Little Gray Dress

by Aimee Brown

  We both watch as he slides on a pair of glasses while opening the file in front of him. “And while there are no stipulations on the inheritance, your parents have made some… requests.”

  “Requests?” Evan asks, looking suddenly nervous.

  “Suggestions, really. Are we ready?”

  “Oh, God,” I mumble under my breath. I know what my parents were like. This might be very bad.

  “Let’s start with Emi… You will, of course, receive half of everything, and your parents have suggested that you start living life a little more responsibly and that when you do settle down that you will consider adoption.”

  “They think I’m motherly?!” I ask, completely shocked. Children? I’ve never even thought about that. I’m not exactly child-friendly. I curse way too often and I have a hard time even keeping a houseplant alive, so I probably shouldn’t risk it with children.

  Kids don’t seem to really like me either. I’m the girl who applauded when a local restaurant I love decided it was going to become adults-only. The news had a hay day with it, but I was just glad to be sitting in a room with no screaming babies or kids asking me why I was bigger than their magazine-picture-perfect mommy. I heard a saying once that made me dislike children even more than I already did. It was: If an adult says you’re fat, they’re jealous. If a teen says you’re fat, they’re an asshole. If a child says you’re fat, you’re fat. So, I think avoiding the little truth-telling jerks is in my best interest, and also theirs.

  “Even in death, they ask you be more responsible,” Evan laughs.

  “Not so fast, Mr Harrison. You too will receive half of everything, and their request for you is that you take care of your sister and stop trying to populate the earth with every woman you meet. They ask that you find a nice girl and settle down. While they both agreed that you are relatively level-headed, you don’t always make the best decisions. That should change.”

  “Ha, ha. See,” I gloat at Evan. “You suck too.”

  “Their final request is that we sell their house, you keep what you want from the interiors and focus on the life that YOU want. Invest and save before pissing away the entire estate.” He slides off his glasses and jots a note on two separate slips of paper and slaps them on the desk in front of us. “This is the amount you’ll each receive, and of course, this is minus any taxes or debts that needed to be paid.”

  “Holy shit,” I announce, holding the note and glancing over at Evan.

  “That’s a bit more than the five hundred I mentioned earlier, isn’t it?”

  “That it is, Mr Harrison, so be wise. You two are young, you have a lot of life ahead of you and you’ve now got a head start. Don’t blow it, like I see so often with the young ones.”

  “I won’t,” we say in unison, both a little stunned at the turn of events.

  “Emi, I know that you live in the house right now. The house was listed yesterday and we’ve already got interest, so I would advise you to be looking for a new place to reside, in the very near future.”

  “OK,” I say, kind of sad that this part of my life is moving on without my parents.

  “That’s a lot of money, Ems.” Jack stands at the oven cooking dinner for us as I go over everything that happened earlier today.

  “I know. AND I have to move, like pronto. Where should I look?”

  “Actually… I had an idea.” Jack disappears into his room for a moment before coming out holding a small wrapped package in his hands.

  “You bought me a present?”

  “I did. And if it’s not something you are ready for, let me know, there is no pressure here.” He nods at the gift. “Open it.”

  I’m nervous. I can feel myself holding my breath as I pull the ribbon off and unwrap the black paper revealing a tiny white box. It’s too flat to be a ring box, unfortunately. I glance up at Jack who is standing at the edge of the bar, arms crossed, a smile on his face. Inside the box is a key.

  “What’s this?” When I look at him he laughs, but doesn’t give me any hint. “Wait… are you—?”

  “I am. I mean… unless you don’t want to? You spend almost every day over here anyway, so why not make it official and move in?”

  “Are you sure?” I ask him, worried that he’s doing this only because I need somewhere to live. I guess we’ve been moving towards this, but I hate that he’s asking during a moment that I am just about homeless.

  “I wouldn’t have made the key if I wasn’t sure.”

  “Do your parents know?”

  “Emi… I’m almost 28 years old. I don’t need to run everything I do by my parents. Besides, you heard my mother the other day, she loves you.” His eyebrows rise in anticipation of my answer. “So… yes or no?”

  It’s not the ring I’d love to get, but it’s close. I’ve never lived with a boy before so I’m more than nervous, but I know for a fact that I don’t want to say no. This is a big step towards true adulthood, and an even bigger step towards a possible husband.

  “Yes.” I bite my lip through a giggle. “Yes, I will move in with you.”

  Jack pulls me off the stool and lifts me off the ground before kissing my forehead. “Awesome.”

  “So, which room is mine?” I joke, looking at the extra bedroom Jack’s turned into an office.

  “That part is not negotiable… We share a room. Now go, call Lily because I know you’re absolutely dying to tell her.”

  “You are the best boyfriend ever!” I quickly peck his lips with mine and grab my phone off the counter to call Lily on speaker phone so Jack can hear how excited girls get over these kinds of things.

  “GUESS WHAT?!” I scream into the phone.

  “What? God… Why are you so loud?” She laughs, but I can tell she’s annoyed with the screaming.

  “Jack asked me to move in with him!”

  “He did?”

  “Yup.”

  “You know what’s next, right? A proposal, I bet he’ll go all out.” Jack coughs in the background, probably in shock that girls think that moving in together automatically predicts a proposal. “Oh, am I on speaker?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Well… At least I’m not calling to verify the reservation of a wedding venue, like on Friends.”

  “True,” I respond, wondering how Jack would react if something like that actually happened.

  “When’s the big moving day?”

  “As soon as Emi wants,” Jack says before I can speak. “This weekend if you like.”

  “Really?”

  “Of course, Andy told me the house was already up for sale so it’ll be easier to show if you’re out sooner than later. I can arrange movers to come and take care of it.”

  “We can help if you want.” Lily volunteers her and Josh to help me pack up my whole life and move.

  “OK!” I enthusiastically announce. “Let’s do it this weekend.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Present Day

  Downtown Portland, Oregon

  The Reception

  “Attention, wedding party!!” Botoxed Muffy claps as quietly as possible at us all lining up to get the wedding started. “Let’s get with our partners! Make sure you haven’t forgotten bouquets, tissues, rings…” She glances around at all of our faces. “Are we ready?”

  I kind of feel like we should all yell, ma’am, yes ma’am here and watch her finally smile. She’s been bossing us around, yelling and just being generally obnoxious for the last thirty minutes. With it being so close to the wedding and the fact that guests are just beyond the doors she’s standing in front of, this is the quietest I’ve seen her yet.

  “Once I open these doors we will walk down the aisle just like we practiced last night.”

  “Today is the day, Ems.”

  “The day our siblings get married? Yes I know, Jack. I’m here.”

  “No… The day we talk.”

  “I don’t think this is the time or the place.”

  “No time or place has been right for
you, for two years. Please let me do this, Em. If not for you, then for me.” He stares down at me, a hesitant sad smile on his face.

  Even though I wanted him to gain twenty pounds and lose his hair, I’m glad he didn’t. He’s still just as gorgeous as he was two years ago, and even though I don’t want him to, he still stirs up something inside me.

  “Fine, I’ll give you ten minutes to say what you need to say.”

  “Thank you.” He nods with a smile and reaches down pulling my hand into the crook of his arm and holding it there like he’s taking me hostage until we’ve had this conversation.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Getting ready to walk down the aisle.” He grins down at me, knowing that wasn’t what I was asking, and not seeming to care at all. I guess he thinks he makes all the rules today. “Do you like him?”

  “What?” We take a step forward and I glance up at Liam, who’s walking down the aisle with Greta hanging off him like a trophy wife. Which, now that I think of it, I’m sure is her destiny in life. She’ll become some bitchy trophy wife and make anyone’s life miserable that doesn’t bow to her greatness. I refuse to be one of her victims.

  “The bartender, do you like him?” Jack stares towards the front of the room as he speaks. “Romantically…?”

  “How do you know he’s a bartender?”

  “I know things,” he says, as we take another step forward.

  “You don’t know anything.”

  “I know you just met him.”

  “Wha—”

  “SSHHHHH!” Muffy glares at us, motioning for the couple ahead of us to start down the aisle.

  “Why do you think that?” I whisper, as quietly as possible, but Jack just shrugs his shoulders and holds my hand even tighter. “You’re wrong, anyway,” I say through a clenched-teeth smile. “I met him in Dallas.” Think Emi, think. I need a good lie and I need it fast. I can’t believe I didn’t think of the whole possible backstory before this moment. I should have known Jack would research him; he’s a lawyer.

  “No, you didn’t,” he says under his breath, smiling at the crowd.

  “Yes, I did.” I hiss through clinched teeth, moving my lips as little as possible so no one notices us. I suddenly spot Lily’s face, her eyes wide, a questioning smile. We obviously aren’t being as subtle as I thought we were. Thankfully the end of the aisle comes quickly and we part ways before the music changes.

  Hannah and her father step into the doorway, both beaming with excitement. Hannah truly does look lovely in her giant fluffy princess gown. When I glance over at my brother he’s fighting back tears, but looks as in love as I’ve ever seen anyone. They’re perfect for each other. I smile at him when he looks my way, but immediately notice that Jack and Liam are both watching me, with very different smiles on their faces.

  Liam’s smile is that smile every girl wants to see. The one they make internet memes out of that say something like Find a man that looks at you like Joe Biden looks at Obama. Honestly, that smile freaks me out far more than it should. I didn’t really come here to find love, or anything like it. This is supposed to be something just short of a business arrangement. But this smile, the kiss last night and his flattery has somehow convinced everyone but Jack that we are almost a couple.

  Jack, though? His smile is almost a silent plea that is piercing right through my soul. It’s the same smile he would use when we were together and I was mad at him. Which was rare. How is he doing this to me? He’s got me wondering things that have nothing to do with getting back at him.

  I force a small smile back in their direction, but for some reason my eyes are on Jack. Damn him. It was so much easier to be in control when I was two thousand miles away.

  “It was so beautiful,” I say to Lily as I walk into the reception room. Amelia really spared no expense with this wedding. Sheer panels hang from the ceiling, backlit with soft lighting. Giant crystal chandeliers hang over every table with centerpieces of all white flowers taller than me. “Did you see Evan as Hannah walked down the aisle?” I ask, mesmerized by the atmosphere of the room.

  “I did,” she says, glancing at me as we stand near the bar. “I also saw you and Jack as you walked down the aisle. What was that about?”

  “What?” I grab a glass of wine from the bartender and guiltily glance back at Lily.

  “It looked like you two were arguing.”

  “No. He was just being… Jack.” I spot Liam heading in my direction. “It doesn’t matter anyway.”

  “I told you,” Liam says, planting a kiss on my cheek.

  I can’t help but scan the room to see if Jack saw it. How dare he believe anything other than what we’re presenting? How could he even know I didn’t meet Liam until a couple days ago? There is no way he’s telling the truth.

  “You told her what?” Josh asks.

  “That she’d be the most beautiful girl in the room.” Both Lily’s and Josh’s eyebrows rise in confusion.

  “That’s too sweet.” I force a pinched smile in their direction to gloat about me being the prettiest. “It’s not true, but it’s sweet.” It might not be completely true but that doesn’t mean I have to ignore it.

  “I think it’s true,” Liam says to me, but his attention is on Lily and Josh’s disbelief.

  “Thank you. How was Greta?”

  “She’s an odd one, that’s for sure. She kept asking what I thought of your hair. And your spray tan.”

  “Why should she care about those?”

  “I don’t know, but she made sure to tell me what a morning you’d had, how everything had gone wrong for you, and that you’re always this unlucky. She advised me to run as far from you as possible.” He laughs when he says it. I, however, can almost feel the steam rising from my head. How dare she try and control the situation through my date!

  Wait… Did she…?

  “You don’t think—” I start to ask Lily, who is nodding her head.

  “It makes sense, considering nothing went wrong with any of the other girls.” She inhales through her nose, her nostrils flaring. “I can’t believe we didn’t see this before!”

  “She sabotaged me?! For what?” I say it far too loud, causing people near us to turn in our direction.

  Right then she and Jack walk into the room. Without a further thought I start marching towards them until I feel a hand pull me to a stop.

  “Emi, I don’t think this is a great idea.” Liam tries to stop me but I pull away from him and stomp my way to them.

  “YOU BITCH!” I spit at her in a quiet hiss but I can’t seem to keep it very quiet. “You did this.” I point to my hair and Greta starts to back away from me, putting Jack in between us as a human shield.

  “What’s going on?” Jack asks, looking back and forth between Greta and me.

  “She hates me… For what, though? You know she tried to make me look like a complete fool today?”

  “Come on…” Jack glances at a trembling Greta. “She would never…” His face drops in disbelief when she doesn’t offer any explanation or denial.

  “Ask her… Ask her about my hair, or my spray tan…”

  “PLEASE WELCOME, OUR STAR COUPLE… MR AND MRS… EVAN AND HANNAH HARRISON.” The DJ interrupts us and we all stop to glance at the doors that Evan and Hannah are running through, hand in hand.

  “Emi, let’s not do this here.” Lily and Liam are now at my side, trying to convince me to walk away from Jack and Greta. But I can’t.

  “Not until she admits it.”

  “Girls… What is going on?” Amelia approaches us, glancing back and forth between us. “I’m not sure what’s happening, but let’s move it outside the reception.” She corrals all of us out into the hallway, Greta keeping Jack between us as a buffer. “Now what is the problem?”

  “Tell them, Greta.”

  “There is no problem, Mrs Cabot.” Greta shrugs her shoulders with a nervous laugh, probably trying to convince herself that she hasn’t been caught.

  �
��How did you even get in my room to change the shampoo?”

  I wait for her to answer, but she just rolls her eyes.

  “Or the spray tan, how did you set that up? The hairdresser who fried off my hair, was that planned or was that just a lucky coincidence?”

  “Puh-lease. You can’t prove I did any of that. You’re just bad luck… always have been.”

  Amelia’s glare towards Greta makes even me shiver in fear. “Maybe we contact the spray tan employee and ask her? Surely that would prove your innocence, right, Greta?”

  We all watch Greta open her mouth to speak, then suddenly decide against it.

  Liam steps up beside me. “Greta, I do find it unusual that everything Emi just mentioned are the very same things you asked me about just before we walked down the aisle. Why did you care, if you had nothing to do with it?”

  “Did you do these things?” Amelia asks her.

  Greta quickly shakes her head in denial, but the glistening of sweat on her forehead isn’t the physical reaction of someone who is innocent. I know that from watching too many who-done-it TV shows.

  “Fine, OK? I may have had something to do with them, but you totally deserve it. Look what you do to Jack when he’s around you. He hasn’t been the same since you got here. He’s miserable.”

  We all look to Jack, who right this second looks less like someone miserable and more like a deer caught in the headlights. But I have seen the misery across his face. I might think it was me causing his misery if his entire attitude hadn’t changed today. In the last twelve hours, though, I haven’t seen him completely miserable at all. Up until right this moment I’ve seen traces of the Jack I once loved.

  “How could you do this?” I ask her, my mind trying to understand how a person could be so evil. “I’ve never done anything to you.”

  Amelia takes the center of the group. “Greta, there is something I’ve wondered about quite often these last few months.” Her arms are crossed in front of her and her pacing between us is more than nerve-wracking. “There was a story a friend of mine brought to my attention at your and Jack’s engagement party. And I’d like to get a straight answer from you on this.”