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“Well, isn’t that nice. I feel that way, too. Thank you so much, Gus. And bring Miss Breaux for a visit when you want.”
They reached the dock, and Maggie place her hand on his shoulder, kissing his cheek. He smelled of pipe tobacco and menthol aftershave and coffee, a familiar smell that brought tears to her eyes, so she quickly went to the edge of the dock to look out at Bonnet Island so he wouldn’t see.
“I might take a trip with Brulee later,” she said, pointing to the island. “It’s a nice place to get away from it all.”
Gus hopped down into the boat. “Because this isn’t far enough away,” he said, laughing
“Ha! Right. I’ll see you at the wedding!”
“In the nick of time, too. Those two have what we call in these parts a testosterone relationship.”
Maggie burst into laughter.
When Annie called her to talk about the wedding, Maggie told her what the town folk were saying. “I hear it told that you and Steve have a testosterone relationship.”
“Who in the hell is saying that?” Annie spurted out, laughing.
“Oh, it’s a murmuring someone dear to me heard. I can’t divulge the source. They’re probably just jealous. It’s true.”
“I know. Steve probably needs drugs for OCD, but right now I’m enjoying the attention. How are things for you and Justin?”
“Good. You know I don’t want too much, and he’s so busy, and since we don’t live together, it’s working out well. When are you moving?”
“We’re actually going on a honeymoon, believe it or not. Steve is going to tear himself away from the store for five days. Then I have to go back to work for two weeks, and when I’m done, he’s going to bring a trailer and move me over.”
“Where are you going to live?” Maggie asked.
“Believe it or not, there’s an empty apartment above the hardware store. His folks are helping him paint and make it nice for me and the baby. If you can, the next time you’re in town, ask them to see it.”
“I’ll do that. How nice!”
Relating all the wedding details, Annie could barely contain her excitement. Maggie listened to her talking, happiness evident in every word. The wedding was spur of the moment, but it meant everything to the young couple, who just wanted to be together every minute they could.
They finished up the conversation and said goodbye, promising to talk before the wedding. Maggie brought Brulee in from the porch and locked the front door, still cautious in spite of no other incidents since the Amber Greely break-in.
Up in the closet, she dug out the dress her grandmother had worn for Easter, the one Annie wanted to wear for her wedding ceremony. She found a garment bag and carefully placed the dress within it. Steve was going to come by that evening to pick it up, and it would be there when Annie arrived in the morning.
Going through her closet to find something that wasn’t as fancy as Greta’s wedding dress to wear for a maid-of-honor dress was the mission. She’d finally moved all her belongings from Rose’s townhouse when it went on the market, and there was all this crap she’d moved from the Jacksonville house to Rose’s townhouse before she moved to the cottage. She found things like some guy’s high school letter jacket, she’d try to find the owner and return it, and her lacrosse uniform. Rose threw nothing out.
Then she found it, something she thought she’d thrown in the trash, or that her mother had,someone: her wedding dress from the marriage to Russ. She didn’t waste a second, picked up her phone, and called Annie.
“This is nice talking to you twice in a day,” she said. “I feel special.”
Maggie completely decompressed, laughing. “You are too much. You always say or do just the right thing.”
“What did I do now?”
“You didn’t do anything. Rose didn’t throw away my wedding dress. I just found it.”
“Ugh. What was that like?”
“Disgust, more or less.”
“What were you looking for?”
“Something to wear to stand up in your wedding,” she said. “I saw the white and pulled it out. The thing is stuffed in a huge garment bag. No wonder I don’t have any room in these closets.”
“What are you going to do with it?”
