by Rebeca Seitz
“Tandy!”
“Back here.” Sarah Sykes’s country tones carried from the fitting room area.
Kendra folded up her umbrella, left it sitting on the floor to dry, and hurried to the back. “I’m sorry I’m late. This rain isn’t helping my day at all.”
“Tell me about it,” Sarah drawled, coming to the front of the room. “Your sister’s in the big dressing room. I think she’s on her third dress so far.”
Kendra smiled wryly and walked toward the rear of the fitting area. “Tandy? What are you doing trying on dresses? I thought they were for us?”
Tandy opened the door and stepped out. “They are. But you were late and I didn’t want to waste time, so I thought I’d start trying stuff on.”
Kendra appraised the tangerine-colored silk number that hugged Tandy’s curves and set her hair off. “Please tell me that one’s not in the running.”
Tandy looked down. “What’s wrong with this?”
“Orange? You want a University of Tennessee wedding?”
“Hey, orange is the new red.”
“Orange is the color of the seventies.” Kendra pushed Tandy back into the dressing room. “That’s a no. I’m here now. Get your clothes back on, and let’s go look at dresses that are within the realm of possibility.” She shut the door firmly and turned to see Sarah smiling. “What?”
“Nothing, nothing.” Sarah began gathering up dresses that Kendra now noticed were scattered all over the fitting room. “Just thanking the good Lord you’re here.”
“Has she been awful?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. I think she’s just stressed about the wedding. It happens with every bride.”
“I can hear you!” Tandy’s voice floated over the dressing room door.
Kendra scrunched her nose at Sarah. “Good. Then you’ll know we love you enough to tell you when you’re going off the deep end.”
“I am not going off the deep end.” Tandy came out, now in street clothes. “This is my one wedding day, and it will be perfect, and we will find the perfect dress today, and everything will be—”
“Perfect,” Kendra finished for her. “Yeah, yeah, we get it. Go sit over there and prepare to judge.” She grabbed up a handful of dresses and entered the room Tandy had just vacated. “Where are Meg and Joy anyway?”
“Meg’s taking the kids over to Daddy’s, and I have no idea where Joy is. Probably got hung up at the salon.”
Kendra slid a soft-blue sheath dress over her head and struggled with the back zipper. A quick look in the mirror caused her to shudder. Sheathing and dress should not be used in the same sentence. She opened the door and stepped out. “Can we eliminate this one, please?”
“Why? The color is great on you.”
“I look like a piece of dark meat encased in blue wrapping. Trust me, sweetie, you’re not going to end up with scrap-worthy pictures if you wrap all your sisters in baby blue.”
“You’re right, you’re right.” Tandy shooed her back in the fitting room. “Joy suggested the color. I should have known it was more about a nursery.”
“Speaking of which, don’t you think it’s a little odd that they’ve been trying for months and aren’t pregnant?” Kendra pulled the dress off gratefully and put it back on the hanger. She unbuttoned a plum-colored number and put it on. “I mean, it’s been, what, six months?”
“At least. They were talking about a baby last Christmas, if I remember right.” Tandy nibbled her lip and motioned for Kendra to turn out. Kendra obliged.
“I like that one. What do you think?”
Kendra walked over to the three-way mirror and checked the dress out from all angles. Dusky purple silk hung softly across her backside, making her curves look feminine instead of fat. Small round buttons emphasized the arch in her back, at least as far as her shoulder blades. There the material ended. A fitted bodice gave her straight, smooth lines in the waist area, and the halter neckline brought the eye off her body and onto her face.
“Not bad.” She spun, keeping her eyes on the mirror. “Not bad at all.”
“That color works well on all of you.”
“Ooh! That’s pretty.” Meg came into the room and dropped a large tote bag on the nearest chair, pulling a digital camera from its outside pocket. “Turn around, Kendra, let me see the front.” She snapped a pic. “I’ve got the perfect paper to go with that dress.”
“Get the kids dropped off?” Tandy asked from her chair in the corner.
“I did. Daddy’s got them outside pulling weeds in the pumpkin patch.” Meg turned to Tandy and clicked the camera’s shutter once again.
“Ooh, they’ll be nice and tired when you pick them up.”
“That’s my plan.” Meg checked out her picture on the camera’s built-in screen. “I really do like that dress, Ken.”
“You’d love it if you had seen the one Tandy had on when I got here.”
“Was it bad?”
“Picture a Tropicana carton.”
“Tandy!” Meg stomped her foot. “You know I look hideous in orange.”
“Yeah, yeah. We got rid of it, okay? Focus on the moment. You like the purple one?”
“I do. Except that neckline is going to make Joy look even shorter than she is.”
“You think?”
“I do.”
Kendra shrugged and went back to her dressing room. “It’s not like we don’t have a thousand more to try on.” She tugged the dress over her head and set it to the side. Wedding or no, that dress was going home with her today.
“Hey, where’s Joy?” Meg’s voice came from the cubicle next door.
“We were just wondering that very thing,” Kendra pushed her spiraled locks back into place. “Tandy, why don’t you call her? It’s not like her to be this late without calling us.”
A few moments later Kendra and Meg stood before the three-way, each assessing their dresses. “Well, it could be worse.”
Kendra pulled a face at Meg. “Yeah, we could put a pile of fruit on your head and make you sing the Chiquita banana song.”
Meg’s willowy form was draped with pale yellow the same shade as her hair. Her light skin blended so well with the color that she looked like a yellow pole.
“Though I’ll admit you look better than Lorena did last night. She dressed head-to-toe yellow, too.”
“Who’s Lorena?”
Kendra filled her in as Tandy wrapped her call to Joy.
“Joy’s on her way. She had a color emergency to handle. Sort of like that dress. Gosh, that’s … that’s—”
“Not the dress you’re forcing me to wear on your wedding day.”
“Heavens, no. But—” Tandy held up a finger, then twirled and shot into Meg’s dressing room. She reemerged brandishing Meg’s camera. “It is the dress that’s going to make a great OOPS layout!”
Tandy captured the moment before Meg could cover her face.
“Tandy Sinclair! You better delete that picture right now.”
“Not on your life, sis. And you better not, either, or I’ll tell James where you hide his candy.”
Meg held up her hands while Kendra laughed. “Okay! Okay! You can have your pic. Just give me the dignity of journaling my embarrassment on your layout, deal?”
“Deal.” Tandy handed Meg the camera. “So did I hear you talking about Lorena?”
“Yeah,” Kendra studied her mirror image.
Meg fussed with the flouncy bow at her hip. “And I’m trying to understand how a woman suspects her husband of infidelity and doesn’t do a thing about it.”
“Thank you!” Kendra slapped her black-silk-covered thigh. “I’ve been wondering that very thing. Seems crazy to me.”
“Or like the world’s worst case of denial,” Tandy offered.
“But Darin said he did the same thing when he knew his ex was cheating. He knew but didn’t say anything for a while.”
“That’s nuts. If I thought Jamison was out with another woman, much less sleeping w
ith her, he had better look out.”
“Shoot, Daddy would kill him before you had the chance.”
Meg pointed at Tandy. “Exactly.”
“I wonder if Lorena’s parents know?”
Tandy looked at Kendra. “Are her parents alive?”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to ask her if I see her again.”
“If?” Meg looked at her in surprise. “You’ve got to stick by her side, Kendra. She can’t go through this alone. Can you imagine knowing the love of your life was betraying you? That’d be so awful!”
Kendra squirmed. “I don’t know, Meg. Maybe he’s got a reason to cheat.”
“Kendra Sinclair! What is wrong with you?” Tandy pushed herself up in her seat. “There’s never a reason to cheat.”
“Oh, Tandy. Sometimes life hands you events that force you to recognize the world has shades of gray.”
“Gray or not, you don’t step out on your spouse.” The intensity in Meg’s eyes bored into her. “You just don’t, Kendra.”
“Look, Darin told Clay you had been seeing another man, Kendra. But that’s not the same as if you were married to Darin. Right, Meg?”
“Absolutely. You haven’t pledged vows to each other, Kendra. Lorena and her husband are not in the same situation as you and Darin.”
Kendra stared at them, amazed at how easily a situation could be misread. But also grateful for the out. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Meg’s eyes softened on her. “I know we are. Don’t feel guilty about that, Ken. You’re not seeing the other man anymore, right?”
Kendra nodded. At least that much was true.
“Then … don’t you worry ’bout a thing,” Meg sang.
“Oh, Meg, honey, you are no John Legend.”
“Yeah, but the man sings truth. It’s over, Ken. Let it go.”
That was true, too. Things with Harrison had ended weeks ago, with not so much as a peep from him since the accident. Time to take Meg’s advice and let it go. Granted, if Darin knew all the details, he might rethink his easy forgiveness, but she’d make sure he never knew that Harrison was married. Because no reason could present itself for bringing it up again. She’d said she dated someone. Darin hurt but forgave her, and they were back on track now.
Kendra shook her shoulders, leaving the shackles of her past behind her again. “You’re right. You’re totally right. Thanks, girls.”
“We’re always right, Ken.” Tandy hugged Kendra, and Meg joined in. “Soon as you figure that out, life’s going to get a whole lot easier.”
They pulled apart. Meg beamed at her, and Kendra felt the vestiges of guilt wash away. Let it go.
“Looks like I’m missing a scrapping moment.” Joy’s lilting tones made them look up. “Can someone clue me in?”
“Nope, that’s what you get for putting somebody’s color emergency before your sister’s wedding.” Tandy sashayed back to her chair. “You get to stay in the dark.”
“Hey, if you had seen the shade of green on that woman’s head, you’d have begged me to keep her off the streets until I fixed it.” Joy put little hands on petite hips, looking—in her black capris, fitted white top, kitten heels, and boxy purse dangling from one wrist—for all the world like a miniature, Oriental Martha Stewart.
“Green?” Meg gaped.
“Think Oscar the Grouch. When will people learn that sun-activated bronzer and lighteners do not work on all hair types? It took three different rinses to bring out a natural brown, and did she heap gratitude on me for my efforts? No. She complained that I had taken her right back where she started instead of leaving her with beautiful blonde tresses. Not that she had the coloring for blonde locks anyway, but what could I do?”
“Oh, my.”
“Exactly. So I had to spend another thirty minutes giving her a color only Madonna would wear, and only in the eighties, but she left happy.”
“Madonna or the customer?” Tandy smirked.
“Cute, sister.”
“Sorry.” Tandy held up her hands.
“She left happy, though, right?” Meg pulled Joy’s gaze off Tandy’s face.
“I said she did, didn’t I? You think I would leave a customer anything but?”
“Never.”
Joy looked at the three sisters, her eyes narrowing. “You all look as if you are about to explode. Go ahead. Enjoy a laugh at your sister’s expense.”
With that, the girls lost control and collapsed into giggles.
“What’s so funny back here?” Sarah came back into the room. “I hate to miss a good time.”
“Joy was just telling us about her day,” Kendra explained. “You had to be here to get it.”
“Oh.” Sarah slumped a bit. “I hate that I missed it.”
“Trust me, Sarah, you didn’t miss a thing.” Joy slid her purse off her wrist and deposited it by Meg’s tote bag. “At any rate, none of this conversation is helping us to find the exquisite dresses Tandy shall have us wear in her wedding.”
At that Tandy snapped back into bride mode. “Right. Back to your fitting rooms, girls. We’re burning daylight here. Meg, give me back that camera. I feel a scrapping moment or two coming on.”
Meg groaned but tossed Tandy the camera before heading back to her dressing room.
Two minutes later all three sisters opened their doors and looked to Tandy for a reaction.
Joy’s small frame was swathed in brown linen.
“Eww, no.” Tandy clicked the camera, and Joy closed her door.
Meg wore a strapless pink number on her body and a look of chagrin on her face.
“Ditto.” Tandy clicked again.
Kendra’s red taffeta might as well have been a red arrow pointing to every ounce of extra skin. Tandy barely had the words “I don’t think so” out of her mouth before Kendra shut the door.
The sisters tried on dress after dress. From green cotton to white linen, peach silk to red satin, strapless to strappy, sequined to plain, they paraded before Tandy for what felt to Kendra like hours. Each time Tandy shook her head, snapped a picture, and pointed back to the dressing room with a grin.
Kendra thought briefly of strangling her sister but decided instead to put on the last dress in her fitting room. At least the end was in sight.
The pale gold number fit her body as well as the first plum one had. Heavy fabric fell across her hips in a wave rather than a tug. A surplice bodice added soft lines to her chest and showed off her neck while hiding her thick waist. Discreet darts removed any hint of pulling or straining on the fabric. Kendra tossed her hair back. It didn’t look as good as the purple one—pale gold didn’t fall in her color family—but the finished product soared high above anything else she’d had on in the past two hours.
She opened her door and saw that Meg and Joy were already in front of the mirror wearing the same dress. The color looked great on Meg, with her blonde hair and fair skin. She looked like a golden goddess.
Joy’s black hair set off the shine in her dress, and her blue eyes deepened the gold color so that it appeared richer than the fabric against Kendra’s skin. The surplice neckline acted as a frame for Joy’s tiny face and all but worshipped Meg’s neckline.
Kendra knew it didn’t work as well on her, just as she knew the purple number wouldn’t work for Meg or Joy the miracles it worked on Kendra’s body.
She sighed, trudging over to the three-way mirror. “Tandy, either love this dress, or I’m instituting a naked theme for your wedding.”
Tandy walked over from her chair. She bit her lip, turning her head this way and that.
Finally she raised the camera. “Ladies, I think we have ourselves a winner.” The lens shutter’s click brought sighs of relief from every sister. “And a bona fide scrapping moment. Sarah!”
Sarah came into the fitting room. “Would you look at that. You girls look lovely.”
“Thanks. Just needed a confirmation.” Tandy gestured with the camera. “Will you get over there with them? I n
eed a picture of all of you for the pre-wedding scrapbook.”
Sarah, as familiar with the Sinclair sisters’ scrapping habit as anybody, obliged without question.
Tandy snapped off a few pictures. “There. I think somewhere in there I got a good one.”
“Good.” Kendra stepped down from the raised platform and went for the dressing room. “Now who’s up for a veggie burger?”
“Make that something that used to be a cow, and I’m in!” Meg said.
“Me, too!” Joy returned.
“I’ll call Clay.” Tandy pulled out her cell phone to make sure they’d have a table when they got to the diner.
Kendra’s cell phone rang, and she pulled it from her skirt pocket. “Kendra Sinclair.”
“Is this the one, the only, the beautifully luscious Kendra Sinclair?”
Darin’s teasing tone made her smile. “It is. And who may I ask is calling?”
“Somebody looking for a lunch date.”
“Aren’t you in luck then.”
“Only if you’re joining me somewhere. I’ve got a two-hour break before the next meeting.”
“I’m at Sarah’s shop where we just found,” she raised her voice and tilted her chin toward the dressing room door, “THE PERFECT BRIDESMAID DRESSES.” Kendra returned to her normal tone. “And now we’re headed to Clay’s for lunch. Want to meet me there?”
“More than anything else I can think of.”
“See ya.”
She snapped the phone closed and hustled into her skirt and top, coming out with the gold dress on a hanger.
Sarah took the dress from her, then from Meg and Joy as they exited their stalls.
“Anybody mind if Darin joins us for lunch?”
“Nope. Actually, Jamison was in the diner when I called, Meg,” Tandy said. “He’s waiting around for us, too.”
“Well, goodness,” Joy pulled out her cell phone, “let me call Scott and see if we can’t make this a regular date.”
“You’re going to have a greasy burger?”