Past Forward- A Serial Novel: Episode 11 (5 page)

Willow held Aggie
’
s wedding invitation and weighed it against the different papers in the store.
After half a dozen places, she still hadn
’
t found what she wanted.
F
rustrated
, she turned to Marianne and sighed.
“
I won
’
t find what
I want, so
I
’
ll make it.
I want a few hundred sheets of watercolor paper
.”

“
We have precut cards and envelopes
—”

Marianne shook her head
,
laughing.
“
Willow doesn
’
t work with
‘
pre
made
.’
Thanks anyway
.”

They left with two boxes of paper
—
watercolor paper
for invitations
and linen paper for envelopes.
Marianne laughed as they loaded the car with her purchases.
“
Did you see that man
’
s face when you bought paper to
make
your envelopes?
”

“
Let
’
s go
eat
.
I
’
m hungry.
Where do you suggest?
”

As Marianne drove to a restaurant,
Willow discussed options for the invitations.
Through lunch, they discussed dates and food
,
but both women avoided the dress discussion.
Willow really wanted to see what was available in wedding gowns but thought that she should wait for Cheri and that meant another week or two.

At last, she couldn’t stand it any longer.
“
How many people do you think buy their wedding dress the first time they go looking for them?
”

“
I don
’
t know
,
but I doubt it
’
s very many.
There are so many styles and body shapes and finding the two that fit together is probably time consuming
.”

Curious, Willow asked Marianne about her wedding dress.
“
What did yours look like?
How long did it take you to find it?
”

“
I wore my mother
’
s dress.
The basic style was the same as every dress I tried on
,
but mom
’
s was prettier so I chose hers
.”

A glint formed in Willow
’
s eye just before she took her first bite of sandwich.
“
So, if most people don
’
t find their dress the first day, would it be thoughtless of us to do a little looking before we go home today?
Even without Cheri?
”

“
Yes!
”
Marianne exulted pumping her fist in the air.
Willow wasn
’
t sure what the gesture meant
,
but she was fairly certain that they
’
d be dress shopping within the hour.

Bridal Aisle was Rockland
’
s
“
Chinatown
,”
but for wedding paraphernalia.
For three blocks, seventy-five percent of the businesses directly catered to the wedding trade.
The Agency,
Rockland
’
s exclusive wedding planners, bridal shops, caterers, bakeries,
stationers,
gift shops
,
and even a wedding chapel all made their home on Oakland Drive.

They
decided
to take the stores in order
,
but Willow saw
“
Kari’s Bridal
”
and
strode across the street
.
“
I have to go
.”

Willow joked that the store looked like a snowstorm.
White gowns were displayed on mannequins
in the center of the store
,
and all along the walls, padded hangers hung dresses of every size and style in elegant rows.
“
Wow
.”

A woman greeted them as they entered
but left them to wander around the room for a few minutes before she offered her help.
“
Do you have a date?
”

Willow shook her head.
“
Not yet.
Probably May
.”

“
That doesn
’
t give us much time.
Do we have a budget?
”

“
Am I supposed to?
”
Willow countered.

“
Of course not.
Some people have to stick to a budget
,
and I like to know what I
’
m working with before I make suggestions.
I
’
m Kari, by the way
.”

“
This is Marianne
,
my fiancée
’
s mother
,
and I am Willow
.”

“
How unusual for the mother of the groom to bring you shopping,
”
Kari
said, with an expression that clearly wanted to know more.

“
My mother died this year
.”
Willow paused.
“
That
’
s actually why I came in here.
Her name was Kari too
.”

Kari murmured a polite
,
“sorry for your loss,” before
she
launched into he
r generic tour of the boutique.
“
Well these,
”
she swung her arm in an arc indicating the dresses on the mannequins,
“
Are what I call
‘
the twelve.
’
They represent the basic shapes that I carry at any given time.
You have the evening gown look, the princess…
”
Kari pointed at each dress in succession as she described it.
Then, to Marianne and Willow
’
s surprise, she asked,
“
Which of these dresses do you not care for?
”

That question was easy.
Willow didn
’
t like the mermaid shaped gowns that fitted tightly and flared at the bottom or the evening gowns that looked like nightgowns rather than dresses.
The rest, however, she found pleasing
,
although
she was still unsure as to
what interested her most.

“
Well, we can ignore this section of the racks then,
”
Kari explained.
“
Where is the wedding?
”

“
My home.”

“
Outdoors?
”

Willow nodded and pointed to the gown Kari had described as
‘
Grecian inspired.
’ “
Do you have something like that but
—um—
different?
”
She blushed as Kari chuckled.
“
I
’
m sorry, that must be the most annoying question.
I like the fabric and the way it flows
—
chiffon is so beautiful
—
I just don
’
t care for the one sided strap look
.”

“
Why do you go get undressed in the fitting room and your
—
Marianne and I will bring you similar gowns.
What size
—
”

“
It depends on the chest.
I
’
m small everywhere else but at least one size larger in the chest
.”

Marianne
wiped away a few tears as Willow appeared in her first gown.
The strapless bodice obviously made
her
very uncomfortable
,
but she was beautiful.
“
It
’
ll need alterations
—
whatever dress you choose even if it isn
’
t from me.
You have the perfect Barbie figure or at least the figure they try to give an illusion of
.”

“
I want some kind of strap or sleeve.
This is uncomfortable
.”

“
Well, she knows her own mind.
That is a relief.
You don
’
t know how many brides come in here thinking they know what they want but in reality are clueless.
And
that just cuts the dresses left in about half
.”
Kari pulled a few dresses from the racks putting most back as she did.
“
I assume long sleeves for an outdoor May wedding are out?
”