Page 91 of The Last Saturday In July
‘You too.’ Jess ignored the tightness in her chest as she slipped into the back of the waiting taxi. ‘Dun Laoghaire, please.’
Had she done the right thing? Maybe she should have stayed and talked a while longer. She’d have asked him why he was working at something he didn’t want to do. Although he’d made it pretty clear he wouldn’t talk about it. As the driver pulled away from the kerb, Jess turned around to wave, but Adam had already walked away.
Chapter 35
JESS stared at her wedding dress, which hung in the mirrored dressing room of the bridal shop that Saturday. At this moment, she deeply regretted every cheesy pizza and Mars bar she’d eaten in the last six months. Worse, with exactly one week to her wedding, she and Simon still hadn’t made up. The whole thing felt like a pretence, and she felt like a total fraud.
‘Have you got the dress on yet?’ Kate stuck her head around the door.
Jess turned. ‘What if it doesn’t fit?’
Kate smothered a yawn as she came into the dressing room and took it off the hanger. ‘There’s still time for it to be let out. Oh, your mam wants to know if you’d like another glass of Prosecco?’ She gestured to the half-full glass Jess had left on the shelf. ‘Zoe has started on her third out there.’
Jess grimaced. ‘I don’t think so. You can tell Zoe she can have the rest of mine.’
‘Everything all right in there, ladies?’ The owner’s melodic voice floated through the door.
‘Great, thanks!’ Kate called back. She held the dress out for Jess, who stepped carefully into it, and tried to adjust the bodice so the boning didn’t dig into her ribs. ‘Turn around, there’s all thesebuttons.’
Jess’s phone pinged and she reached for it, mindful of Kate fastening the dress. Maybe it was Simon to tell her how his stag had gone. One of them needed to make the first move. But it was a notification.
‘I’d better watch this – Brandi Oliver is going live.’
‘Who?’ Kate muttered.
‘Chelsea’s half-sister.’ Jess clicked onto the TikTok.
‘Hey y’all.’Brandi Oliver smiled and gave a little wave. ‘So, I’m over on the East Coast right now, visiting some of my dad’s family, because family is everything, right?’
‘Jess? Can you straighten up a minute?’
‘Oh, yeah, sorry.’ Jess turned the volume down on her phone and stood up straight, pulling at the voluminous skirt. ‘I look like a Disney princess. Úna’s going to hate it.’
Kate met her eyes in the mirror. ‘Stop demonising Úna. She’ll probably hug you and tell you how beautiful you look.’
Jess’s insides squeezed. ‘Úna doesn’t do hugs, she does air kisses. And she’ll be hoping I chose the simplest wedding dress possible. You know, one of those tasteful sheath things, no lace or embroidery.’ She fluffed out the layers of tulle. ‘Basically, nothing like this. Oh, hang on.’ Jess turned up the volume for the end of the TikTok.
‘... and I’m, like, devastated that she doesn’t want me now as her maid of honour. It’s easy to forget about the people who care about you the most.’Brandi finished the video by bringing her fingers together in a heart shape.
Jess shook her head. ‘Wow, she could give lessons in passive aggression.’
Kate fastened the final button. ‘Good news: it closes.’
Jess put down the phone. ‘Bad news: I can’t breathe.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Kate poked a finger down the back of the dress. ‘You’ve loads of room.’
‘It just feels so tight.’ Jess tugged at the bodice.
Kate stared at her. ‘It’s supposed to be a bit tight, but it fits.’
Jess tried lifting her arms above her head, but the dress dug into her armpits, and she let them flop to her side. ‘Is that normal? I mean, I know I have these squidgy bits,’ she pinched a couple of inches under one arm, ‘but I think I should be able to lift my arms.’
Kate smothered another yawn and Jess threw her a sympathetic look.
‘Bad night?’
‘Late one.’ Kate’s eyes slid away.
