by Tina Leonard
“How could you keep the secret from us?” Genie asked. “We’re taking bets as to whether it’s short or long.”
“Oh, I hope it will be a long one,” Crystal said softly, thinking about her impending marriage.
“You don’t know yet?” Janet asked in alarm. “I thought we’d laid out some very attractive suggestions a few days ago. Even that was pushing it for tardiness, hon.”
Crystal stirred her tea, focusing on her friends again. “Do you think that a long gown might predict a long marriage, and a short gown predict a short marriage?”
“Nope,” Genie said decisively. “I wore a short dress, and Linc and I are totally forever.”
“It’s not like predicting the stock market,” Janet said with a smile. “Although I never really believed that hem length fashions could affect whether the market went up or down.”
“Of course, it couldn’t hurt to build in a little good luck charm, I suppose.” Genie grinned, as if quite proud of herself. “Baseball players have all kinds of superstitions, like not shaving before a big game or wearing dirt on their cap.”
Janet narrowed her eyes on her little sister. “You’re not suggesting we dust her veil with a little dirt or swipe her razor tomorrow? I’m pretty sure our brother would prefer we be a bit more civilized when it comes to our new sister-in-law.” She beamed at Crystal.
Crystal swallowed. Her throat went tight.
“We’re so excited that you’re going to be our sister,” Janet said, her pretty eyes glowing.
“And Mom and Dad are delirious, to say the least,” Genie agreed. “At least one marriage in the family is going the traditional route.”
Not quite. Crystal tried to smile. And then her smile turned real as she thought about being a part of Mitch’s family. She truly liked his parents and his sisters. Maybe she wasn’t such a huge fraud. They liked her and she liked them, and goodness knows, more had grown out of less than she and Mitch had, right? “I’m excited, too. In fact, I’m starting to get very excited about tomorrow.”
Maybe all she’d needed was to know that their secret was safe. Or maybe it was simply knowing that everyone thought this marriage was the right thing to do. Her minister and these families had all known her and Mitch since they were kids. If they saw only good in what they were doing, well, then maybe there was only good in it.
Then she had nothing to fear.
“If you’ll excuse me,” she told them, “I’ve got an errand or two I must run before tonight.”
“You’ll be at the rehearsal, won’t you?” Genie teased. “We have instructions to make certain you’re there one way or the other, in whatever condition need be.”
Crystal shook her head and leaned into the booth to hug each of them. “I’ll be there.”
But right now, she had a mission. It was time to revisit the past, and then let it go for good.
SHE SLIPPED INTO HER childhood home without alerting her family to her presence. They were probably resting up for the evening’s rehearsal, and her mother especially needed all the sleep she could get before becoming a mother-of-the-bride. Without making a sound on the staircase, she went upstairs and over to the attic door, which she slowly opened.
Inside the attic were the mementoes every family kept hidden away among the occasional cobweb. Childhood treasures, old furniture they couldn’t bear to part with, Uncle Martin’s golf clubs, Bess’s homecoming crown, Aunt Elle’s batons.
Crystal smiled to herself and went over to the small closet against one wall. She opened it and turned on the light. Gasping, she reached out to touch the first A-line skirt she’d ever sewn—in high school as a home ec assignment—and the much better clothing results that had come after. Pinned to the garments were the ribbons she’d received as the A-line skirts became elaborate gowns and were entered in statewide contests. Crystal shook her head. She would never have known that all those cherished hours she’d spent designing would have resulted in her owning her very own bridal store. It was as if she’d always known what she wanted.
And I did, of course, she thought, coming to the last plastic-covered hanger hidden at the back of the closet. She didn’t need a label on the outside of the bag to know what was inside. There was no ribbon. No grade received proudly posted and tied to the hanger. Forgotten, it waited for her to let it free from its protective cocoon.
“Not forgotten. Just put aside until the time was right,” she murmured, unzipping the bag. Drawing out the gown, she marveled that the ecru color had stayed true, not deepening with age. The fashion was no longer the latest, but at the time, she had thought it so smart to create a long, slimming gown when other girls were wearing bell-shaped skirts. Hers had been off-the-shoulder, very garden party. Down the back, she’d sewn a scattering of golden leaves for a trailing effect.
She held it up to herself, wondering what Mitch would have thought if he’d seen her in the prom dress. In the corner of the attic was an old mirror, streaked with age and broken in frame, but she had spent many hours in front of it as a child trying on Elle’s old hats. Standing in front of it, she held the gown up to her, almost waiting for the magic and excitement she’d felt in sewing it to come washing back over her. She had looked so forward to being with Mitch that she’d worked on this dress for hours, every seam holding her dreams and childhood fantasies in each stitch.
She looked—and saw nothing but a faded dress being held by a mature woman.
It wasn’t a good color on her, she realized. The ecru washed her out. Why had she chosen the material? In the store, it had seemed so different from the sherbet pastels she knew her friends were wearing. The dress was pretty, but she was taller now, more filled-out, no longer a young girl.
She sighed with happiness. “It was an A effort,” she said out loud, “but you really belong on someone else.”
A throat cleared behind her, and she whirled. “Oh, hi, Uncle Martin. I was just going through some old things,” she said, hurriedly stuffing the dress back in its bag.
“Putting away some childhood toys?” he asked, his voice kind and understanding.
“I think so. It wasn’t easy to face it, but now that I have, I know that everything turned out for the best.”
He smiled, the skin crinkling around the eyes. “I’d say you’d feel more like a bride in something more suited to the holy occasion.”
She closed the closet door and turned to face him. “I’m feeling distinctly like tons of sequins and maybe a handful of beads.”
He put out his arms, and she walked into his embrace.
“I think I saw something down at your shop that fits that description. If we hurry, I can help you pin the skirt for length, and I’m no slouch at sewing on a few extra beads, either.”
“Who would have ever thought time in the marines would have taught you so much about fine sewing?”
“Nah. I learned to sew in the marines, but having a little princess in the house taught me about fine things. You did see that I saved all your ribbons and awards, didn’t you?”
She nodded happily. “I thought you’d let Mom take the credit for storing away all the memorabilia.”
“No way. She’s not that organized. The prom dress was the only one she stored, and it lacks an identifying label. I’d say that’s appropriate, though, wouldn’t you?”
She nodded, her head against his shoulder.
“Well, come on, then. Let’s get started on the most beautiful wedding gown Lover’s Valley has ever seen!”
Chapter Fourteen
Mitch wasn’t nervous as he waited at the altar for his bride. She’d suffered nerves, he knew, even to the point of remarking that she was lucky her stressed condition hadn’t shown up on her face. But he thought she was beautiful. He was early to the church, and had sent a message back to the bride so she could see he had only gotten away from her once.
This time, they were going to spend the evening dancing at their wedding reception.
The gymnasium was beginning to fill with
family and friends. Apparently, no one planned on missing what had swiftly become “the” June wedding.
“Ready?” Linc asked him.
“Ready.”
“Still time to give her to me,” Barney invited. “I’ve always had a peculiar itch for that li’l gal.”
“Don’t think so,” Mitch said with a grin. “Anyway, I thought I’d noticed you particularly itching for another lady lately.”
Barney flushed, his round features shining with secret happiness. “Could be.”
“I’d take Crystal off your hands,” Frankie offered. “Wouldn’t want you suffering unduly. She can be a handful, you know.”
Did he ever. In all the right places, too. He clapped his friend on the back. “She says I’m stuck with her, fellows. Guess I’ll have to bear my fate in silence.”
“Yep,” Linc said with a satisfied sigh. “Not another word after ‘I do.”’ His gaze found Genie as she darted through a doorway leading to where the ladies were getting dressed. “Actually, I gotta say it’s pretty nice to just shut up and let my body do the talking.”
The men guffawed, engaging in more back-slapping repartee.
“After all these years of you being a big mouth, you let a little bitty girl shut you up?” Mitch teased.
Linc grinned. “I sure did. You wait and see if you’d rather talk, or listen to what a big strong man you are when your wife is riding the rollercoaster of lovemaking.”
Mitch raised his eyebrows and did his best not to laugh at big Linc so clearly tamed by tiny Genie. “I’m glad you find my sister to be a suitable wife,” he said, somewhat primly.
Barney and Frankie let out snickers not appropriate for usherlike behavior. But the look on Linc’s face was reverent.
“Oh, she is,” he said. “She’s the only woman worth the big touchdown.”
Well, Mitch thought, that wasn’t quite how he’d describe his soon-to-be bride, but he had a feeling the label didn’t matter.
His face fell as he thought about the duration of their marriage. Six weeks of life with Crystal was too short. Why had he agreed to that? Because a little of her was better than nothing, and nothing was all he’d had for years? Because he was hoping to change her mind?
He’d made it to the altar without a hitch. All he could do from here was show her how much he loved her.
He had always loved Crystal, and he always would. There was nothing convenient about the way he loved that lady. She might be a cynic when it came to romance, but he had six weeks to turn her into a believer.
CRYSTAL WAS GLAD to hear that Mitch was greeting guests in the gymnasium. It calmed her shivers to a mere tremor of excitement. “I’m really getting married!” she said to Kathryn. “It’s really happening!”
Kathryn smiled, although it wasn’t the bright smile from her cheerleader days Crystal associated with her friend. “You’re a lovely bride, Crystal. I know this will all work out for you.”
Crystal halted, putting down a lipstick. “Are you feeling okay?” She suddenly realized that Kathryn not only wasn’t smiling, her personality was down a watt or two.
“I’m fine.”
But her voice lacked the sparkling luster it normally had. Crystal began to be concerned. “Is the baby sleeping at night? Are you getting enough rest?”
“I think being a little tired goes along with new parenthood.” Kathryn shook her head. “I feel fine mostly.”
“I’m not a good person to dispense advice to new mothers,” Crystal murmured. “I’m barely one to advise new brides. We’re not leaving immediately for our honeymoon. Why don’t you let Mitch and I keep the baby tomorrow night so you can get some rest?”
Kathryn laughed. “A hideous thing to do to a newly wedded couple. Trust me, it’s very difficult to build a marriage when there’s a little one crying, and I would think even more difficult if the child isn’t yours.” She kissed Crystal’s cheek and began arranging her hair in a beguiling upsweep of loose curls. “Anyway, I’m much better than I ever was.”
Crystal looked down at her hands. She felt so sorry for Kathryn she didn’t know what to do. “I wish it had worked out for you and Tom.”
“Oh, don’t be sorry for me.” Kathryn’s artful fingers pulled the blond strands of hair this way and that as she took bobby pins from a case. “Marriage has to be fifty-fifty. To be truthful, it has to be one hundred-one hundred percent. Both of us had to be willing to put in one hundred percent desire for it to work.” She shrugged. “I’m through with worrying why it went wrong. My baby has erased all that from my mind. I’m a great parent, if I do say so myself.”
Crystal smiled. “You were always great at everything. Most Popular, Most Likely to Succeed, Most Beautiful—”
“Just goes to show you that the past isn’t necessarily a barometer for the future, doesn’t it?”
Crystal’s gaze met Kathryn’s in the mirror. “I’ve been thinking that lately myself.”
Kathryn nodded. “Remember. One hundred percent, if it’s going to work.”
They’d agreed on fifty-fifty. Crystal frowned, wondering if maybe they’d short-changed their chances from the start. “What would you say if I told you that Mitch and I aren’t having a conventional marriage?” she asked suddenly.
“Who does?” Kathryn said with a shrug. “All marriages are defined by the people who decide to be joined together. Stop frowning. You don’t want lines between your eyebrows at the altar.”
Crystal turned on the seat to face her friend. “Mitch and I are only staying married for six weeks.”
“Well,” Kathryn said, forcibly turning Crystal back around on the linen-covered seat, “you’re going to have a great hairdo, anyway, if you’ll sit still.”
“You’re not paying attention.”
“I am. I think you’re paying too much attention to the wrong things. Focus is important in a marriage.”
She raised her eyebrows. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“I’m saying that I’ve known you all your life. You’ve always been a stickler for details. It’s what makes your gowns creations rather than mere stock. Details. Details. But you can drive yourself nuts with details, Crystal. Today is the happiest day of your life. Don’t examine it like it’s crystal beading. Just enjoy it.”
“And then?”
“And then rip out the seams if it doesn’t fit. But don’t get out the seam ripper before it’s time, hon. Nothing’s written in nonerasable ink except the signatures on the wedding certificate, right?”
“Oh. You may have a point.” She was quiet for a moment. “I’m surprised you feel the way you do, somehow.”
Kathryn laughed. “Because my husband walked out on me? Well, maybe it is surprising I feel this way.” She finished with the last delicate curls framing Crystal’s face and gave the upswept hair a light spraying. “I didn’t know it wasn’t going to work out between Tom and me, but I’m not going to turn cynical about marriage. If I found the right man, I’d say yes in a flash.”
“You would?”
“Sure. Why not? I got the best end of our deal, after all. Tom gets a new wife, but I got the baby.” She smiled luminously. “So what have I got to be cynical about? The baby may be keeping me up at night, but believe me, the not-exhausted part of me welcomes those quiet moments with my little daughter.”
“I’m so glad to hear you say that. I’ve been so worried about you.” She turned on the seat to face her friend. “I must not be as strong as you are, because I definitely don’t think I’d be feeling the way you do. I’d be too mad at the jerk who walked out on me.”
“You have a more forgiving nature than you think. You forgave me, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but there was nothing to forgive. It wasn’t your fault.”
Kathryn smiled. “Sure it was, Crystal. I didn’t want to go to the prom alone. I wanted to be crowned queen, and I wanted to be escorted if my name was called. I was pregnant and scared and feeling sorry for myself, and I made a bad deci
sion. When your mother said you were sick and suggested I ask Mitch to go with me, I jumped at the chance without asking you how you felt about it. Of course, I never dreamed that…that you were waiting for him to show up. You can’t know how much I’ve regretted that night over and over again. A pretend crown isn’t worth losing a friend over.”
Crystal shook her head. “I don’t regret it at all. My mother was right. Mitch and I were too serious. We might have simply gotten married and settled down in Lover’s Valley and never achieved the things we did. He’s a renowned surgeon. I wouldn’t take that from him for anything.” She sighed. “We probably wouldn’t be getting married today because we would have never made it from high school all the way through med school. Everything turned out for the best.”
“See? You even forgave Mitch. That’s what makes you so special, Crystal. You’re not really a cynic at all. You just want so badly to keep yourself from getting hurt again. But I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of pain in your marriage to Mitch. I’ve never seen two people more destined to be together.”
Crystal smiled. “Sometimes it feels that way. Sometimes I actually believe it myself.”
“That’s what’s carrying you to the altar, then. And that’s what will keep you and Mitch together, if that’s what you want to happen. Neither of you signed the six-week thing in blood, so act like you didn’t agree to it. What’s up with six weeks, anyway?”
The lightheartedness left Crystal, sucking the warmth out of her. She shivered in her satin robe. “My mother wanted desperately for me to get married. So she had the party for me, only she must have had a preexisting heart condition. I think she overworked herself trying to get me married off, but she says that’s nonsense. The truth is, my unmarried state at this point grieves her deeply.”
Kathryn laughed out loud.
“It’s really not funny,” Crystal told her. “Once my mother’s got an idea in her head, it’s carved on a stone tablet!”
“Okay, okay. I know how much your mother loves you. Go on.”