the dress is lit up. “Wait until you see the back of it,” Bessie says.
The gown is backless as the satin falls into a gathered cowl at the base of my spine. It’s more daring than I’d usually do, but the effect is so dramatic, and timeless.
Mamma chokes back tears, “Oh, Lil, you’re going to look like a movie star.”
Sarah pats Mamma’s back. “Lil, it’s absolutely breath-taking. I haven’t seen anything like it before.”
Missy lets out a squeal. “Can you get on in there and try it, Lil? If I go into labor and miss seeing it on, there’s gonna be trouble!”
I laugh, and nod. “Less of the labor talk, Missy. You need to wait at least three more days, you know.”
She cackles. “Yeah, I know.” She runs a hand over her belly. “I told the little man that a million times, so let’s hope he’s listening.”
Bessie walks to the change room with the dress held aloft. “OK, Lil, it’s time. Shout when you’re undressed and I’ll help you put it on so we’re careful with the beading.” She’s a diminutive woman, with a soft smile, but her eyes, bright with excitement over the dress, remind me of us at the café when we’ve baked something amazing. The joy in crafting something from raw materials.
“Lucky I wore my best underwear.”
Bessie grins, her eyes shining with laughter. “Trust me, girls, I’ve seen it all from so-called granny panties, to full-length body-suction underwear. I’m oblivious to anything bar the dress.”
The girls laugh, and I shut the curtain and undress.
“Full-length body-suction underwear?” I hear Mamma say. “I don’t know what that is but I need some.”
Missy replies, “I’ve seen pull-me-in panties, but a full body suit, I don’t know…the muffin top has to go somewhere. With a full length body suit on wouldn’t it push it all the way up to my neck? I’d have neck fat!”
“The mind boggles,” Sarah’s voice carries through to the changing room.
I grin at Missy’s muffin-top exaggeration. She’s voluptuous, and flaunts her curves with pride. Her form-fitting ensembles make me shake my head in wonder. There’s not many people who could pull off that kind of style with such pizzazz. With her heavily made-up eyes, and big auburn curls, and her constant hair fluffing, she’s like a screen siren from another era.
Pulling back the curtain, I motion to Bessie that I’m undressed. My skin breaks out in goose bumps despite the heating in the shop, half from nerves and half from cold. There’s no mirror in the change room, so the girls will see the dress on before I do.
Bessie steps into the small space with me, and slides the curtain closed. She carefully unzips the side of the dress. “So, you’ll need to step into it, Lil, and then I’ll pull it up, and you gently ease your arms in the sleeves.”
“OK.”
Bessie holds the dress as I gently stand inside like she instructed. It’s like a creamy wave at my feet.
“Here we go, Lil. Stand up straight, and I’ll pull it up, and we can see how it fits.”
I hold my arms out as Bessie glides the dress over my body, and zips it up. She fluffs it out at my feet. It feels deliciously smooth cascading down my body. I run my hands softly down the side. It’s so different from when I had a fitting three weeks ago, when there were pins holding it roughly together.
“How does it feel?”
“Like perfection,” I say almost inaudibly.
Bessie stands back to survey me, before straightening the neckline, and pinching the satin on one side to make it even. She stands back again and folds her arms. With a grin she whispers, “They’re going to cry, Lil. When they see how beautiful you look.”
I’m grinning like a fool as excitement courses through me. “Do I really look beautiful?” I think of myself compared with the other girls as more of a plain Jane. But on my wedding day, I want to be glamorous. I want to make the extra effort so Damon catches his breath when he sees me, a vision in satin, walking down the aisle to him.
Bessie gives me a kind smile. “Lil, beautiful doesn’t even sum it up. Wait until you see it. You are a show-stopper.”
I nod my thanks, not trusting myself to speak as my emotions roil around.
“What’s going on in there?” Missy screeches. “Enough with the oohing and aahing — we want to see this masterpiece!”
I take a deep breath and smooth the fabric, wishing with all my heart that CeeCee were on the other side of the curtain with the girls. Bessie fusses with the train and says, “Ready?”
Nervous, I say, “Yes.”
She inches out of the change room and says, “I give you the soon-to-be Mrs. Guthrie.” Slowly she inches the curtain across. I step out of the change room.
The girls gasp, high and loud. Missy covers her mouth with her hand as her eyes go wide.
“Oh, golly, Lily-Ella that’s absolutely…” Mamma chokes back a sob “…stunning! No one is going to be able to take their eyes off of you.” Tears fall down her face, as she cries unabashedly.
“Thank you, Mamma. Don’t cry! You’ll start Missy off again!” I swallow back my own tears. I have a feeling Bessie’s made some kind of magic happen for me.
“It’s too late,” Mamma sobs.
Sarah laughs; her eyes are glassy too. “Golly, this crying jag is contagious! Lil, I haven’t seen a dress so dazzling before. The way the bias hugs your curves…”
“Wait.” I hold a finger up. “Do you want to see the back?”
Missy screeches yes.
I turn slowly, careful not to step on the train.
“Sweet Jesus!” Missy yells. “Lil! You’re killing me! Give me the box of tissues!” Sarah laughs and hands her the tissue box. “Lil, I’ve seen a lot of wedding dresses before, but nothing like this. It’s out of this world, stunning! You’re making me yell because I’m so freaking happy!”
Bessie laughs at Missy. “Happy yelling is a good thing. Lil, are you ready to see yourself?”
“Yes, I am!”
The girls gather behind me as Bessie wheels over a mirror that’s covered with a sheet.
“OK, one, two, three.” Bessie angles the mirror to my height, and pulls down the sheet.
My heart skips a beat as I take in the sight of myself in the mirror. The dress looks every inch as stunning as it feels. The beads along the front blink at me like friends. The satin shimmers as I touch it again, my hands drawn to the silky feel. “Bessie…” I can’t form words. The girl in the mirror doesn’t look like me. She’s been replaced with a blond-haired girl draped in a creamy satin vision, her cheeks are flushed, and her blue eyes
