by H. M. Ward
“Do you know a minister we could call?”
A smile spreads across my face. “You don’t know?”
Peter pulls back and looks puzzled. “No.”
I laugh and tell him, “Jon is ordained. He offered to preside over the ceremony more than once.”
“Really? That shouldn’t surprise me. It’s Jon.” He has a quizzical sexy smile on his lips that nears a smirk. He blinks and grins at me. “Will you marry me tonight, Miss Colleli?”
“Where? Do you think we can really do it that fast?”
He winks at me and whispers, “I know just the place. Grab a dress and anything else you want, and I’ll have Mother’s driver pick you up.” He stuffs a credit card into my hand and is off making phone calls before I can kiss him.
CHAPTER 14
Millie is bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. I didn’t go to the designer and get another custom gown. I went to a thrift shop in the Village that specializes in 1940’s clothing. A bell chimes merrily as we walk through the door.
There’s a counter in the middle of the store, like an island, with an old woman standing at the center. “Can I help you, dears?”
Millie waggles her eyebrows and points to me. “My friend is eloping! We need a wedding dress.”
“I’m afraid I only have short, pin-up style dresses. We specialize in 40’s attire, so I don’t have anything outside that period.”
“Perfect.” I grin at her, scanning her nametag. “I love your shop, Ruth.”
I glance around. Every inch of the room is littered with beautiful hats, saddle shoes, suits, dresses, and broaches. There are French forms in a display on the sidewall that Millie admires. The center form is wearing a deep red dress with a sweetheart neckline and black piping.
“Thank you. If a short gown suits you, I have some white dresses in over there.” She points to the back corner. “Take a look and let me know if you’d like to try anything on. It’ll probably need to be fitted—at least a little bit.”
I walk toward the rack, eyeing the dress facing me. Creamy white fabric flows from a form-fitting bodice with vintage lace along the waist, into a full skirt that flares to a stop at mid-calf. The fabric is light and supple. I touch the dress, feeling the softness between the pads of my fingers.
“Is this silk?” I glance at the price tag and then at the store owner.
She nods. “Yes, hon. It came in a few days ago. I just had it cleaned, although it could use another steaming. It was in a cedar trunk for nearly eighty years.”
Mille shoves the dress into my hands. “Go try it on!”
I head to the small dressing room and hear Millie talking to the woman outside, telling her how much I love Big Band music, and that my groom-to-be will love to see me in something like that dress. They talk more about the wedding, Millie confessing, “I don’t know where it is, but it's tonight. The groom is picking the location.”
“How unusual. He sounds like a real catch. Men like that are hard to find.” The old woman stops talking when I step out of the dressing room. After a moment, she beams and clasps her hands together, falling silent.
Millie gasps, her jaw hitting the carpet. “Sidney! That’s perfect!”
“It fits.” I look in the mirror, shocked. The bodice fits as if it were tailor-made for me. The thick shoulder straps are ruched together and pinned in place by a band of pearls. The neckline sweeps down, curving over the bust line, making me look really curvy. The waist is narrow and wrapped with a length of eyelash lace. It meets up with a flouncy skirt that falls below my knee.
I spin in it once, and both women audibly, "ooh." Then Ruth rushes over with a white bag. “It needs a petticoat to fluff out that skirt a little bit. Here, try this one.”
I open the bag and step into the slip, pulling it on and carefully shimmying the skirt of the dress over it, so I don't show my undies. As I look over my shoulder in the mirror, I can’t help it.
I squee and beam at Millie. “It’s perfect! I can’t believe it. I love it. It’s everything I wanted, from the style to the skirt, to the lace.” I press my hand to my stomach. Although the wound is healed, there’s still a hairline pink scar on my skin.
Millie lifts her phone and snaps a picture. “We should use Snapchat to send out wedding invitations.”
“Peter’s taking care of that stuff.”
“Yeah, I guess we don’t know where it is. So I better not send this to him, right?” Millie is messing with me. She smiles wickedly and giggles.
Ruth swats Millie. “You need a pair of shoes, dear. Did you have something in mind?”
The old woman walks over and suggests a pair of white Oxford T-straps. There’s a lace pattern on the shoe that looks perfect with the dress. I thank her and pull them on before standing in front of the mirror again.
I stand there smiling for a second and try not to cry. My mother should have been here for this. My bottom lip comes up, and the smiles in the room turn to worried faces. I force a smile and turn to them. “I’m okay. Just missing my mom.”
“Oh, honey.” Ruth rushes to grab a tissue box. She hands it to me. I pluck a tissue and dab at my eyes.
Millie pulls me into a side-hug. “She’s not gone, Sid. The people we love never really leave us.”
“I have trouble believing that most of the time,” I admit. “I wish I could.”
“One day,” Ruth says kindly, “You’ll feel her there, and it won’t seem so far-fetched. In the meantime, chin up. You have a groom that adores you and a friend worth her weight in gold.”
I thank her and buy the shoes and gown, along with the red dress Millie was eyeing.
Millie protests. “I can’t let you buy that for me!”
“Yes, you can.”
“The bridesmaid pays her own way, Miss Sassy Ferro Pants.”
“You paid for the other dress to the wedding that didn’t happen. Let me pay for this one.”
Ruth interrupts. “Ferro? Are you Sidney Colleli? The girl marrying into the Ferro family?”
Millie freezes, only realizing she said that name out loud at that moment. Her eyes cut to me with an expression that says she’s so sorry.
She tips her gray head to the side and gives us a look. “Do you really think I’d call the press on you?”
Millie shrugs. “I don’t know, but having reporters crash a tiny, impromptu wedding would kind of suck. I shouldn’t have said that. Please don’t say anything.”
Ruth pish-poshes at her. “Of course not, but I would love a picture.”
“Of course,” I say.
“Then it’s a deal. I won’t say a word as long as you come back and tell me all about it.”
“She’ll probably be busy tomorrow,” Millie blurts out. “Doing, uh, Peter—” I jab an elbow into her side and glare at her, jaw dropped.
“Millie!”
Ruth laughs. “Girls, I know how things work. I’ve been around the block a few times myself. Now, let me steam those dresses for you and get them pristine. Do you have other errands to run? How much time do I have?”
At first, I refuse, but when it’s clear she’s not letting me get married in a slightly wrinkled dress, I finally accept. “Thank you, Ruth—for everything!” I hug her even though I’m not a hugger. It’s just one of those days.
* * *
After a trip to the salon down the street, our hair is set in a contemporary version of Victory rolls. We both have our makeup done too, in a 40’s pinup girl look with ruby-red lips. I buy us a couple of tubes of lipstick so we can reapply as needed, thank them, and head out. It’s after lunchtime, and I’m starving. We grab a bite to eat off a shiny new yellow food truck, courtesy of Jon Ferro, and eat on the walk back to the dress shop.
Ruth gushes over us for a few minutes, looking at our hair and makeup. “They did a wonderful job. I love this.” She points to the way my hair is pulled back by my temples and falls in soft pin curls down my back. “I can’t wait to see what the dress looks like with all of this
. I found a pair of silk stockings for you too. You’ll love them! There’s a seam up the back. I’ll help you straighten it out when you get them on. And dear...?”
I glance at her. I’ve been staring at my dress letting the surreal moment consume me. “Yes?”
“Be careful not to get your makeup on the dress. It’ll happen easier than you think.”
“Ah, good point. I’ll be careful.” I pull the dress on and zip it up, excitement flooding through me. There’s a lightness in my belly, like I could float away.
When I emerge from the dressing room, Millie is wearing her red dress. They added a black sash around the waist that matches the piping along the neckline. It looks perfect with her blonde hair and crimson lipstick.
Ruth has us stand together. “You two look perfect. Would you like a picture or two?”
Millie hands over her phone. “Yes! Take a bunch. I’m a blinker. Every time someone takes my picture, my eyes close.”
Ruth snorts and hits the button a bunch of times. Millie poses with me, serious to silly, and we laugh as we do it, mimicking old pin-up poses and creating some new ones.
We stop when my phone rings. I swipe and press the plastic to my ear. Peter says, “The car will bring you to me. Are you ready?”
The afternoon passed by so quickly. I can’t believe it. I’m so excited that I’m practically bouncing up and down. “Yes, I’m ready! Hey, did you find everyone?”
“Everyone you wanted will be there. Don’t worry.” He asks for my location, and I tell him. “I love you, Sidney. See you soon.”
“I love you too.” We disconnect, and when I glance up at Millie, I squeal, “I’m getting married!”
CHAPTER 15
The car takes us to a private airport. There’s a shiny white jet parked on the runway with the stairs down. My heart is in my throat. Millie is at a loss for words for once. She blinks rapidly and then whistles. “It’s easy to forget he has more money than God.”
“He doesn’t. His family does.”
“Same difference, Sid. When you marry the man, you marry the family. You should ask for one of these in pink,” she jokes as we walk across the tarmac to the plane.
The copilot greets us warmly, “Miss Colleli, pleased to meet you. Everyone else is already inside, so if you’ll climb up and make yourself comfortable, we can take off.”
“Where are we going?” I ask.
But the man shakes his head. “Your fiancé requested it be a surprise, if that’s all right.”
Millie squeaks and bounces up the steps and disappears inside.
“Of course, and thank you.”
He studies me for a moment. “Of course. We were happy to help.” He smiles knowingly at me, and I wish I knew the surprise.
After I climb up the stairs and into the jet, I glance up and see Dad seated next to Sam. I rush over and throw my arms around them.
Dad is careful not to rumple me. Looking up at me, he says, “You look beautiful, Sidney.”
I smile sadly, tears filling my eyes. “I wish Mom could see.”
He holds my hands, pats them firmly, and says, “She can, and she’s watching today, Sidney.”
I nearly cry. “Everyone keeps saying that.”
He shrugs. “Because it’s true.”
The captain walks back. He’s an older man, tall and thin, in a blue uniform with a white shirt. “Welcome on board. Our flight will be a couple of hours, and we should touch down close to sunset if the tailwinds are with us today. Can I get you anything before we get going?”
Dad and Millie request sodas and Sam declines anything. I pick a bench seat and fan out my skirt, so I don’t crumple it. It’s tricky with the petticoat, but I figure it out.
Sam is quiet, but after takeoff, Millie moves to the front of the plane, freeing up the seat next to me. I don’t know if she said something to Sam earlier or if he walked over on his own.
I’m gazing out the window at the world streaming by below when Sam says, “Can I sit?”
I turn to him and nod. “Yeah, of course.”
He clears his throat and sits down in his black suit pants with a crisp white button down. A red tie hangs loosely around his neck. He opens his mouth and closes it again. A moment passes, and he admits, “I don’t know where to start so I’ll jump in. I wish I'd known who Dean really was... I would have done something. It’s too late now, and I feel like any chance at a relationship with you is gone. It was my own stupidity. You tried to tell me, but I didn’t listen. I blame myself. It’s not you, Sid. It was never you.”
“Sam,” I say his name firmly and look my twin square in the face. “I have one brother, and he’s you. I wouldn’t trade you if I could. Sometimes bad things happen, and there is no reason. It makes us want to place blame and when that’s hard to do, well, most people blame themselves.”
“Yeah, they do.” He glances at his chapped knuckles.
I plow through this part. With everything that’s happened, I know how I want my life to be and fighting with Sam isn’t a part of it. “That part of my life is over, and the good part is still in front of me. I want you to be a part of it, and I’m glad you’re here.” I smile at him.
When his defensive walls finally drop, he sucks in a shaky breath and smiles at me. “You have no idea how glad I am to hear that.”
I smirk at him. “So this is what getting along feels like. It’s weird.”
He bumps his shoulder into mine. “You’re weird.”
I laugh and point at him. “Why, thank you.”
Sam and I talk for the rest of the flight, about anything and everything. Before long, there’s a ding to indicate we’ll be landing shortly. I inhale deeply and smile at my brother. “This is exciting!”
Sam laughs and looks past me, out the window, his brow wrinkling. “Where are we? It’s desolate out there.”
I glance down at the ground, at the farms and the yellow fields, and then the scattering of little houses as we enter the city limits.
The corners of my lips tug up. “Welcome to Texas, big brother.”
CHAPTER 16
A car meets us at the little airport, and soon we are driving down roads I recognize. We head directly toward the university where Peter and I met, stopping in front of the English building. The massive structure is just the way I remembered it with the huge staircase and the tall pillars. This was the place where Peter figured out how I felt about him. He chased me out here after reading my poem. He bounded down these steps when Dean came.
Millie jabbers on about everything, darting from the car with Dad and Sam. She leads them inside and then looks back at me. “Coming, Sid?”
“In a second. You guys go ahead. I need a minute.”
“Do you want me to stay? I can stay. They can find it by themselves.” She swats a hand at Sam and Dad who promptly agree, but I shake my head.
“No, it’s okay. You go ahead. I need time alone.”
Millie perks up and offers Dad her arm. “I’ll show you the way. Come on, boys!”
I linger back a little bit and look around. I’ve been gone for a while. The way things ended here, I didn’t think we’d ever come back. I doubted we’d be welcome. Peter and I broke enough school policies to get expelled. He left all of this for me. He came out of hiding to save me. Peter risked everything he had to be with me. That feeling is like no other. When someone makes a sacrifice like that—there are no words.
The Texas sky reaches to heaven and beyond, and is the most beautiful shade of blue, second only to Peter’s eyes. As the sun sinks, it’ll streak with oranges and pinks, until the stars begin to appear. I close my eyes for a second, and breathe in the sweet air. When I look up, I press my lips together and head toward the staircase.
I’m about to begin the climb up the steps, when a familiar voice calls out, “Sidney Colleli.”
I stop and turn. Dr. Strictland is there, walking toward me with a smile on her face. Her gray hair is cut differently, shorter, now. She’s wearing a pale lav
ender suit. “Well, here you are. I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it with my own eyes.”
I rush to her and give the older woman a hug. She embraces me like a daughter and then steps back. “When Peter called, I couldn’t believe it. I saw the articles about the wedding in New York, and from the looks of it, it’s a good thing that you came back here.” She eyes my dress. “This gown is stunning, Sidney. You look beautiful. Are you ready to get married? Peter is waiting.”
“He is?” She talks about it like she knows. Did Peter call her this morning and set all this up?
She nods. “He’s been here for a few hours. He was lucky he caught me. It’s between semesters. I wasn’t supposed to be here, but was delighted to stay when I got his call. Come on. Let me take you to your father.” She offers her arm, and I take it.
We walk around to the back of the staircase and take a small elevator up to the second floor. It saves me from walking up a hundred steps in heels.
Dr. Strictland pushes open the aged grate, and we step out into a nook behind a stairwell. “I’ve known Peter for a long time.”
“I remember. He said he’s known you since he was in school.”
She nods slowly. “He always has a place here and a friend, as do you, Sidney.”
I stop for a moment and smile fondly at her. “Thank you so much. For everything.”
Strictland nods and we walk silently down the hall and stop at the door to Peter’s old classroom. She smiles at me before handing me off to my father. “She is such a beautiful bride and a wonderful young woman with so much promise. You must be very proud.”
Dad puffs up with pride. “I am. I couldn’t have wished for more.” Strictland disappears behind the doors, and I look up at Dad.
He glances up and down the hallway, and then leans in and asks softly, “Are you ready? Because we can walk away and go get some ice cream if you’re not really serious about this guy.” He jabs his thumb toward the classroom door. “If you changed your mind, we’re out of here. All you have to do is say the word, honey.”
