Three Weddings and a Dress (17 page)

I wanted to find out more about this shower. Did they all take it together or something?

Chapter Eleven

Jessie combed her long black hair in the mirror. She could see Bella behind her. Sun shimmered on the shiny beads over the dresses’ bodice. Something else she wouldn’t experience if Mark’s mother had her way.

Twisting around on the chair, she regarded the white satin. “Bella, what am I going to do with you?”

Weird, Jessie swore the dress tilted a fraction to the side in question. Ever since she had the gown hanging in her room, she’d become fanciful. The oddest thoughts flittered across her mind.

She shook her head to get the strange ideas out of her mind and turned to finish putting on her makeup for her wedding shower. Soon her friends and relatives would arrive to wish her well.

Would Mrs. Taylor be over her headache and make an appearance? She hoped not.

Standing, she tilted her head to stare at the ceiling. She really should feel guilty about her thoughts.

Damn it, she didn’t.

The door blew open. Startled, she swung around as two little balls of energy launched at her.

“Come on, Jessie, we’re here.” Missy her Aunt’s granddaughter had always been able to state the obvious. Jessie figured it was her age.

“Me too Jessie, I’m here too.” Sarah, Mark’s, niece announced.

“And look how pretty both of you are. Let’s go see who else is here.”

“My Mommy is here.” Sarah tugged on her hand to lead her into the living room.

Jessie held her breath until she had time to survey the room. Luck had been with her. Mrs. Taylor must still have her old-fashioned vapors.

“There you are.” Her mother pulled her into the room. “Sit here, the place of honor.”

God, please don’t let them have a bunch of mindless games to play. Jessie hated those things. Even going with her friends to the male strippers at Pandora’s would be better.

Well duh, that was a no brainer.

“What’s funny?” Her mother gave her a strange look.

Dragging her mind away from the slick dancers she could be enjoying, she grinned at her mother. “Just thinking. You did invite Katie and Joey didn’t you?”

Her mother fisted her hands on her hips, “I’m not a dork. Of course, I invited your best friends.”

“I never said you were a dork.”

“Come. Sit.”

Jessie let herself be pushed into the
place
of honor and reconciled herself to a night of family torture.

It seemed days had passed instead of just a couple hours before the last of the guests trailed out of the apartment. Jessie breathed a sigh of relief. It truly hadn’t been as terrible as she’d thought.

There’d only been the one game. Mostly everyone chatted about the upcoming wedding. She’d even gotten to know some of Mark’s family better. What a relief not to have his mother present.

A knock on the door rattled over the now silent room. Someone must have forgotten something.

Jessie pulled the door open and encountered Mark’s mother.

“May I come in?”

She must have been staring, “Oh, I’m sorry.” Jessie stepped back to allow the woman to enter.

“You’ve missed the shower.”

That stopped her. She threw a disgusted look over her shoulder. “Good. We need to talk.”

Apprehension tightened in her gut. Talking was not good. Did Mark know his mother was here? Somehow, Jessie doubted it.

Jessie led the way to the living room. Streamers, plates and other evidence of the party still scattered. Mark’s mother glanced around in disdain. She wasn’t sure if the woman’s look was from the clutter or the tiny apartment compared to her own large condo.
 

“Where’s your mother?”

“Why?” Things were not getting any better.

“She needs to be here too.”

“Mama walked my aunt and her granddaughter to the train.” Jessie shifted on the couch waiting for the proverbial hatchet to drop.

And it did.

“How much?”

No way, Jessie had to have heard wrong. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me young lady, your kind always does.”

“My kind?” Lava bubbled in the pit of her stomach.
“Hispanic people. You take dollars wherever you can get it. You’re marrying Mark for his money. And that boy has such a kind heart he can’t see through your schemes.”

“My schemes?” The boiling in her tummy had now turned molten.

“Look if you’re going to repeat everything I say this is going to take a while.”

She’d had enough. Jessie bolted to her feet, as the front door swung open and her mother walked in.

“Oh…” Her mother stopped mid stride. Took a breath as if girding for a battle.

If only she knew, Jessie thought.

“Please join us Mrs. Perez.” Mrs. Taylor imperiously ordered.

Jessie raised a brow and waited for the fireworks.

She didn’t have long to wait.

Her mother drew herself up to her impressive height of five foot nothing, “May I remind you to the fact you are in my home.”

Mrs. Taylor huffed. “This is hardly a home.”

Oh God, the fireworks have arrived.

Jessie’s mother spun on her sensible shoe heels marched to the door, swung it wide and nodded in the direction of the outside hall. “Out.”

This was so not good. Especially when Mrs. Taylor let her bottom drop to the chair, folded her arms over her chest as a stubborn six-year-old might.

“Are you deaf too?” Jessie’s hotheaded mama shouted, as if Mrs. Taylor were actually deaf. “I said out of my
home
.”

Calmly the woman seemed to stifle a yawn as if she were actually bored. “I’m not leaving until this is settled.”

Jessie swung her gaze to her mother expecting to see steam coming out of her ears. She knew her mother well. The door swung shut with a resounding slam.

With four short strides, her mother stood toe to toe with Mark’s mother. With her advantage, she glared down. “What are we settling?”

“Mama,” Jessie said softly.

Her tone must have caught her mother’s attention. She turned her attention to Jessie. “Yes, Hija?”

“Let’s all sit down.” When her mother didn’t budge, “Please?”

“Fine.” Her mother chose the chair directly across from Mrs. Taylor.

Jessie sucked in her breath to wait for the question. After all she was pretty sure it would be the same.

“How much will it take?”

Jessie had to give her mother credit. She really did look bewildered. Then her mother could be on the naïve side.

“How much what?”

“Money. What do you two want?”

Before Jessie had time to master the volcano that threatened to blow from the depths of her soul, her mother answered.

“I want to have a beautiful peaceful wedding for my daughter. Do you think you can manage to let the two kids have that?”

“No. Mark will be coming into a lot of money. I’m afraid your daughter will not do at all.”

“Hey I’m right here.” Jessie hadn’t bothered to sit. Taking her mother’s toe-to-toe stance with Mrs. Taylor, she looked down her nose at the woman. “I love Mark and he loves me.”

“He only thinks he does because his father and I told him he couldn’t have you.”

“I am not a possession. Mark is a big boy he can decide these things for himself.”

“Not when he’s thinking with something inside his pants instead of his brain.”

Her mother flew to her feet, and Jessie found herself pushed to the side. “Don’t you dare talk that way to my daughter. Why can’t you just let them be happy? What is wrong with you?”

“Mark is different from your daughter. He has a responsibility to the family. Jessie will not fit in with our friends. She is not equipped with the social etiquette to entertain Mark’s colleagues.”

Uncertainty shot an arrow into her heart. She’d had the same argument with Mark. It wasn’t that she wasn’t intelligent, she knew she was. However, Mark had been born with a silver spoon. Not so, for her.

It wasn’t anything that could be taught.

His mother was right she didn’t have the proper society skills.

The two women were doing fine with their argument as if she weren’t there, so why did she need to be?

In her room, she softly shut the door behind her. Leaning against the solid wood, she let her chin drop to her chest.

What should she do?

Moonlight shimmered through the blinds. Thousands of beads winked on Bella. Shoving away from the door, she crossed to stand in front of the gown where it rested on the dress mannequin.

“Well Bella, I may not wear you after all.” Trick of the light, it had to be. Otherwise, how could she explain that Bella’s bodice shivered? “Sometimes Bella, you can be a bit creepy. You know like those pictures that have eyes that follow you wherever you move? I swear you can understand me. Here I am talking to you. Maybe I’m nuts.”

The chuckle made her feel a bit better. It didn’t solve her dilemma though.

Jessie kicked off her shoes, and found her nightgown. She might as well get ready for bed. Then she noticed the blinking light on her cell. Picking the phone up, she checked the message.

Mark.

She needed to hear his voice, for reassurance if nothing else. She hit his number stored in the phones memory and waited. After a few rings she heard a groggy hello.

“Oh Mark, I’m sorry I didn’t think you’d be asleep yet.”

He sounded more alert when he realized who it was. She usually didn’t call this late.

“Can you meet me at the all night deli around the corner from here?”

His “Now?” didn’t sound too thrilled.

“I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, you know that Mark.”

He finally agreed, she set her nightgown back on the bed, and turned toward the door and paused. Raised voices filtered through the wall.

There was no way she wanted to walk into the war zone again. She wasn’t sixteen anymore, but she wasn’t too old to take the fire escape.

A few minutes later she had a cup of coffee, as she sat in the corner table to wait for her fiancé. Would they still be engaged in an hour?

That was the question.

Mark walking through the door of the deli was the most welcome sight she’d seen in a long time.

“Princess what’s wrong?”

“Your mother.”

“Jess, I’m sorry I couldn’t stay to help with the flowers. I told my mother no matter what she did I was not going to call off the wedding.”