huffed. “That’s what she said. It also wasn’t ‘hands on’ enough for her. Gina had been a bridesmaid so many times—six,” Anna emphasized almost grudgingly, “that she felt she could take this so-called ‘knowledge’ and parlay it into this ‘creative’ vocation.” Anna shook her head in complete despair.
“Now she’s so busy getting other people married off that she doesn’t have any time to look around for a suitable man herself.” Almost completely off her seat by now, Anna leaned forward over Maizie’s desk, her hand reaching for Maizie’s. “I need help, Maizie. I need you to throw a sack over my daughter’s head and whisk her away to some wonderful hideaway where she can meet the man of her dreams—or barring that, anything close to it,” Anna stressed.
The image amused Maizie. “And what’s ‘he’ like, or don’t you know?”
“Oh, I know. Or I thought I did. Gina was going out with Shane Callaghan about ten years ago. It looked as if that match was getting serious. I had such high hopes for it. And then, just like that, it stopped being serious.” It pained Anna to talk about it, even after ten years. “They broke up.”
“Why?”
Anna frowned, frustrated. “Damned if I know. Gina wouldn’t talk about it. I suspect that she got cold feet, but because I couldn’t get her to talk about it, I don’t know if I’m right or not.”
“Shane Callaghan,” Maizie repeated. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but for the life of her, Maizie didn’t know why or where she had heard it before. “Do you know where this Shane Callaghan is now?”
Anna shook her heard. “I haven’t a clue. If I did, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be going right up to him and doing everything I could to bring him and Gina together. According to Gina, he vanished right after college graduation.”
Maizie smiled, knowing how frustrating it could be, sitting on the sidelines. That was obviously not Anna Bongino’s style. “There are laws against kidnapping in this state.”
Anna shrugged. “It would be worth it if it meant that Gina finally had the right man in her life.”
“And you think that this Shane Callaghan is the right one?” Maizie questioned.
“Oh absolutely. I’d bet my soul on it,” she declared with conviction. “So, will you help, Maizie?” Anna asked eagerly, searching Maizie’s face. “Will you help my daughter find the right man and get married?”
“I can certainly try,” Maizie promised the attractive woman, shaking her hand.
“‘Try’?” Anna asked, a touch of disappointment in her voice.
“Only God gives guarantees, but if it helps, our track record is a hundred percent so far,” Maizie assured her friend.
Anna received the news and beamed. “It helps a great deal.”
Eight-year-old Adelyn Loren nodded her approval as she watched, mesmerized, as her aunt adjusted a light blue, floor-length bridesmaid dress. There was a touch of wonder in the little girl’s soft brown eyes.
“Aunt Gina?” the little girl, known to her family as Addie, asked hesitantly.
The dark-haired little girl jumped off the bed. She had followed Gina into the room when her aunt had asked her if she wanted to see what the dress looked like on her. A fashion buff, even at the tender age of eight, the girl came in eagerly.
She finally had the dress right, Gina thought, looking herself over in her sister’s full-length mirror. “What, baby?” Gina asked absently.
Encouraged, Addie’s voice sounded a little more confident as she asked, “How many times do you have to do it?”
Gina turned away from the mirror. The dress her latest client had initially picked out had been dowdy and downright awful. With a little bit of subtle hinting, Gina had managed to convince the young woman that being backed up by an attractive-looking bridal party would only serve to highlight her own gown on her big day. That succeeded in making everyone happy.
Satisfied, Gina gave her niece her full attention. The little girl had a very serious expression on her face. “How many times do I have to do what, sweetie?” Gina asked.
“How many times do you have to be a bridesmaid before you get to be the bride?” Addie asked.
Gina laughed softly. She knew where this was coming from. “You’ve been talking to your grandmother, haven’t you?”
Addie shook her head vigorously, sending her long, coal black hair bouncing from side to side.
“Uh-uh. Mama said you’ve been in a lot of weddings and that you were always a bridesmaid so I was just wondering when you get to stop being a bridesmaid and get to be a bride.”
Judging by her expression, Gina could tell that it seemed like a logical progression of events to Addie.
Wiggling out of the bridesmaid dress, she draped it on the side of the bed as she threw on an old T-shirt and a pair of jeans. Dressed, Gina sat down on the bed and put her arm around her niece, pulling the little girl to her.
“That’s not quite the way it works, sweetie,” Gina said, managing not to laugh.
“You mean you’re always going to be a bridesmaid?” Addie asked, her eyes opening so wide that she resembled one of her favorite stuffed animals. “Doesn’t that make you sad?”
“No,” Gina assured the little girl, rather touched that the girl was concerned about her. She hugged Addie closer. “It makes me happy.”
The small, animated face scrunched up in confusion. “How come?”
She did her best to put it in terms that Addie could understand. “Being a bridesmaid is my job.”
But it was obvious that this just confused Addie even more. “Being a bridesmaid is a job?”
“It is for me,” Gina answered cheerfully. “The truth of it is, baby, for some people weddings can be very confusing and stressful.”
Addie’s smooth forehead was still wrinkled in consternation. “What’s stressful?”
Gina thought for a moment. She didn’t want to frighten the girl, but she did want to get the image across. “You know how when you play your video game and if you’re not fast enough, suddenly the words game over can come on your screen and your tummy feels all knotted up and disappointed?”
“Uh-huh.” Addie solemnly nodded her head.
“Well, that’s what stressful is,” Gina told her. “Organizing a wedding can be like that.”
Addie looked at her uncertainly, doing her best to understand. “Weddings are like video games?”
A warm feeling came over Gina’s heart and she grinned. “Sometimes. Your mom almost called
