The Perfect Dress(28)

“Thank God I’ve got y’all to help me through it,” Jody whispered. “It seems like Saturday was a hundred years ago.”

“Amen.” Paula laid a hand on Jody’s arm.



As Jody worked that morning, she really tried to keep her mind off the fact that the trailer where she’d lived for more than a decade was being taken to a ranch near Greenville that day. But it was impossible. One minute she tried to figure out what she could have done different—was this partly her fault for not giving him more attention, more sex, less nagging? The very next thought was that the damn stone in her bra was doing nothing to keep her from wanting to tie him to a chair and use him for target practice.

Paula nudged her ankle with a toe. “Penny for your thoughts.”

“You can have them for free,” Jody said. “This is all surreal. I gave Lyle my heart, my soul, and my life for more than fourteen years. How can he just walk away like that without even telling me to my face? And what do I do now? I feel like an empty shell. We’ve got so much on our plates right now that y’all don’t need to be taking care of me. We’re moving. You’re pregnant. The world is spinning too fast.”

Mitzi tucked a strand of red hair back into her ponytail. “Look at it like this: You’re like an empty gallon-sized pickle jar. You’re cleaned out and you’re ready to be filled up with whatever you want. You can put one thing in it a day or a dozen. It’s your choice because Lyle doesn’t control your choices anymore.”

“I’ll try to steer my thoughts that way, but today I want revenge, not new beginnings,” Jody answered.

“Hey, where is everyone? We’re here.” Dixie’s and Tabby’s voices blended together as they entered the back door of the shop.

“In the sewing room,” Jody called out to them. “I’ll put their names in my jar. Their positive attitude is like sunshine after the storm.”

“Isn’t it great that the girls are comfortable in their skin?” Paula whispered.

“I wish I’d had more of that kind of confidence,” Jody said. “Then I’d still be a size sixteen instead of a four.”

Mitzi stifled a giggle. “Never heard that before. Most of us want to be petite little trophy women.”

“Look what it got me,” Jody said. “Some trophy.”

“What do you want us to do—oh, my goodness, that black lace is pretty.” Tabby entered the sewing room ahead of Dixie.

“Raise your right hand.” Just seeing Tabby’s exuberance over a bolt of black lace erased part of Jody’s horrible mood.

Both of their hands shot up.

“Now repeat after me,” she said. “I do hereby swear to never tell anyone about anything that happens or is created at The Perfect Dress.”

The girls said the words so seriously that Jody almost laughed. “Okay, you are sworn in as legitimate employees. This is Ellie Mae’s wedding dress.”

“Oh. My. Gosh!” Dixie gasped. “I didn’t know you could get married in black.”

“That’s the same lace that we used in the bouquet we made,” Tabby said.

“And I’m going to show that to Ellie Mae,” Mitzi said. “If she likes it, then she might want you to do the rest of the flowers for the wedding party. But right now I want you to work on that pink bouquet we talked about for the mannequin and then help me get it down from the steps to the foyer. There’s a slim possibility that we’ll get to go to the Dallas Bridal Fair and if we do, I’d like to show off some of your work.”

“For real?” Dixie’s eyes widened out as big as saucers. “Our bouquets might get to be on display?”

“Yes, but it’s still a long shot, and we may need to build an arch and decorate it, too. Be thinking of what color bouquet you think our bride should carry, and we’ll make the arch flowers match. It can’t hurt to be ready.”

Jody blinked several times to keep the tears at bay. As a teenager, she’d dreamed of a wedding where she’d stand under a decorated arch with her groom. She’d wear a white dress and flowers in her hair. When she got a little older, she’d envisioned an outdoor wedding with mountains in the background. She’d loved Lyle enough to throw her dreams away, and now they were shattered.

“We can be ready, but the mannequin looks so good on the stairs,” Tabby said.

“The three of us are moving into the upstairs part of the shop, starting after work today,” Paula explained. “So we’ve got to clear that off.”

“Holy crap on a cracker!” Tabby threw a hand over her mouth. “That wasn’t very nice.”

“Aunt Alice says it all the time,” Dixie giggled. “Can we help? Daddy is real strong and he can lift a lot. Why are y’all moving in here so fast? Are you packed? Why didn’t you live here all the time?”

“Because Paula and I have been living in a small house and now Jody is moving in with us and we need more room. And we haven’t packed a thing,” Mitzi said. “But there’s a lot of room upstairs, so we’re going to utilize it.”

“Well, I know how to pack,” Dixie said.

“Me, too. We’re good at it, and we want to help,” Tabby said.

“And we’re grateful to you,” Paula said. “But maybe you girls better ask your dad before you volunteer him.”