Chapter 17
“How has practice been going?” Mylie asked the following Monday when the four women on the Hook, Line, & Sinker angler team
crowded into her office. “I think we stand a pretty good chance at winning this year.”
Jessica, the team’s lead, grinned. “It’s going good! Don’t you think so, Louise?”
Louise, who was at least as old as Granny, nodded. “Yeah, honey, I think we’re gonna whoop some ass.”
Angel and Nevaeh, identical twins and Louise’s daughters, agreed.
People had been fishing in Clay Creek since, well, forever. The lake brought all kinds of sportsmen to town, and fishing was
no exception. There was something about being out on a boat with a rod and reel that was like a balm for the soul. Mylie loved
baiting a hook and casting a line into the clear, cool water. The competition was just another way to bring revenue into the
town, and Mylie was proud to sponsor a team.
“How many teams are signed up?” Mylie asked Jodi. “I looked last week, and twenty teams had paid the entry fee.”
“Let me look.” Jodi squinted into Mylie’s computer.
“Okay, while she’s doing that,” Mylie began, opening a cardboard box in the corner of the office. “Look! The new team shirts
came in!”
They were baby blue with each woman’s name written in black across the back with the Hook, Line, & Sinker logo across the
front.
“They’re perfect!” Angel squealed.
Louise rolled her eyes. “They could be a little less girly,” she said, holding up her shirt and wrinkling her nose. “I asked
for gray.”
“We had gray last year,” Nevaeh pointed out. “It was our turn to choose this year.”
“Uh, Mylie?” Jodi said, turning away from the computer to face the women. “We might have a problem.”
“What is it?” Mylie asked. “Did a team drop out? We need at least twenty to thirty to be a decent competition.”
“No,” Jodi replied. “There’s a new team signed up.”
“We’ll beat them, too,” Jessica said, dismissing Jodi with a flick of her wrist. “No problem.”
“It’s Robbie Price.” Jodi’s mouth set in a grim line. “He just signed up his own team.”
The women looked between each other.
“Who’s on his team?” Louise asked.
“His two brothers and a cousin,” Jodi replied.
“Aren’t those three usually on a team with someone else?” Mylie asked.
“Yeah,” Jodi said. She scrolled through the list of names. “It looks like they’ve quit that team and joined with Robbie.”
“They won’t give us any trouble,” Louise said. “They never have before.”
“Robbie’s never been on their team before,” Mylie pointed out.
“Well, it’s against the rules to sabotage another team,” Jodi said. “Robbie knows that. He’s just doing this to get into our
heads.”
“ My head,” Mylie replied.
There was a knock at the office door, and Janet, the front office secretary stuck her head inside. “Mylie, your sister is
here with her friend.”
Mylie looked down at her phone. 3:30 p.m. Shit. She’d forgotten her promise to take Cassie and Allie shopping for the community-wide Sadie Hawkins dance that weekend. It was a Clay Creek tradition. Every May, the town held a Sadie Hawkins dance. The real Sadie Hawkins Day was in November, but nobody in the community wanted to have a dance in November when it was freezing cold. So, they did it every May instead.
“Janet, you don’t have to announce us,” Cassie said, shoving her way into the already overcrowded room. “She knows we’re coming.”
“She forgot about us,” Allie said from behind Janet.
“I didn’t!” Mylie protested. “I just got distracted. But it’s fine! We’re done in here, aren’t we ladies?”
Louise tucked her shirt under her arm and grumbled, “Watch who you’re calling a lady.”
“All right,” Mylie said, clapping her hands together. “Who’s ready to go dress shopping?”
Rockbridge was the town that had everything. It was the “big” town in the center of several smaller towns, which meant it
was a hub for restaurants and shopping. As a kid, Mylie loved going there with Granny. Now, she enjoyed taking Cassie.
“I feel like I cheated the dance rules,” Cassie said as they parked the car to go into the first department store. “I didn’t
have to ask Ryan since he’s my boyfriend.”
“You can’t go unless you officially ask him,” Allie joked.
“You haven’t asked anyone,” Cassie pointed out.
“I’m going alone,” Allie reminded her. “Like a loser.”
“Going to a dance alone doesn’t make you a loser,” Mylie said. “I went to almost every dance alone.”
“I think that’s her point,” Cassie said.
“I’m not a loser!”
“You’re not married, either,” Allie replied.
“Yeah, and that’s on purpose,” Mylie said, getting out of the car. Damn. This teenager stuff wasn’t for the faint of heart. How had Granny done it?
“I want one of those dresses with a slit up the side,” Allie said, ignoring Mylie. “Like all the way up to here.” She pointed
to the middle of her thigh.
“Remember, I have to send pictures of every dress you try on to your mother,” Mylie reminded Allie.
Allie rolled her eyes. “Fine. Maybe a shorter slit.”
“I think that’s a good idea.”
Mylie walked slightly behind the two girls as they hurried toward the formal-dress section of the store, allowing them their
excitement. It was their first dance as high schoolers, after all. Freshmen weren’t allowed to go to homecoming or prom in
Clay Creek. Only upperclassmen, and Mylie remembered exactly how she and Jodi had felt the first time they’d been allowed
to buy fancy dresses for a dance.
They’d been ridiculous about it. Poor Granny had stood there for hours as they tried on every style under the sun, imagining
that their final choice would be the dress to make them the absolute belles of the ball. It made Mylie laugh to think about it. They’d mostly looked silly.
It was a rite of passage, and it made Mylie’s heart swell that she got to be a part of it for Cassie. Allie’s mother had already
been through it three times with Allie’s older sisters, and Granny hated going into Rockbridge. Mylie wondered if Cassie wished
their mother was there, the way she had the first time.
Mylie doubted it. Cassie didn’t even remember their mother. She’d taken off for the last time when Cassie was just an infant. She’d never made any promises to Cassie the way she had to Mylie. Cassie had never stood outside waiting for their mother to show up, never looked out into the bleachers at a basketball game looking for her. She’d never waited for a phone call that didn’t come.
Small mercies, Mylie thought.
“Mylie!” Cassie called from the dressing room. “Come here!”
“What is it?” Mylie asked, slightly panicked. “Are you okay?”
Cassie stood in the dressing room hallway, wearing a purple, off-the-shoulder dress that came just above her knee.
“Oh, I love that,” Mylie said, admiringly. “You look so pretty.”
“It’s okay,” Cassie said, twisting around to look at herself. “I don’t know if I like it in the back.”
“What about this one?” Allie asked, stepping out of a room.
“Absolutely not,” Mylie replied, stepping in front of Allie just in case anyone was to walk in. “I can practically see your
nipples!”
“Gross, Mylie,” Cassie said.
“I agree,” Mylie replied. “It is gross. Please try to pick something that won’t get you kicked out of the high school gym.”
“Dress codes are unfairly restrictive toward girls and women,” Cassie said, throwing a pointed glance at Mylie.
“Yes, they are,” Mylie said. “But I’m pretty sure you can’t show your nipples anywhere, not just at school.”
“Free the nipple!” Allie shouted.
Despite herself, Mylie dissolved into giggles. “Okay,” she said, finally. “I’m not taking a picture of that to show your mother.
She’ll never let me take you anywhere ever again.”
“You try it on,” Allie said to Mylie, going into the dressing room and shutting the door. “You’ve got enough... uh, up
on top to keep it on.”
“No way,” Mylie said. “I’m not going to the dance.”
“Yes, you are,” Cassie said.
“No, I’m not,” Mylie replied. “I haven’t gone to that dance in years.”
“Please just try it on,” Cassie begged. “Please. It’ll be funny!”
Mylie took the dress out of Allie’s hands and said, “If I do this, will you promise to pick more appropriate dresses from
now on?”
“Pinky promise,” Allie said, grinning.
“I don’t believe you,” Mylie said. “And pinky promises are sacred, so you better not be lying.”
“Just try it on.”
Mylie sighed and went into an empty dressing room. The dress was at least two sizes too small. “I need you to zip this up,”
she said once she’d gotten it, on a breath and a prayer, over her hips. “I can’t reach it.”
“I don’t think Jesus himself could zip this up,” Cassie said, yanking on the zipper.
“Thanks a lot,” Mylie replied.
“It looks good in the front,” Allie offered.
This time, Allie was wearing a long black dress with thick straps. She looked beautiful. “I love this one,” Mylie said, touching
one of the straps. “This is the one you should get.”
“I’m going to need taller shoes,” Allie said. “But I think you’re right.”
“We said we were wearing tennis shoes!” Cassie protested, still in the purple dress. “I was going to get Converse to match!”
“Maybe we can find tennis shoes with a heel,” Allie replied, thoughtful.
“Like the Spice Girls,” Mylie said.
“Who?” both girls asked.
Mylie was about to break into a rendition of “Wannabe” when Cassie said, “Uh-oh.”
“What?” Mylie asked. “What does uh-oh mean?”
“The zipper is stuck,” Cassie replied. “I can’t move it.”
Allie walked around behind Mylie and yanked on the zipper. “Me either. It’s really stuck.”
“I have to get this thing off!” Mylie said. “Without ripping it!”
“You’re gonna have to wear that thing home,” Allie said. “Maybe even sleep in it.”
Mylie was about to respond when Cassie pointed to a figure walking toward them and said, “Hey, is that Ben?”
Sure enough, Ben was walking toward them carrying two shopping bags and an amused expression plastered across his face.
“Oh my God,” Mylie gasped, ducking back into the dressing room.
“Hi Ben!” Cassie called out.
“I’m going to murder you in your sleep!” Mylie hissed from behind the locked door.
Ben stopped. “Hi Cassie, and... Allie, right?”
“Hi,” Allie said.
“Where’s Mylie?” Ben asked. “I thought I heard her voice.”
“She’s hiding in the dressing room,” Cassie replied. “She’s stuck in a dress.”
“I’m not stuck!” Mylie yelled through the door.
“Then take it off!” Cassie called back.
Mylie reached around to her back to try to pull part of the zipper down. It was jammed midway. She couldn’t move it. She tried
pulling it up over the top of her head, but it was stuck on her hips.
There was a knock on the door. “Do you need some help?”
“You’re not supposed to be in the women’s dressing room!” Mylie hissed to Ben.
“There’s nobody back here but you three,” he said. “Do you want help or not?”
Reluctantly, Mylie opened the door. “Don’t laugh.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Ben replied, his lips twitching upward.
“Stop!” Mylie said, her own laugh threatening to escape.
“Turn around,” Ben instructed.
Mylie did as she was told. “It’s stuck there in the middle,” she said.
“I can see that,” Ben replied. He set his bags down.
“What are you doing in Rockbridge?” Mylie asked as he tugged at the zipper. She tried not to think about how close he was
standing to her or the way she could see him behind her in the mirror.
“I needed sheets,” Ben said. “I’ve washed the sheets in the house five or six times, and they still smell like mothballs.”
“Did you miss having to drive an hour for something as regular as sheets?” Mylie asked. “You probably could have gotten some
at the Piggly Wiggly.”
Ben laughed. “Damn, this thing is really stuck.”
“I never should have put this dress on,” Mylie lamented.
“Why did you put it on?”
Mylie shrugged. “The girls asked me to. We were just being silly.”
“Well,” Ben said, looking up at her from the mirror. “It looks good.”
“I’m stuffed in here like a sausage,” Mylie protested. Her breath hitched in her throat when she felt his fingers on her bare
skin. “But you know, it’s the Sadie Hawkins dance this weekend. That’s why we’re here.”
“I forgot about that,” Ben replied, thoughtful. “I always hated that dance.”
Mylie had to reach up and catch the fabric around her breasts before it fell down. “Thanks,” she said.
“Anytime,” Ben replied, taking a step back from her. “I guess I better leave you to it.” He backed out of the dressing room.
“Ben?” she asked.
“Yeah?”
“Do you want to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance?”
“With you?” Ben replied. “Are you asking me to go with you?”
“Only if you’re going to say yes,” Mylie said, feeling her cheeks flush and hating herself for it.
“Sure,” Ben said. “I’d love to go.”
“Really?”
Ben gave her another look that made her skin prickle and replied, “Only if you wear that dress.”
By the time Mylie got out of the dressing room, Ben was gone. The girls had their dresses hanging over their arms and were
arguing about Converse or heels. They didn’t even notice as she slipped around them and asked the saleswoman to help her find
the dress in her size. She’d try it on at home to make sure it fit.
“Let’s go pay for these dresses,” Mylie said to Cassie and Allie when she returned, trying to shake the anxiety that had begun
to gnaw at her stomach.
“Shoes next,” Cassie said, tugging on Mylie’s arm. “You can tell us about the Spice Girls on the way.”