“Sorry,” he mutters, lowering his head.
I burst out laughing. “I’m kidding. It’s totally a joke,” I giggle. “But no pics. I’m not that cruel.”
I shake my head. It’s a joke alright, a joke he fell for it in the first place. What’s even more impressive is that I sat there on his couch, while he fed me that bullshit story about how he’d wanted to experiment with women’s clothes since he was a kid and I did it without laughing. He told me that after he saw my ad, he couldn’t stop thinking about me.
He knew it was a joke, but on some level, he found himself hoping that it wasn’t, because if I accepted his lifestyle, he wouldn’t need to live a lie anymore. Does he really think I’m gullible enough to buy that shit?
But God, seeing him in that dress…
When he opened his door, it took everything I had not to laugh in his face. Mom spent weeks searching for the perfect dress for the wedding and when she finally found it, it was the last one in her size. It was on sale too, but even then, the price tag was ridiculous. Mom left in a huff, but she soon realized nothing else was going to come close to being as perfect as that dress. So she went back and brought it.
Tonight, Cameron answered his door wearing that same dress. My mother’s wedding dress. The worst thing is, he looked pretty damn good in it. I burst into another fit of hysterical laughter as I walk upstairs.
I don’t even want to think about what Mom is going to say when she finds out.Thursday morning, I walk into the kitchen to find Mom in a frenzy.
“What’s up?” I ask, pouring myself a coffee.
I sit down and watch her fly around the room. She glances at me, distracted. The stress in her face has me worried.
“My dress. Have you seen it?” she asks. She puts her hand on her hip and shakes her head as she looks around the room. “I was sure I left it here.”
“In the kitchen?” I frown.
She nods. “I had it airing out over one of the chairs to try and get rid of those few wrinkles.” She shakes her head and looks around. “And now I’ve got no idea where it went. I think I’m going crazy.”
“Well it can’t have grown legs and walked off,” I say. I feel awful not telling her, but how do I say that Cam has it? I bite back a giggle at the thought of her going over there and him answering in her dress.
“Maybe I left it in the car,” she says.
She grabs her keys and races outside. I sit down, lean my head on the table and sigh.
“What’s up with you?” he asks.
“Cameron took Mom’s dress,” I say, my voice muffled through the sleeve of my bathrobe. “And now she’s freaking out because it’s gone.”
Mack shrugs. “So? Tell her to go buy a new one.”
“It’s not just any dress.” I lift my head to look at him. “It’s her wedding dress.”
He stares at me. “He took her wedding dress?” he gasps, laughing harder and harder, until he’s doubled over, clutching his stomach. “No way,” he gasps. “That’s fucking perfect.”
“Mack,” Mom snaps. “Don’t swear. And what’s so funny?”
I look past Mack to Mom, who is leaning against the counter looking frazzled.
“Nothing,” he mutters, not meeting her eyes. I shake my head. “I just remembered a really wicked punch line to a joke I heard a while ago. Anyway, gotta run,” he says, darting out the door, leaving me to deal with a stressed out and panicked Mom.
Mom gazes after Mack. “I’ve never seen him so keen to get to school,” she muses.
“Did you find it?” I ask, distracting her away from the subject of Mack.
“No. I must’ve left it at the store,” she frowns. “But that’s crazy, because I remember unpacking it.” She glances at me, looking less certain than she did a few minutes ago. “You remember, don’t you?” she asks me.
I shrug. It would be so easy to convince her that she lost the dress, but there’s something not right about convincing your own mother she’s going senile.
“I don’t have time for this,” she sighs and sits down, rubbing her head. “I’ve got so much to do, Darc, and you know how long it took me to find this one,” she rambles. “I can’t face going out and doing that all again,” she frets.
“Mom, it’s okay,” I say. The more she talks, the more stressed she becomes, so I’m doing whatever I can to calm her down. “Let’s go shopping now,” I suggest. “We’ll find a backup for you, and then when the other one turns up, you can wear one for the ceremony and one for the party,” I suggest.