Page 7 of Finding Us

“Garret!”

“You have to find a dress. We’re running out of time. We’ll be out of town this weekend and then again on the Fourth of July weekend.”

“I know but—”

“Just pick something, Jade. You’ll look beautiful in anything.”

“Not if it has lace on it or big, puffy sleeves.”

“I gotta go. I’ll see you tonight, unless you don’t find anything, in which case I’ll see you when you finally pick a dress. And given how things are going, that’ll probably be our wedding day.”

“I can’t wait that long to see you, so I guess that’s my incentive to pick a dress.”

“Then I’ll see you tonight. Sean and I are going back out in the water. He doesn’t have to work so he’s making dinner.”

“Okay. See you soon.”

Harper comes back out and gets in the car. “Don’t even bother going in. EvenIdidn’t like anything in there.”

We go to two more stores with no luck. She swipes through her phone. “That was it. That was the last place on the list. You sure you didn’t like any of the ones we saw earlier? We could go back so you can try them on again.”

“I didn’t really like any of them.”

“Yeah, I didn’t either. I mean, I saw some thatIwould like, but nothing that seemed right for you. It’s getting late. Should we just head home?”

“What happened to your promise to Garret?”

She sighs. “I know. I’m not supposed to take you back without a dress. But we’ll keep looking. We’ll go again tomorrow. I’ll ask my mom’s friend for more recommendations.”

Great. Another a day of shopping. I’m not looking forward to it. I can’t seem to get into this wedding dress thing. I know I need one, but they just aren’t me. And I don’t want to end up wearing a dress I don’t even like at my own wedding. But I know Garret wants to see me in one, so I’ll keep looking and just have to pick something.

CHAPTERTHREE

We get backon the road heading out of town. The road Harper wanted to take is under construction, so we have to take a detour to get to the road we need.

“Hey, what’s that place?” I point to a small yellow house with white shutters that has a sign in front that reads, ‘Mitzi’s Bridal Dresses and Accessories.’

Harper pulls off to the side of the street and parks. “It wasn’t on the list, but let’s check it out.”

We walk along the narrow sidewalk that leads to the house and go up a few steps to the porch. It’s covered with colorful pots filled with blue and purple flowers and there’s a white wooden bench sitting off to the side.

I try the door but it’s locked. “It’s after 5. They must be closed. Let’s go.”

Harper knocks on the door several times but nobody answers. Then just as we’re walking away, we hear the door open. We turn around and see an older woman standing there.

“Girls, come on in.” The woman looks to be around 70 and she’s tiny, less than 5 feet tall, with bright white hair that has a streak of purple in it.

“If you’re closed, that’s okay,” I tell her. “We can come back later.”

“My hours are flexible. I just had it locked because I was taking a nap. But I’m up now and ready for customers. Come on in.” She holds the door open for us and we go inside. “Which one of you is the bride?”

“She is,” Harper says, pushing me in front of the lady. “This is Jade. She’s getting married in a month and she needs a dress.”

“Hello, Jade. I’m Mitzi,” She extends her tiny hand and we shake.

“Hi. This is my friend, Harper.”

They shake hands, then Mitzi steps back and looks me up and down while I stand there feeling awkward. I’m not exactly dressed nice, wearing cut-off jean shorts and a black tank top.

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