Chapter 2 - Walking the Long Way
The ripped bodice barely stayed up on the left side, exposing part of the lace lining underneath. The tea stain looked like dried mud across the pale blue skirt. Pinned to my collarbone was the cruel note, daring anyone who looked to read the four ugly words.
Rachel was practically vibrating with rage, her knuckles white around her phone. "I can run downtown to a bridal boutique right now. We have two hours. We can buy an off-the-rack sample, anything!"
"No," I replied, smoothing the wrinkled, ruined hem with both hands. "If I scramble for a replacement, she wins. She gets to sit in the front pew knowing she broke me. I want everyone to see what she did. I want our mother to look at this."
I picked up my bouquet of white roses and walked out into the Kentucky afternoon heat. The barn doors were open at the end of the gravel pathway. In the courtyard, early guests were already mingling with glasses of iced sweet tea. When they caught sight of me walking toward the side entrance of the barn, conversations died instantly. A glass clinked. Whispers spread like dry brush in a drought.
My mother, Marlene, was standing near the welcome table, wearing a lavender mother-of-the-bride dress that probably cost more than Daniel’s suit. The moment she spotted me walking across the lawn in shredded teenage polyester, her glass slipped, splashing tea across her expensive pumps.
"Claire!" Marlene hissed, darting across the grass and grabbing my arm with iron fingers. "What on earth are you doing? What is this joke? Where is your gown? The photographer is in the garden!"
"Ask your favorite daughter," I said, locking eyes with her. "Natalie had the third key, didn't she?"
Mom’s eyes dropped to the pin on my shoulder. She read the note: Wear what you’re worth. Her expression twisted into a mixture of annoyance and frantic damage control. Instead of anger at Natalie, she turned her frustration straight onto me.
"Claire, keep your voice down! Everyone is watching! Take that hideous thing off right now. Natalie wouldn't do something like this; she’s leading worship tomorrow! You’re just being overly dramatic again, trying to start trouble right before the ceremony!"
"I didn't steal my own gown, Mom," I said, pulling my arm away from her grip. "And I'm not hiding in the back room to save your reputation."
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Down the shaded covered walkway, Daniel was standing with his best man, fixing his lapel pin. He heard my mother's raised voice and turned around. The moment his gaze found me in the ripped blue prom dress, he didn't look shocked at all. He didn't look confused.
Instead, a cold, dangerous calm settled over my husband's face. He pulled his black smartphone out of his vest pocket and walked straight toward us.
