Page 17 of Pity Party

Ignoring her question, I take the dress from her. “Let’s schedule your first fitting in three months.”

Tinley smiles. “I can’t wait to show my bridesmaids. They would have been with me, but I didn’t expect to be wedding dress shopping today.”

“They’ll be blown away when they see how beautiful you are,” I tell her truthfully. While I have never seen an ugly bride, Tinley could probably wear a garbage bag and make it look like couture.

She reaches into her purse and pulls out a twenty-dollar bill. “Please give this to Sammy and thank her for all her help.”

I put the money in the register. “It would be my pleasure.” I only wish I could give it to her in front of her dad. For some reason, the thought of irritating him brings me a lot of pleasure, the grumpy beast.

After Tinley leaves, my mom announces, “I need to get to the market. Howard has requested pork chops for supper tonight and I don’t have any in the freezer.”

This comment reignites the irritation I feel whenever my stepfather’s name is mentioned. “Then maybe Howard should get off his butt and go to the store. It’s not like he has a job.”

My mom looks like I’ve just slapped her in the face. “Missy! That’s a horrible thing to say.”

“Why?” I rarely confront my mom about how lazy her husband is, but my patience is apparently wearing thin in all aspects of life.

“You need to respect Howard, Melissa. He’s worked very hard in his lifetime. He deserves to enjoy his retirement.”

“He’s been enjoying retirement since he met you,” I remind her. “I have yet to see any hard work.”

“Melissa Ann Corner, that’s enough. You may not speak about my husband like that, do you hear me? Howard is a good man.”

“I never said he wasn’t good, Mom. All I said is that he’s lazy.”

She slaps her hand on the counter so hard she immediately shakes it to release some of the sting. “I don’t ever want to hear you say anything unkind about Howard. Do you understand?” But instead of waiting for me to reply, she grabs her purse and storms out the front door.

I’m surprised when moments later I hear the overhead bell ring. I didn’t expect my mom to come back in. But then I look up and find that it’s not my mother walking through the door.

CHAPTEREIGHT

JAMIE

Sammy has been nonstop chattering since we left the bridal shop. It’s clear she adores Melissa, which makes me feel like an ogre for being so rude to her. While I try to discern the reason behind my bad behavior, my daughter says, “We forgot to stop at the grocery store to get food.”

I slow the car down and make a U-turn at the next intersection. “Thanks for reminding me. We don’t want to have to eat all our meals out.”

“Oh, I want to eat out, but I’m talking about snacks. Microwave popcorn, peaches, something with chocolate on it …”

Beer.Not for Sammy, but for me.

“Melissa says we need to order pizza from Dough Boy. She says it’s almost as good as Chicago pizza. The only difference is the crust is slightly thinner. That’s probably okay, right?”

My daughter’s new friend has made quite an impression on her. Before we left the city, Sammy told me we should wait until we come back to Chicago for a visit before having pizza again.

“Melissa seems like a nice woman,” I say noncommittally.

“Nice? She’s awesome! Did you know she grew up in Elk Lake? She even went to the same junior high school I’ll be going to. Her bestie is my math teacher. I met her, too. Her name is Paige.”

“And what does Paige have to say about your new school?” I ask, trying to steer the topic away from the beautiful red-headed shop owner. I was not what I’d call pleasant to Melissa, and I regret it. I’m not rude by nature, but it’s been a long time since I’ve felt as drawn to a woman as I do to her, and it scares me. As I’ve decided not to date for a long while, I need to not be having feelings like that.

“Paige said there’s a zero-bullying policy at Elk Lake Junior High, and that it’s a really nice environment for kids.”

Her comment catches me off guard. “You told her what happened in Chicago?” Sammy was adamant that she didn’t want anyone in Elk Lake to know about her past. Even so, I still planned on telling the administration. I want them to keep a close eye on my little girl.

In my peripheral vision, I see her chin bob up and down. “I did.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” I say. “You don’t have to tell any kids, but it’s smart to make your teachers aware.”

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