“I did. The woman at the boutique in the old bank building was so nice. She didn’t have anything that felt right. She sent me to the secondhand shop on Main Street. Once I saw this dress, I knew it was perfect.”
Vicki’s eyes widened. “You bought your dress secondhand?”
“I know, scandalous, right?”
“Ana would…” Vicki didn’t finish the sentence as we both laughed.
“She wanted me to wear the dress we bought for my wedding to Skylar at Van’s and my wedding.”
“In all fairness,” Vicki said, “I think she was holding out hope that you would still marry Skylar.”
I shook my head as I lowered the zipper on the bag.
“Oh,” Vicki and Margaret said in unison as I removed the cream lace maxi dress from the bag.
“I swear, it is like it was made for me.” I laid it out on the bed. “I know it has spaghetti straps, but wait until you see what else the nice woman from the consignment shop found.” I hurried in and out of the closet carrying a second garment bag. “This is even better than the dress.” Lowering the zipper, I removed the garment from the bag.
“Oh my God,” Vicki gushed as she ran her hand over the cream velvet cape.
“It has faux fur and look.” I spun it around. “A hood.”
“Very queen of the north,” Margaret remarked. When we both stared, she clarified,“Game of Thrones.”
“I love it,” Vicki said. “That’s you now, Jules. You’re the queen of the north. Donovan Sherman’s queen.”
“It even has inside pockets,” I said, showing off the satin lining.
“Who was working the consignment shop?” Margaret asked. “Was it Sally?”
I shrugged. “I don’t remember her telling me her name. Nice lady with light hair. I’d seen her before at the coffee shop.”
Margaret shook her head. “Not Sally. Well, whoever she was, she sure hooked you up.”
“She did.” Hugging the soft cape, I stared at my friends, old and new. “Thank you for being here, both of you. I can’t tell you how right this feels.”
“How do you want your hair?” Margaret asked.
The three of us talked about options as we carried the dress and cape and made our way back to the master bedroom suite.
“Wait,” Margaret said as we entered. “Will Donovan be coming in here to get ready?”
“No,” I answered. “He has strict instructions, and his suit is ready for him downstairs.”
Margaret turned the lock on the suite door. “Good. Let’s get the two of you ready. There’s a wedding this afternoon.”
Vicki reached for my hands. “I love how happy you look.”
“I feel happy. I don’t have another word for it. I feel like this is how someone should feel on their wedding day.”
While I didn’t have my mother’s aesthetician present, I had been doing my own hair and makeup since I was a preteen. With the number of party preparations and pretend makeup sessions Vicki and I had shared, we were more than capable at helping one another out. It didn’t take too long to be staring back at our made-up reflections in the master bathroom mirror.
Vicki grinned as she sprayed hairspray over my hairdo. “Do you have a veil?”
“No, but in the garment bag that had the cape there’s a box. The woman from the boutique brought it down to me as I was checking out at the consignment shop. It’s a headpiece, and I think it will match perfectly.
“I’ll go get it,” Margaret volunteered.
When she came back to the bathroom, she had the box.