Page 43 of Second Chance in Charlevoix
“I want it to be special.” He waved his hands as if he was creating something. “Memorable. Cynthia was so good at this stuff.”
Sam pressed back against the cushion. How could she compete with a woman who’d passed on and probably had done a wonderful job of raising her two children? Sam would come in as a distant second. And that was something tothink about.
But she couldn’t look away from Josh’s troubled eyes. “Could you help?”
“Me?” Had she heard right? “Josh, I’m probably the last person Mia wants helping her.”
Josh’s stubborn streak was showing. “That’s ridiculous. We have to work on our relationship and here’s an opportunity.” The poor man was serious. Sam didn’t know what to do. The idea of using his daughter as a couple’s therapy tool didn't appeal to her at all.
“You’re a woman who always looks good. You’d know a pretty dress when you saw one,” Josh continued as if he’d read a self–help article. “And you’d also know which dresses she shouldn’t wear.”
Okay, he had a point. But Sam did not want to be the person censoring Mia’s choice in clothing. “Josh, Mia won’t go for this. I am the last person she wants helping her pick out a dress.”
“Oh no, she’s fine with it.” He sat back while Sam digested what he’d just said.
“So you already asked her about this.”
His mouth opened and closed. No words came out.Guilty as charged.That’s what his stricken expression was telling her. “I sort of did. Sam, I’m sorry. But Mia was telling me about the dance and the dress. I had to come up with something.”
Was he desperate about the dress or desperate about the relationship between Mia and Sam?
Sam could feel herself giving in. In either case, how could she say no? “All right. I’ll do it.”
Chapter 21
Samantha
Why had she agreed to this? Sam’s stomach was a mess. Facing the shopping trip with Mia, Sam felt totally inadequate. What had made her think she could pull this off? On top of everything else, she had to eat lunch with a teenager with a bad attitude. Josh had suggested that they begin the dress search with lunch at the Weathervane.
Since Josh and Sam had eaten there last winter, the restaurant seemed like a good choice. At the time they’d been seated outside, where they could watch the bridge go up every half hour. Down below was the channel leading out to Lake Michigan. Gulls circled overhead and finches twittered about, hoping someone would drop a crumb. The lovely scene was somethingshe’d never experience back in Oak Brook, the suburb west of Chicago where she’d lived with Kurt.
“I love this restaurant,” Sam said, searching for common ground.
Mia glanced around. “My parents used to bring us here. My mom loved it too.” The words were given in a toneless voice. So this was a happy family memory. Sam felt shaken. The words on the menu blurred. Maybe they should have gone somewhere else. During her lunch here with Josh, he’d never mentioned that Cynthia had loved this restaurant. Maybe to him, it just been a picturesque restaurant strategically located next to the channel between Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix.
Sam was in uncharted waters. Arms crossed, Mia kept glancing at the water below, as if she wanted to jump in. Conversation was painful and they quickly ordered. After that, Mia hardly said a word. Wearing torn jeans, a hoodie and too much eye makeup, she looked like a typical teenager. Were all kids that age so sullen? It would break her heart if carefree Holly turned out like this. But that wasn’t fair. Look at what her family had faced, and the Quinn girls had managed to breach that loss.
Staring out at the water below, the girl showed no reaction to the yachts gliding through the channel, heading out into the ocean. People in colorful bathing suits and hats often waved from the boats and Samwaved back. Then Mia cast a look her way. The waving was not a cool thing to do. Was anything “cool” now to teenagers? Sam had no clue.
Finally the food arrived. While Sam dove into her fish and chips, Mia nibbled on her hearty cheeseburger. The Wagyu part seemed lost on the girl. She was terribly thin and Sam wondered if that was on purpose. Was she on a diet or just not that interested in food? Of course she couldn’t ask that question. In fact, Mia hardly spoke at all, which felt uncomfortable. Thank goodness Josh’s daughter didn’t want dessert.
Glad to have that part over, Sam waved for the check. Moments later, the two of them were on Bridge Street. The summer season hadn’t started yet so there were only a few tourists stopping in front of the store windows. “Thank you for the lunch, Samantha,” Mia mumbled as they walked across the bridge. Obviously she’d been warned to offer some gratitude.
“You’re welcome. It was fun.” The words had come easily and were anything but the truth. Mia glanced up as if even she was surprised by the “fun” part. “And you can call me Sam, Mia. Everyone does.”
The night before, Marlowe had helped Sam do a search for dress shops in Charlevoix. If they didn’t find anything Sam was ready to continue up to Petoskey. Sam hoped they would find something suitable. But no, it had to be more than that. “Suitable” wouldn’t do. Deep in her heart, Sam knew that.
Any dance she’d attended had called for a lot of planning. When she graduated from grade school, there was a dance. Her mother had made her a wonderful robin’s egg blue dress with a full skirt, three quarter length sleeves and a scoop neckline. Simple but magical for Sam. She’d loved it. For her it had been a dream dress, and at the time Marlowe had asked if she could wear it later. But by the time Marlowe reached that age, styles had changed, Mom was gone and they were trying to figure out what was left of their lives. Of course Aunt Cate had stepped in with a designer dress from New York and Marlowe had looked stunning.
Their search began with Sophia’s Fashions, which wasn’t too far from the bridge. They went directly there. As she walked along with Mia at her side, Sam tried to pretend that she was a mother taking her daughter on this search. But it was difficult. When they reached the store, the dresses in the window were for all ages, from toddlers to middle school. The selection might be limited but they went inside. A girl named Heidi greeted them and Sam quickly explained what they were looking for. With a stone face Mia began sorting through the hangers.
“A dance?” Heidi said. “Well, let’s start here.” Before long she’d gathered a bunch of dresses in Mia’s size. To Sam’s amazement she wore a size zero. How was that even possible? Heidi and Mia disappearedinto the fitting room area and Sam perched on one of the lilac colored velvet chairs. Waiting for Mia to appear, she said a silent prayer that they would find something suitable. And soon.
When Mia appeared in the first dress, her sour expression told Sam that this wasn’t going to cut it. Going to the three-way mirror, the girl slowly turned, as if she were about to be burned at the stake and was searching for the least painful position. The pink sundress was sweet, with a large bow on each shoulder. The bodice was embroidered and tucked. Sam remembered Izzy having dresses like this when she was young. “No?” she asked Mia.
“Definitely not.” Looking relieved, Mia trotted back to the room with Heidi in tow.
The second and third dresses were no better and Sam was beginning to understand that this shop specialized in children’s clothes. Although Mia wore a very small size, the style and length of the dresses made it clear that they were for younger girls, not teenagers looking for the right image.
