Gulf Coast Wedding by Maggie Miller

Chapter Five

Sam loved all the pictures and texts she’d gotten from everyone attending Clayton’s game. Not only had they made her feel included, but they had also absolutely made her feel better about not being there. They’d also helped her ignore her mother calling twice and sending a barrage of texts about needing to talk.

Sam wasn’t the least bit interested in that. There was nothing her mother had to say that was going to change her mind about anything. Jillian was very much her mother’s daughter and Sam didn’t need any more stress.

The final report Levi had sent her had given Sam a little laugh and a deep feeling of empathy as it seemed the only truly exciting thing she’d missed was a player on the other team running the ball in for a touchdown the wrong way.

Poor kid. She imagined the player who’d done that must feel bad. Kids were sensitive at that age and Clayton was no exception.

Which made her realize as she walked into Bon Voyage Vintage that Clayton was also going to need something to wear for the wedding so he didn’t feel left out.

“Hi, Sam.” Agatha gave her a big smile. There was another woman in the shop, too, but Sam didn’t recognize her. “Are you ready to look at dresses?”

Sam nodded. “I am. But first, I have a question. Any chance you have a suit or a sport coat that might fit Clayton? Maybe some dark slacks? I just realized he’s going to need something nice to wear for the wedding too.”

Agatha glanced toward the racks. “I just got in some old uniforms from the Catholic school. I bet we could make one of those blazers work. Just take the emblem off. There are pants, too, and they’d probably just need hemming. We’ll get him taken care of, don’t you worry.”

“Great. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. I want to introduce you to my friend, Faith.” Agatha gestured at the other woman in the shop. “She’s a seamstress and she’s here to help with the dress. Chances are that whatever dress you find, it’s going to need some alterations. Faith can do them for you. And she’s very reasonable.”

That was unexpected. Sam hadn’t even thought about the dress needing to be altered, but it made perfect sense considering she was buying one second hand. “Hi, Faith. That was very kind of you to come. Thank you.” Even so, Sam hoped to find a dress that was a decent fit. Anything extra, as reasonable as it was, still meant spending money she didn’t have.

Faith smiled. “Happy to help.”

The door opened behind Sam, and Mia came rushing in. “Sorry, I’m late, but after I left the football game, I spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone.” She gave Sam a big smile. “Hi there, bride-to-be.”

“Hi, Mia. Thank you so much for doing all of this for me.”

“You’re welcome, but in all honesty, you and Levi have just become my Guinea pigs.” She laughed. “I’m using this as a test run for me to see just how good my wedding planning skills are. And right now? I’d say they’re better than average. What I can tell you so far is that Coffee is making your cake, plus a light meal of lemon chicken with orzo pasta and green beans. If that’s all right with you?”

Sam blinked. “All right? That sounds amazing. Wow. I don’t know what to say but thank you. I didn’t expect any of this, you know.”

“I know, but hold on to your hat,” Mia said. “Because I’m not done. Beach Blooms is going to provide all of your flowers for a very minimal fee. They’re going to take the flowers they’re doing for the photoshoot on Monday and rework them. Granted, you don’t get to pick the colors, but I’m sure they’ll be beautiful.”

Sam’s mouth came open. She’d imagined carrying a small bouquet made up from whatever she could find at Ludlow’s. “I’m sure they will. Real flowers. I’m blown away.”

Mia kept going. “Hilda is going to let us hang onto the plants we’re borrowing from her for the photoshoot, too. At least until after the ceremony. Those will really make the pictures look great. Speaking of, Griffin will handle the photography, and I’ve got Reverend Bartholomew all set to do the officiating.”

Sam shook her head, just staggered by all that Mia had done. “I can’t believe you did all of that. That’s…amazing.”

“I haven’t even told you all of it. See, I found out our newest housekeeping hire, Summer, plays the guitar and she’s offered to do the music for the ceremony.” Mia held her hands up. “All of this is subject to your approval. Naturally.”

Sam swallowed to stop herself from crying. All she could manage was to repeat herself. “I can’t believe you did all of that for Levi and me.”

Mia shrugged like it was no big deal. “I told you I just wanted to see what I could do.”

Sam wasn’t really buying that as Mia’s only reason. If Mia hadn’t cared, she wouldn’t have bothered. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you.”

“I don’t want or need repayment. Just to pull this day off as best as I can. And to give you guys a wonderful evening.” Mia’s gaze shifted, then her eyes suddenly went wide and she grabbed Sam’s hand. “Holy fireworks! That is some ring. When did you get that?”

Sam laughed. “Levi got it this morning and brought it to me at work. It’s something else, isn’t it? I told him it was too much, but…”

“Wow. That is spectacular.” Mia let go of Sam’s hand. “I got to meet him today at the game. I really like him. He’s such a good guy, Sam. And man, he adores Clayton. I’m so glad you guys were able to work things out.”

Sam nodded, looking at her ring. “Me too.”

Agatha came over with Faith right behind her. “I want to see the ring too.”

Sam showed it to them, the rarest feeling of being the center of attention making her slightly giddy. It wasn’t a feeling she was used to. Not for a good reason, anyway.

“Oh my,” Agatha said. “That man knows how to shop.”

“I’ll say.” Faith nodded.

Mia rubbed her hands together. “Let’s see those dresses. Don’t forget it’s Halloween and there’s trick or treating about to happen in less than an hour.”

Sam sucked in a breath. “Which means I need to be out of here in about forty-five minutes.”

That got them all moving.

Agatha led them over to a large wooden wardrobe against the far wall and opened the doors to reveal a rack of white and ivory gowns, some in clear plastic, some not.

Sam had expected five or six. Judging from the way they were packed together, it had to be more like twenty or thirty. “That’s a lot to pick from.”

Mia nodded. “It is. Why don’t I pull them so you can see them better, and we’ll divide them by what you like and what you don’t.”

“Perfect,” Sam said.

“There are newer dresses in there, but there are also some that go as far back as the sixties and seventies,” Agatha said. “It’s a real mix.”

“I’m not going to be picky,” Sam said. She meant it too. Not only was her time short this evening, but she couldn’t afford to not find something.

Mia pulled out the first few and showed them to Sam. One was lace, one was satin, and one was about five kinds of fabric.

“I like the first two. The third is too complicated.”

Mia hung the first two on the wardrobe door and stuck the third one back. They continued on this way until about they’d reached the middle of the rack, which was when Mia pulled out a dress that made Sam take a breath.

“Oh. That is so pretty.” The entire dress was lace, not something Sam had anticipated liking, but there was a softness to it that felt beachy and casual but beautiful at the same time. It looked like it might be an off-the-shoulder gown even though it had sleeves.

From the waistline, it fell in gentle tiers, accented with satin ribbon. The shoulders had a little ribbon detail, too, along with some small roses made of the same ribbon. Another length of that ribbon served as a belt at the waist, tying in the back. The dress was very pretty, but more than that, it spoke to Sam. She loved the bohemian vibe it was giving off. “I want to try that one on right now.”

With a big grin, Mia handed her the dress. “There you go. Let’s see it.”

Sam took it and slipped into the dressing room. She shed her black sweater and jeans and got into the gown as quickly as she could. She didn’t look in the mirror until it was on, which took a moment due to a small struggle with the zipper.

She turned to see herself.

And smiled. The dress was too big. And she didn’t love the sleeves. But everything else about it was perfect.

She stepped out of the dressing room, biting her bottom lip. “What do you think? I know it’s too big. And the sleeves seem unnecessary, but besides that?”

“I think it’s lovely,” Agatha said. “And you look happy in it.”

Sam nodded. “I am. It’s my style.”

Faith came over and pinched the sides of the dress at Sam’s waist. “I can take this in easily.” She lifted the flounce of lace that lay across Sam’s shoulders to have a better look at the sleeves. “Taking the sleeves off would be even easier if you want them gone. Just a matter of ripping out the seam.”

“Really?” Sam looked at her. “How much do you think that would cost?”

“No more than twenty-five dollars.”

That was doable. Sam looked at Agatha next. “How much is the dress?”

“Not sure.” Agatha came around behind her and found the tag. “It’s got a blue dot on the tag, which means it’s been here a while. Hang on, let me get my calculator.”

She hurried back to the counter.

Sam glanced at Mia. “What do you think?”

“I think without sleeves, it would be perfect. There’s something perfectly beachy about that dress. It’s…easy. And I mean that in the best possible way.”

Sam nodded. “I know exactly what you mean.”

Agatha came back, calculator in hand. “Twelve fifty.”

Sam stared at her. “Twelve dollars and fifty cents?”

Agatha nodded. “That’s right.”

Sam almost couldn’t breathe. “Sold.”