I froze. We hadn’t used protection, and since I was a virgin and not sexually active, I wasn’t on any birth control. She could be wrong. I very much could be pregnant. The thought of having Dean’s child spread warmth through me. I wanted that more than anything. “No,” I assured her. “I’m not pregnant, but Dean and Drew are in Savannah this morning picking out a ring.” I paused for a moment and then told her we were planning to get married before he went back to Korea to finish out his deployment.
“So soon. Don’t you want to wait a while? You’re both so young.”
“Mom. We’ve been in love for four years, and we’ve been having a long-distance relationship for the last year through letters. I know this is sudden to you and Drew, and it will be to Dad too, but this isn’t sudden for us.”
“What about school?”
“I’m still going, Mom. I’m going to live with you and Dad until right before he comes home, and then I’m going to try and find us an apartment or something until we figure out the next step.
“I have every intention of finishing school, though I’m still clueless as to what I want to do with my future. The only thing I’m one hundred percent sure of is that I love Dean, and I want to be his wife.”
Mom’s eyes flooded with tears before she pulled me into a warm hug. “I just want your happiness and Dean’s. If you make each other happy, that’s all I care about.”
“Thank you.” I hugged her tightly as we both cried with happy tears. “I have one more question.”
She laughed. “What’s that?”
“Will you go help me find something to wear to my wedding? It’s probably going to be at the courthouse, but I still want to feel like a bride.”
“Yes.” She laughed. “Let me get my purse.”
I shot a quick text over to Dean.
Me: I told mom. She and I are going dress shopping for our wedding. I love you. <3
* * *
Mom took me to the small boutique in Sunset Falls that I’d never been to. “You really think we will find something here?”
“Yes. I love this place, and Kaleigh has a great selection of dresses that aren’t crazy expensive, and they look custom even though they aren’t. She gets gently used, out-of-date clothes, and makes them into something newer. I’ve brought several outfits to her in the past that she’s made look like new.”
“But we aren’t bringing anything with us?”
“She’s got stuff in stock, Nora. Honestly, I can’t believe you haven’t been here before.”
We pulled up outside the small boutique on main street. “Begin Again Boutique” was written in bold cursive on the front window.
“It’s not a thrift store?”
Mom laughed. “Not exactly. I mean, you can certainly use it as a thrift store. But most of what Kayleigh does is take something that was once beautiful and trendy and makes it beautiful and trendy again. I swear I don’t know how she does it. She’s got to have elves working in the back somewhere.”
I laughed and shook my head as we opened the front door and walked inside. “Why have I never been in here?”
“Because you don’t really care about being girly. You’ve spent the last four years hanging out with your stepbrother, remember?”
“True.”
Kayleigh was way younger than I expected, and the clothes she made from older stuff were incredible. She could be a fashion designer in New York if she wanted to, but she was happy at home in Sunset Falls. We talked about her business, and I fell in love with what she did and how she did it.
When I told her what I was needing and wanting, she offered her congratulations. “I think I may have the perfect thing for you.”
She went to the back and came back out front with a hanger. On it was a white dress with a halter neckline. “This was a very simple silhouette when it was brought in. It reminded me very much of that famous white dress Marilyn Monroe wore inThe Seven Year Itch.I added this outer layerof the skirt and gathered it here with the silver embellishment to make it more of a dressycocktail, or evening dress. I thought maybe one of the high school girls would come in here and grab it for prom, but I love the thought of it being for your wedding.” She paused and offered the hanger to me. “What do you think?”
I looked at the dress and fell in love. It was flirty and not too fussy, but it had enough character to set it apart and, like Mom said, it made it look custom. “I love it. It’s my size?”
“Yes. I think it was meant to be yours.”
“Thank you.” I tried the dress on, and she was right. The dress was perfect, like it was made just for me. Mom hugged me tightly with tears in her eyes.
