He was in the early stages of creating a new gown, and I circled around the dress form and complimented the elaborate corset he was constructing. Then I noticed a cluster of drawings on the far wall and hurried over to them as I asked, “Are those the sketches for your wedding outfit?”
“Yeah, they are.”
He and Ryder had gotten engaged just a few weeks ago, and I knew my friend was going to design something trulyspectacular for himself. While he tended to dress all in black, he’d also always preferred clothing that didn’t conform to traditional ideas about gender. Of the almost two dozen sketches he’d tacked up, about half featured some type of flowy overskirt paired with slim-fitting pants.
“I’ve been thinking about this for months,” he said, “long before we officially got engaged, but I’m having a hard time narrowing it down. Would it be nuts to make myself six different outfits and change every hour?”
He was kidding, but I smiled at him and said, “It’s your day. If you want to turn it into your own personal fashion show, I say go for it.”
That made him smile, too. “I appreciate the support.”
“Seriously, all of these designs are gorgeous, and you can’t go wrong with any of them. I love the shades of blue, too. I knew you wouldn’t go for traditional white, but I guess I assumed you’d wear black, since it’s your signature color.”
“I’ve made a couple of black wedding dresses for my clients and they were amazing, but I felt like it was too somber for our wedding. Ryder and I are planning on an outdoor wedding in April, and we’re hoping to time it for when the Texas bluebonnets are at peak bloom. They inspired the entire color scheme, including my outfit.”
“That sounds like it’s going to be beautiful.”
“It will be, and you and Devon are invited, of course. We’re planning to send out the invitations next month, right after the holidays.”
“I’ll be here. I just don’t know if I should bring it up to Devon…”
Hal turned to me and asked, “Does he hate weddings or something?”
“It’s not that. The issue is that it’s in April. If I mention it to him, he’ll tell me he’ll be dead by then.”
My friend instantly looked alarmed. “Oh god, is he sick? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“No, he’s not. Let me explain.”
After I told him about the psychic, the curse, and Devon’s family history, Hal took a seat on the edge of his worktable and muttered, “Wow.”
“You don’t believe in that kind of thing, do you?”
“No. I can be a bit superstitious, but that’s just silly stuff like throwing spilled salt over my shoulder. I’ve known people who believed in psychics, though. I used to work with a woman who went to visit one every week without fail and based all her big decisions on what she was told. She spent a fortune.”
“Devon changed his entire life based on that prediction, and he really believes he won’t live to see his thirtieth birthday.”
“When does he turn thirty?”
“On February first.”
Hal looked surprised all over again. “He thinks he’ll be dead in less than two months?”
“He’s sure of it. He’s believed that since he was twenty-six, which is why he’s spent the past three years traveling the world and working his way through his bucket list.”
“I have so many questions.”
“I did too, at first.”
“Do you believe in this stuff?”
“No. I’ve never believed in things like curses or psychic predictions,” I said. “But I believehebelieves it, you know? Since there’s no way to change his mind, I’m just trying to be supportive of Devon in general, while waiting for his birthday to come and go. I’m convinced that’s the only way he’ll ever get past this, by turning thirty and realizing none of it was real.”
“What do you make of the fact that his dad, grandfather, and great-grandfather all died in their late twenties?”
“It has to be a tragic coincidence. Nothing else makes sense.”
Hal nodded in agreement before asking, “How is this affecting the two of you? He doesn’t think he has a future, but here you are, in a brand-new relationship.”
