AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What’s with the hair?” I asked, walking directly to the coffeemaker. I grabbed the biggest mug I could find and filled it to the brim.
“I want the full effect while I’m trying on wedding dresses. It’ll help me visualize it,” Sissy responded, in a tone that suggested the answer should have been obvious to me. The look she gave me as I slid into the seat next to Mama confirmed that I had interpreted her tone correctly.
“I thought you hadn’t decided yet whether you were wearing your hair up or half down,” Mama pointed out, like this was all perfectly reasonable. Daddy was blissfully ignoring us all with his nose buried in the Sunday paper.
Sissy puckered those enhanced lips. Her forehead didn’t move a millimeter.
“I haven’t decided yet,officially.” I couldn’t stop the eyeroll at “officially,” but luckily, I was looking longingly into my coffee so no one noticed. “But I really feel like half up accentuates my neck in the best way.”
Jesus be a fence.I tried to think if I’d ever even considered what my neck looked like. One of my hands gravitated unconsciously toward my throat before I caught myself and placed it back around my mug. My neck was fine; very sturdy and neck-ish. A+ job holding up my head.
Mama stood and walked to the stove. “Well, you’ll be a beautiful bride no matter how you wear your hair. Sutton, sweetie, you need to have something besides coffee for breakfast.”
I glanced at the egg white and spinach concoction on Sissy’s plate.
“I think I’m fine with just coffee.”
“But you love my breakfast casserole,” Mama said, and I perked up at the thought. “And I added extra cheese and ham just for you.”
“I didn’t know there was breakfast casserole.” I moved to stand up, but Mama ordered me to stay seated. “In that case, I’ll take a large piece, please, and thank you. Preferably a corner that looks extra cheesy.”
Mama sat a plate in front of me with a large chunk of cheesy, eggy, potato-filled heaven on it, and my stomach rumbled its excitement loudly enough for everyone at the table to hear.
“Do you want a piece?” I asked Sissy when I caught her staring at my plate. I could, on occasion, play well with others.
She turned her attention back to her sad omelet, picking up her fork. “I’m on a diet for the wedding, and that is filled with cholesterol.”
I shrugged. “But what a way to go.”
“Sissy, you don’t need to be on a diet,” Mama chastised, sitting back down. “You’re already too thin.”
“I can’t afford to relax my diet while wedding planning. I can’t imagine anything worse than looking bloated in my wedding photos and having to look at them forever.” I rolled my eyes heavenward, praying for the strength to keep my mouth closed. “Besides, not everyone can carry extra weight as well as Sutton does.”
That bitch.
I opened my mouth to tell her I was sure whatever doctor had put her boobs in would probably be happy to suck her extra fat out, but Daddy entered the fray before I got the chance.
“None of my children need to lose weight. End of discussion.” He didn’t even bother to look up from the paper as he issued the edict.
It was the reminder I needed that I had promised to be on my best behavior for my parents’ sake. At the end of the day, this was just a temporary hell and the Devil’s opinions didn’t matter.
“That’s exactly right.” Mama turned to look at me. “Now hurry up and eat. We have to be at Charlene’s shop by eleven.”
My brow wrinkled in confusion. “What? When did Charlene start opening her boutique on Sunday morning?”
No place in town was open until at least noon on Sunday to allow the good God-fearing residents of Beacon Hill to attend church services.
“She agreed to open the store for a few hours after church, just for Sissy.” Mama smiled, her eyes dancing with excitement. She had probably been dreaming of this day since Sissy shot out of her womb.
“I ordered some dresses from this amazing boutique in New York City that exclusively sells designer gowns.” Sissy’s lips formed an over-filled pout. “I would have preferred to take the jet up to the city to shop, but Macon thought it would be ‘excessive,’ since the whole bridal party would have to fly out there for fittings. I don’t understand what the point is of having a private jet if you’re not going to use it.”
Deep breaths. In and out. Not my circus, not my monkeys.Okay, technically thiswasmy circus and my monkeys, but I could live comfortably in denial for at least as long as it took me to finish eating breakfast. I took a big gulp of coffee to keep my mouth busy doing something other than picking a fight with Sissy.
“Do you want me to stay home with Daddy?” I asked Mama. The man in question peeked over the top of his newspaper to give me a conspiratorial look that suggested he knew what I was up to. “What if he needs something? Or if he falls and can’t get to his phone?”
“What am I, a Life-Alert commercial?” Daddy grumbled, lifting the paper back up to cover his face.
“Thank you for offering, but Bud and Kevin are coming over after church to watch the games with him. They’re going to bring lunch for him, too,” Mama explained, ruining my hopes of getting out of dress shopping with Bridezilla Barbie.
