The Perfect Dress

by Brown, Carolyn

  “I’m not judging. I’m stating facts. Now I’ve got somewhere I have to be this evening. And Rita, don’t come back until you’re ready to sign the papers. There’s nothing here for you without that, and nothing for you even with it,” he said.

  Great advice, Mitzi. He paid out and had two bags of groceries in his hands when he saw Rita waiting outside the door. No sooner had he noticed her than he saw Mitzi coming straight toward them. She caught his eye and waved. He raised a hand with a bag still in it.

  “So is this the new woman? Lord, Graham, she’s huge.” Rita’s expression said even more than her words.

  “Kind of like our daughters, right?”

  “Don’t put words in my mouth. Now I know I can get you back. No man in his right mind would ever take that lump of lard over me.” She giggled as she took a few steps forward and got into an SUV with a guy who was probably her husband.

  Still reeling from what his ex had said, he grimaced. “Hey, I didn’t expect to see you tonight, Mitzi.”

  “Had to get more flowers in case we need them for the show on Saturday. Was that Rita?”

  “It was,” he said.

  “She’s like a bad penny, isn’t she? Just keeps showing up,” Mitzi said.

  “Seems that way, but I told her about the prenup thing. She’s not happy.” He could never tell Mitzi what Rita had said about her. Hopefully that would be the only secret he’d ever keep from her.

  “I wouldn’t be happy, either,” Mitzi said. “Looking at it from her standpoint, she thought she had this all wrapped up with a pretty bow on the front.”

  “Too bad.” Graham set a bag on the ground and laid a hand on Mitzi’s shoulder. “See you Sunday, if not before.”

  “Lookin’ forward to it,” she said.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jody was the last one in the kitchen on Thursday morning. She poured a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. “I’ve been thinking about something. There’s plenty of room in my trailer to put everything in it and take to the fair. It’ll save us the cost of a rental, and I’ve laid awake half the night planning how we can put things in there.” She took a sip of the coffee. “And people would think that we’d camped out in the parking lot so we could be first in the doors. They’d never know that we’re going to get the title of queen bee of the whole show.”

  “I love the idea,” Mitzi said. “We can hitch it up to my van after work and have it completely loaded before we go to bed tomorrow night. You’re a genius, Jody.”

  “If I’d been really smart, I’d have seen the signs that Lyle was cheating, but my ego needs a boost, so I’ll take the compliment,” Jody said.

  That evening they only meant to put the mannequins in the trailer, but after Jody had the idea of putting them on the bed and tying them down with bungee cords, they got excited. They hung the wedding and the bridesmaid dresses in the tiny closet. The small cabinet space in the kitchen area became a place for the bouquets and corsages, and the drawer held their business cards.

  “I don’t think we need to tear anything out,” Mitzi said. “This is working perfectly. After Saturday, I vote that we take it to the shop and get it all prettied up for future shows, but let’s leave the inside the same layout it is.”

  “And it would be a great place for me to retreat to after the baby comes when it’s time to feed her,” Paula said. “I’m glad you didn’t burn it.”

  “I’ve always felt like I didn’t do my part when we went into this business. Mitzi’s dad bought us the house and Fanny Lou gave us some start-up money, and I know y’all put in your savings, but Lyle would only let me contribute five thousand. Y’all accepting this really helps me,” Jody said.

  “Hey, we couldn’t make it without you and your skills,” Mitzi reassured her as they made their way back into the house.

  The business phone was ringing, and since Jody was the first one inside, she picked it up.

  “Hello, Jody, this is Quincy. Are you over your snit?”

  “I was stating facts. I was not in a snit,” she answered.

  “That’s not what I’m hearing in your tone. I’ll call back in a few days,” he said. “You reckon you could give me your cell number?”

  “If you need something, you can call this number,” she said. “Good night, Quincy.”

  Both Paula and Mitzi were staring at her when she hung up the phone. “Don’t start on me. I’m not ready to talk to him. Until I am, he doesn’t need my digits.”

  Ellie Mae showed up Friday morning with a hickey the size of a silver dollar on her neck. She’d covered it with a scarf, but when she undressed, there was no getting around what it was.

  “Mama would have a fit if she saw it, so I wore a scarf,” Ellie Mae laughed. “Has Graham marked you yet? I hear y’all are spendin’ a lot of time together.”

  “No, he has not.” Mitzi was tempted to pull her hair up to prove the point.

  “Well, don’t let Fanny Lou see it if he does. She’s liable to shoot him dead.” Ellie Mae held her arms up for Paula to drop the dress down over her body.

  “And by the way, I heard that Rita is spending lots of time up in Whitewright taking care of her granny’s things. She’s been tellin’ around that she and Graham are getting back together. I understand she’s got to get a divorce first,” Ellie Mae said as Jody pinned the back where the hidden zipper would go in later.

  “I thought he was crazy for marrying her in the first place, and to do so a second time should be grounds for committing him,” Jody said.

  Mitzi could have hugged her, but instead she just turned Ellie Mae around to face the mirrors, hoping that she’d be so excited about the dress that she’d stop gossiping.

  “It’s beautiful! I love it so much, I’ll hate to take it off for the honeymoon.” She twisted and turned in front of the mirror to catch all the angles. “Darrin and I may do role playing. I’ll be the blushing virgin bride, and he can be the dashing knight in shining armor that carries me away from an arranged marriage with some old lecher.”

  “You’ve been reading too many romance books,” Jody said. “We’ll probably have this finished by next Friday. Think we should leave a little extra material in the zipper-area seams in case you need it let out some at the last minute?”

  “That would be great. I’m hoping I don’t show any more than I do now until after the wedding, but it’d be better to be prepared. So when are you going to start your wedding dress, Mitzi?”

  “I have to get a proposal first, then an engagement ring and time to design,” she answered.

  “Is it going to be white? Are you still a virgin?” Ellie Mae looked back over her shoulder at the backside of the black-lace dress.

  “No to both,” Mitzi said.

  “The only thing I’d want other than this dress would involve me being a size ten. If I had been, I might have gotten one with feathers, but I didn’t want to look like Big Bird. You know what I’m talkin’ about,” Ellie Mae said.

  “Yes, I do, and the fact is that I’ve never wanted a big wedding. A trip to the courthouse would be just fine with me.”

  “But you own this lovely shop that specializes in dresses for women like us,” Ellie Mae said. “And Harry and Fanny Lou would be disappointed.”

  Mitzi steered the conversation away from herself by asking, “So did you and Darrin have a round of makeup sex?”

  “Oh, honey, we had several rounds.” Ellie Mae winked. “As much as I hate to take this off, I guess you’d better unpin me so I can get back to work.”

  Mitzi removed the pins and helped her out of the dress, wondering the whole time if next year they should make a dress in black for the bridal fair. Women were always looking for something different, and black was certainly that, for sure.

  Light shone from the windows like a beacon when Mitzi drove up to the Harrison house before daylight on Saturday morning. She hopped out of the van, leaving Jody in the front seat and Paula in one of the seats in back. One of the girls could sit bes
ide Paula and the other one could have the whole bench seat behind them to herself.

  “Good mornin’.” Graham opened the door and motioned for her to come on in.

  “Good mornin’ to you, too,” she said. “I wish you were going with us, but I promise to shoot pictures all day and send them to you.”

  “Will you do a video of Tabby on the runway?” he asked. “I’d love to be there, but it’s impossible today.”

  “I sure will. Be prepared to be bombarded with pictures.” The way he looked at her sent tingles down her spine.

  They intensified when he traced her jawbone with his fingertip. “You are so beautiful, Mitzi.”

  The simple touch and words meant more to her than a million red roses or a long poem written for her.

  “Hey, Mitzi, we’re ready,” Tabby yelled from the top of the stairs. “My hair is still in curlers but I’ll take them all out before we get there.”

  “She means I’ll take them out.” Dixie pushed around her dad and tiptoed slightly to kiss him on the cheek.

  “Have a good time.” Graham hugged both girls before they went out the door.

  Dixie bounced off the porch with Tabby right behind her, each of them carrying a tote bag in addition to their purses. “We’ll send lots of pictures.”

  “See you about dark,” Mitzi said.

  “And then tomorrow we’re going to the lake.” Graham kissed his fingertips and then touched her lips. “That’ll have to do until we get a little more privacy.”

  Sucking on a lemon couldn’t keep the smile off her face all the way to Dallas that morning. When they arrived, the girls hurried out to the trailer hooked to the back of the van to help carry things inside.

  Paula started to lift a folding table, but Tabby grabbed it first. “You don’t need to pick up heavy stuff.”

  “We’ll get the tables and chairs,” Dixie said.

  “I’m pregnant, not helpless,” Paula argued.

  “Yep, so that means you carry that little box with our business cards, and the one with the chocolate to give out to the customers. Maybe we’ll even let you take care of the crystal stand to display the candy and cards,” Jody said.

  “I’m not taking anything breakable,” Dixie declared. “Clumsy as I am, I’d stumble over my own feet and break it.”

  “We must be related, because Grace is not my middle name, either,” Mitzi chuckled.

  “I wish we were kinfolk,” Dixie said with a wistful tone.

  “Not me. If we were kin, then Daddy couldn’t date her,” Tabby said.

  “Well, I wish he’d married you when y’all were in high school.”

  Mitzi couldn’t keep the blush from turning her cheeks scarlet. “That’s sweet, honey, but it took both your mama and daddy to make you, and I wouldn’t change having you in my life for anything.”

  “And there you have it,” Jody whispered. “If you were worried about what they’ll think of y’all dating, you’ve got your answer.”

  “I wish worries could be erased that easy,” Mitzi said.

  Seeing a bridal fair through the eyes of the girls was so much fun. Everything was new and exciting, just like it had been for Paula, Mitzi, and Jody the year before when they’d attended several in preparation for putting in the shop.

  Covered in a lace tablecloth, their table was set up and ready. The archway stood off to the left with the bride mannequin in the center. Today she held a lovely pink bouquet to match the pale pink roses and greenery decorating the arch, and to the right of the bride stood her bridesmaid, dressed in mauve. A catalog with swatches of fabric rested on the table, along with a binder containing pictures of the dresses they’d already designed and made. From floral arrangements that excited the girls, to the cakes, to the fancy shops that specialized in beautiful premade dresses, and finally to The Perfect Dress display, there was something at the show to take the eye of a bride at every turn.

  “This is unreal,” Dixie said. “I didn’t even know that places like this existed.”

  “I did but I had no idea they were this extreme. Look! They’re opening the doors.” Tabby pointed.

  Mitzi had seen the cake display next to their table when they arrived, and she did her best to keep her eyes off it but just couldn’t. One thing was for sure—the brides were sure to see it.

  Future brides rushed into the room as if they were hitting a clearance sale at a department store. Once inside, they began to mill around, but no one even looked toward the end of the room where The Perfect Dress table was located.

  “Sit tight, and don’t worry,” the lady at the cake table said. “We’ve got the best seats in the house.”

  Mitzi turned to see who was talking to her and wondered if anyone really bought or needed a cake that big. Each of the six tiers was decorated with life-size sugar roses. Who would want to cut into something so pretty? Or need a cake to feed a thousand people?

  “I’m Glenda Smith.” The lady handed her a card. “First time I’ve seen you at one of these. I try to make two a year, summer and the Christmas one. It’s getting more and more popular to have a holiday wedding. Love the wedding dress and the fact that you brought the bridesmaid display, too. That’s genius.”

  “Thank you.” She stuck out her hand. “Mitzi Taylor.”

  Glenda shook hands with her. “I see you’ve got a lot of help.”

  “These are my partners, Jody and Paula, and our . . .” She hesitated, not knowing how to introduce Dixie and Tabby.

  “We’re the interns,” Dixie said. “And Tabby will be modeling the wedding dress right there this evening. That’s one big cake. Do you cut it to let people sample? How’d you get it in here?”

  “In three vans, and no, we don’t cut this one. It’s not even real cake under all that icing. Just Styrofoam. My helpers will be here soon with the samples that we’ll be offering for tasting. You’ll have to try our new hummingbird cake,” Glenda said.

  A group of three ladies finally made their way to The Perfect Dress table. “I’m the bride and these are my bridesmaids. Do you really only make custom dresses for plus-sized women?”

  “When are you getting married?” Mitzi asked.

  “December, and I’m”—she lowered her voice—“a size sixteen. Is that considered plus-sized?”

  “We make dresses for size fourteen and up,” Paula answered. “So you’re interested in a one-of-a-kind wedding dress? Let me show you the pictures of what we’ve already done. Then Jody can show you the sample fabrics we keep on hand in the store. If you like what you see, you can make an appointment with Mitzi to design the dress of your dreams.” Paula pushed the photo album over to the edge of the table. “Y’all have a seat so you don’t have to bend.”

  Mitzi kept an eye on the girls as they milled around from one table to another. It was like seeing everything for the first time through their eyes.

  “We do bridesmaid dresses as well,” Jody said.

  “That’s fantastic. You can see none of us are beanpoles,” the girl said.

  “Could I give you a card? It’s got all our information on it in case you’d like to think about it and make an appointment,” Mitzi said.

  “I don’t need to think about it.” She picked up a card. “We all live in McKinney. Celeste isn’t far. Can we get our name on the calendar now or do we have to call?”

  Mitzi opened her appointment book. “What day is good for you? And will you all three be driving over?”

  “Yes, ma’am, we will. I’m Kay Lynn Johnson. Next Friday would be wonderful,” she said.

  Mitzi ran her finger down the page until she reached the right date. “Morning or afternoon?”

  “Afternoon,” one of the bridesmaids answered. “Kay Lynn hates to get up early on her day off.”

  “Then let’s say two o’clock,” Mitzi said.

  “That’s great.” Kay Lynn wrote the time down on the back of the card. “This is like awesome.” She turned to leave and saw the wedding cake. “I have to have that thing, to
o. Only I want poinsettias instead of roses.”

  She and her friends moved over a few feet and started talking about cake. Glenda’s samples arrived while they were still there, and Kay Lynn was busy tasting them when the next set of ladies came up to The Perfect Dress table.

  “Looks like it’s going to be a profitable day,” Glenda leaned in to whisper from the next table.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Mitzi agreed, but she was looking at the text from Graham that had popped up on her phone: Missing you.

  She hurriedly typed in: Me, too.

  Jody scanned the whole room and thought about all the brides-to-be there. If she ever trusted someone to get into another relationship, she intended to have a real wedding. Maybe not a big one, but a ceremony to seal the vows.

  “Y’all ready to take a break for lunch?” Mitzi asked.

  “It’s noon? Man, the morning went fast.” Jody pulled a cooler out from under the table. They’d packed sandwiches, apples, and chips but hadn’t brought anything to drink. Dixie immediately volunteered to go outside to one of the many vendors and get drinks for everyone.

  “I’ll go with you,” Mitzi said. “You can’t carry in five drinks all by yourself and besides, I need to stretch my legs.”

  “While we’re waiting on them, I’m taking a bathroom break,” Paula said. “We’ve been so busy answering questions and booking appointments that I couldn’t get away. But there seems to be a lull right now.”

  “They’ll hit us hard at one o’clock. The latecomers arrive then.” Glenda and her assistants moved back a few feet, circled their chairs, and dove into a bucket of fried chicken.

  “I’m going with Paula,” Tabby said. She leaned down to whisper in Jody’s ear, “Next time we do one of these, let’s make a stop by the fried chicken place. That stuff smells wonderful.”

  “It’s something to think about, for sure,” Jody said. “But we’ve got some amazing chicken salad sandwiches.” A customer walked up to the table but didn’t stick around long when she found out they only worked for size fourteen and up. Jody was putting out the food when she heard boots on the hardwood floor. When the footsteps stopped, Jody turned around to see who it was.