Chapter Twenty-Three
“They’re supposed to leave tomorrow late afternoon for their honeymoon. It would be nice for them to be married before that happened.”
“Not to mention there’s no way we’re going to get the church again any Saturday soon. It was hard enough to get it this weekend when we booked it six months ago.”
“Plus, Bree’s cousin Melissa and those sweet babies will be here only for this weekend.”
Bree sat in a booth at the Sunrise Diner listening to the women talk around her, not even sure who was saying what. It was after midnight, her wedding dress was currently part of a crime scene and even if it was released, there was no way she was getting married in that thing.
Marilyn was sitting across from her in the booth, sipping coffee.
They’d both already given their statements to the police.
The fact that Jared had been coming at her with a knife when she’d shot meant there’d be no criminal charges brought up against Marilyn.
The woman had a lot she needed to process, but so far, she was holding up like a champ.
Marilyn had been sitting across from Bree for the past thirty minutes as more and more of the women from Risk Peak heard about what had happened and filled the diner around them.
“What’s your plan?” Marilyn finally asked softly as the talking continued. “You know we can make the wedding work later if you want to wait. Don’t worry about that.”
But Bree didn’t want to wait. She was ready. Ready for her always to start. Ready to say the vows that had become so clear to her.
Damn it. Ready to have sex with Tanner.
But she didn’t want to do it without Marilyn up there with her. If she wanted to wait, Bree could wait too.
“What about you? I want you standing beside me when I do this. You’ve kept me sane over the past few months with all the wedding planning. If you’re not up to it, then we’ll reschedule.”
Marilyn shook her head. “I refuse to give that man even one more hour of my life. Please get married tomorrow, Bree Cheese. Give us even more reason to celebrate life.”
Around them someone was talking about whether they needed to wake up the church secretary right now and see if there were any other possible weekends available.
“No.” Bree stood. Enough. “The wedding is still on for tomorrow. As long as Tanner can be there, I’ll still be walking down the aisle in the morning.”
“Tanner will be there,” Cassandra called out. “I already asked—since I’m the bossy little sister and allowed to ask questions like that. He says there’s nothing about this situation that will keep him from the church if that’s what you want.”
But there would be no time to get another dress.
“I’ll just wear a sundress or something,” she said.
That was okay. The important thing was that she would get to marry Tanner tomorrow.
She tried not to cringe at the thought of him in his tuxedo and her walking down the aisle in a sundress.
But she didn’t own anything fancier, and there was no way to get to a wedding dress shop before the ceremony in the morning.
“Oh, no you won’t.” Cheryl came and put her arm around Bree. How many times had she done that over the last year since Bree arrived in town? This woman had become a surrogate mother to her. Someone Bree treasured. “Leah and I have already been talking about that.”
“You have?” Bree hadn’t even realized Tanner’s mother was here.
“We have a plan. We’re going to make you a dress using sections of all of our own wedding dresses.”
“But...I don’t understand. Using pieces of your own dresses? Won’t that ruin them?”
Cheryl pulled Bree in for a hug. “You’re the only bride I know who’s concerned about our wedding dresses, not about what hers might look like when it’s all done.”
Bree shrugged with one shoulder. “I can’t envision it, to be honest. And is this even possible? How will you do it?”
“It won’t be as ornate and detailed as your dress. There’s no way we could make something like that probably ever, let alone in one night.”
“Oh, well, that’s okay. Nobody could actually make a dress like that one. I would never expect it.”
“And would never want it either,” Cheryl said with a smile. “Dan told me that as soon as he saw it. He admitted it was beautiful but said it wasn’t a Bree kind of beautiful. I just wrote him off, convinced he was a man who didn’t know anything about wedding dresses.”
Bree couldn’t stand that she might be hurting Cheryl’s feelings after all the woman had done for her. “It is—was—a beautiful dress. Truly. I never would’ve picked out anything so beautiful without your help.”
Cheryl smiled. “Oh, I know it was beautiful, but as painful as it is for me to say this, Dan was right. It’s beautiful, but not a Bree kind of beautiful.”
“I don’t even know what Bree kind of beautiful is.”
Cheryl reached in and kissed her on her cheek. “And that’s exactly why it’s such a unique beauty. Because you don’t see it in yourself. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a wedding dress creation to supervise. We’ll have you ready to walk down that aisle in the morning.”
Bree squeezed her hand. “Okay. Thank you.”
The older woman spun around and started announcing the plan. Everyone cheered, and within minutes they were running out into the darkness to grab their wedding dresses out of closets and mothballs and cedar trunks.
Others were running off to grab sewing machines.
Someone grabbed Bree and pulled her into the middle of the floor and began measuring her around her pajamas.
Dan, the lone male voice in the whole place, yelled, “I’ll start the breakfast food. Y’all are going to need it.”
“And coffee!” Cheryl yelled.
“Of course coffee!” Dan returned with a grin. He winked at Bree as she held up her arms so someone could measure her bust. “It’s not my first day.”
Bree just watched it all with a smile. What else could she do?
The women came back, carrying their wedding dresses, laughing and joking and telling stories from their own wedding days. A few were telling interesting stories about the day they got divorced too.
None of them uttered a word of complaint as pieces of their dresses—usually parts of the train or underskirt that wouldn’t ever be noticed, but sometimes more—were measured for the pattern they developed and cut.
It was the bodice of Gayle Little’s dress that ended up fitting Bree perfectly.
The woman had lost her husband of sixty years just a few months ago.
Bree couldn’t even believe somebody Mrs. Little’s age would be here helping in the middle of the night.
But she was, and she was more than happy to provide this part of her dress, even though it meant taking the dress apart.
“I never had daughters. And it just wasn’t the right style for the women my boys married,” Mrs. Little said. “My Stanley would’ve been thrilled at the thought of you wearing it to marry Tanner. He always loved that boy.”
Bree held the older woman’s hand as Cheryl and the other seamstresses gently removed the bodice of Mrs. Little’s gown from the skirt portion.
“You’re going to make a beautiful bride, dear,” she said.
The commotion continued around her and all Bree could do was watch and smile. Eventually she started serving food and coffee to the women who were working so hard for her.
It was nearing dawn when she found Cassandra on one side of her and Marilyn on the other.
“You okay?” Cassandra asked.
“I’m getting married in a few hours and it’s going to be perfect.” Bree had no doubt about it.
Cassandra nodded and put an arm around her.
“You were wrong when you said the church would tip over with Tanner’s family,” Cass whispered, looking around at the beautiful chaos surrounding them.
“I know. Because they’re my family too.”
Bree sat down in the booth where she’d first sat that day with the twins.
She’d been exhausted, at her lowest, empty.
And oh, so alone.
They’d helped her that day too, the people of this town. Her family.
She laid her head down on the booth table, just like she’d done that day. Her eyes closed as the sounds of laughter, talking and fellowship surrounded her.
Her family was here.
She woke to a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“Bree,” Marilyn whispered. “The dress is done. It’s time to get ready.”
Bree looked out the window. The sun was already shining brightly.
“What time is it? How long did I sleep?”
How unfair was it of her to fall asleep while everyone else was working hard.
“I don’t know. I conked out too.”
Bree looked around. It was much quieter now, much less frantic. Three different sewing machines were still set up in the middle of the diner, but most of the women were now sitting around, drinking coffee and chatting.
Bree looked over at Cheryl. “I’m so sorry I fell asleep. I should have stayed awake and helped.”
“Do you know how to sew?” Cheryl asked.
“No, but—”
“Then there wasn’t any point in you being awake.”
“Plus, we all know my brother is not going to let you get any sleep tonight!” Cassandra yelled from across the room. Even Mrs. Little chuckled.
“Come try on your dress,” Cheryl said softly. “It’s hanging in my office.”
Cheryl kept her office purposely dim as she and Cassandra helped Bree put on the gown, the tiny buttons traveling all the way up her spine taking the longest time to fasten. With every second Bree got more and more nervous.
Finally, they were finished, and Cheryl ran a smoothing hand over Bree’s shoulders.
“Okay, let’s go see if this was more like what you’d envisioned when you’d never envisioned what your wedding dress would look like.”
Bree took a deep breath and followed Cheryl and Cassandra out of the room. It didn’t matter. No matter what the dress looked like, Bree was going to smile and act like it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
The women had the full-length mirror set up in the middle of the dining area. Sniffles and murmurs broke out as soon as Bree stepped foot inside. She looked at Marilyn, knowing how much the woman had loved the other gown, trying to see if there was any hint of disappointment at seeing this one.
Marilyn was crying. That probably wasn’t a good sign.
I love it. It’s absolutely perfect.
She rehearsed the words in her head. No matter what, she would smile and tell them she loved it.
She looked at her reflection in the mirror and promptly burst into tears.
She was immediately surrounded by a gaggle of women.
“No crying on your wedding day.”
“We know it’s not as gorgeous as that other gown, but Tanner will be thrilled to see you in this.”
“I think you look lovely.”
Everyone was talking so fast and all over one another that Bree couldn’t even pick out who was saying what.
“Ladies, give Bree a little space,” Cheryl finally said. It was her diner, after all.
They quieted and stepped back so Bree could once again see herself in the mirror. She trailed her fingers from her shoulders down over her chest to her waist and hips.
Her dress was a rainbow of white. No one piece matched exactly with the next.
Her eyes met Cheryl’s in the mirror, then Cassandra’s, then Mrs. Little’s.
“It’s absolutely perfect. It’s what I never even knew I wanted.”
“Now there’s a beautiful bride, right there.” Mrs. Little stood beside Bree, looking at her in the mirror, wrapping an arm around her waist.
“There’s a lot of love sewn into the dress you’re wearing,” the older woman continued.
“Love the brides had for their grooms when they were first worn, and love for you, and what an important part of our community you’ve become.
Now let’s finish getting you ready, because I’m pretty sure there’s a deputy captain who will arrest us all if you’re not on time coming down that aisle. ”