His hardheaded attitude didn’t cow me—it only brought out my own willfulness. At this point, I wasn’t sure we were any closer to the truce that had first driven me out to his property. Truth be told, that truce didn’t have quite the same appeal it once had. I would far rather have our fiery disagreements than any blandmaking niceI’d once sought out.
“Eden Webb?” A young woman with long black braids came forward to greet us. “My name is Tara, I’ll take you back now.”
My skills with a pitchfork forgotten, Eden’s face crumpled with worry again. The three of us followed Tara into a small room lined with plush chairs in muted colors, a massive mirror on one wall. The wall opposite had a changing screen in the corner, and a large silver garment bag hung on a hook. Aunt Darlene and I took our seats, but Eden hovered by the garment bag, wringing her hands. Her eyes followed every movement Tara made as she unzipped the bag and drew out the wedding dress.
Aunt Darlene and I gasped in wonder right on cue. Eden touched the silk with shaky fingers, looking on the verge of tears—happy ones, this time.
“Ready to try it on?” Tara asked.
She nodded and ducked behind the changing screen with the dress. Tara stood at the ready, waiting to help her into it as needed.
“You deserve all the Maid of Honor awards,” Aunt Darlene whispered at my side. “I love her, but my girl’s a wreck.”
“It hasn’t been so bad.”
She gave me a shrewd look. My pop’s younger sister, they shared the same perceptive gaze and skeptical mouth. “I know what she’s like. It can’t have been easy to pull this together for her in only a few months. I thought she would have been more comfortable planning it for next year, but they didn’t want to wait.”
I might have expected a longer courtship and engagement from my ever-practical cousin, but I didn’t question their timing. “I guess when you know, you know.”
Was it insane that my thoughts immediately went to Ty? Yes. Yes, it was insane. I tucked away that evidence of my own trip to crazy town.
“Oh, yes indeed. Madly in love, those two. Still would have been nice to have a little more time to throw this wedding together. She didn’t have many declines on the RSVP list, so I guess I shouldn’t complain about short notice.”
The RSVP list sent my thoughts in a whole new direction. Had Pop invited Marilyn to the wedding? The question set an uncomfortable tension inside me, like a spring pulled taut, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask my aunt if my own father had a plus-one. It seemed like something I should hear from him. Not that he had been forthcoming with me so far.
I wondered how much his hesitation in telling me had to do with waiting to be sure he and Marilyn were serious, and how much had to do with his own guilt about moving on. Or did he feel any guilt at all? Was he really over my mother, just like that?
Eden stepped out from behind the privacy screen, and I sucked in a breath. Her A-line dress had a tulle overlay with delicate appliqué at the waist that made her look like a Greek goddess. She moved forward, stepping onto the small platform set in front of the huge mirror, her eyes glistening with tears.
“Oh, honey.” Aunt Darlene stood to help smooth out her veil as she looked her over. “You’re gorgeous.”
“The dress is absolutely perfect,” I said.
Tara pulled lightly along the dress’s hem and traced fingers along Eden’s sides, indicating the alterations, but Eden was too far gone to pay much attention.
“I’ll give you a moment.” Tara slipped from the room.
“It’s really happening,” Eden whispered to her reflection in the mirror. “I really get to marry Booker.”
“In a few short days,” Aunt Darlene confirmed. She moved so they appeared side by side in the mirror and rested her head on Eden’s shoulder. “I want you to know how proud I am of the woman you’ve become. Your father and I are thrilled beyond words to see you so in love with Booker, and ready to build your lives together. We couldn’t have raised a better woman, or asked for her to find a better man.”
My aunt’s sweet words needled at me until I couldn’t breathe, my lungs stopped up tight.
“Thank you for everything you do for me, Mom.” Eden swiped at her tears to keep them from falling on the dress. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, honey.”
I tried to swallow down the lump in my throat, but it refused to budge.
“I think I forgot something in my car.” I bolted across the room and slipped out the door, didn’t stop walking until I reached the parking lot, taking deep gulps of air to fight the sudden sense of suffocation.
My vision swam with waiting tears, my heart pinching and squeezing in my chest. I longed to hear those words from my own mother, to see the pride and love in her eyes as I prepared for my wedding day. But that was gone forever. Unfair to have lost her so soon, so suddenly. Childish to think it, but that was the only thought stuck in my head.Unfair.
I fought the tide of tears, willing myself to keep it together. I couldn’t let Eden find me bawling by my car, wishing for my mother.
But I couldn’t help wishing for her. I still missed her with a fierce longing that left me aching inside, hollowed out by grief. Her memory was so fresh in my mind and heart, it burned. How had my father moved on so easily? And how was I supposed to pretend I was okay with it?
After a few minutes, Aunt Darlene walked out of the bridal shop and across the parking lot. I was readying an excuse, but she didn’t give me a chance to use it. She held her arms out wide.
