SISTERS & HUSBANDS
Chapter 1 One Month Earlier Exactly four more weeks before her wedding day and Beverly couldn't believe how calm she felt. She stepped onto the carpeted platform at Vanessa's Bridal Boutique on a balmy Saturday afternoon in early June and was startled at what she saw staring back from the three-way mirror'a svelte but healthylooking woman, thanks to recent workouts at the gym, appearing fabulous in a strapless beaded ivory-colored satin gown. The dress was feminine but not frilly'she couldn't stand frilliness'and youthful but not too young'she was, after all, going to be a thirty-nine-year-old bride. It was a staggering transformation from her usual self, dressed casually in blue jeans or shorts, or a simple skirt and top for the offi ce at the newspaper where she worked. At this moment, she was the picture of elegant serenity. The same couldn't be said for her mother, standing just below, arms folded rigidly across her gray linen suit jacket, eyes narrowed tightly as she scrutinized every movement of the seamstress. Mama looked perturbed enough for all three of them, and she could be quite intimidating when she got in that state. It was a wonder the seamstress hadn't swallowed the pins dangling from her lips. 'Shouldn't it be a little higher off the ground?' Mama asked testily. The seamstress, a petite Latina named Isabella who looked to be in her late twenties, paused, stood up, and removed the straight pins from her mouth. It was a small fi tting room at the rear of the Baltimore bridal boutique, with just enough space for the platform and three-way mirror, a couch, a coffee table piled high with back issues of Brides magazine, and a rack of coralcolored bridesmaid gowns. The air was fi lled with lint from fabrics of all kinds'silk, satin, brocade, lace'and aligned along one wall were a half-dozen pairs of well-worn white heels in various sizes and heights. 'A lot of brides prefer their gowns just touching the ground,' Isabella said with a slight accent and studied patience. 'For a more graceful look.' She shrugged. 'But I can make it long or short, whatever you wish.' 'I like it like this,' Beverly said fi rmly. 'It's perfect.' Mama touched her chin thoughtfully. 'Are you sure? I worry that the hemline will get dirty.' 'It's not like I'll be running down the street in the dress, Ma.' 'Hmm. Go ahead, then, if that's what you want.' Isabella stuck the pins in her mouth and got back down to business. 'I still can't believe you're standing here for your fi rst fi tting only a month before your wedding day,' Mama said for the third time that afternoon. 'When your sisters got married they had'' 'Ma, please. We're not having a gigantic over-the-top affair like they did. It's just family and close friends. Now why don't you sit down and relax?' She and Julian had agreed that they didn't want one of those three-hundred-guest gazilliondollar extravaganzas that left everyone in debt for years to come. Instead, they would go for something more intimate, with around a hundred people. 'I'm fi ne.' Mama smacked her lips, glanced at her watch, peeked behind the curtain toward the entrance to the bridal shop, and whipped her cell phone out of her purse practically all at once, which told Beverly she was not fi ne. Not even close. 'Who are you calling, Ma?' 'Your sisters,' Mama said, dialing anxiously. 'They're already fi fteen minutes late. I want to make sure everyone gets here for their fi tting before I leave to go see the fl orist about the fl owers for decorating the reception area.' As if on cue, Beverly heard the front door of the boutique squeak open, and a few seconds later, her oldest sister rushed into the fi tting room looking slim and chic in a buttery yellow pantsuit and a pair of cute black patent-leather sandals. Beverly always found it hard to believe that Evelyn was forty-seven years old. People often thought that Evelyn was younger than their middle sister, Charmaine, who had just turned forty-fi ve. Of course, being asked if she was the oldest always thoroughly pissed Charmaine off. Beverly suspected that Evelyn's youthful looks had to do with the way she always managed to seem so calm and collected, so sure of herself. Beverly liked to joke that a tornado could strike, tossing and turning everything and everyone in its path, and when it was over, Evelyn would be standing with her neat pixie haircut and little designer suit perfectly in place. Even now, as Evelyn darted into the fi tting room, she looked totally put together, as if she were about to take a front-row seat near the runway at a fashion show in New York or Paris. 'Sorry to be so late,' Evelyn said. 'Traffi c was backed up coming into Baltimore like you wouldn't believe.' Evelyn eyed Beverly, placed her hands on her hips, and smiled broadly. 'You look absolutely stunning in that dress, girl. It's gorgeous.' Beverly smiled. 'Thanks.' 'Designer?' 'Uh, no name that you would recognize, Evelyn.' Evelyn cocked her head to the side. 'Isn't it a little too long?' Beverly threw her hands in the air. 'That's what I told her,' Mama said as she paced the fl oor and dialed another number on her cell phone. The seamstress paused again, looking bewildered. 'Just ignore them and continue, please,' Beverly said to Isabella. 'The length is fi ne,' she said with pointed fi nality to everyone else. 'If you say so,' Evelyn said, looking doubtful. 'Don't mind me, then. Who are you calling, Ma?' 'Charmaine,' Mama said as she put the phone to her ear. 'Oh, I meant to tell you,' Evelyn said as she placed her Fendi handbag on the coffee table. 'Charmaine called just before I left the house. She's running late because Valerie called crying and carrying on.' 'Uh-oh,' Mama said. She snapped her cell phone shut. 'What happened?' Beverly asked. 'Valerie and Otis had a big blowup last night, and now Valerie's too upset to come here today. She wants to be fi tted another time.' Mama sighed loudly. 'That sounds serious,' Beverly said, frowning. 'Wonder why she didn't call me.' Valerie was Beverly's somewhat kooky, motormouth, astrology-loving best friend, and they told each other just about everything. 'She probably didn't want to upset you by talking about having a big fi ght with her fi anc' on the day you're being fi tted for your wedding dress,' Mama said. 'She's trying to be a good friend to you.' And she might also be embarrassed, Beverly thought. Valerie was forty-one years old and had been itching to get married again ever since her fi rst marriage right after high school fi zzled within two years. She and Valerie had both recently gotten engaged at about the same time and had originally planned a double wedding. Then about a week ago, Valerie changed her mind about them getting married together, saying she thought the whole idea was too corny for a couple of mature brides. Beverly had suspected that Valerie was actually worried that Beverly would call off her wedding at the last minute. Valerie's decision not to have a double wedding had disappointed Beverly at fi rst, but she got over it. How could she argue? She had broken off no less than two previous engagements'one about fi ve years ago, the other a year before she met Julian. So Beverly and Valerie decided that Beverly would get married at the end of June, and Valerie would walk down the aisle a few weeks later. Now it looked as if Valerie's wedding might be the one called off, and Valerie was too ashamed to tell her. 'I agree with Ma,' Evelyn said. 'She's trying to be considerate of you.' Beverly nodded with understanding. 'She's probably crushed. I'll have to call her as soon as we're done here.' 'Girls, my heart goes out to Valerie,' Mama said. 'But I don't think this is the time or the place to dwell on that. This is Beverly's moment. We should think happy, positive thoughts. And you need to get into your dress, Evelyn. It's up there on the rack.' The seamstress paused and stood to help Evelyn pick her gown out from among the three coral satin bridesmaid gowns hanging on a rack. 'Ma is so jittery,' Beverly said to Evelyn. 'I think she's afraid I'll chicken out.' 'Can you blame her?' Evelyn asked, folding her dress over her arm. 'You have commitment issues.' Beverly's hands fl ew to her waist indignantly. 'I don't need you to tell me that.' 'Anyone who's thirty-nine years old and never been married has commitment issues,' Evelyn said. 'you're as bad as Julia Roberts in Runaway Bride.' 'Did you hear me?' Beverly asked. 'I'm agreeing with you. At least I'm doing something about it. I'm committing for real this time. And I need to remind you, I never waited until days or hours before the wedding to call it off.' 'No, only two weeks,' Evelyn said sarcastically, just before ducking behind the curtain leading into the dressing room. 'The last one was eleven days before,' Mama added. Beverly smiled guiltily. 'That's better than going through with it if I'm not sure.' Mama nodded. 'I agree. It's still nerve-racking. Not to mention expensive. Be glad you have such a loving father.' Now that made Beverly feel bad. Both times she had backed out before, her parents lost a couple of thousand nonrefundable dollars that they had put down on the reception hall. Beverly had offered to reimburse them, but her father refused to take her money, saying he'd rather lose a few bucks than have his daughter marry the wrong man. Still, her folks were in their mid-seventies and living on retirement plans. They didn't need a confused daughter wasting their money. 'Sorry about that, Ma, but you don't have to worry this time. Julian's a keeper.' 'It's not Julian I'm worried about,' Mama said, giving Beverly a pointed look. 'I can see how much he loves you.' 'I'm defi nitely not going to change my mind this time. I think I fi nally got it right. No, I know I did.' 'I sure hope so,' Mama said. Isabella stepped back. 'All done. What do you think? Everything okay?' Beverly twirled around slowly as her mother looked on proudly. 'It's beautiful,' Mama said. 'I'm defi nitely feeling this,' Beverly said as she admired the dress. 'You do outstanding work, Isabella.' 'So how many more fi ttings today?' Isabella asked as Beverly stepped down from the podium. 'We have her two sisters for the bridesmaid dresses,' Mama explained. 'Evelyn just went into the dressing room, and Charmaine is on her way. Unfortunately the matron of honor won't be coming. We'll have to reschedule her.' Evelyn exited the dressing room in her bridesmaid gown and stepped up onto the podium as Beverly went in to change. Beverly walked out a few minutes later in jeans and a blue-and-whitestriped top just as Charmaine parted the curtains and blew into the fi tting room wearing a black form-hugging skirt slit up to the thigh. Beverly always thought of Charmaine as a force of nature. One didn't just see Charmaine or hear her talk. You felt her, breathed her, experienced her. Beverly suspected that today would be no exception as Charmaine placed her hands on her hips and struck a pose in the entryway, ' la Dorothy Dandridge or Marilyn Monroe. 'I'm here, ladies!'
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