Was it not obvious that I was mid mad dash? “I’m in the middle of something here.”
“Well,” my dad said, “your sister’s in tears. So she’s in the middle of something, too.”
That got my attention.
Ashley wasneverin tears. Tears were not Ashley’s thing.
This was serious—whatever it was.
“What’s going on?” I asked, regaining my breath.
My dad pulled me off to the side like he had something truly top secret. Then he lowered his voice to a whisper I could barely hear, and he said, “There’s an issue with the bridal gown.”
An “issue”? Had she forgotten to bring it? Spilled coffee on it? Ripped the train?
“What’s the issue?” I asked.
“You know she got it a year ago on sale at that bridal expo.”
“Yes,” I said. It had been half off—which, in the world of wedding expenses, was practicallymakingmoney.
“Well, apparently, it’s been a while since she tried it on…” my dad said.
“And?”
He looked around like we were spies. “And it no longer fits.”
“That can’t be right,” I said, shaking my head. “She must’ve checked before we left.”
“She didn’t.”
“This isAshley,” I kept protesting. “She would never have left her bridal gown to chance.”
“Donotsay that to her,” my dad cautioned. “She will tear you limb from limb.”
“But…”
“Look, she and Mom already went over this. It’s been a busy year. It fit perfectly when she bought it. She meant to double-check, but she wasn’t worried. And then, with everything else she was doing, much of it foryou, apparently, she just—never got around to trying it on.”
I sighed. “And now?”
“Now she’s having a little trouble squeezing in.”
“How much trouble?” I asked.
At that, my dad looked torn—like he couldn’t decide between being kind and being accurate. Finally, he said, “She looks like somebody stuffed a Honey Baked Ham into a tube sock.”
“Dad!” I scolded.
But he just shrugged. “Hence, the emergency.”
“So—what’s the plan?”
“Your mom worked it all out,” he said, crooking his arm behind me to start leading me toward their cabin. “We’re docked at Bishop’s Cay today.”
“Yeah?”
“And, lucky for us, there’s a tailor on the island who can let the dress out before we set sail again this afternoon—if we can get it there by ten in the morning.”
