Page 38 of First Date: Divorce
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Rebecca looked up with damp eyes, and K.D.braced herself.
“A problem with the dress?”She tried to twist around to see it.“If you can’t finish it in time—”
“Stop that.Stand still.”Rebecca pushed her back around so she didn’t catch more than a glimpse in the mirror of a tall woman in a white dress.“Not a problem.The opposite.I’ll admit now I didn’t know if I could get this done.”
“If it’s not finished, can’t we pin it for photos and video tomorrow?”
“Pin it?For thewedding?Even if it didn’t fit well, we would not pin it.”Rebecca’s outrage softened.“But it looks fabulous on you.”
“It does,” agreed Ellyn, who said she’d stopped by to go over her final to-buy list for tomorrow’s fake reception.
“Like it was made for you,” Kendra contributed.
“In a way, it was made for her, since Rebecca altered it so beautifully,” Ellyn said.
“That’s why…” Rebecca gestured to her damp eyes.“I know this is only a make-believe wedding, but it’s a shame your mother can’t see you looking like this.”
“Good heavens, no,” K.D.said before she could stop herself.Ellyn, Kendra, and Rebecca looked at her.She tried to think of something to explain away her impulsive words while she pushed away the image of Janeece Hamilton Brown gushingly overjoyed at her daughter getting married.Lamely, K.D.added, “My … uh, my mother wouldn’t understand any of this.”
“And we wouldn’t want to have anyone else know about what you and Eric are doing,” said Ellyn, sending a warning look around the room.
“Of course not,” Rebecca said.“Raise your arm so I can check the seam.But it’s still a shame, because I’m sure K.D.’s mother would love to see her so beautiful in a wedding dress.”
“My mother would love to see me lookinganyway in a wedding dress,” K.D.said dryly.“Safelymarried, as if—”
Good heavens.These women and their comfortable niceness were downright dangerous.Set hardened criminals in their circle for a few hours and they’d be pouring out confessions.
Ellyn nodded.“Mother-daughter relationships can be … challenging.”
“Ellyn not only has the daughter experience, but she’s got a teenage daughter, so now she’s seeing the mother side at a new stage,” Kendra said.
Ellyn cleared her throat.“We’ll savethatdiscussion for another day.Just know you’re not alone, K.D.But don’t give up on the idea your relationship with your mother can get better.Not perfect, but better.”
“Parents can want the best for you yet be totally wrong,” Kendra added.
“And grandparents,” Rebecca murmured around pins in her mouth.
“Sometimes we don’t understand as much as we should, either,” Ellyn said quietly.
K.D.caught a flurry of looks flying among the other women.She had the impression that their statements had significance the others understood and she didn’t.
“For me, it took being a parent myself to understand parents are human, too,” Kendra said.
Changing the subject and not bothering to hide it, K.D.asked, “Where did this dress come from, Rebecca?You had even more wedding dresses lying around than you thought?”
“Not exactly.”Rebecca stepped back and squinted at K.D.Then she darted close, pinching material at K.D.’s waist and inserting a pin.“It’s mine.”
“Yours?This isyourwedding dress?”
“Uh-huh.”
“But… but… Why did you give up your wedding dress?”
“It was just hanging in a closet — hanging around, as you said, though I hadn’t forgotten about it.I sure don’t intend to wear it for any other wedding.”Her dark eyes went dreamy and K.D.suspected she was thinking about her husband, Luke.“Okay, I’m ready to take this off you, K.D.”
“Good, I have to feed her samples of the hors d’oeuvres,” said Ellyn.
