The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop (Cadillac, Texas #3)(71)

“Maybe,” she answered.

Carlene passed presents to Alma Grace and Rick. Sugar, Alma Grace’s mama, wrote down each gift in a pretty white book. Jenny strung the bows on a velvet coat hanger and stuffed trash into a white plastic bag imprinted with wedding bells.

Just watching them gave Stella an acute case of imaginary hives. She held her hands in her lap to keep from scratching at bumps that weren’t there. She was so glad that she and Jed had simply gone to the courthouse in Durant, Oklahoma, one Monday afternoon, bought a license, and got married by the judge. It had taken thirty minutes from the time they walked into the court clerk’s office until they were back in Jed’s truck. They’d spent the rest of the day and the night in a hotel room and she hadn’t been late to work the next morning.

Tansy leaned back and said in a low voice, “Isn’t it all lovely? Now, about this ball. I hear it’s like a renaissance fair and a pre–Civil War ball all mixed up together. The poster at Bless My Bloomers looks like a movie advertisement. Are the men really supposed to wear knee britches? If they are, we’ll have very few guys to dance with. This is Texas.”

“It’s renaissance and redneck with lots of crazy thrown into the mix,” Nancy said. “All profits will go to Heather’s marriage ministry but if she doesn’t stop spending so big, she’s liable to be in the red for a long time with her new-founded ministry.”

“She’s got a lot to learn, doesn’t she?” Tansy whispered.

“Hello, everyone.” Heather waved from the doorway. “I’m a little late so I let myself in. I did my fifteen minutes of prayer at the prayerathon first so I could attend.” She slid a sidelong glance toward Stella. “Now the rest of the prayer folks are doing their duty.”

“Well, ain’t that nice,” Tansy said.

Heather had barely parked her fanny in a chair when the doorbell rang. Tansy popped up and headed in that direction and brought Annabel and Floy back with her.

“We prayed together. There is strength in numbers.” Annabel smiled at Stella. “You will be in line for all this real soon, Stella. We were talkin’ about your wedding shower on the way over here.”

Tansy returned the next time the doorbell rang with Rosalee right behind her. Her overalls were amazing, with sparkly stones creating a floral design up the outsides of both legs as well as across the bib. She wore a shiny red satin shirt underneath them and red rubber flip-flops with bright-colored stones glued to the straps.

She sat down beside Charlotte right behind Tansy, leaned up, and whispered, “What do y’all think? Agnes says for someone to send pictures to her phone.”

“You look amazing,” Stella said. “Can I borrow those sometime?”

“Anytime until I die, but then I’ll be buried in them. Me and Agnes decided when I went to see her this morning that we’d be buried in our new overalls or else our ball gowns. Damn, this is more fun than I’ve had in years.” Rosalee grinned.

“They are opening Heather’s present,” Charlotte said softly.

“Oh, Heather, how thoughtful of you,” Alma Grace said. “And it’s got a wide slot in the top for bagels. Rick and I are addicted to bagels with cream cheese. Thank you so much and please thank Violet for us, also, for sharing in buying the gift. We are so sorry that she couldn’t come and we hope that she’s feeling better real soon.”

Said like a true southern girl, although there were six more boxes the exact same size on the gift table. Stella wasn’t sure she’d have that much grace, not even as a preacher’s wife.

Gigi handed Alma Grace an envelope and said, “This is from Agnes and Rosalee.”

Alma Grace opened it and squealed, jumped up, and ran across the room. Tears welled up in her eyes as she threw her arms around Rosalee and hugged her fiercely. “You and Agnes are such sweethearts. Bless her heart, I know she wants to be here. You shouldn’t have done this, but I’m so happy that you did. Oh, and I adore your outfit. You may have just started a brand-new fad.”

“Your dad is delivering it to your new house right now, so it’s there,” Rosalee said. “It was mostly Agnes’s idea but I wanted to help, so we shared the gift.”

Alma Grace hugged her again. “I can’t believe that she remembered. Thank you, thank you! Everyone, I want to tell you a story. Last month, I was in an antique store in Sherman and Agnes came in to browse. I’d been admiring a gorgeous old burled-oak washstand. It was in perfect condition with the original hardware still on it and I said that there was a place in my house that it would fit right into. She has bought that lovely piece of furniture for us. Isn’t that the sweetest thing ever?”

Rosalee shooed her away. “It’s not a big deal. Not many girls your age appreciate good solid furniture, and we wanted you to have it. There’s something tucked inside the drawer that is a little extra surprise. Now go on and unwrap the rest of those presents before you have me cryin’ with you.”

Piper poked her on the arm. “What’s in the drawer?”

“Just a little hand-crocheted runner that she admired. My mama used to crochet that pineapple pattern and I thought she should have it to go with the washstand,” Rosalee whispered. “But don’t tell anyone. Heather can wonder if I put a check in there to pay for her honeymoon.”