Who Loves Her? (4 page)

“Susan?”

“What, Mom? I can’t always answer my phone, you know
.”

“Did you like the casserole?

Yea…”

“Well, I guess I’ll….”

“Mom?”

“Yes, Susan.”

“I’m sorry about the crack about Anna.  That’s wasn’t cool.”

“We’re worried about you Susan.”

“Don’t worry, Mom.  I’m working for Uncle Lars, here at the Skylark.  What could go wrong?”

“We need to talk, h
oney.”

“Later, Mom
.  Thanks for the casserole.”

Damnit
, Mom…where was I…she scanned the last few paragraphs and remembered.  As she saved her work to be on the safe side, she found her room fading, the clicking of fan replaced by the young woman with wet hair and a secret love.

***

Nina knocked on the door of her room.  Susan was startled as she reminded herself that Bob was in the past and that Harris was going to be her perfect future.  She looked into her compact to make sure her eyes were not puffy…well, not
too
puffy.  As an afterthought she glanced back for any hint of guilt or shame.  With a smirk, she shook her head in disgust and wondered as she opened the door to her nosey friend Nina.

“You, o
kay?” Nina inquired as she came bounding into the room.  She seemed to scope every corner of the room and each shelf in an instant, as if looking for clues of some great mystery or evil crime.  Dissatisfied, she turned and demanded:  “Are you okay!”

“
Of course, I am,” Susan stammered, “why wouldn’t I be?” Nina looked across the room, studying them both in the full length mirror.  Then she sighed.  “All the girls and Anna are working double time to get your wedding together this afternoon.  You think you might want to help us?  I bet you’re going to tell me your dress is not ready yet?”  The clock ticked in the hallway as Susan noticed the dust particles floating in the morning sunlight shimmering through the window.  As she wondered at their lazy drifting movements, it occurred to her, it was her wedding day!

Suddenly, as if a veil of fog ha
d been jerked violently from her mind, Susan remembered the dress.  A sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach came quickly as she realized not only had she forgotten her wedding day, but she had failed to track the delivery of her gown.  The dress!  As her heart quickened, her eyes darted to the bed and back before exclaiming, “My dress is not here!  Really? It has not been delivered yet? How could I be so stupid?” She looked at Nina in silence as Nina tilted her head with soft inquiry, the silence filled with unspoken questions from them both before Susan responded in resignation:  “How could I let this happen?” Nina smiled and faced Susan: “Don’t worry, we were prepared for this.  It is going to be okay,” Nina winked, her tone convincing.

As the two young women trampled down the hallway, Susan continued to bemoan
her stupidity and the lack of a dress.  “I’m serious Nina!  How did this happen? Mom told me it would be ready last week, but I just never thought to ask!  I guess I just thought someone had delivered it, and it was going to be perfect,” Susan said in disbelief.

“I
know, your highness.  Queen of the Apple Fest and High Princess of Alexandria!” Nina teased.  “We are all going to the dress shop, so would you mind focusing on your wedding for the next three hours and we’ll get this thing whipped into shape!” Nina gave Susan a quick hug as she asked, “so where did you order the rest of the things?  Harris and St.  Olaf’s are not expecting you until three o’clock.  We will figure it out.”

Like soldier
s destined for the battleground, Nina, Adele, Anita, Becky, Alicia and of course, Anna, all piled into various cars to mount a full frontal assault on Jenna’s Bridal.  Susan laughed as Nina and Becky fought for the front seat.  In her controlled, quiet way, Anna slipped into the back with Nina.  The church and reception hall were already booked and her parents were frantically working to get everything decorated.  They just needed the dress and a few of the flower arrangements for the dinner after the ceremony.

Susan was driving
, of course.  Nina sat in the back with Anita.  She bit her lip with worry as she looked at the back of Susan’s neck.  Susan had always scratched when she was stressed.  Usually, she was able to hide it because her hair would be hooked behind her left ear. Nobody would ever notice, but Nina knew it was there. The little pink tinge behind Susan’s ear worried Nina as it seemed a little bigger than usual.  Everyone else was just having a good time teasing the new bride to be.  Nina joined in with the festivities.  “I heard Harris has three younger brothers,” Nina cat called from the back seat, “and all three are hot!”

“Oh come on now, so now you want to ho
ne in on my empire? You calling me a gold digger?” Susan teased back.

“
Your
wealth Apple-Fest queen?  Don’t worry at all, my Queen.  I’d share it if little Billy would give it up,” Becky insisted, glancing at Susan beside her.  The car erupted in laughter.

“Billy
is still a pimply geek at ATCC,” Nina argued.

“I’ll wait,
” Becky said.  The car erupted and giggled again.

“
Am I missing a point here or what?” Susan was debating with herself.  Bob had been flashing in and out of her dreams the last few days and she wasn’t sure the last time she’d gotten the refill.  Suddenly, she found herself irritated by the playful banter.

“
Well, once she’s married, don’t count yourself so sure that Harris is off the market.  You might just get a piece of the action, even if you don’t want a piece of Bill’s Chevrolet.  We all know how to get the
rock bottom prices
down at Bill’s.”

Beck
y chimed in, “Yea, his rock.  You’re bottom.”  The car broke into more fits of laughter.

“
SHUT UP!”  Susan slammed on the brakes and everyone looked at Nina as to what to do next.

“Nobody meant any
thing, Sue.  We’re just out for a drive.  Remember the wedding day?”

“
So, am I the only gold digger here, or what?  Wait ‘til I tell Mom.”

“
No,” Anna replied.  “Don’t you dare do that.”

“Why?” asked Susan.

“Because I said so, that’s why,” Anna replied back.

“Besides, we all know old Bill has no rock anymore and now Harris has Susan’s bottom
.  If we want a discount we’ll have to drive on down I-94 and just wear a tight sweater,” Becky offered.  Nina studied her nails and nibbled on her cuticle a little.

They all laughed together
.  The rest of the ride was uneventful and the conversation stayed on par with what all of them used to talk about in the locker room.  Everyone laughed and had a good time.  Nina would laugh and stare at Susan’s ear, and then look down at her own cuticle and wonder how it would all play out.  After all, Susan was supposed to fly away to Sioux Falls after the wedding, where Harris was settled in trying to set up some new accounts for Bill’s Chevrolet.  He promised her it wouldn’t be long and they would come back to take Alexandria by a storm.  Susan’s friends wouldn’t all have the same kind of chance to laugh and giggle again together for a while.

The girls squealed happily as the car pulled into Jenna’s where the dress was ordered. The whole car of rowdy women piled out to come to the aid of the bride.  Susan stood from the car and laughed at her friends.  The sun was shining bright and the sky was so beautiful.  Susan noticed one cloud that looked like a beautiful southern belle full-gowned bride, walking regally down the aisle of the sky.  Susan rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“Get ahold of yourself Susan
!  You are getting kooky from all this silly wedding mess!”

“Hurry Susan, what are you waiting on?” Anna called.

“Are you okay, friend?” Nina put her arm around Susan’s waist and smiled, “Maybe a margarita after getting the dress to calm your nerves?” Nina winked happily as they hurried toward the store.

Susan stopped to drink in the pleasant atmosphere of the formals and tuxedos lining the wall
.  She looked around thinking to herself, “all this elegance in one place; the greatest space of potential for greatness that I have ever seen in my young life.”  She hoped silently that this would not be the end of great things in her life following marriage to Harris.

“
Hello, I’m Susan.  I called earlier yesterday and they said my dress would be ready.

“
I have a claim ticket here.” Susan pulled out the ticket from her purse, but the older clerk just eyed her silently.

As she reached out for the claim ticket, the younger cler
k returned from the back room.  As the other girls browsed through the store, oohing and ahhing at all the lovely dresses, the older woman tried to hand the ticket back to Susan.

“I am afraid we have a problem, ma’am.”

“I don’t understand ma’am.  The dress was supposed to have been ready last week.”

“
Well, we had a mix-up that resulted in some staff turnover.  Your order was one that got caught up in the mess.  We identified the oversight just this morning, and we have already re-ordered your dress.  I am very sorry, but I am afraid the dress is just not available.”

“But why?”
Susan was shocked.

“I am very sorry
, miss.  I can see you are very disappointed.”

“Disappointed?
Do I look disappointed to you? This is not disappointment ma’am, I am literally freaking out!” The woman grew visibly calmer as Susan shrieked in her surprise.

The older woman
looked at Susan in a stern way. “I have already explained myself.”

The younger clerk came closer; her eyes growing in surprise as the girls began to gather around their bride
.  Like a flock of hens laying eggs, the girlfriends clucked at one another about the news of the lost dress.

“T
hey don’t have her dress!”

“W
hat? How is that possible!  Did she pay for it?”

“O
h no!  Her dress was stolen?”

“NO the dress was not stolen,
the store made a mistake!”

“W
ell if the store screwed up, they have to fix it!”

Finally, nearly in unison, three or four voices spoke
.  “When will it be ready then?”

Nina stepped up to take over as she noticed the faint but distinct trembling of Susan’s hands
.  “Ma’am ,I don’t think you understand our situation.  The wedding is today, and if we have no dress, then we will have no bride.”

The younger clerk hurried over to offer her help to the upset bridal party
.  She turned to the older clerk and spoke urgently in a hushed tone.  Susan could discern a few words that suggested perhaps Susan could take an alternative dress…one that was already available in the store.

The older clerk hissed at the young woman, “absolutely not” as she shook her head.

The woman from the counter was either irritated by the situation or she was embarrassed by her situation.  In either case there was nothing she would do to help.  She looked at Nina and stated quite clearly: “You and your friends will have to leave if there is nothing more I can help you with.  The wedding gown will be available after our next shipment.”

“When will that be?”
Nina felt foolish for even asking.

“Who knows?
” she said, shrugging her wide shoulders, “at least by summer.” 

“What?” Susan stood frozen.  A look of disbelief etched onto her face. A hushed silence stopped all the girls in their tracks and you could have heard a pin drop.

Nina
broke Susan’s frozen stance and icy silence.  In a quick rush she took up position firmly beside her friend as she turned on the saleslady.  In a low, overtly calm voice, she hissed, “Did you say this
summer
?” Susan lost it, throwing her purse on the ground and knocking the bow-tie display onto the ground.  The clerk’s eyes got wide as Susan trembled, “Listen ma’am, I NEED MY DRESS!” she shrieked.  Her girlfriends backed away as Nina tried to bring her waving, swinging right arm around Susan’s body.  Susan didn’t fight Nina, but she kept ranting at the clerk.

“
Today is my wedding day!  I back-ordered this dress six-months ago to get married on Valentine’s Day!  We have vanilla cupcakes melting with red frosting!  Look!  I have the receipt, and I do believe my aunt knows the repute of this store.  She was the one who suggested it; she is a friend of the owner!  I demand my dress right away!”  Susan had the most bittersweet smile on her face as she let Nina hug her from behind.  Curiously, a wave of relief came crashing down around her in that bittersweet moment.  Relief? How strange she thought to herself.

The
other girls all watched in shock as Nina and Susan stood arm in arm--united against an enemy they could not define.  Somehow the clerk had become the one who had personally destroyed the dress.  Susan somehow got the idea this cold old woman could make the dress magically appear if she so wanted.  Between wringing her hands and shuffling through inconsequential papers, the younger clerk gave the clear impression she was both incompetent and weak.  The clerk stammered helplessly, “I will see what I can do.”

Others in the store just stopped and stared as
Nina rubbed Susan’s back; her low voice providing confidence that Susan did not feel. With the respite provided by the unusual sense of relief, Susan’s wits returned to her.  In a moment of emotional desperation, she tried to bribe the clerk.

“Maybe y
ou have misplaced the dress; perhaps filed it under the wrong name?” As she recalled her previous reverie she pointed in earnest at the clerk, “I know!  Someone else took the delivery and you simply did not know the dress had ever arrived!” She pulled twenty dollars from her purse.  Susan’s voice calmed.

“
Look, I know how hard jobs are.  Perhaps we could settle this another way.” 

“Ma’am I am just so sorry
.  I wish I could help you but she…” the younger clerk’s voice trailed away as Susan continued undeterred.  As if by some magical miracle of the almighty dollar, Susan decided to buy the dress into existence.

“
I don’t care how much it costs.  Just tell me what you want and it is yours!”  Susan opened her purse again and pulled out more bills, ignoring the total value, but smiling wider and batting her eyes.

Insulted
or just exhausted, the clerk stiffened and without responding to Susan’s impossible offer, she quickly walked away.  As she carried a bow-tie display through a door marked “Employees Only” she pronounced with authority.  “There is no dress--nothing can be done.”  With that, she disappeared from their sight.  The girls looked at one another in angry disbelief.  At some point, a worried giggle escaped Anna’s body and the other girls jumped as if to protect her from Susan’s inevitable angry response.

Amazingly, Susan did not turn on Anna’s mirth in anger
.  Instead she looked into her sister’s eyes as a slow smile crept across her face.  “You are exactly right little sister!  This
is
funny!” The other girls instinctively stepped away from Susan and her sister as one instinctively avoids a crazy person.

“And because it is my wedding day and this cruel joke has happened, I am going to get the last laugh!”
Susan paused a moment and looked out across the room as if planning a course of attack.

The wedding was later that day, and they still had to
drive to St. Olaf’s.  Susan wheeled around and began searching through the dress rack.  The clattering sound of metal hangers on aluminum poles and scratchy sounds of taffeta being jostled about without care prompted the girls to retreat even further.  Nina and Anna looked at one another and gulped before Anna whispered, “Uhm Sis? Exactly what are you doing?” Susan exclaimed triumphantly as she finally pulled a dress from the rack: “I am finding my wedding gown!” The girlfriends all looked at each other in confused disbelief and fear.

Susan disappeared from the store and into the din of the mall; silently they watched her back before leaving
.  One by one they hurried after her, unsure of what to expect.  Anna took a couple steps slower than the rest, checking for signs of the returning clerk. No one could believe what they had just seen.  As they came to a stop outside, Nina blew one stray curl out from in front of her face and looked up at the ceiling for a divine intervention or a hint as to what to do.  As the girls rushed from the mall, they stopped in the bright sunshine and waited.

A
delle’s car pulled into the parking lot with the rest of the girls because they had gotten stuck in traffic.  Because they had not witnessed the bizarre dress--stealing breakdown, the others provided a calming influence to Becky, Nina, and Adele.  Becky was waving her arms and ranting, her red hair flying back and forth as she frantically went from screaming at Susan to looking behind them for the shoplifting cavalry.  Susan and Nina were laughing triumphantly and imagining the look on the clerk’s face.  Anna, however, was level and calm.  With an intent stare and a voice dripping with concern, she whispered.

“W
hat do you think you are doing, Susan?” Anna asked her sister.

“I hope this is not too
scary
, girls.  They deserve it.  It’s my day!”  Susan replied.

“I am scared
.  You are scaring us, Susan, and do you know that it is robbery, to be precise?” Anna asked in a conspiratorial tone.

“Shoplifting,” Nina corrected
, then giggled.

When Susan came out of the shop
’s front waiting area into the mall, she had noticed an increase of commotion.  Suddenly, there by the curb, the noisy commotion grew louder.  With shock, the girls realized it was a small marching band setting up for a light performance at the entrance of the mall.  Susan persuaded her friends to have a cold drink before heading home.  For some strange reason she was quite thirsty, but even more importantly she wanted to hear this band.  The excitement of her new status as thief was in some ways rewarding and exciting.  In that one moment of grabbing the dress and fleeing, she felt alive and in control of her destiny.

S
usan looked at Anna and laughed. “Anna!  Don’t you realize if I had not taken the dress then I would not be marrying Harris today!  I had no other choice.”  Although her voice sounded happy, Susan was disappointed when she listened to her own voice.  Maybe she should not have taken the dress, a soft voice whispered inside.

Anna finally got rattled,
“Yeah, a drink is what we need now.  Why don’t we just jump up and down and scream?  Why don’t I just wave that dress that Susan shoplifted and yell at the mall cops: ‘
Over here!  Come and get me here!
”’ Anna rubbed her temples as she ordered drinks for everyone.  The girls began to look for the safest seating to retain their privacy.

“Listen girls, we are outside now
.  Obviously no one saw us or they would be out here with us.  There were no cameras and no security guards.  I think we are in the clear.”  Susan looked back toward the mall doors.

“Don’t worry, let’s have the drink
and think it all over.  If security comes outside,

t
hen we’ll just explain that I got confused or something.  What do you say?” Susan insisted.

“
Besides,” she continued, “we’ll put the dress in my car and no one will ever know.”

Beck
y grabbed the dress to put in Susan’s trunk as the others walked toward the coffee shop.  They sat down at a table giving each other looks of concerned disbelief.  The hiss of the coffee maker almost drowned out the pounding in Susan’s temple.  Anna walked back to the table with the drinks and looked through the window into the mall toward the bridal shop.  As Susan watched the band, a bemused smile on her lips; Nina noticed a man leaving the bridal store.  All of a sudden she realized he was accompanied by several well-dressed men, and they were heading straight to the girls’ table.  One approached Susan and asked if he could give her a nice Greek Wedding.  Playfully the men mimicked the bad, singing and clapping as they all finished their coffee and drinks.

It turned out the men were performers
.  Susan and Nina were delighted when they walked up with the band and began to perform.  The tallest of the men stayed behind.  As he spoke with Susan in a warm, protective voice, he offered their talent for her wedding.

“We
will provide entertainment so you will forget all about the mishaps of today.  You can have a great celebration,” he said.  The dancing and singing group sang in chorus, really awkward, but very funny.  Adele winked at Nina and smiled.  Susan replied, calling over her shoulder as Nina dragged her away, “Well, thanks guys, but I have to get back to the church.”

Susan wondered if it occurred to anyone how unusual to have a wedding band sharing drinks and song with the wedding party after an insane bride has just stolen her gown
.  Susan could not shake a growing sense of disaster that something was just not right. 

“What a strange town I am in,” she thought.

“Susan!  What are you doing? We have a wedding to get to,” Nina shouted and motioned for their friend to join them.