know what, Lara? I’m gonna sleep on it. Maybe I’ll be able to decide more easily in the morning. Now let’s look for your dress.”
Oh heck, this was the moment I’d been dreading. Missy pulled dresses from the racks, piling them up one after another on the poor sales assistant trailing behind. A bead of sweat dripped down the girl’s face, and I feared she’d collapse under the weight.
“Why don’t I start trying these on?” I suggested.
“I guess we can always come back for more.”
Dresses one through four ranged from bad to terrible, and I cringed inwardly at my reflection as I plastered on a smile. Then when Theresa fastened me into the fifth, Missy’s face lit up.
“That’s it! That’s the dress! Sweet sugar, you look fantastic! We’ll take it!”
“It” was a hot-pink strapless number with a tight bodice and frilly skirt. If you want a visual, picture one of those dolls that people of a certain age used to cover up the spare rolls of toilet paper. But it was Missy’s special day, and she liked the awful frock, therefore I’d wear it. I barely knew anybody who’d be going to the wedding, anyway. Most of the guests were from Clyde’s extended family. On the few occasions I’d met them, every second dragged into an hour.
Worst was Clyde’s brother. Clyde may have been a sweetheart, but his brother got held up in the idiot line when God dished the genes out. He was one of those slimy men who kept touching your arm while they talked to you. Or in his case, talked to my chest. If anyone asked him to describe what I actually looked like, he’d be out of answers beyond “G cup.” Hmm. Perhaps Missy’s choice of dress would be a blessing in disguise—the skirt was so enormous he wouldn’t be able to get near me. I mulled that over as I stared absentmindedly out of the window. Should I get Missy to go for something even pouffier?
Then I saw him.
Billy marched past on the sidewalk opposite, a blonde trailing along behind him. Her eyes focused on the ground as her shoulders slumped forward, defeated. I glanced up at the sky where grey clouds gathered overhead, threatening rain. So why was she wearing sunglasses?
Missy must have heard my gasp because she flew to my side in an instant. We skulked behind a mannequin, watching as they carried on along the street.
“When you said he’d come back, I thought you meant alone.”
She threw up her hands. “I didn’t know he had a new girlfriend, I swear.”
“She looks like me.”
“She’s the same height, but her hair’s different.”
“I meant her posture. The way she walks. She’s given up.”
Missy stared after them as they disappeared around the corner. “You might be right.”
“I know I am. He’s doing the same thing to her as he did to me. Breaking her. We have to do something to help.”
“Like what? He’s Billy Cooper. His dad owns half the town.”
“I don’t know. But we can’t just ignore it.”
My mouth was dry, and I wanted to be sick. The world turned black, despite the array of garish dresses Theresa held in her arms.
“Ladies, I have some more gowns you may prefer,” she said.
I couldn’t bring myself to try on anything else.
Thankfully, Missy picked up on my mood. “No need, we’ll go with the pink one.”
“Excellent! Now we just have shoes to select. We can dye them to match the dress.”
I shoved my feet into the closest pair, saying a silent prayer that they’d fit. Close enough. I’d get a blister if I tried to walk too far, but since I never danced at weddings or anywhere else, I’d get away with them. I tried to smile.
“These are good.”
“Are you sure?” Missy asked, worry lines crinkling her forehead.
I nodded. “Can we leave now?”
Missy still insisted on going to the movie in the evening. She said a nice comedy would take my mind off things. It didn’t. All it did was give me more time to agonise over what I’d seen earlier. When that girl walked down the street, it was a flashback to my times with Billy, and I had to fight from being sick in the middle of the theatre. How many times had I done the exact same thing? When I moved back to Momma’s, I’d thrown my sunglasses against the wall in a fit of anger when I found them in my bag.
While I may not have known Billy’s new girl, I sure