At the top of the stairs, a very shabby-chic dress shop stretched out before us. However, unlike the trendy decor crafted in mass warehouses, this was the real deal. An antique postmaster’s desk greeted us at the entrance, holding a vintage cash register that probably still worked. Beside the cash register was a modern credit card machine. Which was a plus, since that’s what I’d be using to pay for my dress. An old Singer sewing table covered in fabric, pins, measuring tape, and spools of thread took up one corner. Lace curtains hung from each of the four square windows, and a romantic white chandelier hung from the ceiling with crystals raining down from the eight arms. Large white ornate iron racks stood throughout the room holding an arrangement of different gowns. Each dress was a work of art in its own right; each one intricately sewn together shining with its own individual personality and character.
“Stasia!” Phoebe whispered at me.
“Why are we whispering?” I whispered back.
“I don’t know!” she giggled. She held up a strapless gown made up of layer upon layer of silk cascading down to the floor. The bodice was cream colored with an empire waist, accentuated by a silver band. As the fabric floated to the floor, flames of teal, purple, and orange danced up from the bottom. I pointed to a small door labeled Fitting Room and she entered hesitantly. I turned and walked right into Natasha.
“Oh! I’m sorry!”
“Do not fret child, it’s alright,” she assured me and then gazed at me almost lovingly. “What is your name, dear?”
“Stasia.” She continued to stare at me and her blue eyes darkened, taking on an otherworldly quality.
“Dangerous waters await you, but destiny breathes within you. You shine with a pure beauty all your own.”
“Um, thank you,” I mumbled, unsure of how to respond to that.
She just smiled and placed the tray of glasses down on a small sitting table.
“Help yourselves to the tea, girls, it’s a new herbal recipe I’ve created.” I heard Phoebe mumble something about six feet under in the fitting room and hoped Natasha didn’t hear it. If she did, she didn’t show it. She glided over to the sewing table and began searching through a rack of dresses.
“Ta-da!” No longer whispering, Phoebe pranced out of the fitting room and twirled around.
Accentuating her tiny waist, the different layers of fabric flowed out elegantly down to the floor from the silver band. As the cream changed to teal, orange and purple it reminded me of an exotic bird.
She looked exquisite.
“It’s beautiful!” Willow clasped her hands together.
“It looks like it was made for you, Phoebs!” I exclaimed and Carmen shook her head in agreement.
“I am
“Did you find one yet?” She asked me.
“Not yet.”
“I believe you’ll find your taste matches this particular dress.” I whirled around at the extreme closeness of her voice. Natasha stood mere inches from me, holding a bunch of fabric I assumed was a gown. Her eyes watched me knowingly and I began to get slightly uncomfortable as she continued to stare at me with a wide, almost proud smile on her face.
I took the dress and high-tailed it to the fitting room.
I carefully stepped into the dress and zipped the back up as far as I could. I twisted to see my reflection in the mirror. The woman looking back at me caught me off guard. She was…beautiful.
The dress itself began over one shoulder, swooping down to cover my chest as it followed the curves of my body perfectly; down my waist and flaring out mid-thigh. Ironically, the tag said this particular style was called mermaid. The bright teal color matched my eyes perfectly and gave the impression I was much tanner than I really was. It wasn’t quite a teal though, more of a…
“Aquamarine,” I whispered, as a shiver ran down my spine. An intricate swooping design embroidered in black started at the shoulder, snaking across the top of the dress and around to the back as it curved back in front ending where the dress split mid-thigh. Black lace peeked out of the slit, enhancing the gothic mood of the dress. It was as if it had been made to match the necklace Finn gave me. How could he have known? I heard Phoebe outside the door.
“You gonna hog it all for yourself or let the rest of us see it, too?” she teased me. I took one last look, unlatched the door and walked out. After a full minute of everyone gawking at me wide-
eyed, Willow finally broke the silence.
“Wow. Stasia,” she stared at me. “It’s so…you.”
“Damn. Finn isn’t going to be able to keep his hands off you!” Carmen whistled, and flashed a sinister grin. I looked down at the dress and smiled. It was perfect.
“I’ll take it,” I told Natasha.
“I had a feeling you might. It looks absolutely ravishing on you.” She smiled approvingly and turned back to her sewing table.
After some tea (void of poison), we paid for our dresses and headed for the door where Natasha shook each of our hands. I noticed she held on to mine a second too long, studying my trace. I wondered if she knew what she was looking at.
“If you girls need anything at all, let me know. And come back any time. I don’t get many visitors so it’s always a treat.” We made our way down the front steps.
“Oh, and girls?” Phoebe and I turned. “Enjoy the meteor shower. I hear it’s quite lovely.” She smiled with a gleam in her eye. Goose bumps popped up on my arms. Not once had we mentioned the Ball.
With that harrowing conversation, Phoebe practically slid over the hood of Carmen’s car to get to the passenger door and away from Natasha.
“Well that wasn’t creepy at all…” Carmen said sarcastically as she put the car in reverse.
Natasha remained on the porch as we pulled out of the driveway. I turned to look at her one last time, but she had vanished.
Chapter 22
“This might be difficult,” Phoebe chewed on her fingernails, in deep thought. The sand before us was flat and unassuming. Unfortunately, we hadn’t marked the new nest. It was going to be a challenge to find them without digging up the entire beach. Then again, perhaps the eggs could find me instead. I dropped to my knees. I skimmed my hand atop the sand to see if I could somehow sense the hatchlings. I inched forward carefully, continuing to sweep my hand back and forth. Something close to static electricity shocked my pinky finger and I stopped, moving my hand back over that same place. More tiny electrical currents shot into my fingers and I beamed up at Phoebe with excitement.
“I think I found them!” I started digging carefully through the sand to uncover them.
“Wait, I have a better way.” Phoebe dropped to her knees, too. She expertly held her hands above the nest and the sand retreated, uncovering the eggs. We leaned over to get a better look. They appeared perfectly intact, except for several small cracks. There were no movement or signs of life, but they weren’t broken. That’s all we could hope for at this point.
Phoebe placed a hand on my shoulder. “I think they’re gonna be just fine.”
“I wish we could tell if they’re still alive.” I looked on as Phoebe held her palms above the nest commanding the sand to fill it back in. We inspected Phoebe’s work and decided you’d never know we were here. And you definitely couldn’t tell there was a nest of sea turtle eggs beneath the sand.
We brushed our legs off and returned to Maren.
A sliver of moonlight streaming in the window spotlighted my new dress, giving it a stage to shine. Lying in bed, I turned onto my side to admire it. The material shimmered as it swayed from the blowing vent on the floor. It seemed to have a life all its own. The black lace added an element of mystery to the otherwise vibrant dress and the embroidered design drew your attention down the length of it. I couldn’t believe I’d be wearing it to an official
