The Perfect Dress

by Brown, Carolyn

  Mitzi hurried up the stairs with Paula and Jody right behind her. “Sorry I got y’all into this.”

  “Fanny Lou is right. It would be downright rude to beg off after the girls helped out so much,” Paula said.

  “And God knows I owe Tabby for what she did,” Jody agreed. “I like to float around in a pontoon boat. Maybe I’ll catch a nap while you flirt with Graham.”

  “Oh, hush!” Mitzi grumbled. “I’m not in the mood for jokes or flirting.”

  “Not even one little kiss?” Paula asked. “You can’t tell me you’d turn that down.”

  Mitzi made it to her room before the other two, grabbed a pillow from her bed, and hurled it toward Paula. It landed just short of the door that Paula slammed shut. Paula peeked back out and stuck her tongue out at Mitzi.

  Mitzi pulled her hair up into dog ears right above her own ears, put on a pair of denim shorts and a nice loose-fitting cotton shirt. She’d thought about stopping at the Galleria on the way home from Dallas, but she was too tired to even look at bathing suits, much less try them on. Besides, she wasn’t ready for Graham to see that much of her skin.

  She tossed her phone and wallet into a tote bag along with a rolled-up towel and more sunblock, even though her grandmother said she had brought plenty. It might be enough if she’d been a small woman, but Mitzi had a lot of lily-white skin to cover. Sun had never been her friend, not with the traditional pale skin that went with red hair. She stared at her reflection in the floor-length mirror on the back of her bedroom door. She was certainly not a petite little thing like Rita, so what did Graham see in her anyway?

  “Have I got a bunch of sailors in this house ready to go to the lake for the afternoon?” Alice yelled as she entered her brother’s house by the kitchen door.

  “Not sailors,” Tabby said. “We’re pontooners. We got our bags packed with sunscreen and books. Daddy said we had to leave our phones at home.”

  “Smart man,” Alice said. “Got your bathing suits on under those oversized shirts?”

  Dixie pulled up her shirt to show off a bright-red suit. “How do you like it?”

  “Looks fabulous. I’m wearing the same color under this caftan. We still on for a swimming race?” Alice asked.

  “You bet we are,” Tabby answered. “But we’ve got to give Daddy and Mitzi some privacy so he can ask her out on a real date.”

  “Hey now, I said I’d ask her. I didn’t say when,” Graham argued. Sometimes he had to set his heels or the girls would overrun him completely. He’d enjoyed the time and the kisses he’d shared with Mitzi, but something kept whispering to him that he should take it slow and not go too fast with her.

  “It’ll be your own fault if you let her get away from you. There’s probably a dozen men just waiting in line at her back door to ask her out,” Dixie declared with a toss of her hair. “Now let’s get this show on the road. It wouldn’t be good if our guests like had to wait on us to get there, would it?”

  “‘Guests,’ nothing,” Tabby argued. “Those people are family, not guests.”

  “Well, pardon me.” Dixie did a head bobble that rivaled those crazy bigheaded dolls.

  “You got everything you need, brother?” Alice asked.

  “Yep, I do.” He picked up a tackle box.

  “Going to fish?” She held the door for him.

  “Nope, just tucked everything in here. I’m really looking forward to being outside all afternoon.” He crossed the porch and yard, got into the truck, and fastened his seat belt.

  “Me, too. We haven’t been out on the boat in weeks,” Dixie said from the back seat.

  “And we get Mitzi and Harry and Granny Fanny Lou today,” Tabby said. “It’s going to be wonderful.”

  Alice drove right to the marina and had just parked when Mitzi pulled in beside her. All five of them unloaded, and Graham looked over everyone’s heads and winked at Mitzi.

  Harry stuck out his hand. “Hey, Graham, looks like we’re outnumbered today.”

  Graham shook it. “Looks that way. We might have to stick together to ward off all this femininity.”

  “That’s what I figure,” Harry chuckled. “Which one of these things belongs to you?”

  “The one with Just Cruisin’ on the back,” Dixie answered.

  “Me and Dixie named it when we got it. We used to go out every weekend.” Tabby set her tote bag on a case of soft drinks and carried it down the boardwalk to the second slip.

  “Hello.” Graham took a couple of steps and stopped in front of Mitzi. “Nice hairstyle you got there.”

  She pulled her sunglasses down on her nose and looked up over them. “I’m glad you like my dog ears. I don’t like to sweat.”

  “I do honestly like your hair, but your eyes mesmerize me.” He immediately wondered if that was too bold, if maybe he was coming on too strong.

  She bumped his arm with her elbow. “And you said you were shy around women.”

  “I usually am, but it’s different with you.” He winked.

  It took two trips to get everything onto the boat. Then Alice rolled out the awning and started up the engine. When they’d gone out to the middle of the lake, she turned the steering over to Graham. “I’ll be right back.” She threw off her caftan, revealing a bright-red tankini underneath, and dove into the water.

  Dixie and Tabby followed right behind her, tossing their cover-ups onto a side bench, and into the lake they went, headfirst.

  “You swimming?” Graham asked Mitzi.

  “Nope, not me. I don’t have a bathing suit.”

  “Well, I do,” Jody said as she peeled out of her shorts and shirt. “It’s been years since I’ve gotten to be in the water, so here goes.” She went in feet first and emerged a few seconds later with her long braids floating behind her. “I swear, next week, I’m cutting these things off. They’re weighing me down.”

  “You wouldn’t be the same without your braids,” Mitzi told her.

  “Paula?” Fanny Lou asked.

  Paula shook her head. “I’ll just sit right here in the shade and enjoy the scenery. How long do we leave them out there?”

  “Fifteen minutes and then we’re going to gather them in and have some lunch. I still make the girls wait half an hour after eating before they go back in the water,” he answered.

  “I bet that’s why they wanted to get wet before we eat, right?” Fanny Lou said. “If we do this again, I’m dragging out my old yellow-and-black suit from the seventies. I’m just itchin’ right now to get into that water.”

  “Not me. I’d sink like an anchor,” Harry said. “Delores was half fish. She loved any kind of water—the ocean, the lake, even a backyard pool. She taught Mitzi to swim when she was only two years old.”

  “Really?” Graham raised an eyebrow. “I thought about putting a pool in for the girls, but they don’t want it. They say that the lake is bigger, deeper, and lots more fun.”

  “I like a pool because it’s private,” Mitzi said.

  Graham immediately reconsidered putting one in his backyard. There was plenty of room, and the yard already had an eight-foot privacy fence around it. He was imagining a cute little cabana-type atmosphere when the four ladies climbed back onto the boat.

  “We’re starving now for sure.” Dixie grabbed a towel and dried her face before wrapping it around her wet hair.

  Alice set about getting the food from the cooler—fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, and thick slices of dark rye bread. Then she opened another cooler and brought out icy cold cans of root beer. Tabby pulled paper plates from under the bench on one side. Dixie handed out plastic forks.

  “I’m taking two chicken legs,” Tabby said. “There’s probably eight more, and I’ll fight y’all for the last one.”

  “You can have ’em,” Harry said. “I’m a thigh man.”

  “And you?” Graham nudged Mitzi on the arm.

  “Wings all the way.” She found four wings and claimed them all for herself. “This is really nice. I’
m so glad that we came today.”

  “If you changed your mind about coming today, all you had to do was call me,” Graham whispered to her. “I would have understood if you were tired from yesterday.”

  “I couldn’t do that to the girls,” she said.

  “What about me? Could you have done that to me?”

  “Are you trying to pick a fight?” she asked. “If so, then wait until we get home, because I’m not spoiling this day for the rest of our families.”

  “I’m not,” he answered, but in the course of a few minutes, his day had changed from carefree and happy to gloomy. Then, as if the universe understood the way he felt, a strong southern wind whipped at the awning. Storm clouds gathered on the far horizon, and a few streaks of lightning zigzagged through the sky.

  “Looks like we’ve got about another hour,” Harry said. “Unless that storm circles around us, but it sure looks like it’s making a beeline for us.”

  Dixie groaned. “I wanted to stay here until night and catch fireflies up on the bank.”

  “I even brought a quilt so y’all could sit on it while we caught them,” Tabby said. “We can’t even get back in the water to swim if it’s lightning, can we, Daddy?”

  “Rules are rules. I’ll call up the weather on my phone.” He held up his hand and crossed his fingers before he started scrolling through the icons for the weather. “Sorry, girls. According to this, we should start carrying things back to the truck soon as we eat. It says that it’s going to hit in an hour. Strong winds, maybe even some hail. Y’all finish up your food, and I’ll get the boat headed back to the slip.”

  The wind had picked up and thunder rolled by the time Alice and Graham got the boat tied off and things gathered up. A loud crack above their heads had him ducking as they all helped take coolers and food back to the truck. Dixie squealed and Tabby took off in a run with her load.

  The temperature dropped at least fifteen degrees as Graham walked with Mitzi to her van. Everyone else was loaded up and ready to go when he bent slightly and asked, “Would you go out to dinner and a movie with me on Friday night?”

  She shook her head. “No, I won’t.”

  “Got other plans?” he asked.

  Another shake of her head. “No, but we need to take a step back and figure out if we’re starting something for us or for the girls. What happens if it all goes south and we hang on because we wouldn’t want to disappoint them? Is this chemistry we feel between us real or is it a flash in the pan?”

  “I like you a lot,” he said.

  “And I like you, too, but before we start breaking hearts, let’s figure out why.”

  “Couldn’t we just have a good time?” Crazy thing was that ever since he’d seen Rita in front of Walmart, he’d been wondering the same thing. It had nothing to do with what Rita said about Mitzi’s size, and he didn’t have any intentions of letting Rita back in his life. But he needed to be sure of his own heart before he offered it to Mitzi.

  “I always have a good time when I’m with you,” she answered.

  “Well, then I’ll leave it up to you, Mitzi. I feel something with you that I’ve never felt with another woman, not even Rita. I’m comfortable with you, and yet there’s a spark of electricity that’s brand new to me. But if you need time, then you’ve got it. When you get everything all analyzed out, you let me know. Call. Text. Come by the house. I hope you feel the same as I do, but if not, then you’re probably right about not taking this to the next step. I won’t bother you until you get things figured out.” He took a step back without kissing her, even though he wanted to very badly.

  “Did she say yes?” Dixie asked the minute he was in the truck.

  In that moment Graham could understand why Mitzi said no, because he hated to tell them the truth, so he stretched it slightly. “She’s got a lot going on for the next couple of weeks, as y’all well know. We’re going to talk about it later.”

  “Then we’ll help her out a lot this next week so that y’all can talk real soon,” Tabby said.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  You did what?” Jody almost dropped her glass of sweet tea when Mitzi told them about what had happened.

  “I figured out that I was having more fun watching the girls play in the water than I was having watching him. And besides that, I like him too much to get into a relationship and then ruin things with everyone,” Mitzi said.

  “You look miserable,” Paula said. “In my opinion, you’re overthinking things.”

  “In mine, you’re afraid to get hurt, and I hope my situation isn’t causing you to back away from a good relationship,” Jody said.

  “I am second-guessing myself,” Mitzi admitted. “Graham may be the best thing that ever happened to me. I know I’m making up excuses not to get into a relationship with him, because if I do and he breaks my heart, I might not ever get over it. And I am worrying so much about the future that I’m giving up the future. But I need to get this settled, so we need some time.”

  “We’ll stand by you no matter what you decide,” Jody said.

  “Thank goodness we’ve got lots of business the next couple of weeks. I think best with a sketch pad and pencil in my hands,” Mitzi said.

  “Like I do with a needle,” Jody said as she reached for the ringing phone. “The Perfect Dress.”

  “Hello, Jody, this is Quincy. Will you go to dinner with me? Any day this week would be good,” he said.

  “Are you going to stop calling me if I say no?” she asked.

  “I am not,” he answered.

  “Well, then here’s my cell number.” She rattled off the numbers. “You have a nice evening, Quincy.”

  “You, too, Jody,” he said.

  “Was that Quincy?” Paula asked.

  “Please, sweet Jesus, tell me that it was, so we can talk about something other than whether I made the biggest mistake of my life,” Mitzi said.

  “It was Quincy, and I’ve agreed to go out with him. Mainly to shut him up. One little date and he’ll realize that I’m not all that interesting,” Jody said.

  “Don’t underestimate yourself,” Mitzi said.

  “If he hadn’t seen something he liked, he wouldn’t keep asking,” Paula told her.

  “Maybe he’s always gotten what he wants and he can’t stand rejection.” Jody started out of the room and then turned around. “I’ve got to admit, I’m terrified. I’ve never dated anyone other than Lyle. Never been with another man or even kissed another one.”

  “Then it’s time.” Mitzi followed her across the foyer, with Paula right behind them. “And I got to admit that I’m terrified, too.”

  “Add me to the list,” Paula said. “Y’all are worried about relationships. I’m scared that I’ll be terrible at this single-mother stuff.”

  “Thank goodness that we’ve got each other,” Jody said and meant it from the depths of her heart.

  Two weeks, a dozen appointments from the bridal fair, ten orders for flowers for weddings, and no calls or texts from Graham later, Mitzi still hadn’t gotten things analyzed. No matter how many dresses she sketched, cookies she baked, or sleepless nights she endured, she was still in turmoil about Graham. She’d picked up and replaced the phone at least four times a day to call him, written a hundred texts but then deleted them before she sent them.

  Then it was July Fourth, their first holiday to close the shop since they’d opened in December of the previous year. On Memorial Day they’d closed the doors, but they’d worked all day on a rush order for a dress. But after the past two weeks, they decided that they deserved a day off.

  Fanny Lou came by that morning with a bag of doughnuts she’d purchased just before the pastry shop had closed the day before. She plopped it down on the table and took a gallon of milk from the refrigerator. “I’ve come to talk about this bullshit going on with you and Graham, Mitzi, and what’s happening with you and Quincy, Jody. This has gone on long enough for both of you.”

  “Nothing to talk about. He a
sked me out when we went to the lake. I said no. He said to figure out what I want and then let him know,” Mitzi explained in as few words as possible.

  “And Quincy and I’ve been talking almost every day,” Jody said. “When we know each other well enough, I’ll go out with him. Maybe even this weekend.”

  “It’s not fair to leave two good men hanging like this.” Fanny Lou poured four glasses of milk and tore the doughnut bag down the side. “They ain’t goin’ to wait around forever. I heard this morning that Rita has been to see him three times this last week. All at the dealership. Do you want her back in those girls’ life, or worse yet, back in his? Sounds like she wants another baby.”

  Mitzi knew all that already, but there was still a little niggling thought pestering her about why Graham was attracted to her. Every relationship she’d ever had came up short because she’d measured the guy by the kind of man she thought Graham was. There was no doubt about her love, but his was a different matter. Sure, he said he felt sparks, but that might be because he hadn’t been with a woman in a while.

  “Well, cat got your tongue, or are you going to comment?” Fanny Lou asked.

  “I thought maybe Rita had given up.” She picked out a jelly-filled doughnut and took a bite out of it.

  “That woman is like them flesh-eatin’ fish. Piranhas. She’s made up her mind to have him and she just might get him if you don’t decide what the hell you want. You’re runnin’ from your own heart.”

  Mitzi didn’t argue, but why were so many people interested in her life? She was past thirty, had been working and making her own way for the most part for the past fourteen years. Sure, she’d screwed up a few times, but she’d learned from her mistakes.

  “Why is it so important to all y’all that I date Graham? Is it because he’s a big man, and I don’t look so fat when I’m with him? Is it because he’s got money, and y’all want to see me comfortable? Just what the hell has he got that keeps you pushing me toward him?” She could hear the chill in her own voice.