by Magan Vernon
But she didn’t. She just sighed. “Aunt Dee, I haven’t talked to Sarah since she got her new boyfriend, so I have no idea what she’s wearing or isn’t wearing.”
“Oh.” Aunt Dee blushed, straightening her glasses.
“And, we wouldn’t want to get the same dress as Sarah anyway!” I looped my arm through Britt’s. “Come on, let’s try out this BBB place and see if they have the perfect dress.”
I tried to keep my enthusiasm up for everyone’s sake, and if a store was called BBB, or “Big, Blonde, and Beautiful,” surely they had to have something.
We opened the door to the small boutique, and a bell rang overhead.
Small was an understatement. The place was tiny and packed wall to paneled wall with racks of dresses. There was no rhyme or reason to how they were stacked with some fancy dresses next to sun dresses, and even glittery tube tops in between. In the center of the madness was a large hot pink shag rug with two giant cheetah print shoes that looked like they doubled as chairs.
Out of the back of the store, a large woman with bottled-blonde hair emerged from behind a lime green curtain. “Hey y’all! Welcome! I’m Patsy, and just let me know if I can help you find anything!”
The lady might have not been a lady with that much makeup and an Adam’s apple, but I decided to look past that and stepped forward. “Hi, Patsy. I’m Libby, this is my Aunt Dee, and my little cousin Brittany. We are here looking for a dress for Britt’s cotillion.”
Patsy put her hands on the side of her face. “I declare! How wonderful!”
She turned around and ran toward a rack near the curtained off area. “Now what size are you honey? I’m sure we can find you the perfect outfit!”
Brittany mumbled her size.
“I think we have some perfect ones for you! Just step back in the dressing room, and I’ll hand them over.”
She pulled Britt away and ushered her behind one of the lime green curtains. I would have protested or asked to help, but Patsy was so thrilled that I couldn’t burst her bubble.
“All right, I’m handing you some over the curtain. Let me know if you need any help zipping or need a new size!” She turned, but then yelled back, “And make sure to come out and model each one!”
I tried not to laugh at the madness of it all, but at least it was better than watching Britt pout the whole time. After a few minutes, Britt finally muttered, “I don’t think this is the one.”
“Well, let’s see it anyway, sugar!” Patsy said, knocking on the wall by the curtain.
“Okay...”
Britt pulled back the curtain, and this time I couldn’t help but laugh. It was a white dress and it did fit, but it was completely covered in white feathers from the long, bell sleeves down the cathedral train on the dress.
Britt frowned. “Thanks, Lib.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I said between giggles.
“Okay, Big Bird out!” Britt said and shut the curtain behind her.
“Okay, how about another dress?” Patsy asked.
“Do I have to?” Britt grumbled.
“I promise this one will be a million times better, and if you don’t love it, I’ll even let you slap me.” Patsy giggled.
“Fine,” Britt said with a deep sigh.
Patsy slung another dress over, and we waited. And waited. And waited.
“Are you okay in there Brittany?” Aunt Dee asked.
Britt slowly opened the curtain. Most of the dresses washed out her already pale and freckled skin, but this one was different. This one actually made her look like, well, a girl. The corseted bodice hugged her in all the right places and made the girl look like she actually had curves, instead of the square box she always looked like in her t-shirts and shorts. The white, A-line skirt floated down and hit just right at her ankles. It was simple, yet elegant, all at the same time. It was perfect.
“I think this is the dress we have to say ‘yes’ to!” I said.
Aunt Dee walked over, a large smile on her face for the first time all day. Well, she smiled until picked up the price tag on the dress.
“Oh dear,” she muttered.
“Is everything okay, ma’am? Should I get this boxed up,” Patsy asked, raising an eyebrow.
Aunt Dee smiled. “I’d love to ma’am. And it’s a beautiful dress, but it’s a bit out of our budget.”
Britt’s face fell. She didn’t say anything, just went back in the dressing room and shut the curtain.
“Maybe I can find a similar pattern and can make it at home. I’m sure we’d be able to find some nice material from one of the buyers at the shop,” Aunt Dee said more to herself than anyone else.
“Aunt Dee?” I questioned and put my hand on her elbow.
“Yes, honey?” She looked at me with defeat in her eyes.
“Would it be okay if I bought the dress for Britt?”
“Oh, dear, you don’t have to do that.” She shook her head.
“No. Please. I want to. We’ll call it her birthday, Christmas, and cotillion gift all wrapped up in one.”
Aunt Dee chewed on her bottom lip, her eyes looking everywhere but at me before she sighed. “All right, Libby. If you really want to.”
Britt pulled the curtain back. “Are you serious? I can have the dress?”
I nodded. “It’s all yours!”
She squealed and twirled. “Yes! Yes! Thank you so much, Libby! You’re the best ever!”
I smiled, but looked at Aunt Dee whose face stayed stiff. She wasn’t smiling and she wasn’t frowning but something was definitely bothering the silent woman.
Patsy boxed the dress up, and I got out the credit card that my parents had recently given me back. I rarely used it, but figured this was a special case. I never paid rent to Aunt Dee, or anything else, and she and Britt deserved something for everything they’d done for me.
Seeing Britt light up like I’d never seen before was definitely worth it.
***
Through lunch, and the rest of the day, Aunt Dee was uncharacteristically silent while Britt did nothing but talk about her dress. It was the most excited I’d seen her in months, and the most subdued I’d seen Aunt Dee.
When Britt had gone to her room for the night, I went out to find Aunt Dee sitting on the front porch with a mug of tea in one hand and her bible in the other.
“Aunt Dee?” I asked, tentatively stepping on the porch.
She took her eyes off the bible and slowly trailed them to me, but didn’t meet my stare. “Yes, Libby?”
“I just wanted to make sure that everything is okay.” I closed the screen door and took a few steps closer to her. It was starting to get darker earlier, and the mosquitoes were out in full force. I hated staying out too long at night, or my legs would be completely filled with bites.
“Everything is fine, dear. No need to worry.” She smiled, but it was forced.
I let out a deep breath and shook my head. “No. It’s not. You haven’t been yourself since we were at the dress store. Please tell me you aren’t mad at me for buying the dress. I just wanted to do what was right and seeing how happy Brittany was when she put that dress on, well I knew she had to have it.”
Aunt Dee sighed and set her mug on the ground. “Libby, dear. I’ve been taking care of Britt ever since the day she was born. It was never easy. Between my husband dying only a year before she was born, and Joni’s overdose just a few years past, it’s taken everything I’ve had to keep it together.”
She looked out into the distance. “We’ve always gotten by, but Brittany’s never asked for much, so it wasn’t too hard, but I’m only getting older, and after Joni almost broke us a few years ago, I haven’t been able to save much.”
“Aunt Dee, I don’t want to be a burden to you...”
She laughed, but cut it short. “Darling, you aren’t a burden. You’ve been one of the best things for Brittany. I wouldn’t have been able to get that girl in a dress, let alone to make her debut, if you weren’t here. It’s just h
ard sometimes not to be able to do everything you can for someone.”
I knelt down and put my hand on hers. “You do everything you can for her, and she knows that. You know she doesn’t always need these things ,but sometimes I want to be able to help out too. I’d do anything for the two of you.”
She finally looked at me and turned her hand over to squeeze mine. “And we’d do anything for you, Libby. You’re our family, and family is the strongest bond there is.”
As I tried not to let the tears escape my eyes, I stared at this brave woman, who had been through so much, and let something as small as buying her granddaughter a dress almost break her. This was a woman who was so fragile, yet so strong. I wished that someday I could be half the woman she was.
Chapter 9
I’d been to exactly one college football game in my life, and I barely remembered it, since we left at half-time and spent most of the time tailgating in the parking lot.
However, I was told that in the south football was religion.
Jackson always got a few tickets for at least one LSU game every year. This year it was the Ole Miss game in Baton Rouge, and he asked me and Blaine to go with him and Dina.
Britt let me borrow one of her LSU shirts, so I paired that with a pair of jeans and my cheetah print Sperry’s. I figured that was good enough for tiger spirit, and maybe the weather was cooler in Baton Rouge. I was used to my fall weather of hoodie-wearing and autumn breezes by now and wasn’t expecting so many days in the 80’s and 90’s.
Just as I finished straightening my hair, the doorbell rang. It was an afternoon game but everyone wanted to leave at the ass crack of dawn to get there early for a tailgating spot. I didn’t see what the big deal was at the time.
Aunt Dee was already in the kitchen making breakfast, and Britt was still fast asleep.
“Do your friends want to come in and have some breakfast before you take off?” She asked, whisking something in a bowl.
The last thing I wanted to do was sit around and have Aunt Dee’s gravy sit in my stomach for the almost two hour car drive. I would probably gain five pounds just from eating it and my pants wouldn’t fit.
“No thanks, Aunt Dee. I think they’re in a hurry to get to the game.”
I opened the door to see Blaine standing there. He was way too bright eyed for it being so early. His eyes roamed over me.“Is that what you’re wearing today?”
I frowned. “Is there something wrong with it?”
“No. You might just get hot is all.” He leaned in closer, whispering so Aunt Dee couldn’t hear. “But I wouldn’t mind if your clothes came off either.”
I swatted his shoulder. “You’re just saying that because you do want me to take my pants off. I assure you that I’ll be just fine in this.”
He shrugged. “If you say so, baby.”
I took his outstretched hand and turned toward Aunt Dee, waving my free hand. “Bye, Aunt Dee, see you later.”
“Bye, honey. Be safe!” she called as I shut the door behind us.
Jackson was waiting in his idling truck in the driveway. Blaine had a big red truck but Jackson’s was a monstrous black thing. The thing was lifted so high that even with me being almost six feet tall, I was afraid I’d have to jump to get in.
Blaine opened the back door for me where Dina was sitting, and I slowly got in, making sure I didn’t face plant. Blaine shut the door behind me and got in next to Jackson in the front.
In Elsbury, I always felt like I was overdressed but sitting in the car with the mass of purple and gold, I felt slightly underdressed.
“Hey, Libby, ready for your first game?” Dina asked, poking my side. She was wearing a purple romper with a giant yellow bow around the middle. Her too curly hair was pulled into a tight bun, and she had so much purple eye shadow on that I couldn’t tell where her eyes began and her eyebrows ended.
“Um. Yeah. I think so.”
Dina leaned in. “I warn ya, things get a little crazy at these games. You may not see the same Blaine Crabtree that you’re used to.”
I smiled, shaking my head. “I’ve seen him yell at the games on TV enough. I think I can handle him.”
The game didn’t start for another few hours, but the minute we turned off the highway toward the university, it looked like the game had already started.
Cars were lined up in bumper-to-bumper traffic all along the main road to the stadium. I think there were more cars out there than there was in the entire town of Elsbury.
“What’s with all the traffic?” I asked.
Jackson laughed. “This is just normal game day traffic. It’d be worse if it was an Alabama game.”
“But the game doesn’t even start for hours,” I said, cocking my head to the side.
Blaine looked back at me. “Yeah, and tailgating before the game is one of the best parts.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant until we started passing up clusters of parked cars. These people took their tailgating way too seriously.
There were people with purple and gold campers, giant smokers with the smell of meat wafting from inside, and tons and tons of purple tents with buffets of food set up underneath while while a group of people drank from red cups and played corn hole or horseshoes on the side of it.
They were right. This was definitely more than just football.
Dina swatted the back of Jackson’s head, almost knocking his gold cap off. “I told you that we should have dropped my car off here last night to make sure we got a good spot.”
Jackson laughed. “Ain’t nobody would take your little beater seriously for tailgating. Don’t worry, we’ll find something.”
He turned down a side road that I could barely see the stadium from, but they had a full parking lot of people already sitting outside of their vehicles and setting up.
“Isn’t it a little too early to be drinking and eating burgers?” I asked as I got out of the truck and peered at the spot next to us where a man had an overflowing cup and was setting up a grill.
“Not if you’re in the south, and you’ve had a drive to make,” Jackson said and went to the back of his giant truck, lifting the tailgate to pull out a propane tank and some kind of contraption that looked like a deep fryer.
“What are you doing?” I asked as he crawled into the bed of the truck and pulled out two large purple coolers and handed them to Blaine one at a time.
“What does it look like we’re doing? Having a tea party?” Jackson laughed loudly at his own joke, which really wasn’t that funny.
I pointed at the giant black pot he removed from a box. “Are we cooking something in a cauldron?”
Jackson laughed even harder. “Girl, you really need to learn more about southern cooking if you are ever going to be someone’s wifey.”
“Leave Libby alone. She hasn’t worked up to southern belle yet,” Blaine said, pulling out a drink from the cooler.
“You’re just saying that because you like her.” Jackson took Blaine’s can, opened it, and downed half of it.
“Damn right I do. Ain’t nobody can resist a blonde even if she can’t cook,” Blaine said with a laugh as he grabbed another can out of the cooler.
“That’s not funny.” I wrinkled my nose
Dina grabbed some Ziploc bags filled with food out of the other cooler as Jackson set up the deep fryer-looking-thing and cauldron. “Be nice, Jackson, or you won’t have any women to make this gumbo.”
“I can make my own gumbo,” he scoffed.
Dina shook her head. “Oh really?”
He smiled and put his arm around her. “But you make it the best.”
It was good to see that they were back together and getting along, but I always worried in the back of my mind about what the both of them were thinking. About her unfaithfulness. About the fact that it was drunk ass Blaine that slept with her, and he didn’t even remember it. That was the beginning of his downfall that he slowly crept up from. He hates to talk about it and rarely drinks because he hurt one
of his best friends. But Dina was the one who got the brunt of it.
Blaine and Jackson worked on unloading everything out of the truck, and I decided to try and help Dina with the gumbo, even though I knew I wouldn’t be very good at it.
“So it cooks in this thing like some kind of portable stove?” I asked, watching as she poured the Ziploc bag of ingredients into the pot.
Dina laughed. “I guess you could say that. Or you know, call it what it is, a Dutch oven.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Isn’t that what they call it when a guy farts under the sheets, then pulls the girl under with him.”
Dina snorted. “Girl, you have one creative mind.”
“Sometimes I do.” I watched her stir the pot and looked behind us. The boys weren’t even paying attention. They were busy talking to some guys who were parked next to us and were getting out a corn hole set. I guess that left me and Dina for some much needed girl talk.
“So...you and Jackson...” I said, not sure where else to start.
“What about us?” She cocked an eyebrow.
“It seems like things really are going well between you two.”
She stopped stirring and glanced behind me. “Can you keep a secret?” she whispered.
Oh crap. I wasn’t sure if I actually could. It really depended on how big the secret was, but I figured I could try.
“Sure,” I said.
She glanced behind me again before she leaned in closer. “Jackson has asked me to move in with him. My lease is almost up at my place downtown, and I’m barely ever at the crummy studio apartment anyway. He figured it would save us both some money if I just moved into his place when my lease is up in December.”
I blinked hard, unsure of what to say. I wasn’t expecting her to tell me all that. They had literally just started seeing each other again in September, and a month later they’re moving in together. But I guess they had been together awhile before that and were almost engaged. Either way, I was stunned.
“Wow. That’s crazy and awesome. I’m really happy for you guys.”
“Have you and Blaine talked about moving in together?” She raised her eyebrows.