Chapter ten
2059 Words
Amiriam
"I know. "He's my young Padawan," Amiriam teased with an extra, knowing that her little Star Wars monologue would be enough to tip the support in her favor. "I've got this, Christiana. "My heart is secure. "I swear." She pounded her chest for good measure, and her salty persona cracked to reveal her sweet, gooey center. Let's be honest. Even when Amiriam was being an i***t, Christiana defended her. So did her sisters. In spite of all the crap they'd gone through and what their own experience had shown them, they didn't judge Amiriam for being stupid and making her own mistakes. And Amiriam kind of loved them for it.
Rita cut in, "I mean it. If you'd like to hold on to your job, you'd better play along with the deception until you can wrap things up professionally."
"Just so," Amiriam consented.
"And let's be very plain, you have to have one of the most expensive gowns in the store in order to coordinate your future mother-in-law's approval and your generosity to Luke by ramming it in their faces so that they get to pay for everything?"
"Yep."
She rubbed her hands together, with mischief. "Then let's get going."
The next sixty minutes passed in champagne drinking from flutes while Amiriam tried on almost every dress in the store.
"Here! Try this one. "It will be beautiful on you!" Rita exclaimed, tossing a white dress over the top of the dressing room door.
Amiriam looked at the price tag. "It's on sale."
"So?"
"So, I was told to spend all his dad's money."
"Then attempt this one for you, not for him," Christiana whispered on the other side, listening in on her conversation with Rita.
Her hand smoothed the silky material before finding the hem of the dress and pulling it over her head. There was a full-length mirror in the small dressing room. When she caught sight of herself, she almost gasped. It hugged her curves in all the right spots before flaring outward at her hips. The color was pearl, not stark white, and she liked that it brought out the flush in her cheeks. She tied her hair back into a low bun at the nape of her neck and inspected herself a little closer. The high neckline made her look elegant. Dainty. Lovely. Her breath was caught in her throat as she saw that it was perfect.
"Get out! "We want to look!" Rita shouted, slapping her hand on the door. Amiriam flinched.
"It doesn't set right," she called, grasping at the hem.
Christiana threatened, "Don't you dare take it off before we look at it, or swear I'll go in there and dress you like when we were kids, and you wouldn't be my life-sized doll."
Rolling her eyes with laughter, Amiriam cracked open the door.
"Did you just talk to me in your teacher's voice?"
"Sure did," Christiana shot back. Step onto the platform. Let's look at the merchandise".
Taking a breath, Amiriam obeyed and twirled in front of the mirror, amazed that she was even more lovely out here than she had been in the dressing room.
She looked over at her sisters to see that both of them had their hands pressed over their mouths, and their eyes were wrinkled at the corners, as if their pride and joy were nigh bursting at the seams.
"It's gorgeous, Amiriam," Christiana complimented.
"Freaking perfect!" Rita added with a grin.
Amiriam scoffed. "Let's go shopping."
"Why?" they asked in unison, glaring at her as if she were crazy for even considering such a thing.
Rapidly licking her lips, Amiriam snatched a quick glance in the mirror before turning her back on them with a headshake.
"Because it is perfect," she admitted with a sigh.
A furrow creased Christiana's brow as she begged for insight. "I don't understand."
"Not literally a wedding, guys. I mean, it is, but it isn't. I'd like to save the perfect dress for the perfect marriage. And Luke isn't."
Surrounding herself with her sisters, Amiriam saw them both nodding sympathetically as if it suddenly made sense.
"I still make you buy it. "Save it for your dream husband, because any man who sets eyes on you in that,"––Rita indicated her dress––"will be down on his knees, begging you to marry him faster than I can snap my fingers.
Well, if she put it that way, Amiriam would be a fool to complain. So she shimmed quickly instead and said, "Deal. Now let's just stop looking and go find the most expensive dress in this store that I can fit into."
Christiana laughed. "You sure?"
"Yup. I'm finished with this whole wedding dress routine. Especially since it's a rehearsal for the real thing when I meet my Prince Charming, anyway."
"Good idea. "How about the laced one that makes your boobs huge and huge?" Christiana suggested.
Rita's face lit up. "Ooo…I favored that one!"
"Me too," Christiana continued with a determined head shake. "And also, I nearly swallowed my tongue when I saw how pricey it was."
Back in the dressing room, Amiriam yelled back over her shoulder, "Done. Will you have Lidia find it again and bring it up to the register? I'm going to rush and change; then I'll bring up this one too."
"Perfect," Rita replied. "We'll meet you at the register." Do you need any more champagne?"
Her hand on the dressing room door, Amiriam turned to them and shook her head. "Nah. I'm good. See you in a sec."
And then she shut the door and pulled up the bottom of her dress. But when she caught sight of herself in the mirror, she halted and straightened up.
Am I crazy to want to buy this dress when I have absolutely no hope of ever having a future husband? My fingers caught the spaghetti strap before moving down my body and folding part of the fabric into my palm.
Yes. Yes, I am.
But I'm still going to do it.
Snatching her gaze from her own reflection, Amiriam yanked the dress off and fell back into her T-shirt and shorts. After a hasty brushing of her hair in the mirror, she tossed her favorite dress ever over her arm and went up front. Head-over-heels Rita texted someone near the counter while Amiriam would bet a million dollars she was texting Frank. The photo made her smile and only appeared to reinforce her opinion of the fellow who plowed into Rita's cat sanctuary sign all those months ago. He's a good egg.
I want a good egg.
Shaking her head to dispel her jealousy, Amiriam made her way over to the checkout and found Christiana talking to Lidia.
When she saw Amiriam, she cried out, "Amiriam! Did you know that Lidia has a florist shop as well? How awesome is that? You just have to have your flowers ordered through her. She was showing me some bouquets she's done, and they are gorgeous!"
Her eyes popped wide open, showing how far out of her depth she was at the concept of finding a florist before one fell into her lap. "Crap! I didn't think of that at all. But yeah, that sounds wonderful."
The expensive as-sin dress caught her eye on the rack against the wall. She nodded her chin towards it. "Thanks for grabbing that, by the way. It fits well, so I don't imagine I'll be having any alterations done. I'd like to buy it, please. And"––she sets her favorite dress down on the counter––"this one too."
"Two?" Lidia said, finding it difficult to hide her perplexity as she gazed at both items. "Sorry, but we do not accept returns on sold products."
"No need to. I'm taking both of them."
Politely nodding, Lidia calculated the price, and Amiriam saw an opportunity to send James a rapid text in silence.
Yes, he did have a phone. Yes, he was six. Yes, he spoke primarily in emojis. And yes, when they were together outside, she typically kept it hidden and wouldn't allow him to download any games onto it. But he was also her mini-spy of the day, and they had been at the boutique since morning, so she was going to get her fill and catch up.
Me: Hello, little man! How's life?
James: *smiling face emoji* *thumbs up emoji*
Me: Good! What are you doing? And please, for yourself this time!
James: Fine. We are good. Waching shoes.
Amiriam chuckled at his brief responses and atrocious spelling before she replied.
Me: Good! What show are you watching? Is Luke being nice?
James: Yes. We are waching a grown-up shoe.
Pressing her lips together, Amiriam fired off a quick message to James, reminding him to behave before firing off another one to Luke.
Me: Hello, Luke! Just a hello!
His response was almost immediate.
Luke: He snitched, didn't he?
A quiet smile crossed Amiriam's lips as she read his response.
Me: Dead as a doornail. What are you showing him?
Luke: I told you so. Little narc. See? That's why I don't trust the kid. Big, fat tattle tale. We're watching The Ring.
Her eyes bulged as she read the message before another text arrived.
Luke: I was kidding. Don't get your panties in a twist, Nanny. We're watching Jurassic Park.
Amiriam sighed in relief. Okay, that's not so bad. It's not great, but it's better than The Ring.
Her phone buzzed again as Lidia handed her the bill. Amiriam handed over the black credit card Luke had slipped under her door that day without looking at her phone.
Luke: Did you get a dress?
Me: Yeah. Spent heaps just for you.
Luke: You're a girl. I'm sure you would've spent tons on yourself, but well done on taking orders.
Amiriam's fingers itched to resend her message, so she sent off a follow-up text.
Me: Don't assume. I believe you were the one who made the comment about how rude it is. I saw this awesome dress that was discounted, BUT I set it aside and grabbed the most expensive one instead. Don't go blaming me for spending all your money when you begged me to do it in the first place, butthead.
His assumption upset her. For someone who was so sensitive about people judging him, he definitely did it plenty to the people around him.
Luke: Sensitive, Nanny? I was joking.
She rolled her eyes.
Me: No, you weren't. Don't lie because I called you out for being a jerk.
She hit send and then her fingers hurt to type again, so she sent a follow-up message.
Me: I don't do liars, Luke.
He didn't answer right away, so Amiriam stuck her phone in her pocket and looked up to see Lidia waiting there for her to finish her call.
"Crap. Sorry. I was just checking on…something."
"No worries," Lidia replied with a soft smile. As she handed Amiriam Luke's credit card back, her phone vibrated again, but she let it go. She'd deal with him later.
Once the card was safely in her back pocket, Lidia handed Amiriam over her dress bags, and she accepted them gratefully.
"Thanks again for your help today!"
"Anytime. If there's anything else you need, just call. And don't forget to contact me regarding the flower arrangements. You've been such a pleasure to work with that I'll even offer you a friend and family discount."
Sarcasm smiling, Amiriam replied, "That will not be necessary, but I will most definitely take you up on your offer of bouquets. We will definitely be needing a lot of your help. Once I had the arrangements settled with my––" She hesitated over the word fiancé and replaced it with something better. "Luke, I will be seeing you."
"No rush. Good luck!
As they pushed the door open, the warm air brushed Amiriam's cheeks, and she walked towards her car next to Rita's.
"So…dinner?
" Christiana asked.
Tapping her flat tummy, Amiriam replied, "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I'm still k
inda buzzed from the champagne. Are there some decent restaurants here?"
Rita's eyebrows bounced up and down. "I know a delicious Mexican one a block from here. We can walk."
"Perfect.”
- Writer
