Taking Charge (38 page)

“I have a Dyson, too. It’s second-hand, but it still
sucks real well,” Sarah chipped in.

“Goodness! People sure vacuum a great deal around
here,” Martha said.

“Don’t we all?” Robyn asked, rolling her eyes.

“Well, if you have the time, I guess. I try and avoid
it as much as possible now that the boys have left home,” Martha
told them.

Sarah stifled a laugh.

“Shall we go in?” Robyn suggested hastily.

“Sure, honey. I have your daddy’s credit card—this
dress is on him,” Nancy announced.

“Oh no, he doesn’t need to do that. I have money,”
Robyn said.

“He wants to, honey, almost made me have the PIN
tattooed on my butt before I came here,” Nancy said with a
cackle.

“Okay, well, let’s go,” Robyn said, leading the way
into the mall.

His mom had looked a little tired today. She said she
was sleeping, but he wasn’t sure she was telling him the truth. And
she hadn’t even mentioned Bryn. Perhaps she had resigned herself to
the fact that a reconciliation wasn’t going to happen. The idea of
that would be killing her.

Cole picked up the phone and forced himself to press
a sequence of numbers. He took a deep breath and looked out of the
window at the park. Two boys were chasing each other with small
branches from a tree, using them like fencing swords.

“Bryn, it’s Cole. Listen, don’t hang up, I haven’t
called to fight. This is stupid. I want to move on.”

“Pam is carrying like ten dresses. Is she expecting
me to try them all on?” Robyn asked Sarah.

“I think that’s exactly why she’s holding them,”
Sarah said, browsing the racks.

“Can you try some of them on? I mean, they might be
perfect for you.”

“They might be perfect for you.”

“I can barely see her under them! There are more
pearls in there than in a whole colony of oysters.”

“You can’t see them properly over her arms like
that.”

“I can see enough.”

“Well, what style are you looking for?” Sarah asked,
looking up at a crystal embroidered bodice.

“I don’t know, I’ve never looked at wedding dresses
before.”

“But you must have some idea.”

“Must I? Oh jeez, Nancy’s in the spangly section and
Martha’s looking at stoles. What am I going to do?” Robyn
asked.

“Suck it up.”

“Like your second-hand Dyson?”

“Robyn, honey! I’ve picked some beautiful gowns for
you to try on,” Pam called, waving her arms underneath a blanket of
tulle.

“Great!” Robyn said, faking excitement.

“Sugar, there’s some real pretty gold ones over
here,” Nancy called.

“Have you thought about a stole or a wrap? It’s bound
to be windy by the lake,” Martha added.

“This was such a bad idea,” Robyn murmured to
Sarah.

“Well, I’m going to try this one on,” Sarah said,
taking a dress down from the rack.

“Just one? The crazy women over there are expecting
me to make a whole day of it!”

“Come on, I don’t see the problem. You’re looking for
something beautiful to wear when you marry Cole. Cole, the gorgeous
guy you met on a plane, the one who swept you off your feet, the
guy who adores you,” Sarah reminded her.

“I know. That’s why it’s got to be right,” Robyn said
with a frustrated sigh.

“It’s nerves,” Sarah decided.

“It isn’t nerves, I’m not nervous. I have nothing to
be nervous about, right?”

“Then look excited about it! You’re getting married!
On Friday!” Sarah reminded her enthusiastically.

“I know!” Robyn said, this time with a happy
smile.

She was excited. She was so excited she could almost
burst. Cole was amazing.

“Then let’s get an assistant to help us try on
everything in the whole damn store,” Sarah suggested.

“We’ll need snacks,” Robyn said.

“I’m not totally sure about the feathers,” Robyn
said.

The dress, Pam’s choice, had a figure-hugging boned
bodice with ostrich feathers sewn in and a full skirt. She wasn’t
sure whether to hold her arms out straight or bend them at the
elbows and cluck like a chicken.

“You look like a Thanksgiving turkey before the
plucking,” Nancy stated.

“I’m not sure it’s you,” Martha agreed.

“Oh, I think it’s beautiful. It really complements
your hair, honey,” Pam said.

“My hair looks like feathers?” Robyn exclaimed in
horror.

“That wasn’t what I meant,” Pam began.

“Na. I hate it,” Robyn declared for about the
twentieth time.

“Try on the gold,” Nancy suggested.

“Try on the ivory bodice, full skirt, and the fur
wrap,” Martha piped up.

“How about this one? The beads are so delicate,” Pam
said, holding up another intricately designed gown.

“I think I’m going to try this one,” Robyn said,
picking a dress off the rack of gowns the assistant had chosen.

“Oh no, not that one. There’s nothing to it, it’s so
plain, honey,” Pam exclaimed, putting her hands to her face in
horror.

“You are definitely going to need a shawl with that,”
Martha remarked.

“Yeah, sugar, a sequined one at the very least,”
Nancy added, putting a handful of pretzels into her mouth.

“I like it,” Sarah said, nodding at Robyn
encouragingly.

The dress was cream, had a scalloped neckline, and
spaghetti straps.

“Try it on,” Sarah said.

“With this,” Nancy added, passing over a sequined
bolero.

“Or perhaps this?” Martha said, finding a fur
shrug.

Robyn took both items offered and the dress and
disappeared into the changing rooms, anxious to rid herself of the
feathered frock she had on.

She closed the door and tugged at the zipper. None of
the dresses had felt right yet.

“It isn’t going to be that cold by the lake,” she
heard Nancy remarked to Martha.

“It isn’t Vegas either,” Martha commented back.

“I thought she would like something that makes more
of a statement. I mean it is the most important day of her life,”
Pam added.

Robyn unfastened the door and opened it a crack to
listen. She peeked out and saw Pam picking up a gown that wouldn’t
have looked out of place on a limited edition Disney Princess.

“It’s all a rush though isn’t it? I mean she hasn’t
had time to plan anything, let alone consider the importance,”
Martha said, folding up a fluffy cape.

“What you mean by that?” Nancy snapped
immediately.

Robyn smiled at her almost step-mom’s defensive
attitude.

“Well, I can’t be the only one here who thinks this
marriage decision is far too hasty,” Martha stated frankly.

“I agree,” Pam admitted.

“Well I don’t. When you know, you know—end of story,”
Nancy replied.

Robyn nodded her head and felt something inside her
warm even more to the woman she’d thought was such a bad influence
on her dad.

“I agree with Nancy. I mean I know me and Mickey have
had our ups and downs just lately but…” Sarah started.

Wow! Now her best friend was wading in with support.
She needed to make more time for her. Now the roadhouse was up and
running she should really set aside some time for Sarah.

“They’ve known each other just over a week,” Martha
said.

“I know and I think all this stuff with Jason being
raked up again is affecting her judgment,” Pam carried on.

“Who’s Jason?” she heard Martha ask.

Robyn closed the door again and hurriedly removed the
dress. She looked at the one hanging on the peg on the door and she
put it over her head. It slipped down over her shoulders, fell
lightly over her breasts and dropped to the floor. She looked at
her appearance in the mirror, turning to the side and back again.
She picked up the sequined bolero and put her arms into it. It
would have been perfect on Nancy but made her look like a chorus
girl. She took it off and swapped it for the fur shrug Martha had
given her. It made her look like Bugs Bunny. She discarded it on
the floor and looked at herself in the mirror. The simplicity of
the gown made it beautiful. It made her look beautiful.

She pushed open the door.

“Jason’s a guy that was convicted of raping me. What
do you think?” Robyn announced as she stepped out of the changing
booth.

“Oh my!” Nancy said as she looked at Robyn.

“You look amazing!” Sarah told her, tears pricking
her over-emotional eyes.

“Like a princess,” Pam added.

“It’s perfect,” Martha agreed.

“You think? I tried the bolero on and the shrug, but
it just didn’t feel right,” Robyn told them.

“Nah, too jazzy for the dress and as I keep saying,
you don’t need thermal wear for the lake in autumn,” Nancy said,
making her point and looking at Martha.

“How much is it?” Sarah wanted to know.

“Hey, I told you that don’t matter. We have Eddie’s
plastic,” Nancy said, and she started to ferret in her leopard
print bag for her purse.

“It’s two hundred dollars,” Robyn announced
proudly.

“Jeez! Are you kidding me? I was hoping to pay a lot
more than that. I mean, if you get a dress for two hundred dollars,
Eddie’s going to expect me to find one for that sort of price and I
have bigger plans. Much bigger plans,” Nancy informed her.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this Jason?” Martha
asked seriously.

“It isn’t the sort of thing you bring up over lunch
when you first meet your future mother-in-law. And by the way, it
has nothing to do with why I’m marrying Cole. Is that clear for
everyone?” Robyn asked, her eyes meeting all of theirs.

“I told them, honey. I said when you know, you know,”
Nancy said.

“And if anyone isn’t fully on board with this
wedding, and I mean one hundred percent, then you don’t have to
come. We only need two witnesses, and I don’t care if that’s the
drummer and the bassist from Special Guest,” Robyn told them
firmly.

“We just have reservations because it’s happening so
quickly, that’s all,” Pam said.

“Well, speak for yourself, because I don’t have
reservations—not one,” Nancy said supportively.

“Me neither,” Sarah agreed.

“Martha?” Robyn asked.

“I know Cole knows his own mind and I trust his
judgment,” Martha spoke sincerely.

“Good! Then can we please pay for this dress and get
out of here?” Robyn asked.

“Hey, what about me? I’ve tried stuff on but I
haven’t found anything I like yet,” Sarah said, passing Robyn the
bowl of pretzels.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry. Here I am carrying on and…”
Robyn began, feeling bad.

“I’m only kidding! I only came to get an idea. I
mean, I don’t even know what size I’m going to end up yet, do I?”
Sarah stated with a laugh.

“You planning a long engagement, honey?” Nancy asked
her.

“Yes, we think so. What, with the baby and
everything, it will give us a chance to save up,” Sarah said.

“Long engagements aren’t my thing. Too much time for
the guy to change his mind,” Nancy remarked.

“Dad hasn’t changed his mind,” Robyn reminded
her.

“That’s because he knows if he did, I’d chop off
his…”

“His beard! He loves his beard, does my dad, but
Nancy’s not really into facial hair…not that she’d tell him,” Robyn
interrupted.

“For a second there I thought she was going to say
she’d chop off his balls,” Martha stated with a deadpan face.

Sarah let out an audible gasp, Pam’s eyes widened,
and Robyn whitened.

“I think Cole’s given you a very straight laced image
of me. So, just for the record, I go to the gym just to look at the
weightlifters, I did a bungee jump last year and I’m still too
scared to tell my family about it, and I’m buying so much brandy
lately the cashier looks at me like I’m halfway to alcoholism
already. Which I’m not, by the way, I just like brandy and I make a
lot of cakes. What do you make Robyn?” Martha asked.

“I usually make calls—to the takeaway,” Robyn
admitted boldly.

“Oh I’m with you on that one. I may bake, but nothing
quite hits the spot like Mr. Chan’s sweet and sour pork,” Martha
said with a smile.

“Roadhouse was busy for a Monday, huh?” Cole
remarked as he drove them toward the hospital.

They had both worked a shift that night while Nancy
spent some time with Eddie. Now they were going back to the
hospital to visit Max.

“People are still making use of those coupons,” Robyn
said.

“I’m glad it went good with Mom,” Cole said.

“Was she okay getting the plane back? I said she
could stay.”

“I know, she told me, in between hiccupping and
swigging back water. What were you feeding her?” Cole asked
suspiciously.

“It had nothing to do with food,” Robyn answered with
a grin.

“She told me you found a dress,” Cole stated.

“I might have.”

“So?”

“Not telling. There’s a space right there, pull in
that one,” Robyn said, pointing to a good spot outside the
entrance.

Cole stopped the car and turned off the engine.

“Got the muffins?” Robyn asked.

“Yeah. Listen, before we go on in…I got the
information from the clinic today,” Cole informed her.

“What did it say?” Robyn asked, her breath almost
catching in her throat.

“Jason wasn’t the baby’s father,” Cole said
bluntly.

Her bottom lip began to tremble, and she tried
desperately to maintain control over the torrent of emotion welling
up inside her.

“You okay?” Cole asked, taking hold of her hand in
his.

“What have I done to him? All these years. All the
time he spent in prison, all the things that everyone said, and
Grant, I’ve treated him really badly,” Robyn blurted out all at
once.

“How were you to know? And you didn’t convict him, a
jury did,” Cole reminded her.