by Jenny Hale
“He was still gone when I left.” Katharine took a grateful sip and headed toward the shop.
Holly opened the oversized glass door and followed Katharine inside. The boutique was something out of a bridal magazine: everything was white—the floors, the roses and their curving vases, the billowing chiffon and beaded dresses, hanging one after another like rows of heavenly curtains. The only color in the whole place came from the exposed brick wall at the back and a silver logo in script upon it that read, “Shimmer.”
A woman in a very tailored blazer with matching trousers greeted them, shuffling up to the front with tiny, hurried taps. When she reached them, the woman leaned in and kissed Katharine on both cheeks.
“My dear,” she said, a very slight southern accent coming through her overworked tone, her face so animated that it looked as if she were getting married herself. “Are you not dying right now? You’re only days from your wedding!” Katharine hadn’t even answered the question yet, and the woman took in an elongated breath.
“Where’s Brea?” she asked, her voice directed at Katharine but her sideways eyes on Holly.
Holly straightened her back, lifted her chin to show her assertiveness, and, before Katharine had to explain, she answered, “Hello, my name is Holly McAdams. I’ll be planning the rest of the wedding. It’s lovely to meet you, Diane.” She inwardly fist-pumped to herself for remembering the note on Joe’s spreadsheet that said the Nashville bridal seamstress’s name: Diane Long. Don’t mess with her high-end waitressing skills. Holly could remember a customer’s name for years. She’d tag them with some sort of trait—their bushy eyebrows, their crooked tooth, their freckles—and then she’d never forget them.
Looking a bit stunned, Diane smiled brightly and said, “Well, it’s lovely to meet you. Shall we start the fitting?”
Diane led Holly and Katharine to the back of the shop and made a sharp left into a room resembling a miniature dance studio with its glossy floors, impeccable lighting, and mirrored walls.
In the center, under a soft, romantic spotlight, a single silver stand was positioned toward the mirrors, holding the most incredible wedding dress Holly had ever laid eyes on. It was a simple cut, straight across the bust, three-quarter-length sleeves, with a seamless waist and a skirt of white satin that tumbled elegantly to the floor where its lightly beaded train trailed behind it.
Diane moved the veil with its matching ornate beadwork, the airy fabric falling delicately from a diamond tiara, and began to unbutton the dress at the back. There were so many buttons that they resembled an outstretched pearl necklace. It took her a little while, but when she finished the last button, Diane said, “I’ll leave you two ladies to chat amongst yourselves and then you can let me know what final preparations will be required. I find it’s helpful if I’m not in here so you can talk freely about what you’d like done. I’ll check back in just a few minutes.” Then she waggled her penciled eyebrows at Katharine. “I. Can. Not. Wait! To see you in this dress,” she said dramatically. “You will be stunning.” Then, as she left, she pointed to a small dresser-like piece of furniture. “Your undergarments are in the top drawer.”
Katharine slipped off her coat and then her heels, placing them to the side of the small stage with the three-way mirror. She padded over to the dress, quietly viewing it in all its glory. For the first time since they’d met, Katharine seemed pensive, as if she wasn’t sure what to say, which was very possible, as the dress was simply breathtaking. Holly searched for even one stitch line but every single tuck and fold hid any sight of thread as if it were one giant piece of tailored fabric, magically held together by all those pearl buttons at the back.
Holly stared at it, the knowledge of what it stood for hitting her in full force. She could already picture Katharine in it. Standing next to Joe. Promising to love him forever. It seemed so wrong, like two puzzle pieces that didn’t fit just right, but she had to remind herself that the Joe she’d met might not be the same person he was on a daily basis.
“It took one phone call and we had this shipped from the store in New York,” Katharine said quietly, her gaze running down the satin and back up. “It seems so real now, having the dress here, in Nashville.” As if the garment itself could entrance her, Katharine had gone from the bubbly, shoebox holding, chatting woman she’d been upon arrival to silent and thoughtful, her aura seeming to shrink down to a more average size. In that instant, Holly felt like she was someone she could actually talk to.
But it seemed as though Katharine needed a minute, and Holly didn’t know her well enough to feel like she should assist her dressing anyway, so she said, “I’ll be just outside the door. Let me know when you’d like me to step in and help with all those buttons.”
Katharine was still staring at the dress when Holly let herself out.
Diane hovered around at the front, fashioning a new display, the sun coming in through the large widows and making the whole room glow as if it were powered by an electric current. Shimmer was the sister company to one in New York, and, according to Brea’s notes that Joe had on his computer, Diane and the person in New York had been collaborating on this dress as a special project. It all felt so formal and that wasn’t how she viewed Joe at all. It made her wonder if she’d really known him at all.
Holly realized she’d been outside the room for quite some time now. Wondering if Katharine was having trouble with the dress, she peeked her head in, and to her surprise, Katharine had it on, the back gaping open, as she sat on the edge of the stage, her knees pulled up and her arms around them.
“What’s the matter?” Holly said, rushing in. Did the dress not fit? Was there something wrong with it?
Katharine looked up, her wide eyes helpless. “I don’t know if it’s right,” she said.
It was a little late now to decide on another dress. “It’s a beautiful dress,” she said quickly. “But is there something we could change on it to make you more comfortable? I’m sure Diane—”
“Not this,” Katharine cut Holly off and fluffed her dress, the satin catching the air under it and ballooning out before deflating onto her legs once more. “My marriage. I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing, marrying Joseph. I’m worried that it won’t work between us, that we’ll fall into that fifty percent of couples who don’t make it. That’s half—one out of every two marriages ends in divorce.”
Holly gaped at her. What was she supposed to say to that? It was clear that Katharine was a confident, smart woman, and if she’d promised herself to Joe, she hadn’t made the decision lightly. Holly could never live with herself if she didn’t talk Katharine through this. “Do you remember Joe—Joseph’s—proposal?”
Katharine nodded, a bit of that strong presence of hers returning as the memory emerged.
“Did you feel like you could be with him for the rest of your life in that moment?”
“Yes.” Katharine ran her French manicured fingernails along the edge of the fabric, her mind clearly returning to that day.
“Channel that. And then go with your gut.” Holly took the tiara off the stand, the veil spilling over her arm, and carried it over to Katharine. “From what I’ve heard, planning this has put a strain on you, given your workload.”
Katharine looked up at her, listening.
“But it’s a day of celebration, a day of enjoying the person beside you and knowing that the two of you will get through anything.” Holly set the tiara on Katharine’s head. “Why don’t you let me get those buttons for you and we’ll see how the dress fits.”
After a long, thoughtful moment, Katharine stood up and then slowly turned around and faced the mirrors, slipping her hair and veil over her shoulder.
Silently, Holly began to fasten the pearl buttons.
Twenty-Eight
After the dress fitting, Holly arranged for the estate to be opened so she and Katharine could take a look at the property. Katharine was quiet, but she seemed purposeful in her comments, and Holly wondered if she was m
entally preparing for the big day. After all, Katharine’s whole working life was about readying herself for anything that was thrown at her—she was a lawyer. That could’ve been the reason for her earlier wobble during the fitting: Katharine wasn’t used to having to rely on others. A marriage required two people to make it work and Katharine wasn’t in control of Joe. It had to be difficult for her.
With the final alterations now being finished on the dress, it was time to consider placement of the wedding party, musicians, artwork, and the locations of various tables.
She had a couple of hours to kill, so she grabbed an early bite to eat, telling Katharine she’d meet her there, and Katharine went back to her hotel. While she was nibbling on a sandwich at a local takeout, Holly noticed she had a notification. It was an email message and the subject was “The Boy.” Curious, she opened it. An unsigned email followed, the address as cryptic as the message: [email protected]. She read the email:
I recognize the boy in the photo you shared on Facebook. I can get him a message. What would you like me to tell him?
Holly stared at the screen, paralyzed. What if it was just a prank? How would she know? Was it just a stranger out there, or was this some of Papa’s Christmas magic? Her fingers hovered over the screen as she decided on her response.
She typed back:
Hello!
Thank you for your email. I’d love you to tell him that Joe Barnes would like to meet him. Can you give me some sort of information to prove you really know him?
Thank you,
Holly McAdams
She sent the message, nervous energy pulsing through her hands. Should she contact Joe and tell him she’d had a message? No. Maybe not yet. She wouldn’t want to get his hopes up. Holly decided she’d wait until something actually came of it. It was probably nothing.
After leaving the restaurant, Holly tried to forget about the email until she got a more informative response. The whole drive, her mind was on the wedding she had to finish. She pulled her car to a stop behind a pair of colossal scrolled iron gates at the estate and hit the button. “Holly McAdams, here for the Barnes wedding preparations.”
There was a buzz and the enormous iron doors swung open slowly. Holly proceeded to the circular drive out front and parked the car. When she got out, she put her hands on her hips and took in the view, the estate towering over her like a monument to the rich and famous. A sprawling mass of white, with a portico supported by columns that were bigger than two hundred-year-old oak trees loomed over her. The whole thing sat on an expansive piece of land that managed to have green grass even in the winter, the leftover snow magically lifted from every surface. How had they done it?
Just then, the Range Rover pulled up. Holly turned to greet Katharine through the car window but stopped when she saw Joe was driving. He caught her eye as he parked and got out.
“Hey,” he said, that one word seeming to have so much more meaning than just a hello. Was she imagining it?
“Hi.” Holly caught herself chewing on the inside of her lip after she said it and made herself stop to eliminate any show of emotion, however small. This wedding was happening no matter how she felt, and she had a job to do.
Katharine exited the passenger side and walked around the car to greet Holly. “Ready?” she asked as she took Joe’s hand in hers.
Holly looked away from them toward an empty bench sitting under a large maple tree. In the winter, with its cold seat and empty branches on the tree above it, it seemed cold and barren. She could just imagine it in the springtime with the glow of sunshine all around it, the tree in full bloom… The crunch of light gravel under their feet brought Holly’s attention back to the wedding couple. They’d started walking. So Holly followed, stepping up on the other side of Joe, ready to work. Joe deserved a great wedding and she was going to give it everything she had.
They climbed the massive steps, leading to the double doors that, when opened, could be the size of an entire wall in her own home. When they arrived, the one on the left opened, a man in a suit greeting them.
“Hello. You must be the Harrison-Barnes party,” he said with a nod. “My name is Jay Woodson, house manager. Please, come in.” When all the introductions were made, Mr. Woodson invited them to look around and told them he’d be in his office off the parlor should they have any questions. Then he graciously left the room.
Holly got to work immediately. She started, “This is a good place to have your guests sign in, take their coats…” She walked across the black-and-white tiled floor, under a glass chandelier the size of a small condo, and waved her arms toward the sweeping staircases that flanked the room. “I’ve been looking at photos of the interior online, and I have some ideas. Against the side of these steps here, I thought we could put your portrait. We want it far enough from the door that it will draw guests inward, leaving space for new arrivals.”
Joe followed Holly’s steps with his gaze, quiet.
“And along that wall there, I thought we’d have the table with the favors—the snowflake ornaments.” She felt a little fizzle of affection when she remembered planning with him, but she pushed it away. “Would that work, Joe?”
“Hm?” he looked between them blankly.
“The favors?” Katharine repeated, inquisitively observing him.
He seemed to come to.
“The ones you’d told me about, remember?” Katharine said, nodding.
“Oh, yes,” he said on an inhale of breath. “Perfect.”
Was he getting overwhelmed like he had when she’d run too much by him? This was her job, though, so she kept going. Having studied the floor plan of the building and extensively researching since Joe left the cabin, Holly was on her game and Joe and Katharine needed her to be. “This leads straight into the grand hall through the entrance there.” Holly turned around and peered back at the double doors at the front. “Hang on a second. Let me see something.” She walked over to them and pulled on their enormous brass handles, swinging both of them open, the winter sunlight pouring in from outside. Then she stepped back, thinking.
“The cold is lost on this big room for a moment, as long as we don’t keep these doors open all day…” She went over to the grand hall and walked into the room, turning back around to face them, a smile emerging. “I thought so. Come in here.”
Katharine clicked her way across the floor with Joe beside her, entering the grand hall where they would have the ceremony. When Katharine faced the entryway, she gasped.
The doorway to the entrance of the estate was so large that, when the doors were open, it created a perfect frame behind the opening to the grand hall with a backdrop of lush winter green gardens, and the sunlight illuminated the floor all the way to them.
“It’s like a natural spotlight,” Holly said. “You will literally glow. If we are lucky enough to get sun, it will bounce off of every diamond in your tiara, every bead in your train, and all that perfect white of the dress will be against the gorgeous landscape out there as you are revealed to the guests for the first time. We’ll close the doors to the grand hall right after the bridal procession and then, when everyone stands, we’ll have ushers open the doors here as well as the front doors at the same time, and there you’ll be, standing like a princess.” She waved her arms toward the doorframe. “I’d like to see those roses here instead of on the exterior. I think they could be better used as an addition to the visual framework around that first glimpse of you in the dress.”
“Oh my God, Holly. You’re amazing. Your attention to detail is astonishing. Joe was right, you are incredible.”
Holly felt a thrill at Katharine’s comment.
“Thank you,” she said with a confident smile. She did enjoy wedding planning. “Once you start walking, we’ll close the front doors again immediately so the cold won’t seep in,” she continued, turning away from them and going toward the front of the estate.
When they got back to the entrance area, she noticed Joe looking on intently—so differ
ent than how she’d known him—and it brought back memories of laughing over those ridiculous sunglasses, his arms around her on the dance floor in Otis’s barn, the attentive smile he had when he unwrapped the keychain she’d bought that said, “Joey.” To her, he was Joey. Joe. Never Joseph. Never this man that had been so quiet the whole time.
Holly closed the heavy doors and turned around. “If we put the roses inside, and go with the dark red and white ensemble, the deep red runner I’ve chosen will pop against your dress. I’d like to also do small floral stands of roses on the ends of each row along the runner. I already cleared it with the florist, having used pictures of the estate from the web. The white folding chairs will start here.” She brushed Joe’s arm by accident as she passed, catching a whiff of his familiar scent. It made her feel surprisingly calm, like he’d always been able to make her feel. “And they’ll end there about a foot from the back of the room where you’ll enter.”
Katharine nodded, concentrating on the directions. Holly was delighted that the person who had seemed completely disinterested in her own wedding was so enthralled under her direction.
Holly was more energized than she had been in years, and for the first time, she got an indication of what Rhett must feel when he was performing. It was so natural and effortless, and the more interest she got from Katharine, the more encouraged she felt.
“The musicians could be set up over here on the side. We can put the strings on this platform and the flutes will be just below.” She finally looked at Joe, and he was smiling at her—could he tell how much she was enjoying this? “Joe, you’ll stand here,” she said, stepping into position at the front, her attention on his spot on the floor. “The bridal party could be fanned out on either side.”