by Pamela Yaye
“Teddy, you’re obviously tense. What happened? You said Thanksgiving went well, but I’m thinking that wasn’t how it actually turned out.”
Teddy leaned her head back and closed her eyes for a moment. “Adam asked me to marry him.”
“What!” Diana took a long glance at her.
“In front of everyone. My sisters and brother. His brothers. Both sets of parents. I couldn’t say no. My mother and his mother stood in front of us practically panting for me to accept the proposal. I thought they were going to hug and jump up and down like happy children when I said yes.” She glanced at Diana. “Then they did just that.”
“You said yes?” Diana nearly screamed.
Teddy nodded. “There was nothing else I could do.”
“Teddy, I thought this was a temporary arrangement.”
“It is,” Teddy said, but she wasn’t sure anymore.
Diana lowered her voice. It was compassionate. She understood part of what Teddy was feeling. “What happens now?”
“I don’t know. We haven’t figured that out yet.”
“When was the last time you talked to Adam?”
“Friday morning.” It was when she left his bed, but she kept that tidbit of information to herself.
* * *
The phone rang and Teddy automatically punched the media button on the Bluetooth phone then spoke into the air. She listened for a few seconds. “You’re kidding?” she said.
More time passed. Teddy listened again. Diana watched anxiously.
“What about Grace?” Teddy asked whoever was on the other end of the line.
“Never mind. I’ll handle it when I get there.”
Irritated, she hung the phone up.
“What’s wrong,” Diana asked.
“Brianna caught a cold. She won’t be able to model. And Renee has no substitutes for her.”
Diana looked at the dress bag. “She has a lot of outfits.”
“And they’re already at the hall. Renee said they tried to find a replacement, but no one is available.” Teddy put a hand to her temples and squeezed. She’d had a headache since Thanksgiving. It didn’t help that this show was adding to her stress, and now she had no one to model a huge collection of gowns.
“You and Brianna are the same size. And you were one of the first models—”
“No,” Teddy said.
“We have to have someone model the gowns. She’s got some of the best of your creations and the backstage dressing and getting ready will be totally off if someone doesn’t fill in.”
“Can anything else go wrong today?” Teddy asked rhetorically.
Diana looked at her and smiled. “Adam could show up.”
* * *
The snow didn’t last long. The temperature climbed into the mid-fifties melting all vestiges of it away two days after Thanksgiving. By the day of the fashion show, the township was shades of winter gray and brown, but the holiday lights swinging from every streetlight and lamp pole gave the place a festive look.
“What are we doing here?” Quinn asked Adam. The two men had gotten out of Adam’s car and headed for the door. Quinn saw the sign announcing the fashion show. “I get it. Teddy must be here.”
“She is.”
“Can’t the two of you be without the other for a few hours.”
“We can, but why should we?”
“You know this place will be full of women?”
“When did that ever bother you?” Adam asked.
“When they are already engaged.”
The two men went inside. Not only was there to be a fashion show, but a trade show was also in progress. Everything anyone could want or need for a wedding was on display. Adam and Quinn passed china, cookware, photographers, invitations, florists, bakeries and jewelers. Even Realtors, furniture stores and design firms were represented.
Quinn stopped him in front of one display. Adam looked down. Trays of engagement rings gleamed brilliantly against a black velvet background.
“How about that one?” Quinn pointed to a platinum setting with a large stone perched on top of it. It appeared to be floating in the sea of black.
“I’ve been told to never buy an engagement ring without the bride’s approval.”
“Who said that?”
“I did.”
Both turned to find Veronica standing there.
“The last time we met, you were standing in front of a jeweler,” she told Adam. “Hello, Quinn.”
“Veronica, this is a surprise. What are you doing here?” Quinn asked.
She laughed. “Obviously you’ve never been to one of these shows.”
“Guilty,” he said.
“Newlyweds want newness in their lives. They are into decorating. Anything from an apartment to a mansion is open to change. And I’m a decorator.” In her hand was a stack of business cards and flyers. “Our booth is over there.” She pointed to the end of the row. “The other financial managers are at the end of that row next to the wedding gowns and tuxedo groups. You guys got the best location. Everyone goes for the gowns.”
“Financial managers?” Adam questioned.
“Isn’t that why you’re here?” She raised her perfectly arched eyebrows. “People are looking at their long-term financial goals earlier and earlier.” She swung her gaze between the two men. “You mean you’re not here to gain potential clients?”
“We’re here for the fashion show,” Adam said.
“I hope you have tickets.”
“Tickets?” Quinn said.
Veronica laughed. “You guys are so out of your element.”
* * *
Renee was equipped with pins, buttons, tape measure, needle and thread, and extras of everything. She had to take over for Teddy, who had to take over for their model Brianna.
“You look stunning,” Renee told Teddy, who stepped back and admired the wedding gown she was wearing.
Teddy took a long breath. She wasn’t afraid of the runway. She’d been on plenty of runways, although not in the past few years. The mirror in front of her reflected her image. Teddy tried to smile at the tall, thin woman who’d been her right hand for the past three years.
“Renee, you’ve seen hundreds of brides.”
“I’ve never seen you in a gown, only that one picture that used to hang in your office at the other location.”
That photo had been of Teddy in the gown she’d modeled for Diana and sold right off her back. Every now and then she wondered about the woman who bought it and if she was still happily married.
“How much time do we have?” Teddy asked, slipping a ring on her finger. It was a faux diamond engagement ring similar to the ones the other models wore.
“About ten minutes. Practically all the seats are taken. If we can get through the chaos back here, the show should go fine.”
It was always chaotic behind the scenes of the fashion show, but every year it turned out fine. Teddy clung to that thought. Diana would act as emcee as she always did.
Teddy saw Diana coming. She was walking fast and her face showed the stress Teddy felt. Something else had obviously gone wrong.
“I’m going to check the stage one more time,” Renee said. There was a full crew taking care of it, but Renee was a detail person and she would make sure everything was fine before she returned to be the dresser for Teddy and three other models.
“Ready?” Teddy asked Diana.
“I need the train pulled up,” she said.
Diana turned around. Teddy found the loop in the middle of the train and pulled it up to the third button on the back. She looped it twice to secure it.
“There,” Teddy said.
“Now I can turn around without tripping or kicking the dress.”
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Teddy knew she was teasing. The dress was one of Teddy’s designs. It was a new one. Diana always wore a new design for the show.
“Time to start,” Diana said.
Teddy turned for one last check in the mirror. She was the third gown out.
“There’s one more thing I think you should know,” Diana said.
“What’s that?” This was the real reason her friend had come over.
“Remember on the drive here, when you asked if anything else could go wrong today?”
Teddy nodded. Her breath suddenly died, and then she was heaving for air.
“He’s in the audience. Last row on the right.”
* * *
Teddy stepped onto the runway. Bright lights blinded her, but she didn’t squint and didn’t look to the last row on the right. With a smile on her face, she concentrated on Diana’s voice as she described the gown. Teddy pivoted and turned on cue at the end of the extrawide runway. Using her hand, she swirled the train up and around to the unexpected gasp of appreciation from the audience.
She displayed the dress for about a minute before she headed to the back and exited through the curtain that raised as she approached it. Teddy went left. The next model entered from the right.
Teddy exhaled with a hand on her breasts as her knees grew weak. Adam was indeed in the house. Renee rushed over to help her down the three steps and into the dressing area.
“What’s he doing here?” she muttered to herself.
While she hadn’t looked directly at him, Teddy noticed Adam and his brother. She wasn’t sure if it was Quinn or Galen.
Renee immediately started releasing the buttons on the gown and getting the next dress she was to model.
“Do we have any financial investment companies in the trade show?” Teddy asked.
“We have some financial planners from big firms. So yes.”
That must be why he was here, Teddy thought. But why didn’t he tell her he was coming?
She stepped out of the gown and someone whisked it away to rehang it in the numbered bag that corresponded to its order number. Teddy stepped into the next gown and Renee zipped and buttoned her in. Another associate wrapped the veil around the crown of her head. Teddy could have been a robot. She raised her arms when told, lifted her feet and stepped into shoes, bowed her head for veils, and closed her eyes or opened them for makeup. Her mind wasn’t on dressing.
It was on Adam.
Adam was president of his investment firm. Someone else could be in charge of sales and not mentioned this particular trade show. Or not mentioned it by name. She looked for excuses for him, for a reason he’d be here.
And Thanksgiving, that disastrous day, had provided such an unexpected turn of events that thinking about a trade show couldn’t have been on the top of his mind.
Twelve other models had gone up the steps and back in the time it took for Teddy to change. She went to the edge of the curtain and waited. Then she moved into the center space. Her train was adjusted so it would drag behind her in a perfectly straight line. Her veil covered her face giving her a small sense of invisibility and allowing her to look in Adam’s direction.
The curtain rose. She stood there a second. The audience applauded. Teddy stole a glance at Adam. His smile had her heart lurching. Clinging more tightly to the fresh flowers in her hands and mentally counted the steps she went through before returning to the dressing room.
“Teddy, don’t crush the flowers,” Renee admonished as she took the bouquet. “We want to use them more than once.”
Teddy hadn’t noticed the flowers. They were donated by one of the florists participating in the trade show. Looking at them, she was surprised to see the mangled stems. Renee took a towel and cleaned her hands of the green stains.
Teddy followed the routine four more times, careful to keep from destroying the bouquets. She checked Adam’s position each time and never once did he move. She wondered if something had happened. Was he waiting for her to be free to tell her something, like maybe he’d confessed their deception to his parents? Or he’d taken one of his brothers in confidence and they spilled the beans? One unwelcome scenario after another ran through her mind.
Her cell phone was on silent and carefully tucked away in her purse. She wondered if there was a message from her mother. She wondered if Veronica, whom she’d seen immediately after entering the building, had somehow lured Adam here. Telling herself she was being paranoid, Teddy concentrated on not tripping over her feet.
“Last one,” Renee said, breaking into her thoughts as she placed the last gown over her head. “After this there’s the finale.”
The words should have made her feel better. The show was coming to an end, but Teddy knew when it was over, there might be bad news on the other end.
“Teddy?” Renee called to her.
Teddy was standing in front of a three-way mirror that had been brought in for the models. She looked at Renee. The other woman looked confused.
“What is it?” Teddy asked.
Renee had swept Teddy’s hair to the side and anchored it with an S-shaped rhinestone clip that had veil netting attached to it. The veil didn’t cover her face, but hung down the side of her head balancing the asymmetrical shape of the dress bodice.
Teddy adjusted the veil.
“You’re very distracted today,” Renee said. “Is everything all right? Diana told me to keep this one as a surprise for you. That you’d love it. But you barely looked at it.”
Teddy looked down and screamed, her hands going to her mouth and cutting off the sound.
“I don’t understand,” Teddy said. “Where did she find this?”
“Is it all right?” Concern entered Renee’s voice. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, nothing.” Teddy lowered her voice to a calming level. She placed her hand on Renee’s arm to assure her. “I just wasn’t expecting this.”
“What is it?”
“The first wedding gown I ever designed and sold.” Teddy turned all the way around, looking at the way the dress moved. She took a few dance steps. When she’d conceived the idea, she’d wanted to make sure the bride’s grown swayed like those of a professional dancer. She stopped and looked at herself again. It was perfect.
“This is the one from the picture,” Renee said. “I almost didn’t recognize it. It’s so much prettier in person.”
“Where did Diana find this?”
“She didn’t say. Only that it was a surprise.” Renee straightened one side and admired Teddy in the glass. “It’s beautiful. When I get married, I want one of your designs.”
“It’ll be my present to you.” Teddy smiled and squeezed Renee’s shoulder.
Renee beamed, then continued her duties. “Time to get you on stage.”
* * *
Teddy went through the curtain. A chorus of oohs and ahhs came from the audience, and then a long moment of applause. Teddy glanced at Diana with a smile on her face. In the audience she saw the owner of the gown who gave her a thumbs-up signal.
Teddy began the final walk, holding her head a little higher. This time her smile wasn’t plastered on her face. It was genuine. Her groom, in this case it was Diana’s husband, Scott, who’d been commandeered to play one of the male models, offered his arm and escorted her down the aisle. After she finished showing the gown, he took her to her final place in front of the chapel setting that had been erected for the finale.
She felt good in the dress. This is the way she wanted to feel on her wedding day, dressed in a gown of her own design and heading for the man she loved. Her eyes went directly to Adam when that thought came. Again he smiled at her and Teddy’s insides did a meltdown. Scott gripped her arm tighter and she steadied. The other models finished their routines and at the end they stood as a fifteen-bride
wedding party, each woman with her groom. Teddy imagined the picture they presented.
As each of the models took her place in the finale line ending her presentation, thunderous applause erupted in the hall. The brides remained as they were, everyone smiling. Teddy knew they were relieved that the show was over, but also proud that it had gone over without too many glitches, all of which were backstage. The hired photographer and many of the guests took pictures.
Adam and his brother—she now recognized him as Quinn—came forward, each with a cell phone snapping photo after photo. Teddy wanted to leave, but she was trapped until the last camera flashed and the last question was answered. Adam didn’t ask any questions. He stood with his arms crossed and watched and waited.
Why wasn’t he at his station, talking to people about investing in their future? Why was he remaining in the background, like a suitor waiting for his bride? They both knew that despite his actions on Thanksgiving, the two were not engaged and not likely to be.
* * *
Traditionally, when the show ended, the models kept the finale gown on as they mingled with the crowds, allowing the crowd to see the designs and imagine how they would look in the dress. There was an information and order desk with forms, business cards and brochures about the wedding planning services. Brides could also make appointments for fittings or consultant services.
Normally Teddy and Diana would remain at the desk after the show while the consultants packed everything up. Today, both worked the room, leaving the job to two other consultants who’d volunteered for the duty.
As the models left the stage, Adam came forward and took Teddy’s hand. His brother was behind him.
“You look beautiful,” Adam whispered. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the cheek. Teddy was nervous. Why, she didn’t know. When he pushed back, his hand went down her arm and lifted her hand. The faux diamond ring gleamed there. His eyes came to hers and she saw the question in them.