Free Bet Your Bones by Jeanne Matthews Page A

thinkin’, Claude Ann, you’re not a virgin any more. You’ve calved and you oughta wear somethin’ motherly.”
    “That’s not even close to what I’m thinking.” She was thinking that she shouldn’t have let Eleanor intimidate her. She should have questioned her more closely. What or who was this Pash? What kind of a comeuppance did Xander deserve? And why hadn’t Xander fessed up that Eleanor was his sister-in-law? Dinah wished she knew how much money Mr. Smooth-as-Silk had borrowed from Claude Ann, but asking would only reinforce Claude Ann’s belief that she was overly suspicious and possibly even get her booted out of the wedding.
    Lyssa stepped out of her dress and hung it on a rack. “Nobody pays attention to that silly rule about white anymore. I wasn’t a virgin and I married in white.”
    “Who can find a virtuous woman? Proverbs thirty-one, ten.”
    Dinah turned around and saw Marywave sitting on a sewing machine stool with her Bible open in her lap.
    “Pay Marywave no mind,” said Claude Ann. “Her mission in life is to hammer me over the head with the gospel.”
    Yvonne stuck the last pin in the Vera Wang, stood up, and rubbed her knees. “The dress is pure romance.”
    Claude Ann posed this way and that in front of the full-length mirror. “It is perfect, isn’t it? Dinah, you remember that drapey, off-the-rack getup I wore at my last weddin’ made me look like a trick-or-treater draggin’ a sheet. This gown is from Vera Wang’s Luxe Collection. It set me back nearly twelve thousand dollars and it’s worth every penny.”
    “It’s the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen, Claudy. And you’re the most beautiful bride.”
    Lyssa pulled a snug blue tee-shirt over her head, freed her long hair with a sweep of her hand, and shimmied into a pair of tight white shorts. “What made you choose tangerine for the attendants’ dresses, Claude Ann? Was it because Dinah and I are both so dark and native looking? Or were you subconsciously repeating the Halloween motif from your first wedding?” Her back was to Claude Ann and her face in the mirror was unreadable as she prinked and applied gloss to her pouty lips.
    “It’s a happy color,” said Claude Ann. “My favorite.”
    Marywave scowled. “It looks like the flames of hell.”
    “Another word out of you, Marywave Kemper, and I’ll tan your backside ’til it shines like the flames of hell. I hope Marywave’s brattiness won’t put the rest of y’all off having children. She can be a sweetheart when she wants to be.”
    Lyssa turned around with a baiting smile. “You mustn’t feel bad, Marywave. My father thinks I’m a brat. We can’t always be obedient little angels, can we?”
    To her credit, Marywave kept her mouth shut.
    “Have you decided what you’re wearin’ to the party tonight, Lyssa?” Claude Ann’s patience was visibly raveling, but she seemed at pains to remain congenial.
    “I may wear the dress I wore to the party Daddy threw for Raif and me at the Ko Olina Resort after our wedding. I can’t believe you’re having such a small reception. We had nearly three hundred guests.”
    “Your father and I wanted something more intimate.”
    “I’ll bet Daddy doesn’t want you to bump into any of his former lady friends.”
    “That must be it.” Claude Ann took off her white satin pumps, hiked her skirt up, and jumped off the platform. “Are you gonna try on that dress, Dinah, or just stand around lookin’ feeble-minded?”
    “I’m going to do as I’m told. Like an angel.” Dinah shed her street clothes, removed the dress from the dress form, and slipped it over her head. She had to agree with Marywave that the color was a shade wicked. But the layers of semi-sheer chiffon against her legs felt like heaven.
    Claude Ann fumbled with her intricately buttoned lace sleeves. “Help me out of my dress, Yvonne.”
    While unbuttoning Claude Ann, Yvonne gave Dinah the once-over. “Too big in the waist. I’ll need