One Step Closer(62)

She physically jumped when the curtain was yanked open suddenly. Wren’s hand went to her chest and she gasped; startled. Macy was standing there with an armful of dresses. She barged in, and started hanging them up on the hooks situated on all sides of the small space.

“Oh, Macy, you scared me.” This was the second time that Macy had invaded her privacy and Wren was annoyed.

“I brought you more choices. Look at this one?” Macy smiled brightly, the bright magenta lipstick a perfect compliment to her skin and dark hair. The dress she held up was made of chiffon and the skirt loose and flowing in a soft mauve but was inappropriate for the occasion. It would be pretty for a summer party, but this was a funeral. Some of the others Macy chose would be appropriate, but they were the best designers that Wren wouldn’t be able to afford, and the one’s she could afford were hideous; the style all wrong or designed for a woman two or three time’s Wren’s age.

Macy was so glamorous and Wren felt dowdy next to her. Caleb’s girlfriend was always dressed to kill, and Wren was at a disadvantage because she barely had anything with her; let alone weather appropriate.

“I’ll try it, but I think this one will be fine.” Wren looked at the price tag and balked. As simple as it was, it was still more than three hundred dollars.

“You need two, right?” Macy asked holding up another dress.

Wren shook her head. “Maybe if I get a scarf or a sweater, I can wear the same one for both the visitation and the funeral,” she said quietly. She didn’t feel like shopping, and not with Macy’s overbearing presence bombarding her. “Plus, I still need shoes, hose, and stuff.”

“Caleb’s loaded now. He can pay for it. I’m sure he’ll want to, anyway.” Macy shrugged off Wren’s monetary concerns.

“That’s okay. He doesn’t need to. I travel a lot and so I don’t like to have a lot of clothes. I’d rather have one dress that’s versatile.”

After more prodding from Macy and her refusal to leave the small dressing room, Wren acquiesced and tried on three more dresses. Caleb was waiting outside the small suite of rooms used for fitting rooms and she didn’t want to take so much time. She decided that if she didn’t argue with Macy, it would all be over more quickly. In the end, she still chose the first dress she’d tried on.

Macy got a better look at the locket Wren always wore under her clothes, which had been her main objective of joining her in the fitting room. The fa?ade of helping Wren pick out a dress was the perfect excuse.

The pendant was much more beautiful than it was in the portrait, or the brief glimpse she’d had the previous evening in Wren’s room.

“Wow. That’s gorgeous. It was Celine’s, wasn’t it? I saw it in the portrait.”

Wren bent to pull on her jeans and quickly pulled her V-neck T-shirt over her head. For some reason she was irritated that Macy had been in Celine’s room to see the portrait, and hurt that Caleb was obviously close enough to her to take her into his mother’s room. “It was.”

“What is it?

“A locket. It has Caleb’s baby picture in it.”

“It’s beautiful.” Macy reached out to touch it, intent on looking at it closer and seeing the picture. It could be partially seen through the filigree gate of the top section, but the picture that Wren had added of him when he was older in the third gate was hidden behind the first picture. The gates were layered and could only be viewed when the others in front were slid aside. It was like a secret between the person who owned the locket and the person who had gifted it.

Wren backed up a step and quickly returned the pendant beneath her shirt. Only the chain showed until it disappeared beneath the neckline. “It is.”

“Then why don’t you show it? Why hide it away in your shirt?”

Wren closed her eyes for a split second as she shoved her feet into the pair of old vans she found in her closet that morning. “I just don’t. I don’t know.” She shrugged.

“Do you need anything, honey? Are the sizes alright?” An elderly sales clerk asked, thankfully interrupting Macy’s inquiry.

Wren opened the curtain but bent to pick up a hanger from the floor, hung up the dress, and looked apologetically at the clerk. Macy turned and left the room without offering to help Wren remove the dozen dresses she’d brought into the room.

“I’m sorry, I’m just going to get this one dress.” She handed the one she’d chosen over to the woman. “Can I bring some of these out and help put them away?”

“Oh, no dear. I can do it.”

“I feel bad leaving this mess for you. I’d be happy to help,” Wren said, and offering a soft smile as she picked up her purse and slung it over her shoulder; she grabbed several dresses from where they were hanging on the walls. There was a rack outside the dressing room suite that she hung them on.

Wren glanced out to see Caleb engaged in an animated discussion with Macy; his brow furrowed. It seemed intense and Wren looked away when Macy put her hand on his chest in a familiar way. “Would you be able to help me find a scarf and jacket to go with this dress? I don’t have a lot of money, though, so something simple,” she asked the woman.

“Oh, of course, dear. Do you have an idea of style?”

“Basic black. I’m hoping it will rely on cut for style, and a simple scarf with muted colors. Maybe grey and white, or grey paired with a soft pastel? It’s for a funeral and wake. I’d like to be able to wear this dress to both. I’ll need sheer black stockings and some basic black pumps.”