Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Taking a deep breath, I wheeled out of the changing room. Anna set down her champagne glass, her mouth parting in an O. Sofia’s expression brightened too. Of course, Mom being Mom, only gave a nod, then narrowed her eyes thoughtfully and began to circle me, looking for ways to let the wheelchair disappear.
“It’s beautiful, it is,” she said slowly. “But I wonder if a more sweeping dress would be better…”
“It’s perfect!” Anna said as if she hadn’t heard my mother. She got up and nodded appreciatively as she motioned to my waist. “The corset perfectly accentuates your narrow waist and décolletage. If you’re up for it, I’d say you should wear really high heels.”
I shrugged. “Why not? It’s not like I’ll have to walk in them.”
Sofia and Anna looked uncertain if they should laugh, but Giorgia, knowing me better, burst out laughing. Mom’s mouth pinched, but she took a few steps back, letting me spend time with the girls. She approached the sales associate. Despite what everyone else thought, I knew she’d ask for a sweeping dress.
Anna moved toward the shelves with pumps and picked a few elegant, pointy heels. She held up a pair of gorgeous Mary Jane pumps dressed in pearls and crystals. Seeing that they were Jimmy Choos, I knew the price would match the extraordinarily slim heels and be outrageously high. Anna knelt before me. “May I?”
I nodded, a bit surprised as she put on the heels. I usually never wore heels. It had never made sense, but now, looking at myself in the mirror with these beautiful shoes, I regretted all the missed opportunities.
“Perfect!” Anna said.
“Yes,” I agreed, promising myself to wear heels more often in the future.
Mom urged me to try on three more dresses, but I couldn’t shake the image of the first dress I’d tried on, especially with the heels. I felt beautiful, so I picked my first choice despite Mom’s attempts to steer me toward another dress.
I wouldn’t try to cover up my wheelchair. I wanted to look beautiful in my wheelchair, and if people couldn’t see me like that because of a piece of metal, then that was their problem.
Still, I couldn’t deny that I wanted Samuel to find me beautiful.
Two months before the wedding, Samuel came to Indianapolis and visited me at our home. I still lived with Danilo even though that was supposed to be a temporary thing. Mom hadn’t coped very well after Dad’s death, and taking care of me—which she insisted on doing to an extent I definitely didn’t require—took too much of a toll on her. Danilo hadn’t minded letting me live with him, and I’d preferred it too. He worked a lot and didn’t hover like Mom did.
“What does he want?” I asked Danilo, who’d announced Samuel’s visit to me just an hour before it was supposed to happen. So typical. I had been busy crafting the origami flowers I wanted to use as place cards for our wedding tables. I was almost done with them but would have to start crafting the white cranes I wanted to use as decoration hanging from the ceilings over each table.
Danilo’s brows puckered. “I assume he wants to discuss last-minute details of the wedding.”
I almost laughed. Like most men in our world, Samuel hadn’t been involved with organizing the wedding. I hadn’t expected him to be. Maybe I’d hoped we’d be in contact now and then, but he’d simply given me carte blanche to do whatever I wanted. Mom had naturally taken him up on the offer and spent the past year organizing the wedding. She preferred to do things her way. Even I had a hard time giving her input. The number of arguments we’d had until I was allowed to create origami decorations for our wedding had been ridiculous.
I moved into my room on the first floor to put on some makeup and brush my hair. I was in a cozy but flattering cashmere dress and wool tights because the past few days had been cold. I grabbed my new pair of caramel-colored suede pumps from my wardrobe and put them on. After Anna’s encouraging words about me wearing high heels, I finally found the courage to buy these on my last shopping trip with Giorgia. I hadn’t dared to wear them yet, though, stupidly worried people would react badly.
I felt a sudden burst of nerves. I hadn’t been overly nervous about the wedding yet. Maybe because it had seemed so far away, and still like it might not happen at all, but now Samuel was here to discuss last-minute details.
My stomach tightened. What if he wasn’t here to discuss the wedding but the cancellation of it? I suddenly felt sick.
Samuel had known what he’d get when he agreed to marry me, but maybe, over time, he’d changed his mind. Maybe now that only two months remained, he realized that he’d spend the rest of his life with a disabled woman. I hated that the thought even crossed my mind, but Samuel and I didn’t know each other. Nothing bound us except for the promise between our families. I didn’t know what he thought of me. I knew what most people in our world thought of our bond, though, and it wasn’t very favorable.