across the foyer into the fitting room. “This is the bare bones of the dress,” she explained as she took the dresses off the satin hangers. “Seams are still raw, but we want to make sure it lays pretty on your shoulders without any wrinkles and that the arm holes are the right size.”

  “Oh, Dixie, we’ve got to learn to make things like this. I feel pretty.” Tabby squealed as she stepped up on the platform in front of the three-way mirror.

  Mitzi pinned the shoulders up another half an inch. “Honey, you are beautiful. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. This is a lovely color on you and the style is so becoming. I’m glad you chose it.”

  Paula helped Dixie into her dress and stood to the side while she made her way onto the platform with her sister. “I don’t think you’ll have to do anything to this one, Mitzi. It’s a perfect fit.”

  After a quick rap, Fanny Lou stuck her head in the door. “Got room for one more in there?”

  “Of course,” Dixie said. “Come on in and tell us what you think. Be honest with us. Are these going to be fancy enough for junior bridesmaid dresses?”

  “They’ll have burgundy bows at the back,” Tabby said.

  “You’re going to steal the whole show.” Fanny Lou pulled up two chairs—one to sit in and the other to prop her feet on. “Maybe I should get y’all to make me a dress.”

  “You gettin’ married?” Jody asked.

  “Oh, hell no!” Fanny Lou answered. “Once was enough for me. I loved my husband, but I’ve been a free bird too long, and I’m too old to live with anyone at my age.”

  “Maybe you’re too old for anyone to live with you,” Mitzi teased.

  Fanny Lou tucked her hands inside the bib of her overalls. “That, too, but Elijah Cunningham asked me out to dinner. Since he’s made reservations at a fancy restaurant in Dallas, I probably shouldn’t wear what I’ve got on right now, should I?”

  “You are kiddin’ me.” Mitzi could hardly believe what she was hearing. “Elijah has to be eighty, is shorter than you, and as skinny as a broomstick. You’ve never dated, so why start now?”

  “I wish my dad would date,” Dixie said before Fanny Lou could answer. “All he does is work, sleep, and try to be a dad.”

  “He’s good at all of it, except the sleepin’ part,” Tabby said seriously and then lowered her voice. “He snores when he’s really tired.”

  “So you want your dad to date?” Paula asked.

  “Oh, yes, we really do,” Dixie answered. “If he’d find someone like Mitzi, then he’d never let Mother move back in with us.”

  “What do you mean ‘like Mitzi’?” Jody asked.

  If they’d been sitting, Mitzi would have gladly kicked her shins under the table.

  “You know.” Dixie continued to stare at her reflection in the mirror. “Not like a skinny Minnie, and nice to us because she understands.”

  Tears welled up in Mitzi’s eyes. “Y’all are going to make me cry.”

  Tabby smoothed the front of her dress. “Well, we sure don’t want to do that. And much as I hate to take this dress off, even if it’s not finished, it’s quittin’ time. We’re makin’ meatloaf for supper, and it needs to be in the oven in fifteen minutes.”

  “You’re sure good, girls,” Fanny Lou said. “Most of today’s generation don’t care much about cookin’ and sewin’.”

  Tabby gently pulled the dress over her head, careful not to get stuck by the pins. “That’s the part of helping Daddy that we like best. According to what we hear, Mother wasn’t much of a cook and couldn’t sew on a button.”

  Is their attitude a direct result of Rita’s leaving them at a young age? Mitzi wondered as she helped Dixie out of her dress. “Well, we all have our strong points and weak ones. Mine is cleaning the bathroom. I can do it, but it’s not my favorite job.”

  Dixie threw up a hand. Mitzi high-fived her. She could just wring Rita’s neck for not seeing what sweet, kind daughters she had.

  “We take turns doing that job each week because we hate it so bad,” Dixie said.

  “Mitzi has a reason for that. When she was about fourteen, she found a big tarantula hiding behind the toilet,” Fanny Lou said. “She’s been afraid of spiders ever since.”

  Mitzi shivered. “That thing jumped onto my arm and crawled to my shoulder before I got up enough nerve to bat it off. It hit the wall, fell back on the floor, and started crawling toward me again. Those big old eyes were just plumb evil.”

  “I’d have died,” Tabby said. “I like hate spiders. Even them little bitty ones. Dixie kills them for me.”

  “I hate mice. Tabby empties the trap if we catch one in the house.” Dixie pulled her shirt over her head. “We’ll see y’all tomorrow. We’ve got most of the corsages done, but if Ellie Mae sends another list for more like she did last week, we’ve still got lots of stuff to work with.”

  “We still have boutonnieres to get done, but they won’t take very long.” Tabby gave Mitzi a hug on the way out of the fitting room. “I know we keep saying this, but honest, this is the best summer.”

  “Did you hear that?” Fanny Lou asked. “You just got an open invitation to date their daddy.”

  “I love those girls, but I’ve got to admit that I’m a little scared. What if Graham and I got into a relationship and it went sour like all my others? Then it would be awkward for them. That’s a conversation for another day, though, since relationships aren’t built on one afternoon and a kiss.”

  “What’s this about a kiss?” Fanny Lou’s eyebrows shot up. “I didn’t hear about that.”

  “He kissed me yesterday,” Mitzi admitted.

  “That’s a pretty big deal,” Fanny Lou said.

  “And they’re going out on Sunday after church to ride around on the lake in his pontoon boat,” Jody said.

  “With the twins, Alice, and these two tattletales if they want to go. Th
at’s hardly a date, now is it?” Mitzi said.

  “Dates don’t have to be dinner and a movie. Dates mean spending time with each other,” Fanny Lou told her.

  “You are so right, Granny.” Mitzi thought about the time she and Graham had spent together. “But now, let’s talk about your date with Elijah.”

  “And this new dress you need,” Paula said. “What color do you have in mind?”

  Fanny Lou giggled. “I was just tryin’ to get a rise out of you. I’m not going out with Elijah. Lord, if he tried to kiss me good night, he’d kiss my boobs instead of my lips. Or I’d have to stoop, and with my old bones, I’d never be able to straighten back up.”

  Mitzi had dated a shorter man the semester she was in college. He always managed to stand on a higher step up to her garage apartment when he kissed her good night. If it hadn’t been for that staircase, he would have probably kissed her on the boobs, too. But she and Graham had connected without a single problem.

  Graham picked up his briefcase and gently closed the door behind him so he wouldn’t wake the girls. Traffic was light that morning, so he arrived at work before eight. Vivien handed him a cup of coffee when he passed her desk.

  “Good mornin’. You’ve got a meeting at eight thirty, so you can drink it slowly. After that, you’re free for the day,” she said.

  “That’s good. I want to shadow that new salesman for a couple of hours and see how he’s doing.” Graham went into his office but he left the door open.

  He set his briefcase on the floor beside his chair, set his coffee on the desk, and sat down to relax for a few minutes before his meeting. He should have told the girls that he’d asked Mitzi on a date, but he wanted to savor the time he’d spent with her on Sunday and those couple of kisses a little longer. Besides, when he told them that he’d actually asked Mitzi out, even if it was an informal family affair, they’d immediately start thinking the M-word. Graham would need a lot of time to say that word out loud.

  A shadow in his peripheral vision startled him and he sat straight up. He must’ve spent more time letting his mind wander than he’d thought. He leaned forward to pick up his briefcase and get the papers out for his meeting. When he straightened up, Rita was in front of his desk and Vivien was standing in the doorway with a disgusted look on her face.

  She tapped her watch and mouthed, “Fifteen minutes.” Vivien backed out and shut the door behind her.

  Rita wore skintight jeans, an off-the-shoulder top, and high heels. Her long blonde hair framed her face and she’d applied bright-red lipstick.

  “I’ve got less than ten minutes, Rita,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

  “I told you, my grandmother died. We’re going through her house to get it ready to sell,” she said. “Kayla said she’d seen you Saturday and she told you that we were thinking about getting back together.”

  “I’m not thinking any such thing.” He couldn’t believe that she was dressed like that when her grandmother had just died. Granted, times had changed, but she looked like she should be standing on a street corner, not mourning a relative.

  “Well, darlin’, I am, and you know I get what I want,” she said. “I want to be a mother.” She moved around the desk and started to massage his shoulders. “Remember when I used to do this after football games?”

  He pushed away her hands and stood to his feet. “Rita, we’re not in high school anymore, and we’ve been apart for more than a decade. I’ve moved on.”

  “With who?” She glared at him.

  “Someone else, and I like her a lot. I don’t want to ruin anything I’ve got with her. And she loves the girls.” He went to the door and stood beside it.

  “Honey, you never forget your first love. Whoever this woman is, she won’t ever be able to make you forget me.” She laid a hand on his chest. “I own this heart. I always have, since the first time I kissed you. You might as well go on home and break up with her, because I will have you back.”

  “Want to make a bet on that?” he asked.

  “Don’t need to. Like I said, I get what I want,” she said.

  “You wanted to be the wife of the owner of a Cadillac dealership,” Graham said sarcastically. “You never did want me, Rita.”

  She tapped his chest again. “I want you now.”

  “It’s too late.”

  “It’s never too late for love.” She blew him a kiss as she left.

  He barely had time to get his papers out of his briefcase when Vivien said the CPA had arrived. Lauren was a tall, thin woman with short blonde hair and brown eyes. She had a no-nonsense, get-down-to-business attitude that he liked. He’d thought about asking her out a few times but never could find the right moment.

  “Good morning, Graham. I’ve scanned everything and it looks good.” She pulled a wingback chair around to his side of the desk and sat down. Then she removed her laptop from her briefcase. “I see you’ve got hard copies for me, just like your dad always did.” She waved a hand toward the stacks of papers. “I’ve told you that all those aren’t necessary.”

  “I like a hard copy when we go over the numbers. I see things clearer when I have real paper in my hands,” he said, just like he did every three months at this meeting.

  “Okay, then, let’s get started so we can be done at noon.” She nodded. “I bet you like a book in your hands better than a digital one, too, don’t you?”

  “You got me.” He grinned.

  He focused on everything Lauren said and even took a few notes to go over later, but in the back of his mind, all he could think about was Mitzi. He wanted to tell her about Rita coming to the office before the gossip spread through Celeste like wildfire. By the time he got home that evening, folks would have him and Rita making another trip to the courthouse.

  The meeting lasted past noon, so Vivien brought in a light lunch for them, and they ate while they finished up. Lauren packed up her laptop and shook Graham’s hand. “I hear that you and your ex-wife are talking. It’s none of my business at all, but . . . well, just be careful.”

  “May I ask why you’re saying that?”

  “I knew her right after y’all’s divorce. My advice, for what it’s worth, is that if you do get back together that you make her sign a prenup, and that you get your company lawyer to draw it up.”

  “Thank you, but there’s no way in hell I’m ever taking a chance with Rita again,” he said.

  “That’s great news. See you in three months.” Lauren waved as she left.

  He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Should things ever get really serious with Mitzi, would she be willing to sign a prenup?

  Mitzi was walking across the parking lot to the party store when her phone pinged. The text was from Graham: Call me, please.

  She sat down on a bench outside the store and made the call.

  “Hello,” Graham said. “I’m glad you called back. Do you have a few minutes?”

  “Sure. I’m in town to pick up part of the supplies for the bridal fair. What’s going on?” she asked.

  “Could I meet you somewhere so we can talk in person?” he asked.

  “I’m sitting on the bench outside the party store. It’s not far from you. Want to join me?”

  “I’ll be there in five minutes. How do you take your coffee?”

  “Black and strong, but I’d rather have a tall sweet tea,” she told him.

  “I’ll stop by Starbucks on the way,” he said.

  Five minutes didn’t give Mitzi enough time to get the supplies that they’d ordered for the bridal fair, check them to be sure everything was correct, and take them to her van. It did let her watch the people come and go, and that was something she’d always enjoyed, even as a child. When she’d go with her folks to the lake, she’d make up stories in her head about the people she saw, and she still did the same today.

  An older couple, both gray haired, holding hands, and neither getting along with much speed, stopped for a moment and said hello to her before they en
tered the store. In her mind, they’d been married for more than sixty years. The lady had dark hair when she was young, and Mitzi imagined her wedding dress was white silk with a high neckline and butterfly sleeves.

  A younger couple passed her next. They were arguing about the money the woman had spent on the decorations for their son’s first birthday party. Neither of them even looked her way. From the huge diamond on the woman’s finger, Mitzi would guess that the woman had worn a designer dress. The wedding had been huge, and then she found out that the man had spent all his money on the ring. The woman thought she was getting the lifestyle of the rich and famous, and then she realized that they were living on a shoestring and he still owed four years of payments on the ring.

  The perfect dress, she thought. We’re in business to provide the perfect dress. Too bad it doesn’t always mean that we can guarantee that dress will bring them a wonderful life full of rainbows and unicorns.

  She had no idea what Graham would be driving, but when she looked up and saw him getting out of an older-model pickup truck, she wasn’t surprised. It fit him more than a fancy new Caddy. He waved with one hand and lifted a four-cup holder in her direction. She couldn’t see anyone around him and wondered why he’d have four cups and not just two. Would someone else be joining them? If so, why?

  “Good afternoon.” Graham sat down on the other end of the bench and put the drinks between him and Mitzi. “I got two iced teas for you. One for now and one for you to have on the trip back to Celeste. It’s good to see you, Mitzi.”

  “Good to see you, too, and thank you for the teas.” She picked one up and took a long sip through the straw, relief washing over her because they would be alone. “You look tired. How’s your day been going?”

  “Good in some ways. Had a meeting with the CPA about quarterly taxes, and everything about the business is stable and growing. But not so wonderful in others.” He took a coffee from the holder and sipped it. “Rita came to the office again. She’s like a wart. Just when I think I’m finished with her, she shows up again. What do you suggest I do?”

  “Go to the doctor and have it surgically removed.” Mitzi wasn’t sure at that moment whether she was his girlfriend, his friend, or his therapist.