I didn’t bother to tell them any of that, though, because I didn’t need any extra hassles before the big day. “I’m getting married next Saturday, and that’s all there is to it.”
Eloise started to cry then. I don’t think I’d ever seen that before. She touched my hand in this real sweet, phony way, like it was just breaking her heart that she’d be losing me. “Well, you’re just depriving me of all the stuff I’ve always wanted to do for you when you got married.”
I moved my hand. “What would that be?”
“Shopping for a dress, a cake, decorating the church, looking for a wedding gift.”
“Walking you down the aisle,” Deke said, and I almost laughed. But I kept a straight face.
“We don’t have any money, remember? I can’t afford a cake or decorations. I’m hoping I can scrape together enough for a new dress. If you want to help me, you can help me with that.”
“All right, sweetheart.” Eloise sounded like she was auditioning for the role of a doting grandmother in some little theater production. “We’ll start looking tomorrow.”
I didn’t think for a minute that she would keep her word, but she did. She took me to Vicksburg to the outlet mall, and we scoured the stores looking for something we could afford. I found a dozen dresses I would have loved to get married in, but quickly realized that I was going to have to settle for a stupid pale yellow sundress that cost twenty bucks. Eloise managed to shell out more for the dress she chose for herself, but I didn’t say a word. I figured payback time would come soon enough.
She was syrupy sweet for the next few days as she helped me box up the things in my room in preparation for the big move. Every now and then, she’d come out with something like, “Don’t you think you should call Enos and see if he’d come down a little more on your down payment? I bet he would, you know. Then we could get this thing started.”
I’d be making a list of all I had to do—the blood test, the marriage license, the name change—when she’d pop out with, “Wouldn’t it be nicer to get married after you had that money, so you wouldn’t have to scrimp so?”
Finally, Deke called Enos up himself. I don’t know what he told him, but the lawyer wound up lowering his price for fear of losing me entirely. He would take $350, Deke said. I just smiled and said that I’d let him know when I came up with that amount.
As good as they were treating me, I thought it was a shame I was leaving. I hadn’t been treated that well in my whole life, at least not that I remembered. I’m sure my dad treated me well when we were living with him, but that wasn’t anywhere in my memory.
The only bad thing about that week was that I had so much flying through my head that I needed to talk about, but Lizzie was off living her new life, and I didn’t even know if she’d be coming to the wedding. I was really lonely for my sister that week. I’d imagined my wedding so many times in my life, and Lizzie was always right there, standing up beside me. It was just too depressing for words not to have her there now. All I had was Eloise and Deke, doing their phony slobbering all over me for fear that I was going to cut them out of my life and doom them to a life of poverty.
When that Friday came, I was real jittery, wondering if Lizzie would come. I didn’t have that much left to do. We’d had our blood tests and gotten our license, the justice of the peace was booked, and my few belongings were boxed up and ready to be moved.
I was home alone that day, and thankfully so, since I thought I might just snap if I had to listen to much more from Eloise and Deke. I kept going to the window and looking out, hoping I would see Lizzie driving up. I didn’t know what she’d be in. She couldn’t drive when she left, and I doubted she had learned this quickly.
Then I saw the limousine pulling into my driveway, and I let out a scream and ran out the front door. Lizzie jumped out of the car and ran into my arms, and we held each other, squealing with laughter, as the chauffeur got out and stood by the car door.
“Lizzie, you’re a sight for sore eyes!” I clung to her as if I could pull her inside myself. “Oh, Lizzie, you came!”
“Of course I came. You didn’t think I’d miss it, did you?”
She looked different, much more groomed and poised than she had before. She smelled like Amanda, and her hair was softer than mine. I figured she’d been using some expensive conditioner on it. She didn’t look at all abused or mistreated. She looked like her new life was doing nothing but good for her.
But I knew better.
I took her hand and led her into the house. She held back at the front door, like she dreaded coming all the way in. “I never thought I’d come back here.”
“Trust me, once I’m gone, I’m not coming back, either.”
“The whole town smells.” She wrinkled her nose. “You have to be gone from here to realize it, but it does. It’s an awful smell. I can’t believe I lived in it all those years. I can’t believe you’d want to stay in it.”
“I’m used to it.” I pulled her inside. “It doesn’t bother me.”
She got a pinched look on her face and looked around at the dirty living room. “It smells in here, too. Smells like Deke’s slimy shoes and those dogs.”
I was getting aggravated. “It won’t kill you to come in for a minute.”
“So where are Deke and Eloise?”
“They won a little money last night so Eloise is out trying to find me a wedding gift.”
Lizzie looked at me like she didn’t believe a word. “No way.”
“Oh, yeah. You should see how they’re treating me. It’s just sickening. It’s like they think I’ll forget the past fifteen years and only remember that they were nice to me the week of my wedding. They’re scared to death I’m going to leave them out when I get my money. And just between you and me, that’s exactly what I plan to do.”
Lizzie swallowed, and I knew she was holding back her lecture about the lawsuit. I was thankful.
“Want to see what I’m wearing?” I have to admit I asked mostly for a distraction. I knew my dress wouldn’t impress her. The dress she was wearing was nicer than my wedding day dress.
“Show me,” she said.
I led her into the bedroom we had shared for so many years. It was just as she’d left it. The sheets hadn’t even been changed.
I pulled my dress out of the closet and held it up to myself. “It was all I could afford.”
She didn’t look impressed. “It’s pretty, Kara . . . but didn’t you want a real wedding dress?”
“Well, yeah. I wanted a honeymoon in Paris, too, but I’m not gonna get it.” I put my hands on my hips. “I hope you haven’t turned into a snob, Lizzie.”
She looked downright insulted. “I haven’t. I just want you to have the best. So I brought a few things you might want to consider. I brought my evening gown that I wore to my reception last week. It’s ivory. Maybe you could wear it.”
I knew in that moment how Cinderella must have felt when her fairy godmother had come to save the day. “Oh, let me see!”
Lizzie opened the door and stepped out on the rickety porch. The chauffeur immediately emerged from the front seat. “Could you bring my suitcase in, Charles?”
I had to laugh as I leaned against the post, my arms crossed. “Charles?”
“He doubles as my bodyguard and chauffeur. He’s a nice guy. Amanda really trusts him.”
“A bodyguard? Isn’t that a little extreme?”
“No. Amanda says we’re targets because of the Holbrooke name. She insists I be protected wherever I go. Besides, he’s gotten to be a good friend. If you came, she’d make sure you had one, too.”
“I’m not coming. I’m never coming.”
Charles brought in the suitcase and put it in the living room. “Anything else, Miss Lizzie?”
She shook her head. “Thank you, Charles.”
I was watching him go back to his car, when Rudy’s dusty Volvo pulled in on the gravel. “There he is.” I turned to see her face. “That’s Rudy. Are you ready
to meet him?”
Lizzie got a little pale, but she looked out the door.
“Isn’t he handsome?” I hugged myself. “Just look at him. Can you believe I’d get a man like that?”
“Kara, you could have had any guy you wanted. You weren’t limited to Barton, Mississippi.”
I grinned. “You won’t say that when you meet him.” Rudy got out of the car. He had dressed nice for this visit, and I knew Lizzie would be impressed. I went down the steps and out to him, took his hand, and led him back up.
His step slowed as he reached the porch, and he started to laugh. “I feel like I’m seeing double.”
I had forgotten that he’d never seen the other half of me. “We get that all the time,” I said. “Lizzie, meet Rudy. Rudy, Lizzie.”
Lizzie’s eyes were cold as she shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.” She was polite and all, but the tone of her voice made it clear that she wasn’t that glad to meet him at all. I decided that she had turned into a snob, and I didn’t like it.
Rudy held on to her hand. “Just when I thought Kara was the most beautiful girl in the world, I find out there’s another one just like her.”
“Not just like her,” Lizzie said without a smile. “Kara’s one of a kind.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but from her voice, I knew she didn’t mean it in a bad way.
Rudy put his arm around my waist. “So what do you think about our plans?”
Lizzie was barely able to force a smile. “They’re a little surprising, but Kara knows I wish her the best.”
“Come in, Rudy,” I said, “and help us decide what I should wear tomorrow.”
“I thought you’d already gotten a dress.”
“I did, but Lizzie brought some other things. She said she had an ivory dress. Can you believe it, Rudy? I might actually get married in white.”
He followed us in and took his place at the edge of the couch, as if he didn’t want to get his clothes dirty. I didn’t blame him. Nothing in the house had been vacuumed in about a year, and the dogs came in often and napped on that couch.
He couldn’t seem to tear his eyes off of Lizzie as she stooped down at her suitcase and opened it. I almost got jealous, but then I realized that he might as well be looking at me. Guys had always had trouble telling us apart, and it was a common problem to have one of them fall for me, only to have his eyes stray to her when she was around. I didn’t like it much, but I knew it was normal.
Lizzie unfolded the suitcase divider panel and slid out the dress that had been carefully strapped in. The dress looked just like the one I had imagined I’d get married in, with a scooped neck and a full chiffon skirt.
“We used to draw a dress like this.” She held it in front of her. “Remember, Kara, all those times we dreamed about our weddings?”
I could hardly speak as I took the dress. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen in person. “Lizzie,” I whispered reverently. “It’s gorgeous.”
“I bought it because it reminded me of what we always wanted. Amanda said it was appropriate for my reception. Who knew that you would need it for your wedding so soon?”
Tears stung my eyes, and I held the dress high to keep it from touching the dirty floor. “Oh, Rudy, isn’t it just the best thing you’ve ever seen?”
“It’s pretty, Kara, but don’t you think it’s a little dressy?”
He just didn’t get it, and that frustrated the life out of me. “No. It looks more appropriate for a wedding than that stupid sundress. I’m wearing it.”
“We could fix your hair up,” Lizzie said, “like we used to do when we were little. Remember, we’d put a doily on our heads and prance around like we were princesses?”
I hung the dress over my arm and hugged her. “I’m so glad you’re here,” I said. “This is the best day of my life.”
She wiped a tear. “Here, go try the dress on. I want to see it. I brought shoes, too.” She dug those out of the suitcase and handed them to me.
I was so full of emotion that I went over and kissed Rudy on the cheek. “I’ll be right back.”
I closed myself in the bedroom and started changing. I couldn’t wait to feel that dress against my skin and watch Rudy’s face light up. I couldn’t wait to see myself in it.
I heard them talking in low voices and I pressed my ear to the door.
“You don’t have to stand up,” Rudy said. “Come sit down and we’ll talk.”
I heard Lizzie’s footsteps as she crossed the room. “I want you to tell me something honestly. I want to know why you’re marrying my sister.”
He let out a laugh, as if he couldn’t believe she’d ask such a bold question. Truth was, I couldn’t believe it, either. “Why wouldn’t I want to marry her? She’s beautiful. You see that.”
“I asked you a question. Why now? What’s the rush?”
“She’s the love of my life. My soul mate. She’s just the one, that’s all.”
“It wouldn’t have anything to do with that lawsuit she’s got going, would it?”
I almost came out of the bedroom then, but I had already undressed. I slipped the white dress on and zipped it up, still listening through the door.
“I’m just helping her out with the suit, that’s all. Whether she wins or loses, it’s all the same to me.”
“So you don’t care if she makes minimum wage or wins fifty million dollars in court?”
“No difference to me.”
I heard her walk across the room again, and she closed her suitcase. “I want to tell you something, Rudy. If you hurt my sister, you’ll be sorry. She’s vulnerable and she’ll fall for anything right now. But I better not see you breaking her heart, especially when she loses that suit.”
“She’s not going to lose,” Rudy said.
“Amanda has no intention of settling out of court. She’s not going to do it, Rudy.”
“Watch,” he said.
“I live with her.” Lizzie’s voice got louder. “She’s told me what she plans to do. She knows if she gave Kara the money it would be squandered. She doesn’t trust you or Deke and Eloise. She doesn’t even trust Kara to know what to do with that much money.”
“Well, your Amanda may not have a choice.” He sounded cocky, challenging. “I don’t see any way a judge is going to turn Kara down, a young girl who was tricked out of her family’s fortune. No way. She’ll get hers.”
“And you’ll get yours. I can promise you that.”
Silence . . . then, “You talk big for a little thing.”
I knew that would set Lizzie off. I quickly slipped the shoes onto my feet.
“If you hurt her, I’ll find out,” Lizzie said.
“Are you threatening me?” Rudy’s voice sounded just like it had when he’d gone after Bill Daniels.
There was a long pause, then Lizzie said, “Yes, I think I am.”
I opened the door then and stepped into the living room. I looked from one of them to the other . . . Lizzie didn’t know I’d heard any of their conversation, and a smile lit up her face. “Oh, Kara, it’s you. It looks so much better on you than it did on me.”
“Rudy,” I said, my voice barely audible through the emotion in my throat. “What do you think?”
He hardly even glanced at me. “I’m with Lizzie. It’s gorgeous on you. I’d marry you right this minute if we had a judge around.”
I was satisfied with that answer, so I nodded and went back to the bedroom. Thankfully, Lizzie came with me this time.
“Take it off and let’s hang it up. We don’t want it to get dirty on this filthy floor.” She closed the bedroom door, locking Rudy out.
I just looked at her. “Oh, Lizzie, you’ll warm up to him. You just don’t know him, that’s all.” I slipped the dress off of my shoulders, and Lizzie unzipped it.
“I want to spend time with you tonight,” I said. “Rudy has to work. I want you and me to go to the casino and talk over drinks.”
“Kara, we’re not of
age to drink at the casino. What are you talking about?”
“Of course we are. Rudy’ll get us anything we want.”
“I don’t want to go to the casino,” Lizzie said. “How can you even walk into that place when you know how much money Eloise and Deke lost there? Don’t you realize that Eloise and Deke got over $300,000 a year for fifteen years for the sole purpose of taking care of us, and we didn’t get any of it? We lived in this dump and ate dry cereal and wore clothes that we dug out of Goodwill bins. And the worst thing, Kara, is they kept us from Amanda, who loved us and would have done anything for us.”
“Boy, she’s really been filling your head, hasn’t she?” I slipped back into the jeans I’d been wearing and pulled my T-shirt back over my head. “If she loves you so much, why doesn’t she just write you a check and give you your share?”
“She wants a relationship with me,” Lizzie said. “She wants me to have a good life. There are things I have to learn. I’m way behind, Kara, and I want to be everything she wants me to be. I’m going to have a lot of responsibility ahead of me someday, and I have to be ready.”
“Do you really think she’s going to hand that company over to you? If you do, you’re more naive than I thought.”
“I’m not naive.” Lizzie’s eyebrows arched as she tried to make her point. “She’s an amazingly good person. She’s going to leave it to me in her will. And you, too, if you come, Kara. She wants to train us, groom us to take it over. And we can. I already see that I have a good business head. I’m not stupid like they told us in school, Kara. I’m smart, and so are you. By the time Amanda retires, we’ll be ready to do it.”
“By the time Amanda retires, I might own that company myself. And, Lizzie, you could do it with me. The two of us in this lawsuit would make it even easier. We could get the whole thing from her and kick her out of that mansion and take over the business. And all of that would be ours without any of the schooling and hassles.”
“I don’t want it that way!” Lizzie looked at me like I was just too dense to grasp what she was saying. “It gives me peace knowing it’s all Amanda’s right now, that she’s taking care of it, keeping it safe. I’d make a mess of things. Whoever is telling you that you can have it on your own is lying to you. It’s not going to happen that way. Amanda has no intention of settling out of court, and there’s no way a judge is going to reverse the decision he made when he gave her the estate, especially not when I’m there and she’s showering me with all this goodness.”