Doughnuts & Deadly Schemes - Culinary Competition Mystery #3

Chapter 10

(Carla)

Carla took another moment to inhale the intoxicating bacon aroma before pushing open the door of Past To Present Vintage Clothing. It was midmorning, and at the other end of the strip mall, The Breakfast Spot was churning out cheesy omelets, biscuits with sausage gravy, and bacon breakfast sandwiches for hungry customers. Apparently lots of bacon, considering the cloud of mouth-watering, smoky scent enveloping the entire mall.

The door to the clothing store thumped shut behind Carla. The atmosphere inside the little shop was mercifully more flower-scented fabric softener than hearty breakfast. Drooling down the front of her gorgeous bridal gown wouldn't be good for the delicate fabric.

"Hello! You must be Carla," a woman wearing a wildly patterned wrap dress said as she emerged from a hallway at the back of the store. The huge, colorful tropical flowers on the silky fabric swayed and shimmered as she wove between low clothing racks. "Congratulations on your upcoming wedding."

"Thank you. I'm thrilled with the dress, but so sorry to rush the alterations like this."

"I'm so glad you found something you like. Don't worry about the alterations. They won't be a problem." She took the garment bag containing the wedding dress from Carla. "My name is Michelle. Why don't we get you into this and see what changes you'd like to make?"

Five minutes later Carla was staring at herself in a full-length mirror fastened to the wall of a dressing room. She looked as though she had stepped out of the pages of a 1950's fashion magazine. Retro sexy. That was the description Amy had come up with after Carla chose the dress. Actually, it had been more like one of those sappy, woo-woo things where the gown seemed to magically choose her for its next owner. When she walked away from the bridal salon, disappointed that none of the new dresses matched the vision in her head, she had no idea that a previously owned dress would be the remedy to her nightmare. Carla had certainly never thought of checking out vintage stores since she never shopped at them herself.

There was a soft knock on the door. "Ready?"

"Come in."

Michelle slipped into the small room. A fabric tomato pincushion was tied onto her wrist with a green ribbon. She wore a yellow tape measure around her neck like a lariat necklace. Michelle tilted her head to the side as she scrutinized the dress.

"It fits pretty well. The straps need to be shortened a little, and I can also take the waist in a bit. Do you like the length of the skirt?"

Carla turned back around to look at her reflection in the mirror. "I think the length is good. It seems appropriate for this style...at least to me."

"You're right." Michelle nodded as she pinched the top of the loose straps that had already slipped off Carla's shoulders. "I can't help but think about the previous life of vintage clothes. I'm pretty sure this was originally a wedding dress, probably from the 1950s or early '60s. I wonder what the wedding was like. I bet the bride and groom were madly in love. Maybe they splurged on a bottle of champagne to toast the start of their marriage."

"You have a very romantic imagination. The reality could've been less rosy. Maybe they both got drunk on the champagne and ended up fighting on their wedding night." Carla smoothed the sheer, white fabric of the skirt. The poor woman would think she was altering a dress for the Bride of Frankenstein after a comment like that. "Sorry. I work in the ER, and my fiancé is a homicide detective. Sometimes we see the not-so-pleasant side of people."

"We all have a different view of life. Selling clothes is much less stressful than what you do. Drawing on my area of expertise, I can tell somebody took very good care of this dress, so I think they cherished it for a reason."

A memento of a special day that revolved around love. So much better than a reminder of an argument with a hangover chaser. Carla smiled. "I promise I will also treasure this dress. I like your tale of its possible heritage better than mine."

"And you'll be adding to the history in your own unique way." Michelle tugged at the fabric of the wide waistband. "Do you want this a little tighter?"

Carla took a deep breath. The fact that she was wearing a wedding dress hit her like a gust from a hurricane. Like a real storm, pretending the disturbance wasn't developing didn't prevent it from causing damage. She had told herself she would never marry again after her nightmare of a first marriage went up in flames faster than the cigarettes her ex-husband chain-smoked. She took another breath. The wide waistband tightened around her stomach.

"You know, the fabric is so delicate I don't want to rip it if I eat too much or try to give someone a hug. Can you just leave the waist as it is? I don't think it looks bad."

Michelle poked a pink-topped straight pin back into her fabric tomato bracelet and took a step back. "I think it looks good. Some women who have a small waist like yours want to highlight it as much as possible. Of course, they probably don't eat or do the 'Funky Chicken' dance either."

Carla chuckled. Avoiding the embarrassing dance was one good thing about cramming the guests into her loft. "Riverbend Café is catering. I will definitely be eating at my wedding. Although, I don't think there will be room for a dance floor where the reception will most likely be held, so the 'Funky Chicken' will not be on the playlist for the evening."

"How is the planning going? Your friend who picked out the dresses told me about it. I think you are so brave to organize a wedding in less than a month. Most women take over a year."

"It's been an exercise in learning that what will be, will be. It's like building a beach hut on quicksand. What I want and what I can have are constantly shifting, and I'm just trying to stay afloat. Luckily my friend, Amy, does things like finding you and your shop so I can wear the dress of my dreams."

"She sounds like a sweetheart." Michelle sized up the proposed alterations and nodded her head. "I think we're done. Let's get you out of this and going to wherever else you need to do today!"

Carla slipped out of the dress. The silky fabric gliding over her skin felt like cool water. Michelle was right about Amy being a great friend. Hopefully, she was correct about happy, loving energy being attached to the garment, too. There was enough of a dark cloud hanging over their heads because of the unsolved murder. She needed every bit of good she could accumulate to combat the evil vibes.