by Susan Hatler
“Uh, okay.” I stumbled through the curtain, coming to a wobbly stop as the thick red material closed behind me. The full-length mirror directly in front of me showed my wide-eyed look of panic. My eyebrows furrowed. I could handle this. I was just picking out one dress for my friend’s wedding, for a day she’d remember forever and ever—and not in a good way if I botched selecting the right dress. No pressure, or anything.
I heard Mary Ann outside the dressing room erupt into a fit of giggles. “Looks like Avery’s got her work cut out for her!”
“Yes,” Melinda said, letting out a chuckle of her own. “Be sure to let us see the dresses, Avery. We’re happy to weigh in.”
“Will do,” I called back. With a smile and a shake of my head, I hung up the selection of dresses on one of the wall hooks and picked the first dress to try on.
“So, Avery . . .” Melinda’s tone held a hint of mischief, making me wonder what she was up to. “Before you arrived, I was telling Mary Ann how Jason has been spending a lot of time at the bakery over the past few days. More time than he ever has, in fact.”
“Oh, really?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant, even though my pulse spiked. My throat went dry as I slipped out of my clothes and set them on a chair in the corner, before pulling the first dress off its hanger. It was a strapless satin thing in a deep purple, with sequins making the top half sparkle. I stepped into the dress, shimmying the fabric over my hips.
“Yes, Jason has been asking about you every time I’m with him,” Melinda replied.
“Huh,” I said, my pulse kicking up another notch. Holding the bodice of the strapless dress to my chest, I threw back the curtain with my free hand and stepped into the room, turning my back to Melinda. She took her cue immediately, grabbing onto the zipper and gliding it upwards.
“I smell a romance brewing . . .” Mary Ann used a singsong voice as she lowered herself down onto the couch, inciting an eye roll from me.
“I don’t know about that,” I said, stepping away from Melinda and moving towards the mirror on the wall between the two dressing rooms. I nearly tripped on the floor-length material of the dress and then stopped, staring at my reflection. My nose scrunched up. The dress plunged far too low and the sequins scraped against the underside of my biceps—ouch!
I turned to my friends. “This looked good on the hanger. But now that it’s on . . . I hate it.”
“Me, too,” Mary Ann agreed.
“Me three.” Melinda stepped forward and unzipped me. Then I hurried back behind the curtain of the dressing room. Was my heart pounding because the dress was ugly? Or because I knew the conversation about Jason and me wasn’t over? The second reason. Definitely.
“Jason’s nice,” I said, loud enough so both of my friends could clearly hear me. Surely they’d understand why he and I could never work out. “He’s just . . . not right for me.”
“Not right for you?” Mary Ann asked, laughing, as if I’d made a huge joke. “You know, before Trevor and I got together, I thought he wasn’t right for me, either. And we just celebrated our first anniversary as a couple.”
“Congratulations,” I said, my heart warming over how cute of a couple she and Trevor were. “But that doesn’t mean everyone’s relationship will work out. Jason’s just, you know, not right.”
Well, that, or I wasn’t right in the head. A definite possibility.
“Let’s go over the facts.” Mary Ann’s voice rang out as I stepped out of the dress. “Jason is a loyal family member, as we know from Melinda. He’s sweet, handsome, accomplished . . . and, from what I hear, perfectly gaga over you. How is any of that not right?” she asked.
“I’m not saying he’s not right for someone,” I said, although the thought of him dating another woman made my stomach roil. I replaced the purple dress on its hanger and then tried on the second dress. This one was red, also strapless, and reached my ankles. “He’s just not for me. We’re too different,” I said, stepping out from behind the curtain.
“Whoa, baby.” Melinda’s eyebrows lifted as I came forward. The dress had a long slit up the side and every time I took a step my leg was exposed, almost to the top of my thigh. “Super sexy.”
“A couple being different isn’t always a bad thing,” Mary Ann said, shaking her head at the red gown. I had to agree. This was a wedding, not a sexy fashion show. “Look at Trevor and me. We’re different in so many ways that I can’t even begin to count them.”
“Good point,” Melinda said, nodding. “Each of you compliments the other and it’s worked out beautifully. I have to agree with Mary Ann, Avery. Different isn’t necessarily a deal breaker. Not to mention, I think Jason has it bad for you.”
I perked up at her words. “Really? I—I mean, why do you think that?”
“Whenever I’m with him, he jumps right into asking about you. I haven’t seen him obsess over anyone like this since his college sweetheart.”
A tinge of jealousy stirred in my chest and I quickly turned away from my friends and ducked into the dressing room. It was illogical to feel jealous over Jason having feelings for another girl, especially when it was eons ago. But, I couldn’t quash the uncomfortable feeling. Who was she? Was she prettier than me? Were they still in contact?
“Did you hear what happened between them?” I asked, the words leaving my lips before I had time to consider them. I waited anxiously for her response as I stepped into dress number three. “Between Jason and his college sweetheart, I mean.”
“Yes, she broke his heart,” Melinda said, letting out an audible sigh. “Poor guy. The break-up really crushed him.”
I peeked outside the curtain to look at the bride-to-be. “Do you think he’s over her?”
Melinda tossed back her head and laughed. “Avery, they were together back in college. Ten years have passed. I’m pretty sure he’s over her.”
“Oh, good.” I let out a long sigh, looking from Melinda to Mary Ann and then back to Melinda again. Small, knowing smiles appeared on their lips. My face heated. If I’d wanted to hide my feelings, I was not doing a good job of it. So, I retreated into the dressing room and finished pulling on the next dress, which was stunning. The tiny beads glittered under the boutique lights and the dark teal color on the top faded into a lighter teal at the bottom. I mentally noted that this might be the dress, as I tied the halter straps around my neck.
“Are you hiding in there? Avoiding the Jason talk?” Mary Ann asked, her tone teasing.
“Not at all,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. “You know, Jason also lives all the way down in San Francisco. So,” I threw back the curtain dramatically, strutting into the room like a model before coming to a sudden stop, “even if I were into Jason—which I’m not saying that I am—it wouldn’t work between us. Long-distance relationships never work.”
“Oh, pooh! Why not just try it?” Mary Ann shrugged. “See where it goes?”
“Because it won’t work out in the end.” I wiggled my shoulders, the beautiful tiny beads scratching my arms as I moved. “Aw, man. I thought this might be the perfect dress, because it looked amazing before I came out. But the halter straps are super itchy. I’m pretty sure these little beads would scratch our skin off if we wore this dress all night.”
Melinda gave a melodramatic gasp. “You pre-judged something and it turned out that you were wrong? Hmm. . . Maybe you should try things out for awhile with everything in life before coming to a conclusion.”
“Very funny.” I squinted my eyes at her, getting ready to spew out a retort when suddenly Mimi entered again through the archway, holding hangers above her head so that the hems of the dresses didn’t drag across the floor. The woman was seriously petite.
“This dress . . .” Mimi shook the dress in her right hand, which was a long, pink, silky thing. “According to what you’ve told me, this could be the one you’re looking for. And this one,” she shook the dress in her left hand, which was a much shorter, peach dress, “isn’t what you said you’re looking
for, but, with your complexion, the dress just called out to me. I think it would look darling on you.”
“You should try them both and see how it goes.” Melinda smirked triumphantly at me, as if she’d found a double meaning in Mimi’s comment about the dresses and what I was looking for. “You know, just in case you’re wrong about what you want.”
“Definitely give them a try.” Mary Ann put a hand to her mouth, covering her wide smile. So glad they were both enjoying my relationship dilemma. “You may be happily surprised.”
“You want me to try the completely wrong dress? Even though I already know how this will end? Okay, fine.” I strode over to Mimi, taking the peach dress from her. “I’ll do this to prove my point and get you both off my back. But it’s a waste of time.”
“Good idea, dear,” Mimi said, making me wonder if she was taking their side.
I slipped into the dressing room, determined to quash the silly metaphor they were promoting. I took the next option off the hanger and kept my back to the mirror as I pulled up the short-sleeved, peach-colored dress. I twisted and contorted my arms, working for a full thirty seconds before successfully zipping the back up by myself and stepped out into the room.
Melinda gasped, putting her hands to her cheeks.
Mary Ann bounced giddily in her seat. “Oh, wow!”
“It’s that bad?” I asked, turning toward the mirror between the dressing rooms to check my reflection. My jaw went slack. The peach color of the dress complimented my skin color and honey-brown hair perfectly. The bodice hugged my figure in a flattering way and the hem stopped just above my knees, swaying gracefully as I twirled to a stop. The dress was casually elegant and perfect for a rooftop wedding.
This was it. This was the dress.
My mouth curved into a small smile and Melinda suddenly appeared next to me, a gleeful glint in her eye.
“What do you think?” she smirked. As if she even had to ask.
“I love the dress,” I admitted, twirling around to face her. The dress flared outward in a dramatic way, which made me feel like a princess—as cheesy as that sounded, I found that I liked the feeling. A special dress for a special day.
“Yay!” Mary Ann cheered, standing up and bouncing over to us. “I’m so excited we found the perfect dress. I’d like to point out the obvious, that this dress is the total opposite of what you thought you were looking for.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, it is. Huh?”
Mary Ann nodded. “Look, I’m not trying to push you, but maybe Jason is like this dress. You should see your expression when you talk about him. Why not go for it? Things could work out better than you think.”
“You both may be right,” I said, biting my lip before heading back into the dressing room. I stripped out of the lovely peach dress and then held it up to examine. The dress really wasn’t what I’d thought I wanted. But it fit me perfectly. Maybe, just maybe, Jason and I could be the right fit, too. It was scary how much I wanted that to be true.
After dressing in my street clothes, I picked up the hanger with the peach dress on it and stepped out of the dressing room for the final time.
“Well?” Mimi asked, ducking her chin to peer above those diamond-studded spectacles.
“I’ll take this one,” I said, smiling at Mimi.
“Great choice,” she said, giving me a reassuring nod as she took the dress and hung it up for me. Then she turned to Mary Ann so they could select a maid of honor dress for her.
I stared up at the dress, immediately picturing myself wearing it at the wedding. Images of me dancing with Jason filled my mind, and I could almost feel his arms around me. Maybe my friends were right about giving Jason a chance. We already had a date scheduled for tomorrow night. And now, I was looking forward to it more than ever.
Chapter Ten
The next evening, a full moon glowed above us, illuminating the trees and casting shadows on the ground as a breeze blew gently through the leaves in East Sierra Park. The air felt warm, but a cool breeze blew on the back of my neck, sending tingles up and down my arms. Or maybe that feeling came from being with Jason.
Instead of our first date and going to dinner earlier, Jason and I decided to continue exploring to see if we could find the hidden tunnels. I’d heard that the developer’s transaction would close on the building right around the time of Melinda’s wedding, which made it imperative to find the tunnels as soon as possible. Jason fished a flashlight out of the trunk of the car, clicked it on, and aimed it at the path in front of us. We started walking.
A twig snapped off to the side of the path, and I jumped. There was something about us skulking around after dark that didn’t feel entirely on the up-and-up. Like we must be doing unsavory things. Obviously I watched too much TV. Well, back when I’d had a living room to watch TV in, anyway. I made a mental note to avoid crime dramas in the future.
“Where do you want to start?” Jason asked, his warm breath brushing on the back of my neck and sending tingles racing up and down my spine.
“Let’s check the articles again,” I said, shaking my head to recover from the fog that had settled over my brain. I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out the newspaper clippings.
“Good idea.” He shined the light on them, leaned closer to peer over my shoulder, and his breath tickled my skin again. Shiver.
“Well . . .” I cleared my throat, trying to refrain from snuggling into him. Because, hello? We were here to find a hidden tunnel, not imagine what his lips would feel like on my neck right now—which I was so doing. “This article talks about teenagers getting caught hunting for the tunnels, remember?” I felt him nod from just over my shoulder, and my distraction level shot up exponentially. Showing extreme self-control, I refocused. “One of the boys is quoted as saying there’s a boarded up entrance in the hills of this park. Let’s start there.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He straightened and pulled away from me, making me want to read from the article again just to bring him closer. Instead, I smoothed the clippings in my hands and peered around the darkened woods, where I couldn’t see much beyond the circle of light from Jason’s flashlight. Another twig snapped, the noise startling me, and I stepped back, smacking right into Jason. “Sorry! Probably just a small critter, I know.”
He held my arms to steady me, and chuckled. “Be careful. If I drop my flashlight, we’ll have to go by the light of the moon.”
“Will do,” I said, the thought of losing the flashlight giving me the willies. Although, walking in the moonlight would be pretty romantic. I rolled my eyes. Wow. I had turned into such a sap since meeting Jason. He was different than I thought he would be, but I wasn’t the type to indulge in thoughts of romance. Hadn’t Lance dumped me because I was standoffish and inaccessible? Um, that would be a big yes.
For the first time, I questioned whether the problem had been with Lance and not with me, because Jason was turning me into a starry-eyed goofball. If a bunch of birds flew out and started singing love songs around our heads like in some cartoon movie, it might not surprise me.
We walked on again in silence and the further we got into the woods the closer I crept toward Jason. The ambience out here felt creepier than I’d thought it would be. I fought to push aside the eerie feeling, and focus on the task at hand.
“Which way do you think?” he asked, the sound of his voice calming me. I realized how truly glad I felt that he was here, for moral support if nothing else.
I gazed around at the trees surrounding the dark path and then pointed to a small clearing. “Let’s go toward those big rock outcroppings up the hill. I remember a boy at Founding Friendships bragging that he found caves up there when he went exploring. Maybe that would’ve been a good place for the miners to start a tunnel system?”
Jason bowed, waving his hand. “Lead the way.”
“Shouldn’t the flashlight lead the way?” I joked.
“I’m right with you. Don’t worry.”
I shivered at his w
ords. We began to move slowly along the trail, my footsteps hindered by roots sticking out of the ground, occasional rocks in the path, and the darkness that seemed to get thicker with each step into the tree canopy, which blocked most of the moonlight.
“I just want to find these tunnels so badly.” I sucked in a breath, focusing on the goal. “If I can prove they exist and that they go right under the Founding Friendships building, then there might be a chance to save the building from the developer.”
“I admire your determination.”
“I found my home, the apartment just approved me today, so the least I can do is save Sylvia’s home, Meredith’s home, along with everyone else who lives there.” I rubbed my hands together to warm them against the light chill in the air. “If there are actually tunnels then gold or not, we might be able to get the building designated as an historic landmark. Once that happens, nobody should be able to make any changes to the building because it will be required to stay true to the original structure.”
“Makes sense.”
“Obviously lawyers would need to be involved, but I’ve been doing some research.”
“I admire you,” Jason said, walking along beside me. “You stay strong and determined in the face of challenges. You also care so much about other people. I think you’re amazing, Avery.”
“Thanks,” I said, feeling momentarily flustered. I was used to men telling me how I lacked compassion and needed to break down my walls. A compliment was something new and it felt kinda awesome to be appreciated. “I still can’t figure out who sent those newspaper clippings to me, though. It can’t be Bill, because he would’ve just taken on the project himself. My friend Erica handed me the clippings, but she would’ve told me if they had been her idea. Whoever sent them to me has to know how terrible this developer is and must want to stop them. I just—”
My voice cut off as my toe hooked under a tree root sticking out onto the path and I lost my balance. A strong arm gripped my waist, catching me before I spilled to the ground.
