My First - Jason & Katie (9 page)

As she gave this sweet speech, Katie had to laugh as she watched Aunt Wendy mime putting on and taking off the imaginary hats. She almost expected her to end with a flourish and take a bow. In a spontaneous fit of affection, Katie threw her arms around her aunt's neck and squeezed tightly.

“I know, Aunt Wendy, and I love you for that! But I really am fine, I promise. Let’s just head on in and get this wedding party started!”

Aunt Wendy smiled and gave her one last squeeze before heading into the shop, but Katie hesitated. She paused and glanced around the street one more time, unable to shake the primal sensation that she was being observed.

She still didn't see anything out of the ordinary, so she shook her head and turned toward the door. Oh well, she figured, it's probably just anxiety bubbling up from my subconscious, wanting to be dealt with. This being my first day back in town, and all of the ghosts I've had to face in just the last 90 minutes...it's no wonder.

Maybe it was good, Katie reasoned, that she was being forced to face things now. Maybe she could finally close this chapter of her life once and for all. This would let her start fresh. She could approach life without the past weighing her down, something she had never experienced as an adult. She sighed. A girl could hope!

As she walked fully into Mona’s, she saw that the girls were already in dressing rooms trying on their dresses. She took a seat on the comfortable deep green sofa that backed up against the storefront window and settled in to wait for her turn.

Aunt Wendy bopped efficiently from dressing room to dressing room, making sure that each bridesmaid had everything that they needed. Katie was impressed by her Aunt’s organizational abilities, and enjoyed the chance to sit back and watch her in her element. Everything seemed to be running as smooth as silk and, as far as Katie could tell, they owed that all to Aunt Wendy.

As Becca and Haley made their way out of the dressing rooms and onto a small pedestal at the back of the shop which was surrounded by a three-way mirror, Katie laid eyes for the first time on the dress that she would be wearing in Sophie's ceremony.

The knee-length and form-fitted strapless lavender silk creation was as trendy as it was beautiful. Katie smiled a bit as her eyes moistened. She should have known that Sophie would choose lavender as the color of her wedding. Sophiebell had always said that lavender was her “signature color.” She had gotten that line from Katie’s favorite movie, Steel Magnolias. Even though in the movie, the Julia Roberts character favored pink instead of lavender, Sophie had made the necessary adjustment so that the phrase suited her own tastes.

Katie and Sophie had always watched that movie. It was a staple of any Friday night that Katie was babysitting. It was a tradition.

God, was there going to be ANY situation this entire weekend that was not chock full of MEMORIES?!

“Alright then, honey, it’s your turn,” came the no-nonsense voice of Mona, the stout woman who owned the bridal boutique. She strode purposefully toward Katie with a dress in her hand that she had just grabbed from behind the counter.

Katie's eyes widened. She hadn’t seen the woman since Nick’s funeral. Mona had always had a soft spot for Nick, ever since their junior year when Nick had been trying on a tuxedo at Richard’s Formal Wear, the shop next door which was owned by Mona's husband.

Katie had heard the story many times. When Nick came out of the dressing room, he found Richard lying on the ground, holding his left arm and was gasping for air. Nick – rather than freezing up or panicking as most kids his age would have done – immediately called 911 and then began administering CPR.

Nick had learned this valuable skill during his life guard training, but as far as Katie knew, he had never had to put it to the test while performing his duties the previous summers up at Whisper Lake.

When the paramedics arrived, they said that if Nick hadn’t been there and started CPR. Richard most likely would not have made it – would probably not have even survived the ambulance ride. Mona always called Nick her “guardian angel” after that.

Needless to say, he had never paid for another tux!

“Oh my goodness, look at you,” Mona said, her voice an almost reverent whisper as she recognized Katie, “You're so grown up! You look so beautiful.”

“Well, what did you expect her to be, a dog?” Aunt Wendy blurted out. Katie couldn't tell if this was her natural outspoken nature coming to the forefront or if she was trying to save Katie from yet another maudlin scene, but whichever it was, Katie was grateful. “Of course she's beautiful, she's as pretty as a picture, she comes from good genes. Now, Katie, you go on and try this dress on. You’re the last one and I need to get you checked off my list.”

“It’s good to see you, Mona,” Katie smiled as she was shuffled into the changing stall by Aunt Wendy. She continued to talk, knowing that she could be heard clearly on the other side of the curtain. “You look great, too. How is Richard doing?”

“Oh, Richard! He is just fine, thanks for asking. All thanks to Nick, of course, God rest his soul. Your brother is still my guardian angel, Sophie.”

Mona yelled this last part to Sophie, who was in the dressing room with her mom and cousin.

“I know! He is to all of us, too. Right, Mom?” Sophie replied.

“Right,” Grace agreed readily, her voice calm and steady, “He's always watching over us.”

Katie had to pause for a moment and steady herself with a hand against the wall. She concentrated on breathing deeply and slowly, centering her emotions. Damn! That little exchange had taken her by surprise. It was so odd for Katie to hear people talking about Nick so casually, not crying or speaking in whispers. Just mentioning him as a part of everyday life.

But, she thought, I guess that's what you're able to do when you stay and deal with something instead of running away, moving to another state where no one even knows who Nick was, let alone ever mentions him.

It was also odd to think of Nick watching over them, and it was a concept that Katie had never thought of before. Maybe that's what she had sensed outside of the shop. Maybe the feeling of being observed was Nick was watching over her.

She shook her head. No, no, no. She was letting her imagination work overtime. That crazy feeling was probably just her subconscious trying to deal with all of the emotions she was feeling today. All of the stress she had been under didn’t just disappear – it had to surface somewhere.

Suddenly, the curtain to Katie's cubicle was whisked aside briskly by Aunt Wendy.

“Hey!” Katie said in surprise, “I could've been naked in here!”

Aunt Wendy waved this away like it was a small concern, “Oh, please, honey. Do you think I don't have the sense God gave a grasshopper? I knew you'd be taking a minute to collect yourself before you started undressing. But come on out now before you try on your dress. Sophie's ready for everyone to see her. You can finish after.”

Katie nodded and stepped back out into the main part of the shop.

“Okay is everyone ready to see the most beautiful bride in the world?” Grace asked as she pulled the curtain covering the entrance to Sophie’s dressing cubicle to the side.

As Sophie stepped out of the dressing room, the entire shop was so silent you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone just stared, speechless.

The sight of Sophie took Katie’s breath away. She was a vision, gorgeous.

Sophie had altered Grandma Marie’s dress, modernizing the feel by transforming the three quarter sleeve into a cap sleeve. But other than that one small adjustment, the gown looked exactly as Katie remembered. It was incredible, and Sophie looked as if she had stepped right out of a sepia-toned formal wedding portrait and into the real world.

“So...” Sophie asked nervously, clearly unnerved when she was greeted by nothing but silence, “What do you think?”

At this question, the room exploded with comments.

“You’re beautiful!”

“You looked like you just stepped out of a bridal magazine!”

“You took my breath away.”

“You are perfection.”

“You have never looked so beautiful!”

“Bobby is going to cry when he sees you.”

“You look amazing!”

“You are what a bride is supposed to look like!”

Sophie didn't look as relieved at the barrage of positive comments as Katie thought she should have. As everyone was still speaking over each other, Sophie turned to Katie and said, voice trembling a little, “Well, what’s the verdict?”

“Oh, Sophiebell,” Katie cried, grasping the younger woman to her and holding her tight. “You’re utterly stunning. You take my breath away!”

“Oh, good!” Sophie joked, the relief she felt at Katie's approval evident in her huge smile, “because it’s too late to change the dress now.”

“You look beautiful, Soph. My brother is a lucky man,” Katie heard a familiar deep voice intone from a few feet behind her.

Oh no! Jason was here.

Immediately, Katie slipped back into the dressing room and took her sweet time (as Aunt Wendy was wont to describe it) trying on the bridesmaid's dress. She could hear the other groomsmen arriving, and Katie hoped that this was enough to distract Jason and lure him out of Mona's. She also heard Sophie being rushed back into her own dressing room so that Bobby wouldn’t see her when he arrived at Richard’s, since the two stores were connected by a wide open breezeway. She heard all the voices start to die down and rushed herself into the lavender sheath. She was just about to walk out when Aunt Wendy threw the curtain back yet again.

“Buttercup, what is taking you so dad-blamed long? All the girls are done and dressed and ready to head over for some yummy Italian eatin’!

“Again,” Katie intoned dryly, “Could've been naked in here.”

Aunt Wendy swatted away this sentiment as if she were swatting at a pesky gnat. Her attention had been focused elsewhere the instant she had laid eyes on the voluminous dress hanging on Katie's thin frame.

“Oh, sweetie, you’re swimmin' in that dress! You might as well be doing the backstroke!” Aunt Wendy fretted, and then yelled, “MONA!”

Katie looked down and realized that Aunt Wendy was right. The dress fit pretty well around the chest, but she definitely did not fill out the rest of it. It would need quite a few adjustments. Katie felt a wave of nausea as anxiety overtook her. It was Thursday – the wedding was on Saturday. Would there even be time for adjustments?

“I’m here. I’m here,” Mona said as she shuffled around the corner. When she spied Katie, she cried, “Oh dear, honey! I am going to have to take that in.”

“I know, but do you think that there is enough time?” Katie
worried, twisting and turning in front of the mirror to try to get a better look at herself, “I mean...it’s not
that
big. Is it?”

“Yes and YES,” Mona said firmly as she began taking pins from her pin cushion and sticking them into Katie’s dress.

Katie stood perfectly still as the dress she was wearing was tugged and pulled and pinned. Aunt Wendy's phone began to chime the notes of “Sweet Home Alabama” and Wendy hustled outside to take the call, looking at the screen and muttering something about a flower emergency and getting better reception outside.

When Wendy passed the front door, Katie was, for all intents and purposes, alone. Mona was there, but she was laser focused on her tailoring work. Katie took the opportunity to take one more cleansing breath and steel herself for this weekend. It looked like it was going to be one hell of a ride!

--- ~ ---

Jason walked into Mona’s Bridal and immediately saw Sophie, his soon to be sister-in-law. God, she looked gorgeous. It was still hard for him to see her as a grown woman sometimes, and not the impish little kid that he had always known – but not at that moment. She was beautiful.

As he pointed that out to her, he saw a flash of long blonde hair rush into a dressing room out of the corner of his eye. He shook his head, suddenly feeling a little impish himself. Oh, Kit Kat, he thought with an indulgent half-smile growing across his face. You can run but you can’t hide.

As he walked next door to Richard’s, he decided to set the whole idea of Katie aside. He would deal with that situation later. Right now, he needed to just focus on his brother and being there for him. He was the best man, and he took that role seriously.

The fitting went quickly and all of the guys were in and out in less than 20 minutes. Jason smiled. Those ladies had still been there an hour after their fitting had started. It was good to be a guy.

Taking a look at his schedule, Jason was pleased to note that he had some free time to kill until his next obligation. It was a good chance, he decided, to stop by the Slater St. building site and finish up some paperwork that he needed buttoned down before he took off for the weekend.

Just as he shut the door of his truck with a satisfying slam, he saw Aunt Wendy waving him down from across the parking lot, in front of Mona’s. He pulled his truck out of the space it was parked in and swung over to her, pulling up beside her and rolling down the driver's side window.

“Hey, Wendy. What’s up?” he asked affably.

“Well, Romeo, I have a huge favor to ask. Everyone else has already left to go get ready for the luncheon. I just got a call from the florist and it seems like someone has changed all the numbers on the corsages and boutonnieres! I really need to get over there and straighten this out, but my Buttercup has just started getting her dress altered. Can you give her a ride when she is finished?”