The Christmas Star by Donna VanLiere

Author:Donna VanLiere
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

THIRTEEN

Miriam pulls a wedding dress from the rack at Grandon Dress and Formal Wear and holds it in front of her. “What do you think of this one?” Lauren touches the dress but is quiet. “Just because this is my gift to you doesn’t mean I’m picking it out,” Miriam says. “This is your dress! So, what do you think?” Lauren shakes her head. “Too Laura Ingalls? I agree.” She reaches for another one, lifting it off the rack. “Well?”

“I don’t know…” Lauren looks at Gloria. “What do you think?”

“I think you need to choose a dress that you love,” Gloria says warmly.

“But Miriam, you’re…”

Gloria holds up her hand. “This is your wedding and this is Miriam’s gift to you. She’s not the one wearing this dress. Right, Miriam?”

“Absolutely! You simply must choose the dress that you love,” Miriam says, meaning it.

Lauren walks down the racks of dresses, moving each one until she finds a simple white satin dress with capped short sleeves. “I like this one.”

Miriam reaches for it. “But where’s the train?”

“I don’t want a train.”

“You don’t want a—” She stops when Gloria digs her finger into her arm. “Do you want a veil?” she asks, hopeful.

Lauren smirks. “Not really. I’m sorry, Miriam.”

Gloria laughs. “You don’t need to apologize to her! This is your wedding! Isn’t that right, Miriam?”

“Of course it is! But I think you’ll find that they have trains that can easily attach to the dress that would elongate and beautify it in a dramatic yet elegant—”

“Miriam!”

Miriam nods. “But elegance isn’t for everyone.”

“Always classy, Miriam,” Gloria whispers.

“I like this one too,” Lauren says, lifting one in breezy polyester. “And this one.”

Gloria and Miriam wait outside the dressing room and ooh and aah as Lauren models each dress. Lauren never thought something like this would happen to her. It was just one year ago that she sat waiting in a restaurant booth for her mom to show up, after years of being gone from her life. She never showed. Lauren thought that was the summation of her life and she failed to return to Glory’s Place for days on end, but then Travis showed up. He waited outside the grocery store where she worked as a cashier and wouldn’t let her walk away from Gloria, Miriam, Stacy, and all the kids at Glory’s Place. He encouraged her to show up again and she did, and now she’s staring at herself in wedding dresses.

“I asked Dalton to give me away,” Lauren says, looking at the back of one dress in the mirrors.

“When did you do that?” Gloria asks, reaching for a pack of M&M’s in her purse.

“Just yesterday. I drove over to their house and he and Heddy had just finished lunch and were about to eat some cake.”

“Was it her hummingbird cake?” Gloria asks, popping an M&M in her mouth. “She makes the best hummingbird cake.”

“It was red velvet.”

“Mmm,” Gloria says with enthusiasm. “That one is the best.” She notices Miriam staring at her and pops another M&M into her mouth.

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