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“Trust me, sis. It’s going to look gorgeous on you.” Beth helped me put the dress on and zipped up the side. “See?”
I stepped in front of the full-length mirror that had borne witness to every middle and high school dance outfit I’d worn. “Wow.” I should’ve trusted Beth’s taste. The gown hugged my body and gave me a long, elegant line. I felt like I could step onto a red carpet.
“Yep, gorgeous,” Beth said. “And I can tell by your smile that you love it.”
“It fits perfectly!” I ran my hands over my hips. “Do I even need to go show Aunt Kathy?”
“She’s going to want to see for herself. If you don’t go down, she’ll probably barge up here.”
“Good point.” I reached for Beth to give her a hug. “Thank you. How did you keep her from bedazzling it?” Our aunt was usually drawn to styles best left to pageant gowns and ice-skating costumes.
“I put my foot down and threatened to get the dresses made by someone in Raleigh.” She smiled widely. “Do you think that new boyfriend of yours will like it?”
With one mention of Adam, any happiness brought on by being home and trying on an amazing dress vanished. I managed a halfhearted laugh.
“What’s wrong?” Beth asked, immediately sensing something was up.
I could have told her the truth, that we’d broken up and that Adam wasn’t coming. She’d be sympathetic, but she didn’t have the same issues confronting Mom, and she wouldn’t understand the need to keep secrets. Besides, I didn’t need to burden her with my sad problems the day before her wedding.
“Adam is treating a patient with some serious complications.” It might not have been a lie. Adam saw critically ill patients every day. “He’s going to do his best, but he might not be able to make it to the wedding.”
“Oh, yeah, Mom said something about that.” She laid a hand on my arm. “I’ll be sad if I don’t get to meet him. Maybe Chase and I can come up to Philadelphia this fall?”
“That would be great! You can stay in Ellie’s guest room.” I’d come clean about the breakup by then.
“Are you ready, Jenna?” Mom called up the stairs. “Aunt Kathy needs to get started on sewing up Beth’s hem.”
“Coming,” I called, giving Beth another hug before she went to change back into regular clothes.
Mom and Aunt Kathy exclaimed over me when I came into the living room.
“The fit is impeccable,” Aunt Kathy proclaimed. “I might have to enter this into the State Fair.”
“You look amazing, honey.” Mom beamed at me. “Adam is going to have to beat the other guys off you.”
I laughed nervously and then repeated the lie I’d told Beth.
“The flesh-eating bacteria patient?” Mom clarified. “How awful!”
Aunt Kathy gave me a sidelong glance. “That’s quite a diagnosis,” she said, her tone holding an edge of skepticism. “He doesn’t have colleagues who could handle the case?”
“He’s very dedicated to his work.” That part was no lie. “And he’s an expert in this kind of bacteria.”
The skepticism in her expression grew more pronounced. “Howard never missed any of my sibling’s weddings, not even Bill’s third, and it was during tax season.”
Uncle Howard, an accountant, wouldn’t dare to breathe if his wife told him not to, but I wasn’t about to say that.
Before I could make any response, my mom bristled at Aunt Kathy’s insinuation. “Adam is a dedicated doctor,” she responded sharply. “He has a responsibility to his patients, and we should respect that. After all, if it was one of us lying in a hospital bed, wouldn’t we want a doctor who takes his duties seriously?”
I cringed to hear Mom defending Adam. She was going to be devastated when her daughter’s heroic boyfriend didn’t end up staying in the relationship.
Aunt Kathy made an inarticulate noise and threw her hands up defensively. “I didn’t mean anything by it, Grace.”
“We have welcome baskets to make, right?” I had to change the subject. “Let me go get this off.” I dashed upstairs as fast as the tight fit of the gown would allow.
Mom followed me into my bedroom. “Sorry about Kathy. You know how she is.” She helped me unzip the dress. “I bet Adam will come to the wedding, though, since he’s clearly crazy about you. Maybe he’s planning to surprise you!”
“That would be some surprise,” I agreed.
