Home to Stay by Terri Osburn Page A

was Beth, and it was perfect.
    When she reached the platform in front of the large mirror, stepped onto the pedestal, and turned to face them, even Sid gasped.
    “What do you think?” the blushing bride asked, as if she couldn’t see the truth for herself.
    “Perfect,” Will and Sid said at the same time.
    Beth swept around. “Do you really think so?”
    As if there could be any doubt.
    “I don’t think so, I know so.” Will left her chair to get a closer look. “The beadwork is amazing. The length is perfect for getting married by the water.” Will looked up. “Joe is going to fall to his knees when he sees you coming down that aisle.”
    Beth’s smile broadened. “It is the right one, isn’t it!” She danced in place, then froze, the excitement falling from her face.
    “What?” Will asked. “What is it?”
    Green eyes turned misty. “Should I really be wearing white? I mean…” She laid a hand over her belly. “With the baby and all.”
    “Stop right there,” Sid said, joining them near the mirror. “I’m no expert on this girly shit, but my grandmother always said every woman deserved to wear white on her big day. No matter what. It says she’s special. The most beautiful and happiest woman in the room.”
    Beth and Will stared at their friend as if she’d been body snatched.
    “Don’t look at me like that. I have a pair of ovaries, too, you know.”
    “We know,” Will said. “We weren’t sure if you knew.”
    Sid rolled her eyes as Beth and Will laughed together.
    “Now it’s your turn,” Beth declared, clapping from her perch. “I’ve put one dress in each of your dressing rooms. Try them on and then come out and let me see.”
    “We don’t get to pick them ourselves?” Sid asked. “What if we don’t like them?”
    “It’s her day, remember?” Will said, pushing Sid toward the dressing rooms. “Do what she says.”
    They reached the dressing rooms, but neither seemed to know which room to enter.
    “Will is on the left,” Beth yelled across the room. “Sid, you’re on the right.”
    With a deep breath and a drop of the shoulders, Will stepped behind the curtain. She’d not gotten this far in her own wedding planning, and hadn’t been in a fancy dress in years. Hanging from a hook to her left was a dress bag. She unzipped it, holding her breath in anticipation of what Beth had selected.
    “Please let me like it,” she said to her own reflection. Will really wanted to make Beth happy. Having to fake a positive reaction would be tough, but she’d do it if necessary. It was only a dress, after all. She could muddle through for one day to make one of her best friends happy.
    Will paused at the thought. Beth and Sid truly were two of the best friends she’d ever had. Maybe the best. A childhood of constant movement dictated by her mother’s wishes and whims had made it difficult to have friends. Finding a best friend had been impossible.
    Which made her wish all the more that she could stay on Anchor forever. Since the night she’d left Boston with little more than the cash in her pocket and a driving fear of what she’d left behind, Will had been living apart. Distant from everyone around her.
    But today, she belonged. She had friends.
    Today, the past didn’t matter.
    Reaching into the dress bag, Will slid the hanger forward to reveal a simple, navy-blue sleeveless dress. The delicate material was gathered to one side, with a sash that would hang over her right hip, and a draped neckline.
    It was exactly what she would pick for herself.
    Slipping out of her jeans and T-shirt, Will shimmied the dress over her head, sighing as the soft crepe caressed her body. If Beth had done this well for Will, she couldn’t wait to see what Sid was wearing.
    Will didn’t have long to wait.
    “This makes my boobs look huge!” Sid yelled as Will exited her dressing room.
    “Your boobs are huge,” Will informed her through the black curtain. “Now get out here and let us