by Autumn Marks
“I love it,” Emily said.
Audrey nodded. “Me too.”
Stephanie’s sister gave a thumbs-up and resumed looking at her phone. At twenty years old, Stephanie’s sister, Meredith, seemed worlds apart from Stephanie. But Meredith was Stephanie’s only sibling and their parents deemed it necessary for Stephanie to make her maid of honor.
Stephanie turned and admired herself in the mirror from all angles. “I am so in love with this dress. I think Chris is going to be blown away.”
“You really did pick the right one,” Emily said, remembering the almost thirty dresses that had come before it.
“I’m going to go back and get changed and then I want you three to try on your dresses one last time,” Stephanie said.
Audrey and Emily gave each other a look and when Stephanie left the room, Audrey said, “I doubt much has changed since the last fitting.”
Emily held up five fingers. “That’s how many fittings you had, so I don’t want to hear it.”
“I know. I know. But Tyler is holding up dinner until I get home and I’m starving. We were down a teller at the bank today and I didn’t get to eat my lunch.”
The seamstress came out to where they were sitting. “Your friend is almost dressed. Let’s go ahead and get you ladies started.”
They were each led back to their own fitting room and in no time, Emily was dressed and back in the waiting area where Stephanie was waiting for them. Audrey and Meredith showed up about a minute later and Emily stood next to the rest of them. She was a good head taller than Meredith and had about six inches on Audrey. While everyone else had curves to fill out their dresses, Emily looked like…a stick.
The seamstress recognized this and came over to her and began pulling at her dress. “I think we need to take the waist in a bit more on yours.”
The deep neckline on the champagne colored, floor-length dress was filled out nicely by the other two women. On Emily? Not so much. But at least she didn’t have to worry about her boobs spilling out during the ceremony and reception, as if that thought was supposed to make her feel better.
“I also think we can take this area in a bit to mold to your chest a bit better,” the seamstress said, tugging at the fabric around Emily’s bust.
Great. This was exactly what she needed. Someone else to remind her that she had no shape.
“I agree,” Stephanie said. “I think the other two dresses are fine, but Emily’s needs a bit more tucking in.”
While Emily waited for the seamstress to pin the dress in places, Audrey and Meredith went back to change. The seamstress helped Emily out of her dress to preserve her markings and when she came back out, Stephanie was the only other person in the waiting area.
“Where’s everyone else?” Emily asked.
“Audrey left because she was hungry and Meredith is out in the car waiting for me. It’s good that we’re alone because there’s something I wanted to discuss with you.”
“What is it?”
“As you know, Jason is going to be at the wedding, and I finally got his RSVP in the mail. Two people.”
Damn. Emily was hoping Jason would have forgotten about the whole event. His new girlfriend was likely his plus one and she’d have to act as though everything was perfectly normal. “Can’t you uninvite him?” she asked.
“He’s Chris’s cousin. I can’t uninvite him without uninviting the rest of his family.”
“Okay, so why did you have to wait until everyone else was gone to tell me this?”
“I want to make sure you’re not going to do anything or say anything to Jason at the wedding. You know, something you might regret later.”
Emily put her hand over her heart and acted as though she’d been wounded. “Give me some credit here. I’m one of your best friends. I know how important this event is to you and I would never do anything to jeopardize it.”
“I know you wouldn’t. I’m really sorry for asking. I’ve had so much on my mind lately and I’m not thinking clearly.”
“It’s fine. No offense taken.” Maybe a little offense had been taken, but Emily would never let on that her feelings had been hurt.
“Thank you for understanding.”
The two of them walked out the door and stood at their respective cars. “If you’re finished,” Emily said, “I’d like to get home and eat some dinner.”
“Speaking of dinner, I need to get the final count to the caterer. How many should I put down for you?”
“Put me down for two. I’ve got a date,” Emily said with a grin.
Stephanie’s eyes widened. “What? Since when?”
Since never. But Stephanie didn’t need to know that. “Since yesterday.”
Stephanie narrowed her eyes. “Okay…I’ll mark you down for two then.”
That meant that sometime within the next week Emily had to find a date. Where on earth would she get one of those?
“Are you moving in now?” Brandon asked.
His mother was standing on his doorstep with a few bags slung over her arms.
“I brought over a few boxes of brownie mix that I picked up from the store. I thought we could make them with Lilly this afternoon.”
Brandon took the bags from his mother and set them on the kitchen counter. He pilfered through them while waiting on her to join him in the kitchen. She stopped at the couch to give Ollie a good scratch behind the ear.
“Did you buy any extra for me?” he asked.
Linda leaned against the door frame. “No, the rest of the stuff in these bags are snacks and drinks for her visit.”
Brandon looked at all the bags on the counter. “She’s not staying overnight, you know. I don’t think you needed to bring the whole grocery store with you.”
“Oh, hush. I couldn’t remember what all you had here so I picked up what I thought we needed.”
He cocked an eyebrow.
“And maybe a few more things too. So what? I’m her grandma. I’m allowed to spoil her.”
“When is she supposed to get here?”
“Soon. Your sister called me and told me she’s already on her way.”
Ollie began barking as a couple of soft, timid knocks sounded on the front door. Brandon left his spot in the kitchen and opened the door to greet his sister, Julie, and Lilly. Ollie pushed his face out the front door and Lilly beamed when she saw the brown and white spotted dog.
“Ollie!” Lilly squealed.
Ollie licked Lilly’s hand as she reached up to pet his head. She threw her arms around the dog and gave him a squeeze. Ollie ran back in the house and retrieved a tennis ball and presented it to Lilly for her to throw.
“Lilly, don’t touch that. We don’t throw balls in the house,” Julie scolded, while trying to fit through the door with a large bag slung over her shoulder and a few more bags resting on her forearms. “Brandon, can you give me a hand?”
Brandon’s sister was three years younger than him, but she didn’t have the typical baby-of-the-family tendencies. She was bossy, persistent, and very driven—or maybe she had seen Brandon’s mistakes as a teen and decided she didn’t want to go that route. As a lawyer, she also tended to be argumentative, but when it came to her daughter, she usually caved in to her demands.
“Sure thing.” Brandon took the bags that were resting on her forearms so she could adjust the bag on her shoulder.
Julie sighed with relief at the weight she’d been freed from. “Thanks. I thought I was going to drop something.”
“Uncle Brandon, Mommy said we’re going to play in the sprinkler,” Lilly said, bouncing up and down. She was already dressed in her princess bathing suit that was complete with a tutu encircling the waist.
Brandon leaned over to get at eye-level with Lilly. Lilly was the spitting image of her mother with her blond hair, blue eyes, and cherub face. But Lilly was a ball of energy, whereas her mother had always been quiet and reserved. “Your mom is right. We’re going to have so much fun and I think Grammie has a surprise f
or you in the kitchen.”
Lilly gasped. “A surprise? What is it?” She was shaking with excitement.
“Grammie bought brownies to make with you!” he said with a huge smile on his face. Seeing his niece always made him smile. She was so sweet and innocent, much too young to adopt a cynical outlook on life like he had. But make no mistake, she was definitely a handful and he’d most likely be needing a nap by the end of her visit.
“Brownies! I love brownies!” Lilly shouted.
Linda came out from the kitchen and greeted Lilly and Julie. “Lilly, will you come outside and help me get the sprinkler out of my car? I brought the octopus one with the wiggly arms that you like.”
“Sure! Can we take Ollie with us?” Lilly asked.
“Only if you keep an eye on him. Ollie doesn’t have a fence here to keep him in,” Brandon replied. Once Lilly was outside and out of earshot, he assessed the state of his sister. She didn’t look like her usual put-together self. “Are you okay, Julie?”
“I’m exhausted. Lilly has had me up since six this morning. With Patrick being out of town for work, I haven’t had much time to myself. I’ve got some research I need to get done for work so I really appreciate you guys taking Lilly for the afternoon.”
“Sure. Don’t worry about it. Mom and I have got this covered. You get out of here and do what you need to do.”
“Thanks, Brandon. I owe you one,” Julie replied.
“Mommy’s here!” Lilly shouted.
Lilly had just finished eating her brownie when Julie came walking through the kitchen. “Hi, sorry it took me so long to get back here. I was making a lot of progress on my work and didn’t want to stop.”
“That’s okay,” Linda said. “We had a lot of fun, didn’t we?” she asked, directing her question toward Lilly.
“Mom, Uncle Brandon ran through the sprinkler with me! And I got to throw the ball for Ollie.”
“Was Ollie a good boy for you?” Julie asked Lilly.
“No, he lost his ball. Then Uncle Brandon brought out another one,” Lilly said.
“Well, come on, honey. We need to get going. I have dinner ready at the house and it looks like Uncle Brandon still has more unpacking to do,” Julie said, remarking on the stacks of boxes still scattered around.
Brandon smiled. “I tried to get Lilly to help me out but she wanted to play instead. Can’t blame her.” Lilly bounded over to him and he engulfed her in a hug. “I had a good time with you today,” he said to her, while still holding her in his arms. He set her down and ruffled her hair.
“Thanks for playing with me,” Lilly said with a smile on her face.
“Thanks again for watching her,” Julie said, ushering her daughter toward the door. “I know she can be a handful.”
“Nonsense,” Linda said. “She was great.”
After seeing Julie and Lilly off, his mother gathered her things. “Are you sure you don’t need my help?”
Brandon just wanted some peace and quiet. After having Lilly all afternoon, he was worn out. “No, I’m good. Thanks.”
“All right. I’ll see you later then.”
Brandon hugged his mom and waved to her as she pulled away. Once he was truly on his own, besides Ollie, of course, he sprawled out on the couch and closed his eyes. The amount of work that lay before him and the afternoon spent with Lilly were too much to take at that moment. He needed a nap. He flipped on the TV for some noise and closed his eyes. About fifteen minutes into his slumber, a pounding on his door startled him awake. Ollie barked at the intrusion.
Brandon ignored it. If it was his mother, he was going to have to start setting some boundaries with her.
The pounding continued.
“I know you’re in there!” said a voice from the other side.
Shit. He knew that voice. What could she want now?
Chapter 5
Emily stood on Brandon’s doorstep with her fists balled up at her sides. To say she was mad was an understatement. She was pissed off. Furious. Ready to breathe fire.
She had returned home from the dress fitting, ready to finally relax after having worked all day. When she pulled in, she had almost missed the destruction. But then a bright green tennis ball that lay on the surface of the wreckage had caught her eye.
Emily’s home was her pride and joy. Her home provided a sense of security and comfort, something she had lacked in her childhood. Her childhood had been full of tragedy and turmoil—and she had felt so helpless because she couldn’t control it. But owning a home provided her with something she could control.
She didn’t have kids or pets, so making her home look the best it could was top priority. She had carefully chosen the plants in her flower beds to complement her earth-toned craftsman bungalow. Her flowers, a mix of annuals and perennials, popped against the white spindles of her wide front porch.
They used to anyway…when they were still in the ground.
While her hostas and dwarf boxwoods were still standing, a large clump of her purple petunias were another story. Petunias had been her mother’s favorite flower. Emily planted them every spring to honor her and now they’d been ruined by one stupid dog.
She pounded again after getting no answer the first few times. Ollie’s barking could be heard through the door and the sound aggravated her even more. The previous tenant had never caused her this much irritation. And the previous tenant didn’t have a dog that seemed hellbent on destroying her yard.
The door opened slowly and Brandon stood there looking a bit rumpled in his T-shirt and athletic shorts. His eyelids drooped as though he’d been woken up from sleep. Emily hoped that was the case. It gave her a small sense of satisfaction to know his day had been disrupted like hers.
“Can I help you?” he asked, leaning against the open door.
“Was your dog outside today?” She peered around Brandon and saw the culprit sitting on the floor looking in her direction.
Brandon looked down at Ollie and Ollie’s tail thumped against the floor. “Yeah, he was outside today.”
“Was he playing with a tennis ball?”
Brandon snapped to attention. “I’m sorry. Did he leave one in your yard? We lost one of his earlier and couldn’t find it.”
Emily narrowed her eyes even though he couldn’t see them behind her sunglasses. “I found it for you,” she gritted out.
“Is that all you came here to tell me? You could’ve just thrown it back in my yard, you know.”
“You need to come with me. I have to show you something.”
“Now? Can’t it wait? I was in the middle of taking a nap.”
“No!” she screamed, likely alarming the rest of the street. She lowered her voice. “It can’t wait.” She looked down at his bare feet. “Throw some shoes on and meet me in my front yard.”
He closed the door on her and she stormed off back toward her house. Around the side of her house she saw Mrs. Gordon spying on her from her front porch. With her neck craned around her front porch post, Mrs. Gordon wasn’t even trying to hide it either.
Emily glared at her through her sunglasses. “Enjoying the view?” she asked.
Mrs. Gordon pretended to be busy by picking at her flowers. “Oh, hello, Emily. I was just out here deadheading my flowers. Such a lovely evening we’re having, right?”
Emily rolled her eyes. “It sure is,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Mrs. Gordon registered Emily’s tone and hurried back into her house. Emily heard footsteps on the grass behind her and whipped around to see Brandon standing right next to her. She didn’t even have to say anything. He spotted the tennis ball that was sitting right on top of the mound of what used to be her flowers. He looked away and fisted his hands in his hair.
This was bad. There was no way around it. This went far beyond poop piles in the yard.
Ollie had destroyed Emily’s flowers. That was Ollie’s lost tennis ball right there on top of where the flowers had been displaced.
I
t was his fault. He hadn’t been watching Ollie closely this afternoon because he’d been too preoccupied with taking care of his niece. He wasn’t sure when Ollie had slipped away from them, but he remembered Ollie coming back once without his ball. He had assumed Ollie left it in the front yard because he was notorious for leaving his tennis balls all over.
When it had happened and why didn’t matter. What mattered now was that he had to fix this.
“I’m really sorry, Emily. I was watching my niece this afternoon and Ollie must’ve slipped away from me,” he said.
“So now you’re blaming your niece?” Emily said. She stood with her arms across her chest. Her sunglasses made it hard to read her expression, but Brandon was pretty sure it wasn’t pleasant.
“No, that’s not what I meant. I wasn’t able to watch Ollie like I should’ve been and I should’ve put him inside. You probably think he’s a bad dog.”
She shook her head. “He’s not the one who’s bad. It’s his owner that’s the problem.”
Ouch. Brandon had to admit her comment stung a bit. He kept quiet because it looked as though she was just getting started. He’d take it though, whatever comments she threw at him. He deserved it.
“I don’t understand how you can let your dog roam like that. It’s so irresponsible. Aren’t you afraid he’s going to get hit by a car?”
Brandon looked up and down the street. Not a car was in sight. The whole time they’d been standing in the yard there hadn’t been one. “I’m not worried about cars around here.”
“Don’t be a smartass,” Emily said.
“I’m not trying to be a smartass. I’m really sorry. I’d like to fix this.”
“You can’t.”
“I’ll buy you some new flowers from the greenhouse.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Why not?”
“You won’t even know what to buy.”
