“Oh no.” Jackie waved her finger as the app spoke. “The woman is a witch! She made me lose my voice!”
“Clairvoyant isn’t the same as witch,” Bronwyn sighed. “And witch doesn’t mean evil. I mean, she could be both, but she’d never do harm to anyone. That isn’t her style.”
Jackie typed her response with shaky hands. “How do you know? Maybe she put a love spell on me!”
“Girl,” Mya laughed. “Didn’t you fall for that man ten years ago? You didn’t know Mother Mary then.”
“Exactly,” said Bronwyn. “Just face it, Jackie. Accept the truth. You and this man were meant to cross paths. It’s kismet.”
Sara and Mya refilled their champagne glasses, enjoying the back-and-forth between Bronwyn and Jackie as if it were a tennis match.
Jackie rubbed her throbbing temple. “Bron, I don’t need this.”
“Everyone needs love!” countered Bronwyn.
“This cannot be love!” Jackie’s computerized voice boomed. “Love that makes me lose my voice? Love that’s so distracting, I can’t stop thinking about jumping a man’s bones and having the most spectacular sex on my desk?”
“Oh girl! The desk!” squealed Mya. “You are a freaky little thing, Jackie Miles!”
Bronwyn laughed. “True love is never a distraction, babe!”
Jackie unfolded her arms, then typed. “Says the woman who got so distracted by love senior year, she got pregnant. You were short one semester from a chemistry degree.”
“Jackie,” Bronwyn gasped. “That is not fair!”
Jackie and Bronwyn were talking over each other so loudly, with Jackie’s app at full volume, they hadn’t heard Tanika approaching.
Tanika whistled to get everyone’s attention. “Stop it! What are you all fussing about?”
Jackie and Bronwyn turned to look at Tanika, and all arguing ceased. You could hear a pin drop with the silence.
Worried, Tanika rubbed her hands together. “What is it?”
Jackie was almost in tears. She fumbled with her phone to type. “Tanika. You’re breathtaking.”
“This is so…” Bronwyn sniffed. “I have no words.”
“For a change, I’m speechless too,” said Mya. “Boss, Gideon is going to cry.”
Jackie agreed. She typed, “Yep. If I know my cousin, he will weep on sight.”
“Seriously?” asked Tanika. She hadn’t stepped onto the platform to look in the mirror. “It’s just a dress.”
“No, girl,” said Sara, her eyes misty. “This isn’t just a dress. This isthedress.”
All three ladies stood, guiding Tanika to the platform. Jackie spun her around to face the mirrors.
Tanika stared at her reflection, let out a tiny gasp, then covered her mouth. After a few moments, she moved her hands. “I look…I look like a bride. A real bride.” The tears dropped immediately.
The sales associate, who had been so attentive and patient with them during their private appointment, came out and handed Tanika a few tissues. “Isn’t it magnificent? I knew Ms. Ryan would be perfect in this Amsale dress. It’s like it was made for her.”
The off-white, A-line dress had a sweetheart neckline and sheer sleeves that roped around Tanika’s arms like ribbons. It was simple yet interesting. The back showed off Tanika’s deep brown, smooth shoulders above an understated row of buttons. She looked like a dream.
Jackie looked Tanika up and down. It took everything in her not to cry like a baby. Her best friend was getting married to her favorite cousin. Family could be complicated, but this was pure love.
“It’s timeless,” said Sara.
“Classic,” agreed Bronwyn, as she fluffed out the slight train. “Just like you, Tanika.”
