Two more dresses got a “Next!” immediately. Turning on my heel before I reached the mirror, I didn’t even bother to look.
We were down to the last one, when Valerie snapped her fingers. “Let’s get you into this one, then I’m going to run to the back. We have a vintage gown that I hadn’t even considered.” She met my eyes. “You have an old soul spirit around you, so maybe…” She lifted a shoulder. “It’s worth looking at, I think.”
Waiting as she buttoned the back, I already knew this wasn’t the dress either. Not that it wasn’t beautiful. It just wasn’t… it. Taking a deep breath, I thought happy thoughts and smiled my very brightest as I walked through the dressing room door and into the room of many mirrors.
“Next.”
Back in the dressing room, my phone pinged. Since I was stuck in the dress until Valerie came back, I dug it out of my purse.
Kane: How’s it going?
Just seeing his face on my screen filled me with little butterflies, and I pressed my thighs together to keep them from escaping.
Me: I’m standing here in a dress with a million buttons. Want to come help me escape?
Kane: Only if I can use my teeth.
Hmm… he could use his teeth on me anywhere and had already done so.
Me: You’re making me horny.
Kane: You’re always horny.
Me: Is that a problem?
Kane: Yeah. It’s a big problem because I’m not there to fuck you right now.
Me: Later?
Kane: Absolutely. Do I get your ass tonight?
Me: No!
Kane: Today’s opposite day, so yay for me.
I rolled my eyes. He was such a boy sometimes.
Me: Maybe I can have your ass tonight? I can grab a strap-on while I’m out. Do you prefer purple or red?
Kane: Har-de-har-har. Did you take a Benadryl?
I smiled. I loved that he remembered little details like that. Loved how he seemed to really listen and cared enough to store what I said away.
Me: Maybe. I’m drinking champagne and eating chocolate-dipped strawberries. I’d like to dip your cock in chocolate and lick it off.
Kane: Where are you? I’ll be there in five.
I laughed out loud that time.
Me: Sorry. Eagle ears Nana is just outside.
Kane: You sure know how to deflate a guy.
Me: Lucky for you, I know how to inflate him again. I’ll show you later.
Kane: Promise?
Me: Promise.
Kane: Before or after I take your ass?
Me: Nice try, mister. You’ll need a penile reduction before that happens.
Kane: What? I think Godzilla just had a heart attack. Seriously. Can you come perform CPR?
I snorted.
Me: Godzilla needs to take a Benadryl.
Kane: He’s pouting.
There was a soft knock on the door, and Valerie popped in. I turned my back for her to start on the many buttons.
Me: Gotta go try on another dress. Tell Godzilla I’ll make it up to him later.
Kane: Godzilla roared his approval.
Me: Good luck tonight. Hit the ball… hard.
Kane: Bye baby. See ya laters.
Still smiling, I tucked the phone away as the constricting dress began to loosen.
“You seem happy,” Valerie said, meeting my gaze in the small mirror.
“That was my fiancé. He makes me happy.”
She smiled. “I can see that. I hope what the two of you have now lasts a lifetime.”
I stepped out of the dress, glad that I was now looking down so she couldn’t see my face. A lifetime sounded wonderful. I pushed down that tingle of hope. Kane was with me now because he felt sorry for me when he saw me with my mother. Then fate had a moment of humor and caused us to be engaged. But Kane hadn’t said a word about making what we have more permanent. Of course, neither had I.
Why?
“What do you think?”
I’d been so absorbed in my thoughts that I hadn’t paid attention as Valerie took the next dress from its bag.
Oh.
Wow.
The lace had aged, giving it a champagne effect that only time, not humans, could lovingly administer. Reaching out a hand, I traced my fingers over the delicate silk straps.
“Is it really my size?”
Valerie smiled. “Yes, it is.”
I felt myself holding my breath as I stepped into it, and Valerie pulled it in place. There was no back of the gown to speak of, so it didn’t take her long to close it up.
I wasn’t breathing. Neither was the kind saleswoman, I realized, as I turned to the mirror… and fell in love.
It was perfect. If the image of my perfect gown could have been plucked from my mind and handcrafted into something even more extraordinary, this would be it.
Smiling gently, Valerie lifted a matching veil and attached it to the back of my head. It was also simple, elegant. When I looked in the mirror again, I felt complete.
Neither Valerie nor I said a word as I stepped from the dressing room and toward Nana and Mom. They didn’t say a word either.
Stepping up on the dais, I looked at myself and heard Nana whisper loudly, “Told you. Sparkle.” Louder, she said. “Wrap that sucker up.”
***
The next morning, I found myself humming as I chopped celery in Kane’s enormous kitchen, chrome and granite sparkling all around me. I was making food bags for my babies and their humans, and doing so brought me incredible joy. Even though I was farther away from them now, it was important for me to take care of them all.
I had been thrilled and touched when Kane came home one day with an armload of canvas Beasts bags for the men. Inside them were Beasts blankets, hoodies, and warm woolen hats. There were also thermoses I could use to give them warm drinks or soup when it turned cold.
Today was thick, homemade chicken salad sandwiches with carrots and grapes. A bottle of Ensure for extra protein and two bottles of water each was accompanied by a couple of fruit and granola bars I baked for them to snack on through the rest of the day. The doggies got high-quality dog food and a treat. I only did their flea meds at the beginning of each month, so there wasn’t anything special today.
It wasn’t nearly all that they needed, but it was a start. When I was able to do more, I would.
I groaned when my phone rang, and I looked at the screen, knowing I shouldn’t answer but did it anyway.
There was no greeting, just… “And when exactly did you plan to tell your own mother you were getting married? And in a few weeks, no less? Are you pregnant?”
Panic constricted my throat. I was still absorbing the idea of a wedding myself. I wasn’t ready to talk about it to her.
“How did you find out?” I managed to ask, knowing immediately it was the wrong thing to say.
“What do you mean find out? Why were you hiding such happy news from me?”
Because I don’t want this to become the Alize show.
“No, that’s not what I mean. It’s just that we decided just a few days ago. I can’t imagine how the word has spread that fast.”
“New York City, young lady, is the biggest small town in the world. If one person knows a thing, everyone knows that same thing. But that’s not the point…” she said through gritted teeth, “you really should be more considerate. I raised you better than that.”