The Perfect Dress(97)

“We might get this baby before midnight yet.” Graham put the van in reverse and pointed it toward Greenville. Fifteen minutes and seven contractions later, he parked near the emergency room and rushed around the vehicle to help Mitzi get out. A nurse hurried out with a wheelchair and took her away with Graham following right behind them.

Mitzi had been to the Lamaze classes, so she was as prepared as any expecting mother with a first child could be. And she hadn’t worried about Graham because he’d been through all this before when the twins were born. Yet two hours into the labor, when they said it was time to push, she realized she should have been more concerned about Graham. He kept mopping sweat from her forehead with a cool rag and telling her how much he loved her. But not doing much else.

“I’m so sorry you’re in this much pain,” he said.

“You’ve been in the labor room before . . .” she panted like a puppy. “Oh, sweet Lord, I’ll be glad to get this baby boy out into the world.”

“Darlin’, the twins were born by C-section. I wasn’t in the room,” he said.

“You could have told me that before,” she moaned.

“It never came up.”

The nurse came in and checked her. “Okay, you’re at a ten and it’s time to push.”

“I’m ready.” Mitzi remembered that Paula had to push for thirty minutes. She looked at the clock. If the baby could get there before midnight, he’d be born on the Fourth of July like she’d always wanted. She had twenty-eight minutes. She grabbed the bed rails and gave it all she had on the next contraction.

The doctor came into the room, guided Mitzi’s legs into the stirrups, and pulled over a stool to sit on. “That’s the way to get things done. Give me several more like that, and we’ll get this job done in a hurry.”

At two minutes until midnight, Graham cut his son’s umbilical cord and put the screaming red-haired boy into Mitzi’s arms. “He’s beautiful.”

“He’s got my hair.” Mitzi kissed the baby on the forehead. “But he’s the image of you.”

Midnight had come and gone by the time the medical team got the baby cleaned up and wrapped in a blue blanket. Mitzi wanted to stay in their little three-person cocoon for days, but the family—both those by DNA and those by love—were waiting, so she nodded to Graham to go get them. They filed into the room in awe at the baby lying in his mother’s arms.

“Y’all come meet Taylor Graham Harrison. He weighs nine pounds, ten ounces and is twenty-two inches long. He’s going to be a big boy like his daddy.”

Dixie and Tabby didn’t waste a bit of time getting from the door to the bed. “Oh, Mitzi Mama, he’s beautiful,” Tabby said. “We promise we’ll spoil him rotten.”

“So rotten that the garbageman won’t even want him,” Dixie giggled.

“But he’s going to learn to play ball, not sew dresses,” Alice declared.

“Maybe he’ll be a ballet dancer. Whatever he wants is what he’s going to be,” Tabby said.

Alice and Fanny Lou both groaned.

“But today he’s going to be a much-loved baby,” Jody said. “I can’t wait until Quincy and I have a sibling for Hazel. We’ve talked about it and we’re going to start trying as soon as we’re married, just like y’all did.”

“Where’s Ivy?” Mitzi asked.

“Quincy is watching her and Hazel at the shop.” Paula touched the baby on his chubby cheeks.

“He has red hair.” Tabby held her hand out toward Dixie. “Pay up, sister. You owe me five bucks.”

“It’s the light. His hair is going to be dark like ours. I get to hold him first,” Dixie said. “Please, Mitzi Mama, let me be first.”

“He’s so beautiful.” Harry wiped away a tear and kissed Mitzi on the forehead. “Your mama would be so happy to see our first grandbaby.”

Mitzi patted her dad on the cheek. “She sees him, Daddy. Remember what you told me? There’s holes in the floor of heaven and she sees all the wonderful things that happen to us.”

Harry nodded. “That brings me peace. Now give that baby to his daddy. Graham should be the first one to hold him. After all, Taylor is his son.”

Mitzi handed the baby to Graham. “Family, friends, a new baby, and the love of my life all in one place. I’m truly blessed.”

“Life is good. No. Life is great,” Graham said as Taylor wrapped his chubby finger around his pinkie.





Acknowledgments Dear Readers, Broken hearts come in all sizes and from all ages. The support of good friends and a quart of ice cream always help put the pieces back together. Such is the case with the ladies who own and operate The Perfect Dress, a custom wedding-dress shop that caters to plus-size women. Mitzi, Jody, and Paula grew up in the tiny town of Celeste—population less than a thousand—and coming home to set up a business there after living away had its very own set of challenges.

Mr. B and I have fifteen grandchildren, and twelve of those are girls. That means we get to do lots of shopping for prom, homecoming, wedding, and winter-formal dresses. Our granddaughters are all size ranges, some small and some plus size. This past year, when we began to plan for a wedding next fall for one of our plus-size girls, it got me to wishing there was a custom shop that catered solely to that size woman. Especially one that would make a black-lace wedding dress like she wants. So I invented one in my mind and called it The Perfect Dress. You’re holding the story that came from my imaginary shop in your hands.