“No,” I say, motioning for her to bring the dress to me. “We aren’t calling it off.”
She smiles. “Good. Because Beardsley called her again this morning to see if she’d accept his offer.” Her smile turns into a glare. “That man is a total creep, and I can’t tell you how happy it made me to hear Lolly tell him that his offer would expire on Sunday because she wasn’t selling.”
A knock rings through the room before Lolly enters. As soon as she realizes that she’s about to witness me putting on Mom’s dress, she tears up.
“No crying,” I say, choking back another wave of tears myself. “I seriously don’t want to cry.”
She squeezes the handkerchief in her hands and brings it to her lips.
Markie helps me slip the dress over my head. I wiggle around to get it situated correctly on my hips and then my sister fastens the back. When I spin to show my grandmother, tears are streaming down her cheeks.
“Lolly …” I laugh, struggling not to cry myself. “Stop crying.”
She takes my hand between hers and holds it tightly. “You look so much like your mother, Mira. She would be so happy and so proud today.”
Fuck it. I’ll just sob, too.
Tears fall as Markie moves in front of me. Her cheeks are wet, too.
“Mira, you have to see yourself,” Markie breathes, taking my hand and guiding me to a full-length mirror. “You’re glowing. It’s like this dress just lit you up.”
I gasp as my reflection comes into view. “Oh, my gosh.”
“I know,” Markie says, sweeping my hair into a makeshift updo. “You do resemble Mom so much. I got Dad’s nose. Boo.”
Giggling, I switch my gaze to her. “You do not. Stop it.”
“Oh, I do. But it’s okay.” She nods for me to look in the mirror again. “How do you feel in it?”
How do I feel?If I were writing a text for someone else, I’d be tempted to use ethereal. Resplendent.Complete.They’re random words I don’t often use—I didn’t even know I knew the word resplendent—but they come to mind first.
The dress does look like it was made for my body, and the color is perfect against my skin. But more than how I look, Ifeelbeautiful. This dressfeelsimportant.
And I can feel my mother with me.
“I feel like a bride,” I say, smiling through the tears. “That’s crazy.”
Lolly comes next to me and sighs. “You have no idea how happy this makes me. I know I kind of did you dirty on the details?—”
“You think?” I ask, laughing.
“But, honey, you need to trust me on this. This will all work out. And the fact that I get to see you on your wedding day is the cherry on top.”
Markie puts her arms around both of our shoulders, resting her head against mine.
“Lolly?” Markie asks.
“Yes, baby girl.”
“Thank you for making Mira get married and not me.”
I jab her in the side with an elbow, making everyone laugh.
The sunlight shifts, centering us in its rays. It’s like the universe is smiling down on us. And maybe from the heavens, Mom is smiling, too.
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
