Spangled to Death by Barbara Schlichting

Author:Barbara Schlichting
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbara Schlichting
Published: 2024-05-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter fifteen

Fortunately, my mother’s boxed wedding dress was already placed in my room. I took it when I left for Aaron’s. My grandparents slept in my bed that evening. Grandma had to straighten up their bedroom so we set aside Sunday to do it. Since I was still shaken from the previous days’ events, Maggie picked me up for our excursion to shop for wedding accessories along with her bridesmaid dress.

A ring of suburbs surrounded Minneapolis and St. Paul. One of them, Bloomington, was the home of the Mall of America. We decided to make a quick stop there to look at dresses. The two of us hadn’t been out together in eons, ever since I got the brilliant idea to open my business. The morning sunshine felt wonderful, causing me to put on my sunglasses to fend off the snow’s glare. The mall’s parking lots were filling up with holiday shoppers, but we were lucky at finding a spot. After parking, we hustled inside.

“Let’s get a coffee first and watch all the good looking guys go by,” Maggie gushed. She’d just split with her boyfriend of two years, and I felt sorry for her.

“Double shots.” We hiked to the nearest coffee shop and ordered.

“Should we buy my dress today, or what’s your plan?” Maggie took a sip of her coffee as we located a small table nearby.

“If we find something, then we buy. No time to lose, you know.”

“What color?”

“I’d like red with white cuffs. Something like the gowns from the old movie, White Christmas, with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.” I caught her looking at some fantastic man who was strolling by. “The colors will go great with your dark hair. There’s so darn many stores. Let’s just drink up and hit the nearest, and then go someplace else.”

“I’m in agreement.” Maggie picked up her cup and started walking away with me right beside her.

“Why do you think Dorrie never told us about her marriage?” We stopped a moment. “What are your thoughts on this? Why keep it secret?”

“Geez. I really can’t say. Dorrie was always jealous of you. She’d always try to wear similar clothes and do her hair the same way as you, remember? She always wanted to be seen and maybe her jealousy holds through to today.”

“How so?”

“Aaron’s a police officer and her husband’s a chauffeur. That might upset her.”

“It shouldn’t, but it makes you kinda wonder, doesn’t it?” We kept hiking briskly around the perimeter of the mall until finally we slowed to a normal walking pace. The bridal shop was around the corner, and we entered. After Maggie tried on three dresses, we decided to look elsewhere because they didn’t fit properly. We drove to a privately owned store in Edina, another nearby suburb. The owner, Debbie, showed us a beautiful short-length, empire-waist dress, which fit Maggie nicely. Next, Debbie, who was also a seamstress, fitted my mother’s wedding dress for me. Little needed to be done since it had been well-cared for over the years.

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