“Oh, heavens yes,” she said. “I’ll order everything I think might work from Neiman Marcus, and I’ll have Sun here in case we need any alterations. Easy breezy!”
I laughed. It really was something to have had the same tailor so long that she would make house calls. “Well, I can’t say no to that, Lovey. I’ll call Mom and see if she can meet us.”
I took the day off, realizing that I was a little bit sad that I wouldn’t be there for that morning’s adventure. How many people could take a day off of their job and feel like they wished they were there? I was feeling so blessed that it had all fallen into place so seamlessly. My husband was a god who worshippedme, my job was so fun it didn’t feel like work, and I was going to look hot Friday night. Father Rob and I talked all the time about counting our blessings, about being thankful for the present without the “if onlys.” But, until I had my baby in my arms, I’m not sure I could fully embrace anything else.After the gala, I promised myself again,we will go to the doctor and find out what’s wrong.
When I got to Lovey’s, she and Mom were sitting on the floor, flipping through old photo books. To see an eighty-seven-year-oldcross-legged is sort of like spotting a tiger in the wild. It made me happy that, like Lovey and Louise, I had started a daily yoga regimen.
“Well, we’ve found what you should wear,” Mom said without even getting up to hug me.
Lovey nodded and pointed to the book. She and D-daddy were posed casually, his arm around her shoulder. She was holding a swaddled, infant Mom, while my aunts hovered around in their Easter bonnets, squinting uncomfortably in the sun. “I wore that to our first party in Raleigh, right after we moved,” Lovey said. “So I think it’s fitting that you wear it to your first party in your new town.”
It was a stunning black sleeveless dress with a thin ribbon around the tiny waist, just the right amount of flair, and just the right amount of skin. Mom pointed to where the dress was hanging on the door, and I gasped. “It’s perfection!”
“Well, go try it on,” Lovey said. “This old thing would love to think its dancing days weren’t over.”
As I sucked all the air out of my stomach, I couldn’t imagine that, after just giving birth, Lovey had been tiny enough to fit into this thing.
Mom and Lovey managed to get it zipped, which was nothing new. The “two-person dress” was something we all wore more often than not. Assuming, of course, that it didn’t produce bra fat, VPL, or any other travesty of too-tight clothing, it was the perfect recipe for looking your best at any event.
As expected, Mom said, “Just go on the three-day diet, and it will be perfect.”
The three-day diet was a dreadful grapefruit and hard-boiled egg situation with the occasional spare square of toast that was guaranteed to produce at least a five-pound weight loss in record time. And five pounds could easily turn a two-person dress into a one-person one.
When I produced my egg and fruit combination at work onThursday, Father Rob came down the hall immediately. “What is that stench?”
I smiled sheepishly. “Hard-boiled egg.”
He shook his head. “I will take you to lunch. You can’t possibly eat that.”
I sighed. “I don’t really mind boiled eggs, for one. For two, I have to be crazy thin by tomorrow. Thinner than Laura Anne,” I added, under my breath.
Father Rob laughed. “You’re nuts. And you’re thinner than her anyway.”
I brightened. “For real?”
He shrugged. “Seriously. You’re Heidi Klum, and she’s someone’s mom in the carpool line.”
The momentary sting of wishing I was someone’s mom in the carpool line was soothed by the spine-straightening thought that I was like Heidi Klum. “For someone who’s abstinent, you sure do know what to say to a woman.”
He winked. “I’m abstinent by choice, not because I don’t have mad game.”
I laughed so hard it shook the table, and that damn egg rolled right onto the floor. “Now look what you’ve done!” I said through my giggles.
He took my hand, pulled me out of the chair and said, “Perfect! Now let’s go get some real food, Heidi.” He looked me over and said, “You’re looking much too thin.”
I put my hand on my heart. “You can keep my paycheck this month. That was all I needed.”
We walked through the double doors of Sidewalk Deli and into the building, the tall, white fountain in the middle and the walls painted with outdoor scenes; real, iron balconies affixed to the bricks. I inhaled, “Ahhh, food smells so good.”
Rob laughed, reached in his pocket and handed me a penny, as had become our custom when we came to the restaurant together.
I was closing my eyes as he said, “Wait!” He winked. “Be careful what you wish for.”
I closed my eyes and tossed my penny, making the same wish I always did.I wish I would get pregnant!
“Do you want to tell me yours?” I asked as we stepped into line.
“If I tell you,” he said, “it won’t come true.”
