There was squealing over her hair, finally trimmed and layered in a style that made her feel like a princess, and sales and discount designer malls and a final stop at an exclusive boutique, where the women had tried on dresses for an upcoming graduation for Wanda’s niece, Naomi.
Wanda told her they were going to surprise Naomi with a prom dress, and being that Teddy was Naomi’s size, asked if she’d try dresses on in her stead. They’d coaxed her into giving them her opinion because they claimed they were old and outdated and if anyone in the group was even remotely close to Naomi’s age, it was Teddy.
She’d happily obliged, trying on at least twenty dresses before she made an entrance in the last one of the day—the one that made all the women sigh with pleasure, even Nina.
It was strapless and mint green, with a bodice covered in iridescent pink rhinestones. The skirt was bell-shaped, cinched at her waist and made out of a combination of mint-green tulle and silk that floated around her knees like a whispered caress.
Everyone had agreed Naomi would love it, and Wanda had shelled out far more money than Teddy had dedicated to ten years’ worth of clothing, and they’d left to join her brothers and Cormac for dinner.
Marty cupped her jaw and smiled. She looked like a fairy princess with her hair falling around her face in soft waves, gleaming against her sapphire-blue dress. She held up a curling iron and Wanda dangled a makeup bag. “Let’s get this show on the road. It’s princess time!”
Teddy barely had time to process her surroundings before they had her in her office, where curling irons heated and makeup was pulled from a bag and set on her desk. Eyeshadow brushes worked their magic, slick gloss slid over her lips, shoes appeared out of nowhere, sparkly and probably two inches too dangerously high for someone as clumsy as her.
Marty curled and fluffed her hair, and Wanda spritzed and chatted happily while Nina steamed her gown. And then they were tugging off her old denim shirt and ordering her out of her jeans and dropping the dress—the most beautiful dress she’d ever seen—over her head.
Pulling her into her office’s private bathroom, they pushed her toward the wide mirror, where her breathing hitched.
“Ohhhh,” she murmured. Unable to believe this was her reflection. Her hair, now a mixture of platinum and caramel highlights, sat high atop her head in soft curls that fell in all the right places around her face.
Her eyes, once a plain hazel, now looked mysterious and smoldering beneath the deep brown and green smoky eye Wanda had created with eyeshadow and mascara. Her lips shone peachy-pink, glossed and pouty; her cheekbones highlighted by a sparkling peachy glaze of something Marty said was a new product at Pack.
But the dress. Her dress stole the show. It was perfect, hugging her curves in all the right places, while lifting her breasts and shimmering in a dreamy confection of fabric.
“You look amazing, sweetie,” Marty said from behind her, gripping her shoulders and squeezing.
Wanda gave her a warm hug, too. “Our little Teddy is all grown up, girls. Isn’t she beautiful?” she asked with a hitch in her voice.
“You fucking look like Cinderella, Teddy Bear. Ask me, I’m pretty sure I met her doppelganger in Shamalot,” Nina said, pinching her cheek with affection before pulling a bag of Goobers from her hoodie pocket and dropping some in her mouth.
Teddy turned from the mirror, her eyes brimming with tears. “You did all of this for me?”
Marty whipped a tissue from the inside of her bodice and dabbed at Teddy’s eyes. “Don’t cry now, you’ll muss your makeup. And yes, we had a little something to do with it.”
She squeezed Marty’s hand. “Something?”
Wanda smiled coquettishly and held out a long gold box with a tiny gold bow. “Yes, something. Now, this is from the three of us. Wear it with all our love. We have to hurry, so open it!”
Teddy popped open the box to reveal a note inside. She cocked her head when she unfolded the paper.
Her mouth fell open. She blinked her eyes twice and reread the slip of paper. “It’s the deed. The deed to…Sanctuary?”
Nina used the heel of her good hand to knock Teddy in the shoulder. “You didn’t think we were gonna let all those damn eagles and monkeys and giraffes and shit be shipped off to some jackasses who don’t know what the fuck they’re doin’, did ya?”