Page 22 of The Boss I Can't Stand
The thing about working with beads was that it took forever.
The bodice of my mother’s wedding dress still wasn’t done, even with me working on it every chance I got.
“Uh-oh,” Ro said, coming through the front door with a bag of groceries. She wore a pink Barbie-branded tank, blue men’s board shorts, and a bucket hat that saidGone Fishing. “The sewing goblin is in the house.”
I shot her a look that saidbe nice. Sure, I was crouched in the corner of the kitchen like a goblin, but it got the most natural light in the apartment. “It was so romantic!” a voice crackled through my phone speaker.
“Oh!” Ro mouthed silently, throwing a hand up in apology as she tip-toed to the counter to unload the groceries. “Sorry.”
I’d put my mother on speakerphone so I could talk to her and work simultaneously. I was all about multitasking these days.
“Seriously, Sierra. It felt like I’d walked into a movie.”
“That’s great, Mom.”
“Date?” Ro mouthed in my direction.
I nodded.
Ro’s eyebrows lifted, impressed. “Go, Larry!” she said quietly.
I smirked as my mother continued to gush about the most romantic evening of her life.
“There were candles everywhere, bathing the room in this soft golden light…” Her words trailed off. “And I keep thinking about how gorgeous that would look during the wedding ceremony. I think the soft candlelight will pair so nicely with all the lace on the dress.”
“And the beading…” I said, holding my breath.Right? My stomach twisted up in knots.
“What beading?” my mother asked.
“That floral pattern you sent me in the mail. The cutout from the bridal magazine.”
“No, no, no!” my mother said, half in surprise, half in horror. “I didn’t want that.”
“You sent me a photo!” I said.Please tell me this was a joke.
“I just thought the trend was cute, but I thought we talked about the lace. Lace is timeless,” my mother said. “Elegant. Sweetheart, can we just stick with the lace?”
I looked at the bodice in my hands, fingers brushing over the delicately beaded flowers, filled with dread. How many hours had I already poured into this? And now I was going to have to start from scratch. My gaze lifted, catching Ro’s unimpressed look across the kitchen.
She jammed her finger in the air. “Tell her no!” she whisper-yelled.
“It’s her wedding dress. It should be what she wants,” I mouthed back.
“She’sthe one who wanted the beading,” Ro continued.
“Honey?” my mother said. “Are you still there?”
I looked away from Ro. “Yeah, Mom,” I sighed. “We can go with just the lace.”
Ro rolled her eyes, pretending to flop down on the kitchen counter.
“Perfect!” my mother said. “Call you later?”
“Sure, love you.” I hung up, clutching the bodice and wondering if there was any way to save it for a future project. I hated to think of all that work going to waste.
“Sierra!” Ro said the second the call ended, gently but lovingly scolding me.
“I know!I know.” Ro was always lecturing me about standing up for myself, but that wasn’t the issue here. Mom was so excited about this wedding. I just wanted it to be perfect for her. She couldn’t have had an easy time raising me as a single mother. Now that she’d found happiness, I didn’t want anything to spoil it.
