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“I’ll perk some coffee,” Izzy jumps in.
“I’ll help and lay out the goodies to go with.” Hanna rushes to assist her friend, while the others gather round, dropping their bags and finding spots either on the floor or on the chairs and sofa.
“I can’t believe you’re all here. What is all this?” I exclaim happily.
“It’s a ‘girly afternoon’ and a total pick-me-up. Yesterday sucked for you and Wildcard, but it rocked us all too. We love you, sweetie, and there’s nowhere we’d want to be but here with you,” Ava explains. The rest nod and add their approval.
Sofia hands me the first gift bag. “Open this one first.”
I’m going to blame my frenzy on boredom. I yank out the tissue paper and take out several sketchbooks and an array of pencils. I can see the brand name. These are really expensive. It would take me a month to save up enough to afford these.
My fingers drift over the books, and I catch Sofia’s gaze. “This is too much,” I tell her.
“My reasons are purely selfish,” Sofia says with a wink. “I want you to design a dress for a very special friend of mine. We went to law school together, and she’s getting married. Normally, she’d have plenty of time to find a dress, but her father is going to start chemotherapy. He wants to be able to walk her down the aisle, and although they’re very hopeful, they don’t want to take a chance on waiting. I planned for her to come down next week and meet with you. Is that okay?”
“She wants me to design her dress?” I repeat, unable to hide my surprise.
“Mallory took one look at the pictures of Willow’s dress and knew you would be the perfect person to talk to,” Sofia says.
“Thank you for thinking of me.”
She laughs. “Are you kidding? You’ve got so much talent. I wish I could get married again so you could make a dress for me.”
“If you’re in the wedding, I can totally make your dress.”
Sofia jumps on the idea. “You’re on!”
“Our turn. Open, please. This is from Willow and me,” Camille announces and hands me a box.
This is better than my last birthday. The only good part of that day was Noah bringing me home a cupcake. The bow is so pretty, I don’t want to touch it, but Camille seems so jazzed that I pull it open.
I gasp at the incredible thoughtfulness of the gift. There’s a spool of thread in every color imaginable. Gold, silver, pearl, and the list goes on and on.
“This is so that you never run out of thread to sew your magic,” Willow says gleefully, clapping her hands.
“I don’t know how to thank you.” I hug the box. “This is amazing.”
“Only you would get excited over thread,” Vi teases.
“I happen to know this chick who goes crazy over gemstones and a soldering gun,” I return.
Ava giggles. “She got you there, Vi.”
Eventually, we got through all the bags. Some have lotions, bath balms, and luxurious facial scrubs and stuff. I’m being thoroughly spoiled. Maddie surprises me with a personalized tape of my favorite Smoking Guns songs, which is her band, and a Harley T-shirt.
Enjoying great coffee, even better white chocolate raspberry cake, and wonderful friends is the best way to spend the afternoon. I can’t imagine the day could get any better until Demon and Priest walk in carrying a new sewing machine. I mean, it’s the best on the market.
Wildcard comes in after them and has them set it down in the corner of the room by the doors leading out to the patio.
“What’s going on?” I can’t take my eyes off the table Wildcard is setting up. The guys gently set the new machine on it.
“Giving you the tools to build your dream of becoming a dress designer,” Wildcard replies, like it was a given.
“But… I never got to finish school,” I admit.
“So what? Who cares? You have the skill and the know-how. A piece of paper doesn’t make you an artist. Imagination, an eye for what makes someone feel good, that’s something you have. Can’t teach that, babe,” he says.
My eyes prickle with tears, and my heart swells. Mom believed in me, but after she died, I lost all hope of making a career in design. My lower lip trembles, and I croak out, “I don’t know what to say.”
