Suddenly, I hear a shriek from the other room. It’s loud enough that Becca stirs in the carrier and I have to pat her on the back to settle her. Mindy runs back to me and starts to push my chair into the nursery. “Look! Look!” she exclaims, “There are wishy flowers and butterflies on the wall and two teddy bears. They look like they’re havin’ themselves a garden party. This is even better than the ideas in my brain and they were pretty awesome. Did you make these beautiful pictures, Mr. Jeff?”
“I only painted a little bit of it, Sweetheart. My sister, Donda, did all of the really cool parts,” Jeff explains, tracing Becca’s name with his finger.
“Wow! Do you think she could teach me to draw too?” Mindy asks, her voice filled with wonder.
Jeff ruffles Mindy’s hair and smiles down at her as he answers, “I’m sure she would. Your cousin, Gabriel, is no lightweight either. He draws totally rad comic books and I’m sure he’d like to draw with you.”
Mindy walks over to the changing station and examines the wipe warmer and diaper caddy. She spins around and runs toward me. I have to catch her to prevent a collision with Becca. I pull her to the side of me and gather her into a hug. “What’s up Mindy Mouse?” I ask, concerned about her change in demeanor.
Mindy wipes tears from her eyes as she explains, “Miss Kiera, there are more diapers there than I can count and the wipey thingies are hot. It means Becca’s not going to get sick no more. Can we live here forever?”
Well, that puts my emotional day right over the top and my eyes mist over too. “Mindy, Jeff and I don’t make that decision,” I respond gently. “But, we’re going to do everything in our power to keep us all together and while we’re all together, you girls will have every thing you need.”
Mindy is quiet for a minute, but then she resolutely nods and hugs me and walks over to Jeff and hugs him tightly. “It’s okay, Miss Kiera. Mr. Jeff is the kind of man that don’t make promises unless he gonna do them. He is going to be at my high school grabuation and he can’t do that if I hafta go wiff another family.”
I look over at Jeff and, he too, is surreptitiously flicking tears from the corners of his eyes as I gently say, “Well, Princess Mindy, I can’t promise anything, but we’re trying our hardest.” I make a big show of looking around the room in an effort to lighten the suddenly serious mood. “Hey, kiddo I don’t see a bed for you in here, so there must be another room around here somewhere.”
“I’ll find it!” Mindy declares, bolting from the room.
Jeff hands me his cell phone so that he can push us to the next room to catch Mindy’s reaction.
We got there just in time to see her dive into the middle of the canopy bed with the plethora of pillows in every conceivable shape and form. She studies the walls with wide-eyed astonishment, a myriad of emotions crossing her face. She curls her body into a ball hugging her knees. She peeks up at me with a look of incredulity on her face, “You did this all for me’n Becca?” she asks, “but I’m nasty an’ ebil. Nobody ever does nothing nice for us.”
Jeff picks Mindy up and perches her on his hip like a mom does with a toddler and gives her a hug as he pulls away a bit, he gently chides her, “Now, Princess Mindy, do you remember what we told you about being evil?”
Mindy blushes and nods as she chews on the end of her hair.
“Can little girls really be nasty or evil?” Jeff prompts.
“No!” Mindy responds with a half grin, pleased to get the answer correct, “cause we’re just kids. It’s not our job to be evil. It’s our job to study hard and have fun.” Mindy giggles, “Well, Becca can’t study yet, cause she’s still little, but she will when she starts preschool; I promise.”
“That’s my girl,” Jeff praises, “Your Grummy takes the having fun rule very, very seriously. Check out this doll house!” Jeff walks over to the Victorian dollhouse that has been placed on a bird’s eye maple base to make it more accessible for me.
“Miss Kiera, look!” Mindy half shrieks, “There’s a kitchen with pots and pans. The libing room even has a lamp that turns on and off. There’s a tiny, tiny mirror in the bathroom. I don’ know why though. That’s kind of silly. Barbie’s makeup don’t come off.”
I chuckle as I answer, “I don’t know. Maybe they just wanted it to look like a regular bathroom.” It’s clear that Mindy is scary smart.
Mindy walks over to the wall where the girls’ portraits are painted and traces them with her fingers. “She made us fairies, just like in my dreams,” she says in a reverent voice, “only better. ‘Cept why is this one dragonfly so fat?”
Jeff ducks down to take a closer look and smirks when he sees where she is pointing. “Well, Mindy Mouse, Pip tried to paint that one with her nose. So, it’s a special one-of-a-kind original,” he explains.
Mindy puts her hands on her hips, “Miss Kiera, is he trickin’ me?”
I can’t keep a straight face, so my face opens into a wide grin, “No, baby, he’s not joking. I wasn’t concentrating on what I was doing because I was so excited that you were coming home soon. So, I lost my balance as I was painting dragonflies and I ended up using my nose on accident. In fact, even my pigtails tried to get in on the act.”
Mindy laughs hard at the visual as she wheezes, “I bet you looked really funny, Miss Kiera.”
“I did look pretty funny and I bet if you look hard enough you can still find paint in my hair,” I confirm.
“Miss Kiera, is Mr. Jeff going to do your hair for your wedding? On Bridezillas, they said it was bad luck for a groomp to see the bride before the wedding.”
Jeff considers the quandary for a bit and answers Mindy solemnly, “Mindy Mouse, Kiera and I have pretty much done everything backwards and against tradition since the first day we met. It seems to be working spectacularly well for us. So, I don’t see any reason to mess with that streak, do you?”
Mindy vehemently shakes her head. “Mr. Jeff, can you put ribbons in my hair and leave some of it curly?” she inquires. “I think you should leave some of Miss Kiera’s pretty red hair down too,” she further instructs.
“Hmm, I think that we should ask Kiera first,” Jeff comments.
I can feel the panic settle back over me as the excitement over the girls’ room reveals dies down. The sheer volume of what I need to accomplish in the next week is overwhelming. I thought that was true before I found out I’m getting married and going on a surprise honeymoon. It’s a good thing that I’ve elected to take some hastily arranged family leave. “I suppose the first thing I need to do is pick a dress, but I have no idea where to start,” I admit.
Jeff snickers softly as he says, “Pip, I have a feeling that the Girlfriend Posse has this well in hand, if the text message I received from Heather is any indication. I am forbidden to enter our bedroom until I have her express permission. For now, it’s a bridal-party-only-zone. So, why don’t you give me Becca and I’ll feed her and change her while you two check it out.”
I unhook Becca from the front carrier and pass her up to Jeff. I raise my eyebrow in an invitation to Mindy as I pat my lap. She giggles as she declares, “I’m too big to sit on your lap, Miss Kiera. After all, I’m gonna be a flower girl. I’ll jus’ push you.”
I direct her down the hall past the living room to our room when she opens our door and it soon becomes clear why Jeff has been banished. Heather has turned our room into a mini-boutique with beautiful dresses hanging from every available surface.”
Mindy gasps as she utters, “Oh wow! It’s just like in Pretty Woman.”
I shake my head in disbelief as I ask, “Are you sure you’re only six, Mindy Mouse? I’m not even going to ask how you know about Pretty Woman. I’m pretty sure I’m better off not knowing. Do you think we should choose your dress or mine first?” I ask Mindy, completely intimidated by the task ahead of me.
It’s Mindy’s turn to shake her head at me as she explains, “Miss Kiera, don’t you watch TB? The bride always picks her dress first, usually with her mommy. Maybe yo
u can borrow Grummy. I’m sure Mr. Jeff would share. Then you pick the bridesmaids dresses. I get confused about the rules here. I think maybe you’re ‘upposed to pick ugly dresses for the people in this job. But, no one ever ‘splains why.”
Unbidden, tears come to my eyes. Until this moment, I had not fully appreciated what it would mean to be a bride without my mom’s input. I hug a very surprised Mindy as I reply, “Thanks for straightening me out. Since I don’t have a mom or grandma, I don’t know a bunch of this stuff. You’ll have to show me all those shows on Netflix, if we have time. That’s a great idea about Grummy. Mr. Jeff would love it.” I shrug my shoulders and shake my head as I continue, “I don’t know what to tell you about bridesmaids dresses because I’ve never understood that whole deal either. I plan to play it straight and get the prettiest ones I can find. Sound like a plan?”
Mindy nods and practically drags me into the room. I see that Heather has steered away from pure traditional white gowns, favoring very pale neutrals. My eyes are drawn to two contenders. One is a frothy pale pink number with a full tulle skirt. It’s so romantic; I would feel like I walked out of a Degas painting. The other is a vintage looking champagne and ivory lace gown.
Mindy is carefully considering each dress, dismissing one right up front as being too dumb for a grownup, another two for being too “hoochie momma” and yet another for looking too fishy. She finally decided on the same two I love. “I like these two, but I think the pink one is too poufy since you have to sit down.”
I smile at her fashion expertise; she and Heather are going to be two peas in a pod. “I agree, I’ll try those on, but I think I’ll wait until Grummy is here, okay? What do you think about the bridesmaid’s dresses?” I ask, as I look at the rack of dresses.
Mindy contemplates the racks, as she nibbles on the end of her finger, “Who’s going to be in your wedding, Miss Kiera?” she inquires.
“Oh!” I reply, startled, “I guess I hadn’t really thought through all the details. Heather and Tara of course. Donda, Jeff’s sister and Gabriel, his nephew, will be in it for sure. I bet that Jeff will want Tyler in it. My daddy will walk me down the aisle.”
“Tara looks like Pocahontas right?” Mindy clarifies, “Heather looks sorta like Marilyn Monroe and Donda looks like Hallie Barry, ‘cept she has a purple stripe in her hair like an animae.”
I grin at her uncannily accurate description of my friends, “Wow, you have such a great memory; you got everyone spot on. How do you even know about all those famous people?” I ask, once again impressed by her wide knowledge base.
Mindy tsks at me as she shakes her head and I’m pretty sure I read some pity on her face as she sadly remarks, “Don’t you ever watch TB or read the picture books at the doctor’s office?”
I snicker at her observation because she is correct. I am woefully out of step with the world around me. “Hey, I’ll have you know that I do actually own a TV. I just happen to use it mostly for watching documentaries and ‘80’s TV shows with your Papa.” I argue, making a halfhearted attempt to defend myself.
It’s clear that Mindy’s mind is on fashion as she studies the rack. I’ve seen that look on Heather’s face a million times. Mindy turns to me and solemnly states, “I think it’d be silly to dress everybody like twins since everyone looks so different. But, we hafta be careful ‘cause we don’t want the dress to clash with Donda’s hair and nothing too weird ‘cause Tara’s kinda shy.”
Mindy’s observations catch me off guard. I am well aware of Tara’s social phobias because I have been her friend forever, but I have no idea how Mindy picked up on it after such a brief interaction. “Mindy Mouse, how did you know that Tara is shy?” I ask, curious about their interaction.
Mindy rolls her eyes at me, “I guess you were kinda busy. Miss Tara didn’t hardly talk to nobody except Miss Heather and Mr. Jeff the whole day. When they forgot to give her the French fries, she turned into a potato bug when the man tooked them to the table and she watches people more’n me.”
I wonder if Tara’s cues are really that evident to those that don’t know her, or if Mindy is just an exceptionally keen observer. I suspect that it’s a bit of both, because Tara works extremely hard to appear invincible. “Well, we should look through these and see if anything strikes our fancy,” I suggest.
Mindy goes to one end of the rack and I go to the other as we start leafing through the dresses. I’m very quickly bewildered by the sheer number of choices. However, Mindy is not daunted, as soon she asks, “The wedding is on the beach, right?”
“I think it will probably be on my friend’s deck which is very close to the beach,” I respond “I really hope it doesn’t rain.”
Mindy starts jumping up and down, and pointing at the rack as she shouts, “Miss Kiera! I found the perfect dresses. C’mere and look. I can’t reach.”
At that moment, Gwendolyn pops her head around the corner. “My goodness!” she exclaims, “What’s all the racket about?”
Mindy runs to grab her hand as she enthusiastically replies, “Look Grummy! I found the prettiest dresses.”
“Just a second, Princess,” Gwendolyn replies, laughing, “let me set down my purse. Let’s see what you picked.”
As Mindy points them out, Gwendolyn pulls them and hangs them along my armoire. The first one is an eyelet halter dress in deep burgundy. “This one is for Heather, ‘cause she looks like a movie star,” Mindy announces.
The second is also an eyelet dress in a rich olive green, but this dress is strapless with a corset lace up in the back. “…and this one is for Donda. Wait till you see what I picked for Tara! It’s perfect.”
Now, I’m really anxious to find out what the little sage picked out for my best friend. Gwendolyn holds up a dusty blue eyelet dress, it has a boat neck and puffy three-quarter length sleeves; aside from a small delicately embroidered rosette near the neckline, it’s very plain and I fail to see the appeal.
Seeing the look on my face, Mindy instructs anxiously, “Grummy, turn it around please, she can’t see the good part.”
As Gwendolyn turns the dress around, the magic of the dress immediately becomes clear. The back of the dress is a deep V covered with a beautiful lace panel that’s a slightly darker blue. “You’re right Mindy Mouse. These are stunning. Every single one. The braided ribbon belts really tie them together.” I say, running my fingers over the soft material of the dress.
“Aren’t these little wooden star beads, just precious?” comments Gwendolyn, as she examines the ribbons trailing off of the belts.
I quirk my eyebrow at her as I respond, “I’m not sure what I think. The braiding on those belts is pretty flawless and stars are our little thing. If I were a suspicious person, I might wonder how involved your son is in all of that.”
Gwendolyn laughs and holds up her hands in surrender as she says, “This time I can plead innocent. If he had anything to do with it, I don’t know anything about it. What about your dress?”
I look over at the dresses on the rack wistfully as I answer, “I have two favorites, but given what we’ve chosen for bridesmaid’s dresses, I’d like to try on the cream lace. However, I’m going to need you to help me put it on, please.”
“Oh don’t worry about that, Honey, everybody needs help putting these things on,” she assures me.
“I long ago gave up any hope of actually finding myself in this spot, so I really don’t have any expectations one way or the other,” I admit.
“Nonsense, you’re going to make a beautiful bride,” Gwendolyn chides briskly as she removes the dress from the hanger.
“You thought you weren’t going to get married?” Mindy asks, her brow wrinkles in confusion. “Why?”
“I was afraid that no one would love me because I’m different — ,” I start to explain.
“Well, everybody’s different except for identical twins and they can’t get married anyway ‘cause that’s just gross. So, that’s a stupid reason,” Mindy interjects wrinkling her
nose.
“I know it sounds silly,” I respond. “Sometimes, grown up thinking doesn’t make much sense.”
“It sounds silly ‘cause it is silly,” Mindy says, shaking her head, “Mr. Jeff loves you so much. He watches you when you ain’t lookin’ and he holds your hand even when you’re asleep.”
“Mindy’s right Kiera, my son loves you deeply and doesn’t give a rat’s behind about your ‘differences’,” Gwendolyn confirms.
“I know he loves me and I love him with my whole heart, so let’s knock his socks off with this dress,” I say as I take off my sundress and slide the wedding dress over my head. I wedge my body up to allow Gwendolyn to pull the dress down. She buttons up the tiny buttons along the back. As she fastens the last two at my neck, I can tell that the dress fits as if it was designed with me in mind. The lace is soft and vintage looking without being fussy.
“Where’s the special bride hat?” asks Mindy.
Gwendolyn looks through the racks and replies, “I’m sorry, I don’t see veils anywhere.”
I hear something hit the bedroom door and Mindy yells, “Mr. Jeff, we said, ‘No boys allowed!’ Go away!”
Heather and Tara laugh and reply in unison. “But, we’re not boys!” Heather continues, “Can we come in? I’m sorry we’re late, but somebody tried to vandalize the food truck.” Heather looks me over, walks over to the closet, pulls out a veil with tiny crystal stars studded throughout, and places it on my head. “There,” she said walking around me to study her work. “I think that’s the finishing touch. Although you might want to wear your hair up because this dress has such an amazing keyhole back and you have awesome shoulders,” she advises.
Heather wheels me over to the mirror and I’m completely flummoxed by the image I see staring back at me. I look beautiful, elegant and composed, sexy even. Is this how Jeff sees me?
“Miss Kiera, you are the mostest beautiful bride ever,” Mindy declares reverently.
Until the Stars Fall From the Sky Page 27