“Well, I know someone in the city. Let me make a call and we’ll get this taken care of at once!”
Lydia pulled out her cell phone and explained the situation to whomever it was on the other end of the line. Then, she listened and small talked with them before letting them know we’d be over soon. She slid her phone back inside of her giant turquoise bag, and shifted her body toward me.
“This is a very nefarious act, Jacqueline. Do you have any idea who might have done this?” She had a serious and hushed tone.
“I honestly don’t. In fact, I can’t even imagine why someone would do such a thing. Especially not to us.” I’d already racked my brain about it all night and into the morning.
“Well, we must be cautious. But in the meantime, we’ll head over to Jullian’s Boutique on the West side of town. He owes me a favor, and we’ll have you a gorgeous couture wedding gown in no time.”
“Thank you, Aunt Lydia, I knew you’d know where we could go. I would’ve just gone to the mall or something and picked a dress out off a rack, you know.” I laughed, knowing this would disturb her.
She groaned dramatically. “Well, thank God you have me. Because no niece of mine—especially not my only and my most favorite niece—will be walking down the aisle in a department store dress off a rack. I mean, really, darling.” She huffed, and settled herself in for the short trip to the West side of town.
By midafternoon, we had not only bought a brand new, one-of-a-kind wedding gown fit for a princess, Lydia had also ensured we take it with us that day. It didn’t need alterations, it was practically meant for me, so she had the shop owner wrap it up for us against their wishes. Her friend, Coco, gave us explicit instructions on how to handle the garment and huffed an awful lot, but eventually we left, dress in hand, to head back to our apartment.
Once the dress was safely hidden in the guest room closet where Jacob couldn’t see it, Lydia and I sat down to have some tea.
“So, tell me, niece, how is that handsome devil of a fiancé?” She grinned. Lydia was eccentric and eclectic—the perfect mix for a favorite aunt.
I could feel my face redden a bit. I always gushed about him. “He’s wonderful. You’ll see him in the morning when he comes home from work. He’s got two shifts left, unfortunately.”
“That Jacob is a hard worker,” she said. “If it weren’t for him, we might have lost you.”
“I think about that all the time, you know.” I considered our unusual meeting how fate must have stepped in to bring us together. “I feel extraordinarily lucky that we found each other when we did. For more reasons than one.”
I chuckled. He definitely saved my life and when we first started dating, several people assumed it was for that reason alone that I adored him so much. But anyone who met Jacob was immediately enamored by him. Lydia had come to visit shortly after my recovery and met him then.
“He is equally lucky to have a flower such as yourself in his life. But I suspect he knows that.” She winked at me and took a sip of her tea. “So, tell me about the flowers for the wedding. Will they be arriving for us to work with tomorrow?”
The prospect of working with the roses the next day made me downright giddy. Adding to that, Lydia helping me put the arrangements together was a dream come true. After all, it was originally her flower shop, and I’d learned everything I knew about flowers from her. “Champagne roses,” was all I said.
Lydia set her teacup down and clasped her hands together. “Lovely! The perfect vintage bloom for a fairy tale wedding.”
4
Jacob
My shift couldn’t end soon enough. It seemed like the gods were against me as every out-of-control, over-the-edge, lunatic showed up to the emergency room tonight. I couldn’t find anyone to cover for me those last two shifts, so I had to take them. Thankfully, my good relationship with the nurses kept me sane. My partner-in-crime, Ruth, was on shift with me as well to keep me sane.
I couldn’t shake the foreboding feeling I had about Jackie’s dress being stolen, but she felt it wasn’t a crime worth reporting to the police. She’s a nicer person than I am, and it’s one of the reasons I fell in love with her because I would have called in a private investigator to track down the dress thief. The whole thing just didn’t make sense, and I couldn’t help but think something else was on the horizon. That we still had two more days to get through without incident before we officially got hitched.
&nbs
p; Then my thoughts turned to how lucky I felt to be marrying my best friend. I’d never wanted children until I met Jackie. From the moment she woke up from her coma, I knew she was the one. She’d be the mother of my children, my partner for life. Until I experienced it myself, I always thought it was bullshit when people say that the right person will come along, and then I’d know. It sounds ridiculous. But it’s true. I knew before she ever woke up that she was special. And now here we were, about to be married. I felt my chest puff up with pride, and a grin spread across my face.
“Hey loverboy, you thinking about Snow White and the big day?” Ruth interrupted my daydreaming.
I chuckled. “I was, how did you know?”
“Couldn’t possibly be that ridiculous grin you have on your face.” She smiled. Ruth loved to tease me, but she also loved Jackie as much as I did. When I wasn’t able to visit her when she was sick, Ruth kept tabs on her condition and let me know how she was doing. She even spent some time with Jackie as well, so they had a bond all their own.
“Can’t help it, Ruth,” I replied.
“I think about the night she wound up in our care often. She’s lucky to be alive, thanks to you.”
“I’m the lucky one,” I said. “I was miserable and lonely before she came along.”
“Well, that’s the damn truth. Even with every hot nurse in the hospital hot on your tail,” she joked.