“I love that idea,” Adelaide said.
“Honestly, that sounds great because I hate choosing for myself,” Mel sighed, clearly relieved.
Perusing the racks of formal dresses and pantsuits, my eyes landed on a beautiful black fur-lined blazer with a full train that flowed down to the ground. I knew that it fit Mellie’s style to a tee. I pulled it and handed it to Ambre, who set it to the side for Mel. As I continued to search, a stunning high-neck, long-sleeved dress in sparkling forest green jumped out at me. I couldn’t decide if I liked it for myself or Adelaide. I picked it off the rack and held it up.
“Mel!” She looked over to where I stood. “Adelaide or me?”
“I’m only saying Adelaide because she already found the perfect dress for you.” She winked.
I was having so much fun, I knew the only thing that could have made the day better would be to have Sam there, too. My fashion-forward friend would love this. I briefly wondered whether I could convince Sam to move to Wexstone if I married Oliver, before reminding myself that I still wasn’t sure I could imagine marrying Oliver.
I walked the dress to the changing room and tapped on the door.
“Adelaide, try this dress on, too.” She opened the door, and I handed her the dress.
“Speaking of your Thanksgiving,” Mel said, continuing our earlier conversation while we waited for Adelaide to change, “isn’t that this Thursday? Are you missing a big family celebration?”
I nodded as I perched on a pink settee. “It is. I probably would have flown out West to visit my brother and his family, but it would have just been the four of us. We’re going to celebrate over a video call, though.”
“For some reason, my mom always uses American Thanksgiving as her marker for when she can start playing Christmas music,” Mel said, laughing.
I chuckled wryly. “She’s not alone, that’s pretty common back home.”
I had a love-hate relationship with Christmas music. Every year on November 1, my mom would bust out her old vinyl records, and each evening while she cooked dinner, Bing Crosby would serenade us with songs about winter wonderlands and chestnuts roasting over an open fire. The more I thought about it, the more I knew that Mom would have loved it here. It was probably what her version of heaven looked like: Carolers on the street corners, wreaths on every door, snow-capped mountains, and delicious peppermint tea. That all-too-familiar knot of grief formed in my stomach at the thought that my mom would never see this place.
After a few minutes, Adelaide stepped out to the small dais in front of three floor-to-ceiling mirrors. She looked devastatingly beautiful in the green gown. It made her blonde hair shine and her emerald eyes pop.
“Holy shit!” I yelled.
“Girl! You look stunning!”
“Oh my gosh, stop.” Adelaide blushed.
“No seriously, this is the dress,” I urged.
“I don’t know.” Her hips swayed left to right, and the dress followed. Ambre appeared again through the doorway and let out audible gasp.
“Mademoiselle. You look absolutely beautiful.” She set her hands on her chest like she was catching her breath. “For a moment, I thought I was looking at the picture of Queen Evelyn from the state dinner in 1959.Quelle chance!I have the perfect gloves and hat for this outfit in the front; I must go fetch them for you.”
Mel snapped her fingers. “I was trying to figure out what you reminded me of! That’s it.”
“Pull it up on your phone, I want to see!” I said, hurrying to peek over Mel’s shoulder as she brought up the search engine on her phone.
I looked to Adelaide as she stood on the dais, looking herself over. I could tell she liked the dress, but something was bothering her. Adelaide wore her heart on her sleeve; her emotions were easy to guess.
“Found it.” Mellie passed me her phone. “This was the 1959 state dinner. It was the year that she and King Leroy’s father, King Francis, got engaged. Their marriage was also arranged because of the marriage decree.”
Adelaide’s head snapped up, and her eyes met ours in the mirror. “I had forgotten about that...” She slid her hands down the front of the dress, the fur-lined cuffs framing her wrists. “I really like this one,” she whispered.
“You look amazing in it,” I agreed.
“And it is Oliver’s favorite color,” she said quietly. She cleared her throat. “Which means I should definitely choose another dress,” she announced more loudly as she moved to step off the dais.
“Hold on.” I held my hands up to halt her. “If it’s his favorite color, shouldn’t that be a plus?”
“Yeah, I’m confused,” Mel agreed.
“I just…it’s just that…he…ugh!” Adelaide couldn't get her words straight. She let out a huff of frustration. “Oliver and I slept together,” she blurted out. She immediately turned red from her chest up.
