Scarred

by Tess Thompson

  “It’s too much,” Valerie said. “Is there a clearance rack?”

  Pepper ignored her, stepping over to a table of jeans stacked in neat piles. “You’ll need a basic denim, both faded and dark. Oh, and a pair of black jeans is a must.” She grabbed several and draped them over one arm.

  Autumn chose a half-dozen blouses in various styles and shades. Cello glided over and took them from her, giving Autumn the opportunity to pick out a few light sweaters and a jean jacket. Pepper had meandered over to a rack with summer clothes: shorts, T-shirts, and sundresses. She slipped a yellow sundress from a rack, squinted, then caressed the fabric. Apparently it was deemed worthy, because she handed it, along with a few other dresses, to Cello.

  Valerie wandered from rack to rack, touching fabric, then looking at the price tags. They continued this routine for a few more minutes, with Cello taking their choices back to the dressing room. When they had at least thirty items Pepper suggested she start to try the clothes on. Cello met them outside the room with the initial blouse choice hanging on the outside of the door. She opened the door with the key that dangled from a coiled plastic band around her wrist.

  Just outside the rooms, there was an area with a couch and a trifold mirror. Autumn and Pepper both sat and waited to hear any news from behind the door. They chatted quietly about where they should have lunch while Valerie silently tried on clothes.

  After a few minutes, Valerie stepped out to them. She wore the yellow sundress with a filmy white cardigan over her shoulders. A slight, shy smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “I like this one,” she said, in a breathy voice. “It reminds me of a dress I wanted when I was in high school.”

  Autumn stood, using the sofa arm to aid her in rising from the depth of its cushions. “You look really nice. Like a daisy.”

  “You do,” Pepper said, eyes shiny.

  “What about the others?” Autumn asked.

  Valerie nodded, still smiling shyly. “A few pairs of jeans and some blouses. Summer things too.”

  Cello appeared and made a big fuss about how good Valerie looked and how youthful. She then helped gather all the chosen items and brought them to the register. While Cello rang up the purchases, Autumn took her mother to find bras and panties. The clerk there talked her into being formally fitted for a bra, which took a while. After that, they bought a bathing suit, a modest blue one-piece with a matching hat and cover, then went down to the shoe department. There, they bought tennis shoes, flat sandals, and a pair of wedges that Pepper insisted were a staple for any woman who lived by the beach.

  They were on their way to the exit, describing to Valerie the quaint bistro they were taking her to, when she tugged on Autumn’s arm. “Is it fancy? The lunch place?” Valerie’s lips twitched on one side as she tugged on the front of her shirt as she had earlier.

  “Not really,” Autumn said.

  Pepper, as usual, was way ahead of her. “Would you like to change into one of your new outfits before we go?”

  Valerie ducked her head. “I don’t want to go there looking like this.” She waved toward them. “You two look like all the ladies in here. So put together and fancy.”

  Pepper, who wore a short red halter dress and jean jacket paired with wedge sandals, looked like a movie star, if truth be told. Autumn liked the way her own linen pants flowed and knew the sleeveless silky blouse gave her an air of sophistication. No wonder her mother felt out of place.

  “Valerie, yes, please change,” Pepper said. “You look just fine as you are, but I know how it is when you get something new.”

  So they traipsed off to the bathroom and Valerie changed into a pair of cropped white jeans and a flowy cotton blouse and her flat sandals. She twirled for them when she came out to the sitting area of the women’s lounge. “What do you think?”

  Pepper jumped to her feet and gave Valerie a hug. “I think you look fabulous. Now let’s go eat. I’m starving.”

  They exited, each carrying bags filled with Valerie’s new wardrobe. The bistro was within walking distance and close to the place where Pepper had made the hair and makeup appointment. During lunch, they discussed how Valerie would like her hair fixed.

  “I’ve always worn it long,” Valerie said, tugging at her white ponytail. “But maybe it’s time to try something new. Shoulder length, maybe?”

  “What color?” Pepper tore a piece of bread in half.

  “It was like Autumn’s when I was young. Light brown. When I first met your dad, Autumn, he said it was the color of maple syrup.”

  “Is that what you want?” Autumn asked, holding herself back from asking more questions. She’d never heard anything about her parents’ early life together. Had they been in love? When had things changed between them? She supposed there were a hundred different answers to that. They’d been seventeen years old when they married. Children, really.

  “I guess so,” Valerie said in response to the question.

  “You guess?” Pepper asked.

  “Well, I always wanted to be a blonde.” Valerie played with the edge of the tablecloth. “Now that I live in California, it seems fitting.”

  “Great. Easier to cover the white,” Pepper said.

  After lunch, the three of them walked over to the salon. When a man came out and introduced himself as Mario, it was obvious he and Pepper knew each other. They hugged, and then Mario kissed each of her cheeks. “Darling, I saw your film. You’re right. Dreadful. But not a person besides me knew it. The entire theater was on the edges of their seats.”

  “I told you it was terrible,” Pepper said.

  “Everything but you,” Mario said. “You were sublime. Other than your character being dumb enough to walk up the stairs.”

  Pepper laughed. “Toast in the first twenty minutes.”

  Mario turned to Autumn and Valerie, greeting them with a friendly smile and handshake. “Miss Valerie, are you ready for the Mario treatment?”

  “Yes…I guess so.” Valerie shot Autumn a worried grimace.

  Mario asked Valerie to follow him. “We’ll see you two in a few hours.”

  They turned to each other and grinned. “What should we do now?” Autumn asked.

  Pepper bounced on her feet. “I have a surprise. Follow me.”

  The driver maneuvered them through the skinny streets of San Francisco. Autumn’s stomach clenched at every sound of a horn and when the car lurched as he changed lanes or rounded corners. To distract herself, she asked Pepper, “So, what’s the surprise?”

  Pepper, in the bucket seat next to her, turned to face her. “Your brother and I have finally picked a date and decided where we want to have the wedding.”

  “Finally. I thought you’d never get a date figured out.”

  “Between our work commitments, it was tough.”

  “I’m so excited. Truly.” She smiled over at her future sister-in-law. “Where and when?”

  “You can’t laugh,” Pepper said. “It’s what I’ve wanted since I was young.”

  “I won’t laugh. I promise.”

  “It’s a castle in France. Well, not really in the castle, but on the grounds. Castles aren’t always what they look like from the outside. We learned that on our trip. Did you know Sleeping Beauty’s castle in the movie was based on a real castle?” Stone and Pepper had taken a trip over to France after Pepper finished filming the movie with Lisa and Genevieve Banks.

  “I had no idea it was a real place.”

  “Yes. We went there. The insides were a wreck, but the outside looked like the movie. But I digress. That’s not where we’re having it. Instead of a castle, we found a château. It’s smaller, obviously, with beautiful grounds and gardens. We’ll do it outside in a garden under a tree. And we’re renting the entire place out for our guests.”

  “When?”

  “October. We thought it would be fun to go during harvest.”

  Autumn’s eyes misted. “I’ve always wanted to go to France.”

  “You’ll love it
. I promise.”

  Maybe she could meet her new friend in Paris. She put a pin in that thought and focused on Pepper.

  “I found a dress,” Pepper said. “And I have a fitting today, which is where we’re headed.”

  Autumn clapped her hands together in excitement. “I cannot wait to see what you found.”

  “Also, I was wondering if you’d like to be a bridesmaid,” Pepper said. “Maggie and Lisa are sharing maid of honor duties. We made a pact ages ago so that no one felt jealous if they were picked over the other.” Lisa, Pepper, and Maggie had met in college and had basically spent most of their young adulthood side by side. They did everything together.

  “I can’t marry your brother without having you in the wedding party. We’re going to be sisters, after all. Will you be my third bridesmaid?”

  “I’d be honored to be in the wedding,” Autumn said as she squeezed Pepper’s hand. “I’m touched. This is unexpected.”

  “I want us to be close,” Pepper said. “As you know, Stone adores you. I keep daydreaming of all the fun we’ll have raising our families together in Cliffside Bay.”

  Autumn sighed. “I don’t think you should count on that. I can’t even make it to a second date with someone.”

  Pepper, with the same expression she’d had on the beach the night before, looked as if she wanted to say something but changed her mind. “Here we are.” She pointed to a wedding shop with a pink awning over the front door and windows.

  The driver pulled into the alley between two buildings. Pepper thanked him and asked that he return in two hours to take them back to the salon. They scuttled out of the vehicle and over to the shop. Four mannequins in gorgeous gowns adorned the front window. “Maggie and Lisa are inside waiting. Let’s go.”

  “Did you have this all planned before you offered to take Valerie shopping?” Autumn asked as they walked inside the shop.

  “I did. I’d planned on kidnapping you today and surprising you when we got here but decided combining it with your mother’s shopping trip made perfect sense.”

  Lisa and Maggie were waiting for them in the lobby. Lisa, dressed in a pair of red skinny jeans and a T-shirt from Maggie’s latest concert tour, wore almost no makeup. Her light blond hair was pulled into a ponytail. She looked like any normal albeit gorgeous young woman, instead of one of the most famous actresses in America.

  Maggie had her copper-colored hair pulled back in a long braid. She wore a pair of cropped leggings over her long and muscular dancer legs, paired with a filmy white tunic. Like nutmeg sprinkles, freckles dotted her fair skin and made her seem young and innocent. In reality, she was the mother to a toddler and a rising star in the pop-folk music world. Her sophomore album was being hailed as one of the best of the year, with hints of a Grammy nomination coming.

  They squealed and rushed toward them, pulling them both into hugs.

  “We’re so excited,” Lisa said as she smoothed her hands over Pepper’s curls. “You’re glowing.”

  Pepper pretended to be embarrassed by the praise and pushed her friend away. “Stop it. You’re glowing.”

  Maggie turned to Autumn. “How are you? We heard your mother’s moving in.”

  “Moved in,” Autumn said. “She came last night. So far, it’s been fine. But Kyle and Stone will find her a place of her own. Soon, I hope.” She smiled to soften the words. “I’d gotten used to having the cottage to myself, but there’s no way I couldn’t ask her to stay.”

  “I may have a solution for you, but I’ll tell you after the fitting,” Lisa said.

  A solution. That sounded promising.

  “Have you been waiting long?” Pepper asked.

  “No, we arrived five minutes ago,” Lisa said.

  “Jackson dropped us off on his way to meet Brody over at his condo,” Maggie said. “The Dogs are meeting in the city for a weekend of poker and debauchery.”

  “You’d think they’d be too settled down for all that.” Lisa’s thin brows came together in a worried frown.

  Maggie gave her braid a resigned tug. “It’s a bit of harmless fun, even though Jackson will come back with a few hundred dollars less in his pocket and terribly hungover. Dogs will be Dogs.”

  “Are they still calling themselves that?” Pepper asked.

  “Until they die.” Maggie shook her head, laughing.

  Autumn smiled, thinking of the ties that bound Kyle and his best friends. When they were at college together, Brody Mullen, Lance Mullen, Zane Shaw, and Maggie’s husband, Jackson Waller, had nicknamed themselves the Dogs after the famous painting of five pooches playing poker.

  They all accepted a glass of champagne from the attendant as Lisa commented, “Rafael and Stone used to joke about grown men naming themselves until they decided they were the mangy Wolves of Cliffside Bay.”

  Autumn nodded in agreement. “I hear them referring to themselves as the Wolves all the time.” They’d subsequently named their building company Wolf Enterprises.

  “Men need to feel part of a pack, obviously,” Pepper said.

  Lisa held up her glass and lowered her voice as though she was a Supreme Court justice. “Here’s to our pack. The Bobcats—the pretty to our mangy Wolves.”

  They all clinked glasses and grinned at one another.

  Autumn buzzed with joy. She was part of a group now. A place to belong. Her tribe.

  The attendant returned and introduced herself as Lacy. “Come on back. Pepper, your dress is hanging up and ready for you to try on. Once you have it on, my seamstress will take a look.”

  Pepper thanked her. “Did you pull the bridesmaid dresses for the girls to try on?”

  Lacy nodded. “They’re waiting in the dressing rooms as well.”

  Pepper glanced over at Autumn. “I picked a few bridesmaid dresses, but I want you three to try them on and pick which you like best.”

  Lacy showed them to their rooms and asked them to let her know if they needed anything.

  Autumn pulled the curtain closed and surveyed the three dresses hanging on the hooks. They were all in a pale green. A good color for all three of them. Pink, red, or orange wouldn’t have worked for her or Maggie and her copper hair. They were all fair, so a bright color might have washed them out. Two of the choices were full-length, but the third dress had a fitted bodice with a full, short skirt.

  Her heartbeat sped up, and she broke out into a hot sweat. A short skirt? What had Pepper been thinking? Didn’t she know Autumn never showed her legs?

  Lisa and Maggie were sharing a larger space right next to her. Their voices, somewhat muffled, were still easy enough to hear.

  “Autumn, can you hear me?” Lisa asked.

  “Yes,” Autumn said.

  “This short dress is not what Pepper asked for,” Lisa said. “Try on one of the others first. We’ll ask for a full-length third option.”

  “Pepper would never be this insensitive,” Maggie said.

  “Autumn?” Lisa asked. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. It’s not a big deal.” Autumn slumped against the wall, touched by their concern for her feelings, yet embarrassed too.

  Should she care this much about her legs showing? What if this was the dress Pepper would pick out if it weren’t for Autumn’s insecurities?

  Right then and there, she made a decision. She was tired of hiding. Trey was right. How much of her life was affected by her militant decision to keep her legs covered? Plus, these ladies would not judge her. They were too kind for that. Pepper was going to be her sister, her family. She wanted her to have exactly what she wanted on her wedding day. If it was short dresses, she would have short dresses.

  She undressed and stepped into the short gown. Strapless with a straight neckline, fitted waist, and a full skirt layered with tulle, the dress brought to mind the twirling ballerina in a child’s jewelry box. She’d coveted one when she was young. Last Christmas, she’d bought one for Mollie, living vicariously through her niece’s delight when the plastic b
allerina spun round and round.

  Autumn zipped up the back as best she could and stood in front of the full-length mirror. For a second, she was that ballerina. Fighting the urge to try a twirl, she gazed at herself, averting her eyes from her legs and concentrating instead on her upper torso. She pulled her hair up and wrapped it in a knot on top of her head. The woman who gazed back at her from the mirror looked beautiful in this dress. She was a ballerina princess.

  This dress was like Pepper: playful, whimsical, theatrical, and very feminine. Autumn could imagine herself and the other ladies outside a château in France, toasting her brother and his delicate bride in the shadow of a hundred-year oak.

  She took a long, hard look at her legs. The red marks were stark against her white skin. Her dented calf made her wince. What would others think as she walked toward Stone and Pepper, such perfect humans, with her flawed legs? No, she would be brave. Neither this day nor the wedding day to come was about her. They were about Pepper. Good, kind, giving Pepper, who should pick the dresses she wanted, regardless of their length.

  There were several pairs of shoes stacked in the corner. She slid her feet into a pair of strappy high-heeled sandals. A size too big, but they worked for this purpose.

  The other ladies were already in front of the three-way mirror. Lisa and Maggie wore the mermaid-style chiffon that had also been in Autumn’s room. Maggie was huddled in one corner with a stricken-looking Lacy, clearly telling her of the error. Lisa stood to the right of the bride. Pepper stood on a raised platform. The seamstress, a small white-haired lady, crouched at her feet, putting pins in the hem.

  Before she drew attention to herself, Autumn took a moment to look at Pepper in her dress. The strapless dress had a delicately beaded lace bodice, wide, circular tulle skirt and chapel-length train.

  “You look perfect,” Autumn said, rendered almost breathless by Pepper’s beauty. “Like a princess.”

  Lisa and Pepper turned to look at Autumn. Pepper watched her from the mirror, surprise then anger slowly working their way across her face.

  “Autumn, I’m sorry,” Pepper said. “That wasn’t supposed to be in there.”