Designing Abigail Kilton's Dress - #1 The Wedding Dress

Chapter 10 - A Long Way From Home

Kayleigh took a quick sip of red wine before slipping the glass behind her laptop. Her pale face blinked back at her in the bottom right corner of an otherwise black screen.

"Mum? Mum, you have to switch on the camera," Kayleigh advised her computer.

"It is on!" her mother's frustrated voice called back.

"No, it is not. Ask Leon to help you."

"Give it here, Mum," her brother's voice offered. "There we go!"

Three disgruntled faces appeared on her screen and Kayleigh waved at them cheerfully. She had been in London for over a week and despite various phone calls, they hadn't found the time to do a proper video call. Seeing the whole family gathered in their cosy living room almost brought Kayleigh to tears. She could almost smell the burnt cookies mixed in the fresh sea breeze.

"I can see you! How are you?"

"We're good. How about you, Kay?" her father yelled as though he was on the other side of a football stadium.

"She's great, Dad," Leon answered with a cheeky glint in his eyes. "She's a big shot now, aren't you, Baby Sis?"

"Leon, dear, don't tease your sister," Mrs Moore scolded, not taking her eyes off the screen. Kayleigh noticed she was just as choked up as she was.

"I'm not teasing! She's designing the hottest wedding dress of the season," her brother said in a tone that sounded like the intro to a YouTube gossip feature. "She's going to be rich!"

"I am not going to-"

"Feet on the ground, Leon-"

"Will you let my daughter speak!" their father yelled again, looking at his baby girl eagerly through the screen. Leon and Anne Moore fell silent and turned back to the camera like scolded five-year-olds.

"Thanks, Dad," Kayleigh grinned. 

"Hey Sis, close your eyes! We have a surprise for you."

Kayleigh's eyes went wide. "You do? What is it?"

"Close your eyes!" he insisted.

She humoured him and placed her palms in front of her face. "Okay, they're-"

"Hello!"

A familiar, merry voice was accompanied by cheers and clapping. Kayleigh dropped her hands instantly and gasped at the bespectacled face that had joined the party

"Rosemary?" she exclaimed, not sure what to make of the fact that Rosemary Nicholson was in her living room. "Hey! Uhm... What are you doing here?"

Leon threw an arm around the beaming girl and squeezed into view again. "She's just hanging around, you know. As you would."

Rosemary rolled her eyes and slapped his arm away before turning back to the camera to explain. "My mum told me your mum told her that you were calling tonight and I wanted to talk to you. So, I told my mum that, and my mum told your mum. So your mum invited me over. Then Leon wanted to surprise you and made me hide behind the computer and, well, here I am! Are you surprised?"

Kayleigh struggled to keep up with Rosemary's thought process. Not only did the brunette talk fast naturally, so it was always a challenge to keep up with her explanations, but Kayleigh found herself distracted by her brother's arm snaking its way around her friend's shoulders again.

"I'm surprised," Kayleigh declared, the confusion evident in her tone.

Rosemary beamed at her and instantly launched a series of questions. "Tell me everything! How are you? Are you really going to be rich? Did you meet her? Abigail Kilton? What is she like? I bet she's a diva!"