Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Delilah took a deep breath, enjoying the aromas of sweet bakery and coffee. She was sitting at a large table in Seaside Sweets Bakery with the Owens women, and she thought to herself that it was wonderful to feel part of a community.
I haven’t felt like this in years, maybe ever, she thought, looking around at the smiling faces surrounding her and feeling a surge of gratitude.
There’s a community in the film industry, but it isn’t like this.
Casts form a bond during filming but then filming is over, and parties only last for a night.
When I’m with these women, I feel as though our bond lasts from day to day.
She smiled as Hazel laughed loudly over something Alexis had just said—a big peal of laughter like ringing bells. Delilah thought to herself with a chuckle that she could see where Samantha got her boisterous laugh from.
They had gathered in the bakery for coffee, since Seaside Sweets had been restored to good condition after the storm and it had been supplying all the folks working hard to repair Rosewood Beach with caffeine.
The women had wanted to support one of their favorite businesses, so they’d decided to meet there rather than in Vivian’s kitchen.
Now they were sitting around a table dotted with lattes and white mochas as well as with pink and green plates covered in half-eaten doughnuts and cinnamon roll crumbs.
Alexis had organized the meeting so that all of them could work together to help restore Dean and Noelle’s wedding plans. Although most things would transition easily into the new venue, there will still things that had to be changed, such as the seating arrangement for dinner.
Noelle was slowly combing through a wedding dress catalogue, and every time she found a dress she liked, she would hold up the picture to get the reaction of the group.
They all gushed enthusiasm over every dress, but Delilah could tell that Noelle didn’t feel completely thrilled with any of the dresses.
“What about this one?” Noelle said, holding up the catalogue to show everyone a dress with a large tulle skirt. “It kind of looks like my dress.”
Hazel put down her coffee cup in a hurry, a big smile immediately on her face.
Delilah had spent enough time studying human movements in her career as an actress, however, to notice the way Hazel’s shoulders had tensed up slightly.
She could tell that Hazel wanted to encourage Noelle, but that neither of them really thought the dress was as good as the one Noelle had picked out before.
“I like it,” Julia said slowly, leaning in toward the picture. “It’s cute, but I think that other one was more you, Noelle. The one with the heart-shaped neckline.”
“I like both of them,” Alexis said, smiling at Noelle.
Delilah felt a twinge of sadness as she saw the women that she cared about so much struggling to stay positive about Noelle’s situation.
It was clear to Delilah that they all felt disappointed that Noelle was probably going to have to compromise and pick out a dress that she didn’t like as much as the one she’d had before.
I wish there was something I could do to help, Delilah thought, picking up her white mocha and taking a long sip of the creamy beverage.
I want Noelle to have the dress of her dreams. It would be a shame for her to feel disappointed about her dress after all of the delays that she and Dean have had to face.
All at once, she had an idea. Her heart began to beat faster as she considered it for a few moments, and then she stood up.
“Excuse me, ladies,” she said. “I’ve just thought of a phone call that I need to make. I’ll pop outside and be back in just a little while.”
“Okay, no worries.” Noelle looked up at her with a smile.
The other women waved to her affectionately and Delilah waved back as she stepped outside into the fresh spring air.
The wind was balmy that day, and the sunshine felt warm on Delilah’s face as she pulled out her cellphone and looked up the number of the wedding dress shop that Noelle had ordered her first dress from.
“Hello? This is Delilah Bates.” She grinned when she heard the sales assistant gasp excitedly.
“Hi, Delilah!”
“Hi. I was wondering if you could do me a favor. Could you look up the dress model that Noelle Calhoun had picked out for her wedding? And then could you email me a link to it?”
“Sure thing. I just need to look up her file.”
Delilah heard the young woman click on the shop computer a few times, and then she said, “Yeah, I’ve got it right here. Aww, such a pretty dress. We don’t have any more of that style that are anywhere near close to her size, unfortunately.”
“I’ve heard about that,” Delilah said. “That’s why I’m calling. I had an idea about how I might be able to help out.” Briefly Delilah explained the inspiration that she’d had a few moments earlier, and the sales assistant cooed with enthusiasm.
“I think that sounds just wonderful,” she said. “Let me email you this link—what’s your email?”
Delilah gave it to her carefully, and she listened with a smile as the girl clicked on the keyboard again.
“All sent. Anything else I can help you with?”
“No, that’s it.” Delilah felt her phone vibrate with the incoming notification of the email. “Thank you so much.”
She said goodbye and hung up and then clicked on the email link eagerly.
“Oh my,” she breathed as soon as she saw Noelle’s wedding dress.
She’d seen pictures of it before, when the Owens women had shown them to her eagerly after Noelle had first picked it out, but she’d forgotten just how lovely it was.
It suits Noelle perfectly, she thought. That shape is perfect for her figure, and the personality of the dress matches that storybook princess energy she has. She should have this dress at her wedding—I don’t want her to have to compromise and wear something else.
Delilah smiled impishly as she dialed another number into her phone. It rang only twice before a sleepy voice answered, “Oui?”
“Hi, Mimi, it’s Delilah.”
The woman on the other end gasped. “Delilah! What happened to you? I haven’t seen you in ages. People are gossiping that you moved to Australia.”
Delilah tipped her head back, laughing. “Not quite. I’m living in a little town on the east coast most of the time now. It’s like a semi-retirement for me.”
Delilah could just see Mimi, with her shimmering green eye makeup and perfectly-painted dark lips, make a face of distaste. “And you decided to semi-retire with a bunch of smelly fishermen? Do they even have parties out there?”
“Yes, the best kind,” Delilah said, thinking with a broad smile of all the board game nights she’d been to, as well as the caroling parties at Christmastime and the barn dances that kept everyone moving until the early hours of the dawn.
“Mm. Well, can you explain to me why you’re calling me in the morning? You just about woke me up. I think you owe me a favor for this.”
Delilah chuckled. “It’s early afternoon here, and I wouldn’t classify it as morning for you. It’s almost noon there.”
“Which is when I usually get up,” Mimi countered.
“Well, I can owe you a little favor, but favors are actually why I’m calling. Do you remember the premiere for Girl with Fire?”
“A terrible film.”
“Sure, but I got nominated for an Oscar for it. And I had to wear that dress?” Delilah’s voice slowed down as she hinted at what she was getting at. “The dress that you designed when you were first starting out in your career as a fashion designer?”
Mimi was silent for a moment, and then she coughed delicately.
“It was a mistake. You’re right. I haven’t forgotten that I owe you.”
Delilah held back a peal of laughter. She was teasing her old friend, who had once promised her a favor after she’d created a truly hideous dress for Delilah to wear at a movie premiere.
The magazines had buzzed nastily about it for days, and Delilah had experienced one of her first tastes of how cruel Hollywood could be.
It had turned into a good experience for her, since it had taught her to let go of caring what other people thought of her, but Mimi had often brought up the situation during their many long years of their friendship, often assuring Delilah that she owed her one.
Now’s the perfect time for me to cash in on that favor, Delilah thought, tickled by the concept of things working out that way.
“I have a friend here in my new town,” Delilah explained. “She’s just lost her wedding dress in a flood—there was flooding all over town, actually. Lots of places got damaged.”
“Delilah, that’s awful. I didn’t realize they got flooding like that in Australia.”
“I’m not in Australia.”
“Oh, right. Well, you should still come back here to L.A. You don’t want to live in a place like that.”
Delilah shook her head, amused by Mimi casually bantering about her suddenly changing her entire life. “I love living here. And L.A. doesn’t exactly have the most perfect track record weather-wise either.”
“Shh, she can hear you. But that’s true. But what’s going to happen to our friendship if you’re out there with fishermen all the time? I miss you.”
“You do not, we see each other twice a year at best.” Delilah laughed. “Call me if you miss me, and I promise to get together with you next time I’m in L.A. Deal?”
Mimi sighed dramatically. “Deal. So tell me more about this friend and her wedding dress. I think I’m starting to be able to glimpse the outline of this favor you have in mind.”
Eagerly Delilah explained her idea to Mimi. As soon as she was done, she heard her friend clapping on the other line.
“I love it! I’ll do it. Swooping in to the rescue to save the wedding of a small-town beauty queen? It’s like something out of a Hallmark movie.”
“Well, she’s not a pageant queen, but otherwise, sounds just about right.”
“Perfect. We’ll be in touch. Let me get some breakfast into my tired old body and then I’ll take a look at this email you’ve supposedly sent me.”
Delilah and Mimi said an affectionate goodbye and hung up. Delilah tucked her phone into her pocket, grinning as a sudden gust of wind blew against her face. She had a wonderful feeling that things were going to work out beautifully.