The Exception(44)

“Yeah. But I didn’t get to see you in it.”

“Trust me, you missed nothing. Besides, it’ll be a cold day in hell before I ever get back into a wedding dress.”

“Don’t say that, Jill.”

“It’s true.”

She shook her head and headed into the dressing room. After trying on six different dresses and not liking any of them, she stepped out in the last dress she had in the room.

“Wow,” I spoke as I got up from the plush chair and walked over to her as she stared at herself in the three-way mirror.

“This is the one, Jill.” Her eyes filled with tears.

Laying my head on her shoulder, I spoke, “It’s perfect, Kristen.”

“I have the perfect head piece for you.” The saleswoman smiled.

After a few moments, she returned with a lightly beaded white satin head scarf with a veil attached to the back of it. Taking it from her hands, I placed it on Kristen’s head.

“What do you think?”

“Now it’s complete.”

As soon as Kristen went to change out of the dress, I pulled the saleswoman to the side.

“How fast can you get this dress altered?”

“We would order her a brand new one closer to her size.”

“We don’t have time. She’s getting married next Saturday.”

“I’m sorry, but that’s impossible. We send our dresses out to be altered.”

“Not good enough. I need you to listen to me very carefully. My sister only has six to nine months left to live. Her cancer has spread and there’s nothing more the doctors can do to help her. This wedding will be the last thing she ever does and I’m going to make sure it’s perfect.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that. A friend of mine is a seamstress and she owns a shop over on East 48th Street. I can give her a call for you and see what she says.”

“Thank you.” I smiled. “Also, I’ll be paying for the dress and headpiece. I can give you a deposit today and bring in the rest of the cash tomorrow. Please let me know what your friend says. Here’s my phone number.”

Kristen walked out and handed the dress to the saleswoman. “I’ll be putting this on my credit card,” she spoke.

“No need. I’m buying you the dress.”

“No, Jill. No you’re not.”

“Actually, I am, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” I grabbed both her hands and held them tight. “The mother of the bride is supposed to buy the wedding dress, but since your mom can’t be here, your sister is the next best thing.”

“Jill.” Tears formed in her eyes.

“I want to do this for you. So let me.”

She let go of my hands and wrapped her arms around me.

“Thank you. I don’t know what to say.”

“You’re welcome and you don’t need to say anything.”

“Excuse me,” the saleswoman interrupted our sisterly moment. “My friend, Gina, said she’d be more than happy to alter the dress for you. She said you can come now if you would like and she’d get started on it right away.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem. By the way, the dress rang up on clearance.” She winked at me. “Your deposit was enough to cover it.”

“Thank you.” I gave her a light hug.

She bagged up the dress and we hailed a cab over to Gina’s Seam Shop over on East 48th Street. After we met with Gina, I could tell Kristen was exhausted.

“I’m starving,” I spoke. “Let’s go sit down and grab some lunch.”

“Sounds good to me. Where do you want to go?”

“I’m new to this city, so you pick.”

We ended up taking a cab over to SoHo and eating at a place called Balthazar. As I was taking a bite of my chicken club sandwich, I almost choked on it when I saw Jess walking over to the table.

“Jillian?” She cocked her head as a look of disbelief swept over her face.

“Jess. Oh my God.” I stood up and gave her a light fake hug.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Having lunch.”

“I mean in New York.”

“I live here now.”

“I thought you were on a self-discovery journey.”

“I am.”

“Does Drew know you’re here in New York?” Her eyes shot back at me.

Shit. Shit. Shit. What do I say? It was none of her f*cking business and I had nothing to hide.

“Yes. I ran into him the other day. He was just as surprised as you are right now.”

“I’m sure he was. Well, it was nice seeing you again. Maybe we can do lunch some time.”

“That would be great,” I lied. There was no way in hell I would have lunch with her.

As soon as she walked away, Kristen leaned over the table.

“Who the f*ck was that snobby bitch?”

“Drew’s ex-girlfriend.”

“The one he dumped in Hawaii?”

“Yep. She’s the one.” I rolled my eyes.

After finishing lunch, Kristen couldn’t stop yawning.

“Why don’t I see if Drew can take us to the Harmonie Club now? You really need to get home and lie down.”