Page 70 of Everything Has Changed
“Why are we crying?”
We pull apart, both wiping at our wet faces as we take in my best friend.
“Holy shit, Gwen. You look like a princess! Okay, I get the tears now.” She rushes to me, picking up the skirt of her own dress she’s trying on. Taking my hand, she twirls me away from Ophelia, who looks on with fresh tears in her eyes again. Piper and I do an impromptu slow dance as she spins me back to face the mirror.
“This is the one,” she announces.
I pick up the skirt, looking at the dress from all angles. Turning it front to back, side to side, watching the color shine in the show lights surrounding the mirrors. “Are you sure? It’s the first one I tried on. What if there is a better one out there?”
The curtain Piper’s mom, Daphne, was changing behind, pushes open with a flourish. “Honey, that dress was made for you, and I will wring your neck if you think that you are leaving here without it.”
Piper claps her hands. “We all know Momma’s word is final.”
“Your date is going to trip right over themselves when they see you.” Daphne is clearly fishing for information, as she has been for weeks. Owning the only salon in town has her all in everybody’s business, and it kills her not to be up on the local gossip. Mostly when it comes to Piper and me, because we know better than to let her in on information unless we want it accidentally spilled through the streets of Willow Grove. We learned the hard way when we both got our periods for the first time. So now our dating lives are not allowed to be discussed.
Not that either of us has one of those lately. Except for a certain man with hazel eyes and hair so soft I think I can still feel the strands between my fingers. Which is exactly where they were just yesterday.
My fingers ghost over my lips as I feel them curl up at the memory of his kisses. The way they made me feel lost to the world, only tethered by his touch or else I’d simply float away from existence.
“Momma, she doesn’t have a date. Stop bringing it up.”
I drop my hand quickly as I let the daydream fade away. This wasn’t the time to get heated over making out with my neighbor in the back office. I’d save that for later tonight without an audience.
Daphne brushes over the layers of tulle on the skirt of her dress, schooling her features to look as innocent as possible. “I know some single fellas that come into the salon who are still looking for their own dates. I could set y’all up.”
“Nope. No ma’am. Don’t even start with thinking about setting us up with anyone.”
“I heard the Mayor’s son is back. He’s single, right?”
I suck in an inhale, choking on my own spit. Piper slaps a hand on my back as I take a deep breath trying to clear my throat.
Ophelia raises an eyebrow at me, concerned at my painful sounds, but I can’t deny the hint of skepticism I see in her brown eyes. Isheepishly grin, letting them know I’m okay as Piper hands over her ever-present water bottle with a cheeky grin.
Thankfully, Daphne doesn’t pick up on the look as she turns to Ophelia and groans. “I’m never going to have grandkids, am I?”
My grandmother wraps an arm around her shoulder as they grin at each other. “There’s still time, Dee. Let Piper enjoy her single years while she can. It goes by awfully fast.”
“Ain’t that the truth.”
I pick up Piper’s hand, this time twirling her around to show off her midnight blue velvet mermaid-style dress. “This is gorgeous. Who needs a watch when you’ve got an hourglass with you at all times?”
Piper blushes slightly, always a little self-conscious with her body—which I never understood when she was basically a pinup model dream.
She stares at herself in the mirror, a frown threatening her lips as she runs her hands over the fabric. They linger on the dip of her waist for a brief moment before looking over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of the back in the mirror. The zipper didn’t quite meet at the top. She sighed and dropped her shoulders, looking back at me. Her lips twitch up, sadly.
“Wasn’t meant to be. But it was fun to try on.”
Her eyes look down, staring at the skirt as she brushes over the velvet one more time.
“We will find the perfect one, I promise. I just hope it’s in this color because, hot damn, it makes your eyes pop.”
It was the truth. Her baby blues looked even more crystal clear surrounded by her dark hair and the deep blue of the dress.
“You know,” Ophelia steps up to us, staring at the fabric with an inspecting eye. “I think I have some extra fabric from an old project in this exact color. I bet we could resect the back, if you want.” She walksaround my best friend to assess the whole dress. “A corset back would look amazing on this dress, anyway. It would be a simple upgrade.”
I catch my grandmother’s eyes, questioning as to why she would have this exact color of fabric, silently. When she shoots me a wink over Piper’s shoulder, I realize what she’s doing.
“That’s right,” I add on, with a snap of my fingers. “I remember seeing it when I was looking through your craft closet a few weeks back. Pipes, it would be so perfect!”
