Borrowed, Blue, Dead

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When the front door opened to admit the new arrivals, Barney and Gypsy raced in ahead of the others, searching for Megan. Barney led the way, knowing his way around the house as if were his own. Reaching Megan, he accepted her pats on the head and curled up at her feet, worn out from the game of catch. Gypsy wasn’t content to lay on the floor and jumped up onto the couch to curl up between Megan and Aiden.

Charlotte Potter was the first to enter the room, waltzing in like the matriarch she was. When the two men started to politely stand, she waved their actions away.

“Relax, you two. We just stopped by for a moment. How is everyone? Megan, are you getting wedding jitters yet?”

“Only when I talk to my daughter.” She grinned as she answered.

“Yes, after the conversation we just had, I imagine you would.” Turning to the protesting Emma who heard her words as she walked in, Charlotte blew her a kiss.

“You will sort this out. But Emma, remember this is your mother’s wedding. Now, Adele and I came out to meet Brandon, which we have. Your son is so much like you, Aiden. You must be pleased he is here.”

Aiden nodded, knowing better than to try to get a word in and obeying her hand gestures, moved over on the couch for Charlotte to sit. As her friend, Adele Purdy, took a seat in the large recliner, she seemed to get swallowed up in it and he hid his grin, but not before she saw it and gave him a saucy wink.

Adele was the opposite of Charlotte, yet the two of them hit it off wonderfully when they met. Even though Adele lived an hour away, in Palm Beach, they formed a close friendship. Much of that friendship revolved around Megan and keeping up with her forays into the world of crime and crime solving. But over time, they found much in common, and enjoyed spending time with each other. Whenever Adele could get away from her high-end consignment shop on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, she would drive north to Citrus Beach and its peaceful small-town atmosphere.

While the four of them caught up on their news, Emma and Brandon went to the kitchen to get drinks for everyone. Megan could hear them talking and laughing, and she was pleased that they were getting along so well. Both were only children and she wanted their families to be close.

“Here we go, iced tea for everyone,” sang out Emma as she led Brandon into the living room, letting him carry the heavy wooden tray filled with glasses of freshly brewed iced tea and a plate of homemade cookies. Motioning for him to put the tray on the large coffee table centered in the room, Emma grabbed two glasses and handed them to Adele and Charlotte. Then, figuring the rest could fend for themselves, she took her own and sat down on the floor between Paul and Lucy. Brandon took the remaining chair and in no time, they were discussing his trip. He’d surprised Aiden by insisting he drive down, rather than fly, and he had them laughing as he filled them in on some interesting people he met in his travels.

When the lull came to the conversation, as it always did, even amongst friends, Adele caught Brandon’s attention.

“Would you mind getting something from the car for me? There is a gift box in the back seat, and Emma got us so distracted when we arrived, that I forgot it.”

Assuring her he didn’t mind, Brandon hurried out to the car to retrieve the box. When he came back in, the young man placed it by Adele, but she quickly redirected his action.

“No, no. This is for Megan. Would you mind?” Pointing to the couch, she indicated he hand the box to Megan.

Puzzled, Megan accepted the box and looked over to Adele for an explanation.

“I hope you don’t mind, Megan, but when this came into the shop, I knew it was meant to be yours. I know you want to have a simple wedding and you are making all your own arrangements, but I hope that you will accept this gift.”

While Adele was speaking, Megan opened the box and was peeling away delicate layers of tissue paper. The treasure appeared, nestled carefully amongst the paper, and it took her breath away. With shaky fingers, she reached in and pulled out a thin layer of lace. It was obvious by the look and design it was old, and as it unfolded in her hands, she could see an intricate design of rhinestones woven throughout the lace to represent tiny flowers. There was a collective gasp from the other women in the room as she held it up out of the box. Even the men were impressed. The wedding veil was elegant in its simplicity and Megan fell instantly in love with it.

"It’s beautiful, Adele. Where did you ever get it? It looks like it was made for my dress."

Adele beamed with satisfaction. She had noticed the perfect match to Megan's dress when she saw the veil come into the shop. It cried out to be a gift for her friend. She knew Megan would not be wearing a traditional wedding gown. Megan had shown Adele a picture of her tea-length dress with open cut lacework and an off-white color. The coloring of the dress matched the age of the lace in the veil, making it seem as if they were made for each other. A simple flower design perfectly represented Megan’s love of flowers. The veil never even made it onto the shelves in the shop. Adele had boxed it up and put it in the back until she could present it to Megan.

Standing up, Megan held it out in front of her for all to see. Handing it to Lucy, Megan rushed over to the older woman and gave her a fierce hug of appreciation.

"I swore I wouldn’t wear a veil because I hadn’t found the right one, but this is perfect. Thank you so much, Adele. I don't know how to thank you; the words don't seem like they're enough."

Adele returned her hug and whispered back she would get her thanks when she saw Megan in the veil. By now all the other women were standing around each wanting to inspect the delicate lace and pattern of the rhinestones. It took little for the men to realize that the women would be admiring the veil and talking about the wedding, and they left the room. It was a few minutes before the women realized they were gone.

Megan looked at her closest friends and family standing around her and her heart squeezed with happiness. She needed to make something clear.

"I hope you all realize how much you're loved. I want nobody to feel excluded from the wedding, but Aidan and I are set on having a private beach wedding with only our immediate family. Charlotte, as much of a family member as you seem, if I let one person onto that list it will just keep escalating. That's why I put you, Charlotte, along with Carol and Adele, in charge of the reception. You three have full rein, along with Emma and Lucy, to do whatever your heart desires to create the reception you think I deserve, but please let me have my small wedding."

This was probably the first time Megan had fully expressed her feelings about her wedding to those in the room and they each gave her a hug of understanding. Charlotte and Adele assured her they were not at all insulted nor were their feelings hurt, and Emma conceded that her mother was right.

"If that's what you really want, Mom, I'll abide by what you decide. There will be no monkey or dogs at your beach side wedding." She paused for emphasis and then continued, "But I make no such promises for your reception."

Megan joined the laughter, while she pointed her finger at her daughter, warning her not to overdo it or she'd have to deal with Charlotte. As the women sat back down, Lucy asked Adele how she gained possession of such a beautiful veil. Clearing her throat, the older woman looked around her obviously ready to tell her tale.

“It was the oddest thing. During the middle of the week it’s normally slow for us, but that day we just seem to have one customer after another. I didn't pay much attention to the man who brought in the box with the veil. Not until he plopped it down in front of me. He seemed very brisk about it and didn't want to waste any time. Nor did he want to haggle. He wanted this to be an outright sale, not a commission like most of my customers. I was almost ready to refuse until I looked at the veil." She looked over at Megan and then continued "That's when I knew it was perfect for you, Megan, and I agreed to the sale. He refused to give me any personal information, saying he was from out of town and didn't want to be bothered. He had been cleaning out a family home and came across the veil. Thinking the veil might be worth something, he brought it into the shop."

Looking around at the other women she seemed puzzled for a moment. Then Adele admitted to the others she experienced a slight unease over the transaction.

"I have to admit I had a funny feeling about him. If this had been a gun shop and he was bringing in a pistol, I would've immediately thought it was stolen. But, who would steal a wedding veil? And what value would it have to somebody who wasn't getting married? So, I paid his asking price, and in a matter of moments he was gone. It was that simple."

The other women exchanged looks, agreeing that the man's behavior was odd.

"Maybe he was just uncomfortable being in a consignment shop with a wedding veil. Or maybe he was in a hurry. You never know what makes people tick," suggested Lucy.

Megan took the veil from her daughter and, folding it lovingly, placed it back in the box amongst the safety of the tissue paper. When she finished, she looked at Charlotte and asked her how the plans were coming for the reception.

"Now, you promised that you wouldn't interfere with reception. That means no questions either. I will tell you this, most of your friends want to take part. Kayla will do the catering, and Mike is building a beautiful arbor to be decorated with tropical flowers. Since we’re holding the reception here at the farm, we will leave the arbor in place after your wedding. The idea is that it could become a spot for other couples to get married and possibly bring in some revenue for the zoo. Even though we might be a bit extravagant in your eyes, we are still looking down the road at everything we do. I assure you this will benefit somebody other than you, just as you specified."

Megan felt a tiny bit frustrated at not getting any answers, but she nodded in agreement, realizing that they were doing exactly what she asked. Since this was a second marriage for both her and Aiden, and they were both in their mid-40s, they didn’t want the big extravagant wedding and reception that a younger couple might. She was specific that instead of any wedding gifts, people were to donate to the zoo in their name. After all, they had everything they needed; it was ridiculous to be getting another toaster or another set of sheets.

Their talk of weddings was disrupted with the arrival of Toby and Sammy. The two youngsters had recently been adopted by Lucy and Paul after a harrowing experience as runaways. Although Lucy and Paul never thought they would have a family, the two children fit into their lifestyle perfectly and the ready-made family was an instant success. Toby was the older of the two, quiet, but mischievous. Sammy was an outright bubble of fun. They had been outside with another group of kids doing volunteer work on the farm and were now ready, as they declared, for recreation time and food.

Following into the house behind them came Aiden, Paul, and Brandon, who also declared they were hungry and it was time to head home. After a bit of discussion, they all agreed that they would meet at the beach later in the afternoon, after lunch had been digested and Megan suspected a few naps were taken.

As they all gathered their supplies and got ready to leave, Adele took Megan to the side and gave her a few instructions about the veil.

"I hope you don't mind, but I sent pictures of your veil to the dressmakers, so she could make any adjustments on your dress to make the match. We were both keeping it quiet, and I may have presumed a little much, but I wanted this to be a surprise. The dressmaker only had it in her hands once for a brief time, to compare the fabrics and design before I took it back. I know she would like to get hold of it as soon as possible to make any final adjustments that are needed. I hope you don't mind."

"How could I possibly mind? This was such a beautiful and generous gift. I don't know how you kept quiet about it. How long have you had it?" Megan asked.

Giving her a bit of a Mona Lisa smile, Adele told her she'd been holding onto the veil for over two months.

"It fell into my hands right after you and Aiden announced your engagement. You have no idea how hard it has been to keep this a secret from you. But, now the cat is out of the bag." Her laughter tinkled in the air like a wind chime and with a little wave of her hand she followed Charlotte out to the car ready to leave to get lunch and one of those naps.