What's Left of Us
Page 12
“Always,” she repeats.
Aundrea once told me she doesn’t believe in only one life. That she believes in souls reconnecting long after death, spending an eternity side by side among the stars.
Aundrea is my life. My eternity.
She’s my forever and always.
“Come out. I want to see!” Jean exclaims.
“Yes, come on,” Genna adds sweetly.
I can’t believe I let them talk me into this. One minute I’m helping Genna decide on a dress, and the next I’m being coerced into trying on a dress myself. Which turned into two dresses, three dresses … seven dresses.
It’s not that I didn’t think it would be fun, I just wasn’t expecting to play dress-up.
Pulling the curtain aside, I step out to face them.
“Dre.” Genna grins, water filling her eyes.
“You look ...” Jean’s voice falls off as she searches for the right word.
“Stunning,” Amy finishes for her.
“Really?” I ask, shocked. That’s not the reaction I got to the other dresses.
I turn back to face the mirror and study myself. The autumn orange dress fits like a glove, hugging my body perfectly. There’s a long slit up the right side, and gold beads along the bodice coming to rest just above the slit. It really is flattering on me.
I can’t help but smile as I take in my appearance. I could totally see myself wearing this somewhere. Bouncing on my tiptoes with excitement, I turn back to face them.
“It really is a pretty dress.”
“Is that a smile I see slipping through,” Genna taunts, stepping closer. She reaches out, poking my growing smile.
“Yes,” I tease back.
“Okay, hold still. I need to take a picture,” Genna announces, handing Hannah to Jean. With her cell phone, she snaps a picture of me posing with one hand on my hip and the other bent at the elbow, resting behind my head. “Great! Mom will love that one!”
I giggle, relaxing my cheesy pose.
We’ve snapped pictures of each other trying on dresses, texting them to Shannon and my mom as if we’re putting on our own runway show. The mini photo shoot reminds me of sitting in the hospital with my mom, receiving texts from my friends as they went dress shopping for our senior prom. It feels good being able to make new memories.
“A dress should never wear you. You should wear the dress,” Jean proudly explains, handing Hannah back to Genna. “And you, Dre, are wearing this dress. You should get it.”
I look down, taking the fabric between my fingers. “I wouldn’t have anywhere to wear it.” I shrug before turning around and stepping back into the fitting room to change.
“You could wear it this Saturday if you’d agree to volunteer with Jason and me!” Genna’s voice carries through the door.
“You talked Jason into going?”
She doesn’t answer me. “It will be fun, Dre.”
I smile at my reflection in the mirror again, taking in the dress. It’s really stunning. A part of me wants to go, but the other part is sure I’ll just feel out of place the entire time.
Genna doesn’t press the subject.
When we go to pay, the cashier declines Genna’s money for her gown, announcing it was already taken care of. Apparently Jean worked it out to have the dress donated, which was extremely nice of her. Since graduating from the University of Minnesota with a major in fashion, she’s built professional relationships with some of the top designers in North America. I don’t know all the specifics of her job, but I do know she loves it, always looks fantastic, and gets to travel the world.
“Do you three have time for lunch?” Jean asks, glancing at her watch.
I don’t need to look. I always have time for my best friend.
We head to a small bistro in the heart of downtown Minneapolis—one of Jean’s favorite places to eat.
“This is so good,” Genna moans around a bite of whipped chocolate mousse. “I’m so going to try and make this. Oh, that reminds me, are the three of you free in a couple weeks? It doesn’t matter when, really, but I’d like to have you over as taste testers. I got hired for my first official Genna’s Touch Catering job for a grand opening here in town, and they’ve asked me to create a full menu for about three hundred people.”
When Genna was pregnant she decided to do some catering jobs on the side to help save money for her maternity leave. She didn’t expect that she’d have so much fun or that her food would become such a huge hit. When she started getting calls from small businesses wanting to hire her, she decided that she’s going to resign from her teaching position at the end of the year and turn her passion for cooking into a business. Jason is fully on board and they’ve decided to remodel their kitchen, transforming it into a chef’s dream.
Jean whistles. “Damn.”
“Wow,” Amy stammers. “Nothing like getting started out.”
“Good for you! And, of course, count me in,” I say excitedly.
“Me too.”
“Of course I’ll be there!”
“Great!” She grins. “If Kevin, Parker, and Brandon are up for it they can come too. It could be fun. Oh, Amy, Ethan is more than welcome to come, too.”
“Thanks, Genna. I’m sure he’d like that.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” I say.
Jean scoffs and I raise my eyebrows. She doesn’t answer right away, just sighs. “That just sounds too much like a couple thing.”
Aundrea once told me she doesn’t believe in only one life. That she believes in souls reconnecting long after death, spending an eternity side by side among the stars.
Aundrea is my life. My eternity.
She’s my forever and always.
“Come out. I want to see!” Jean exclaims.
“Yes, come on,” Genna adds sweetly.
I can’t believe I let them talk me into this. One minute I’m helping Genna decide on a dress, and the next I’m being coerced into trying on a dress myself. Which turned into two dresses, three dresses … seven dresses.
It’s not that I didn’t think it would be fun, I just wasn’t expecting to play dress-up.
Pulling the curtain aside, I step out to face them.
“Dre.” Genna grins, water filling her eyes.
“You look ...” Jean’s voice falls off as she searches for the right word.
“Stunning,” Amy finishes for her.
“Really?” I ask, shocked. That’s not the reaction I got to the other dresses.
I turn back to face the mirror and study myself. The autumn orange dress fits like a glove, hugging my body perfectly. There’s a long slit up the right side, and gold beads along the bodice coming to rest just above the slit. It really is flattering on me.
I can’t help but smile as I take in my appearance. I could totally see myself wearing this somewhere. Bouncing on my tiptoes with excitement, I turn back to face them.
“It really is a pretty dress.”
“Is that a smile I see slipping through,” Genna taunts, stepping closer. She reaches out, poking my growing smile.
“Yes,” I tease back.
“Okay, hold still. I need to take a picture,” Genna announces, handing Hannah to Jean. With her cell phone, she snaps a picture of me posing with one hand on my hip and the other bent at the elbow, resting behind my head. “Great! Mom will love that one!”
I giggle, relaxing my cheesy pose.
We’ve snapped pictures of each other trying on dresses, texting them to Shannon and my mom as if we’re putting on our own runway show. The mini photo shoot reminds me of sitting in the hospital with my mom, receiving texts from my friends as they went dress shopping for our senior prom. It feels good being able to make new memories.
“A dress should never wear you. You should wear the dress,” Jean proudly explains, handing Hannah back to Genna. “And you, Dre, are wearing this dress. You should get it.”
I look down, taking the fabric between my fingers. “I wouldn’t have anywhere to wear it.” I shrug before turning around and stepping back into the fitting room to change.
“You could wear it this Saturday if you’d agree to volunteer with Jason and me!” Genna’s voice carries through the door.
“You talked Jason into going?”
She doesn’t answer me. “It will be fun, Dre.”
I smile at my reflection in the mirror again, taking in the dress. It’s really stunning. A part of me wants to go, but the other part is sure I’ll just feel out of place the entire time.
Genna doesn’t press the subject.
When we go to pay, the cashier declines Genna’s money for her gown, announcing it was already taken care of. Apparently Jean worked it out to have the dress donated, which was extremely nice of her. Since graduating from the University of Minnesota with a major in fashion, she’s built professional relationships with some of the top designers in North America. I don’t know all the specifics of her job, but I do know she loves it, always looks fantastic, and gets to travel the world.
“Do you three have time for lunch?” Jean asks, glancing at her watch.
I don’t need to look. I always have time for my best friend.
We head to a small bistro in the heart of downtown Minneapolis—one of Jean’s favorite places to eat.
“This is so good,” Genna moans around a bite of whipped chocolate mousse. “I’m so going to try and make this. Oh, that reminds me, are the three of you free in a couple weeks? It doesn’t matter when, really, but I’d like to have you over as taste testers. I got hired for my first official Genna’s Touch Catering job for a grand opening here in town, and they’ve asked me to create a full menu for about three hundred people.”
When Genna was pregnant she decided to do some catering jobs on the side to help save money for her maternity leave. She didn’t expect that she’d have so much fun or that her food would become such a huge hit. When she started getting calls from small businesses wanting to hire her, she decided that she’s going to resign from her teaching position at the end of the year and turn her passion for cooking into a business. Jason is fully on board and they’ve decided to remodel their kitchen, transforming it into a chef’s dream.
Jean whistles. “Damn.”
“Wow,” Amy stammers. “Nothing like getting started out.”
“Good for you! And, of course, count me in,” I say excitedly.
“Me too.”
“Of course I’ll be there!”
“Great!” She grins. “If Kevin, Parker, and Brandon are up for it they can come too. It could be fun. Oh, Amy, Ethan is more than welcome to come, too.”
“Thanks, Genna. I’m sure he’d like that.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” I say.
Jean scoffs and I raise my eyebrows. She doesn’t answer right away, just sighs. “That just sounds too much like a couple thing.”
