“What the hell wrong with you? You sick or something?”
“I think . . . no, IknowI have food poisoning. I went out to this Chinese spot down the way from the hospital to grab the lunch special with one of my coworkers, and I haven’t been able to come out of the bathroom since.”
“Damn. What you callin’ me for? You need some Pepto or somethin’?”
She smacked her lips into the receiver. “No, boy. I was supposed to go with Lex this afternoon to her final dress fitting, but I seriously feel like death on steroids right now and won’t be making it anywhere for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Can youpleaseeeeeego to the bridal shop and FaceTime me so that I can see her?" she begged. “I swear I wouldn’t even be calling you if it wasn’t important.”
“So, she’s still marryin’ ol’ boy, huh?” I probed, feeling jealousy prickle underneath the surface of my dark chocolate skin.
“Yeah, she is,” she confirmed. “So, you need to go ahead and get a tux, suit, or whatever black-tie attire you’re gonna get soon because we’re less than a month away and counting.”
“Oh shit. I didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“They moved my closing date to the Thursday before the wedding. The movers can’t come get me into my new place until the next day, so I won’t be your plus-one after all,” I explained.
“Are you serious right now?”
“Dead serious.”
“So, now all of a sudden you’re okay with being the only Gray not in attendance?”
I sucked my teeth out of frustration, not wanting to talk about Lex’s wedding or see her in the dress she was going to wear for another nigga—one that I knew was no good for her. “It is what it is, right? Why can’t you ask her to FaceTime you?”
“Because she doesn’t want to be there alone, Oak! Dress fitting is the type of things girls dream about doing with their mothers and grandmothers or at least besties and aunties. All Lex has is me and Mama, and Mama is volunteering down at the nursing home with the missionaries from her church this afternoon and can’t go.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear long enough to check the time. It was already half past one. “What time is the dress fitting?”
“At two,” she verified.
“She know I’m comin’?”
“No. I haven’t told her yet. I’m about to send you the address, but right now, I gotta?—”
Her incomplete sentence was followed by a distant retching sound, and I already knew what time it was. My face screwed up in disgust as I quickly ended the call and slid my phone back into my pocket to continue on my way back to the truck. A few minutes later, it dinged with back-to-back texts from Liv.
Liv:
3211 North Hampshire Road Suite 102.
I let her know you were coming.
I copied it into my GPS, and luckily, it was only a twenty-minute drive from my new place.
Me:
Bet. On the way.
I arrived at the bridal shop situated on the corner, beating the estimated arrival time on my GPS by two minutes. The bell on the door chimed as I stepped inside. The first thing I noticed was the gleaming hardwood floor that I could damn near see my reflection in. That, and the multi-tiered crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. A woman wearing a yellow T-shirt that read “Fall in love at Glenda’s Bridal Boutique” and black slacks approached me with a bright smile.
“Hello, welcome to Glenda’s Bridal Boutique. How can I help you today?”
“I’m looking for someone. Her name is Alexis Rosewood. She’s supposed to have a fitting here.”
“Of course. I recently took her up to our try-on area on the second floor. You can follow me.”
I dipped my chin before following her to the elevator next to the stairs, with its railings wrapped in twinkling fairy lights. On the second floor, the elevator doors opened up to a velvet gray love seat with throw pillows that read“She Said Yes”and“I Do Crew”stationed behind a round platform with oversized floor mirrors ahead of it. Off to the side was a row of dressing rooms, and a collection of veils, belts, shoes, and other bridal accessories on display. In the middle of the floor were three headless mannequins wearing designer dresses, with racks of wedding gowns of all shapes and sizes behind them. I’d never felt so out of place among all the frills and fluff.
