If You Only Knew(64)

Mrs. B.’s response is to glance at her watch.

In the changing room, Kimber strips down to her bra and panties, both shocking pink. Her tattoos are rose vines, climbing from her hip bone up her side to twine her neck. She also has angel wings between her shoulder blades and the full-sleeve tattoo. I wouldn’t want a tattoo myself, but I don’t mind them. And they suit Kimber, with her pink hair and studded ears. She has such an innocence about her; she looks like a rock ’n’ roll angel.

“This is so much fun!” she whispers. “I hope Mrs. B. likes it! I really want us to be friends.”

The admission is so honest and sweet. “If Jared loves you, I’m sure she already does. And not to toot my own horn, but this dress is perfect. You’ll look beautiful,” I say. “Here, just slide this over your head. Don’t look. Now, let me zip you up. You’ll have buttons on the real dress, but this can give you an idea.”

Kimber closes her eyes and lets me do my thing.

The dress fits her perfectly, and that figure... Glory be. She’s built like Scarlett Johansson.

“My tatts will still show,” Kimber says.

“I know,” I say. “This is the under-dress...just the bodice and skirt, see? Now, this isn’t your lace—we’ll pick that out today—but I made you a little jacket to give you an idea of how it will look.”

She slides her arms into the sleeves and lets me button the makeshift jacket. “You can pick whatever pattern of lace you want,” I tell her. “It can be a corded lace, which is heavier, or you can go with something really light and airy. I think light would work best, personally, but it’s up to you. And it can be beaded, too, if you want a little sparkle.”

“Oh! Sparkle sounds great!”

I finish the last button. “Open your eyes.”

She opens her eyes, and her lips part, her face at once dreamy and stunned. “Is that really me?” she asks.

“Sure is. You look amazing. Shall we show her?”

We go out to where Mrs. Brewster waits, looking pinched. Her face doesn’t change, though Kimber is beaming.

“What do you think?” I ask.

“I can still see those ridiculous tattoos,” she snaps. “I thought you understood our problem.”

“This lace pattern is only for demonstration,” I say calmly. “We can pick out something with a denser pattern if—”

“No,” Mrs. Brewster says. “The lace won’t work. No tattoos should be showing at all. This is a church wedding, not some civil ceremony. Jared’s father is the minister of the congregation. His son can’t seem to be marrying a...prostitute.”

Holy shit.

Kimber swallows hard. Her eyes are shiny with tears.

“I’m sure no one would think that, Mrs. Brewster,” I say, earning an icy glare. “Kimber, this is your day. What do you think?”

She looks at Mrs. Brewster. “Um...I guess more, um, opaque? Because I get what Mrs. Brewster’s saying. It’s kind of a formal day. So maybe no lace. What else could we do? I mean, I love the shape. It’ll be beautiful in anything. Right?”

“It’s hardly modest,” Mrs. Brewster says. “Her...rump is far too obvious. What about a higher waist? A ball gown would be more appropriate for a church wedding.”

Kimber’s one request was anything but a ball gown. Which Mrs. Brewster, she and I had discussed in our first and second appointments.

“I could try a ball gown,” Kimber says meekly.

“Good. Jennifer—”

“It’s Jenny, actually. I was never Jennifer.”

“Can you whip up a ball gown?”

I force a smile. “Yes, I can make a ball gown in time for the wedding. If that’s what Kimber wants.”

“Then let’s pick out some fabric. Do you have any satin?” She stands up, breezes past Kimber and goes to the wall of sample fabrics.

Ten minutes later, Mrs. Brewster has chosen an antique satin—a heavy, lustrous fabric. Under her critical eye, I sketch out a classic, Cinderella ball gown. High-necked, long-sleeved, high-backed.

“This is going to be very warm, especially if you have a hot day,” I say to the bride, who’s biting her fingernail, standing behind Mrs. Brewster.

“Sew in some sweat shields,” Mrs. Brewster says.

“Kimber? Anything you’d like to add, honey?”

She inches over and looks at the picture. “Um...maybe some bling? Just a little?”

“Sure. We can add some beading here, and maybe here, too—”

“No,” Mrs. Brewster says. “That’s so tacky.”

“I have everything from Swarovski crystal to seed pearls to—”

“It should be modest. Unadorned. Simple, as mine was.”

“Okay,” Kimber agrees. “I like it plain, too.”

“I did not say plain,” Mrs. Brewster says through her teeth. It’s the first time she’s spoken directly to Kimber this entire appointment, and I can feel the hate coming off her in waves. “I said unadorned. There’s a standard of class you need to embrace, Kimber, if you’re going to be seen socially with my son.”

Kind of hard to picture Kimber and Mrs. Brewster friends, no matter what the poor kid hopes.