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18

ALLISON

A llison's legs feel weak like a newborn calf. Even though it’s been a while since she’d come like a wanton hussy on Russell’s hand, she hasn’t recovered yet. She’d left his room, slipping into her own to change into a bathing suit before heading down to the indoor pool.

A heavy sigh escapes her when she spots the group clustered around a couple of tables between rows of loungers. The cousins are clustered around Aunt Jenny and Aunt Lettie. The women are sitting next to one another, leaning in as they talk in a classic two old biddies gossiping position. One guess who they’re going on about. Straightening her spine and asking God for patience instead of strength so she doesn’t go to jail, she enters the humid room.

There’s a large, rectangular pool dominating most of the space with tables and loungers scattered along both long sides. In the far corner there’s a large round jacuzzi. This is where Emma and several of her friends are located. “Allison!” Emma waves her over.

Sparing a glance toward the area where her aunts are holding court, Allison hurries around the other side of the pool toward her cousin. She almost makes it but then, “Allison, dear!”

She closes her eyes for a beat, then plasters on a smile when she turns toward her aunt. “Come over here, please,” Aunt Jenny calls. Biting her lower lip, she changes direction and joins her aunts at their table.

“Are you feeling better?” Allison blinks at them in confusion. “Your mother said you weren’t feeling well and that’s why you haven’t been down here.”

“Yes, I’m feeling better,” Allison agrees. I would’ve felt better if Russell and I hadn’t been interrupted. She keeps this thought to herself.

“That’s good to hear,” Aunt Jenny pats her hand. “Well, don’t just stand there, have a seat.” She gestures to an empty chair that’s appeared between her and Aunt Lettie.

“We haven’t had a chance to catch up, yet,” Aunt Lettie adds. “You haven’t been home since Emma’s unfortunate incident. What is keeping you way out there away from your family?” This is the last conversation she wants to be having, but she won’t be rude.

Reluctantly, she takes a seat between the two older women. “Work keeps me busy,” Allison answers.

Aunt Jenny scoffs. “Work,” she says derisively. “You should be working at home, raising up the next generation. I know you modern women think you need to have a career and be important out in the world, but being a wife and mother are the most important jobs you can ever have.”

“I have plenty of time to get married and have children,” Allison argues. “I just haven’t met anyone I would want to settle down with.”

“You won’t find a good man in a bar, young lady,” Aunt Lettie counsels. “Church! That’s where you’ll find a respectable man to father your children.” Allison resists the urge to argue and tell her all about the ‘good men’ she’d met at church before leaving for college. She’d lost her virginity at bible camp the summer she turned seventeen to a twenty-five year-old youth pastor who, once he’d gotten what he wanted, dropped her like a hot potato. But telling them her story would only backfire on her. They would blame her for ‘giving it up’, not the older man who should have known better.

“Yes, ma’am,” Allison says instead.

“Allison!” Emma calls, “We need you to come over here, please.” Allison suppresses a grin. Em has always had her back, rescuing her from bad situations.

“Good talk,” Allison says, not keeping the sarcasm out of her voice, knowing it’s lost on them anyway. She heads over to join Emma and the others in the hot tub. “Thanks for the save,” she tells Emma as she eases down into the hot, bubbling water.

“I could tell they were in full on lecture mode,” Emma informs her. “They’ve been on a roll all afternoon. I’ve been told how fortunate I am that Curtis still wants to marry me. You know since I’ve been living in sin with him and after everything that happened, not to mention me being so overweight.”

Allison feels like her eyes are going to bug out of her head. “They didn’t!”

“Oh, hell yes, they did,” Susie Beth joins in, a fierce expression on her face. Emma reaches over to pat Susie Beth’s shoulder.

“Calm down,” Emma urges. “You’re more worked up about it than I am.” Susie Beth gives her a side-eye, her jaws clenched tight.

“I can’t stand them talking to you like that.”

“I know. I appreciate you defending me, but you’re just wasting your breath. They’re never going to agree with our life choices. I made peace with it when they blamed me for being raped all those years ago.” Allison gives Emma a stricken look.

“You knew?” she whispers the question. Emma nods.

“Yeah, just because I wasn’t talking to anyone didn’t mean I couldn’t hear.” The bitterness easy to hear in her voice. “I blamed myself for a long time. It took a lot of therapy to understand nothing I did caused what happened. All of it was on Iceman, not me, and not you.” Emma looks over at Susie Beth who has tears in her eyes.

“If we’d left when you wanted to—” Susie Beth breaks off and looks away.

“Stop!” Emma demands. “We’ve talked about this. It was not your fault.” Susie Beth doesn’t look convinced, but she nods. “I mean it. Not. Your. Fault.”

“How about we talk about the dresses?” Lisa interjects to change the topic.

“I haven’t even tried mine on yet,” Allison admits. “God! I hope it fits. What will we do if it doesn’t?”

“Mom brought her sewing machine, much to Dad’s dismay,” Emma laughs.

“Your mom and dad are here?” Allison questions.

“Yes, she and dad are staying on the floor below ours. Mom said she didn’t want to intrude but wanted to be close in case we needed to do any alterations.” Allison feels marginally better, but she isn’t worried about it being too big, but too little. She hopes they have extra fabric.

“We should go up to my room so you can try it on.” The other women are nodding agreement. They all rise and begin to get out of the hot tub one at a time, grabbing towels from the nearby table.

In Emma’s suite, Allison slips into the large bathroom, strips off her bathing suit, and pulls the silky dress over her head. She turns to the side with a frown. The burgundy-colored dress is gorgeous, but it’s a bit tight around her hips and breasts. Shockingly, she looks better in it than she’d expected, but she can’t keep from noticing her flaws.

Her breasts have never been perky. She’d gone from a flat chest to DD overnight it had seemed. Using both hands she pushes them up trying to remember if she brought her strapless bra. “Did you fall in?” Susie Beth yells through the door.

Allison jerks the door open. “No, you dork! I wasn’t using the bathroom. I’m trying on the dress.” Susie Beth eyes her up and down.

“Dammit! You look better than all of us,” Susie Beth whines, reaching out to adjust the neckline for her. “And for the record, I knew you weren’t on the pot, but you were taking way too long to try it on.”

“I was trying to decide if I wanted you all to see me in it,” Allison admits. “My ass is too wide and my tits are sagging.” She turns sideways to the women so they can see what she means. “But if they weren’t, the dress would be popping at the seams.” Susie Beth glares at her.

“Allison, my goodness if your daddy could hear you,” Leslie chimes in, peering at her around Susie Beth. When did she get here?

“You be sure to run and tell him when they get here,” Allison sneers. “You always were a tattletale.” Shocked gasps along with Susie Beth’s cackle of laughter fill the room. Allison has tried to be nice, but she isn’t in the mood to be treated like she’s still in middle school. Regret hits her almost immediately. “I’m sorry, Em. I don’t mean to cause problems.”

“ You aren’t causing problems,” Emma says graciously. “Let’s all just take a minute and calm down. Leslie, it isn’t like Allison is dropping the f-bomb so chill on shaming. None of us are perfect, and we need to remember that.”

“The dress feels a little snug,” Allison comments to break the tension, “What do you think?” Emma gives her an appraising look, tilting her head to the side.

“You might be right,” Emma asserts, nodding. “Let me have mom come and check.” Emma texts her mother. “Mom’ll be here soon.”

Minutes later, there’s a knock on the door. Emma hurries to open it. “Hey, mom. Allison’s dress might need some adjustments.”

“Aunt Margaret!” Allison rushes to give the woman a hug. While many of Allison’s extended family can be overly judgmental, Aunt Margaret and Uncle Henry have never been too bad, especially after what Emma had gone through. They’ve always been Allison’s favorite aunt and uncle.

“Ali, my girl!” Aunt Margaret grips her tightly. “I’m so happy to see you. I should have come to dinner the other night but didn’t want to intrude on the young kids' fun. We’ll have time to catch up at the rehearsal dinner and reception.”

“Mom, you and dad aren’t intruding,” Emma argues, good naturedly. Margaret glances at Emma, giving her a dismissive wave of her hand. Allison can tell the women have hashed this out a few times before now. She turns back to Allison, putting her at arm’s length to assess the dress.

“This won’t be too difficult to alter,” Aunt Margaret says. She picks her bag off the floor where she must have dropped it when she saw Allison and plucks out a plastic container full of straight pins. “Now, hold still. You don’t want to be the pincushion.”

Allison winces remembering a few sharp pokes as a child when Aunt Margaret would make them clothes. Allison had a hard time staying still while the hems and seams were pinned. She’d end up getting several sticks and bleeding on her new outfit before the process was over.

About twenty minutes and only two small pokes later, neither of which drew blood, Aunt Margaret is satisfied the dress is pinned like it needs to be. “Alright, slip that off, and I’ll take it back to my room and get to work. I should have it ready in a couple of hours at the latest.”

“Thanks, Aunt Margaret,” Allison gives the woman’s arm a little squeeze. She returns to the bathroom, carefully removing the dress and placing it on the hanger. After quickly donning her clothes, she leaves the bathroom. “I have plans for dinner tonight. I’ll see you all in the morning,” she says to the women in the room, handing the dress to her aunt.

“Allison, wait!” She turns at Leslie’s request. “I’m sorry if I upset you earlier. It wasn’t my intention.” Allison nods but doesn’t comment. This has always been Leslie’s tactic in the past. She’d tell on the rest of them for even the most minor of infractions, then beg their forgiveness saying she hadn’t meant to get them in trouble but would do the same thing a day later. Allison doesn’t believe for one second the woman has changed from the brat she’s always been.

“Don’t sweat it. I shouldn’t have risen to the bait.” With that Allison gives Emma a hug.

“I’ll see you later,” Emma says with a grin, then leans close to whisper, “Bachelorette party tonight. We’re leaving around nine. I didn’t invite the cousins.”

“Later,” Allison agrees, returning the grin. She heads back to her room checking the time on her phone. She should have just enough time to shower and freshen up before Russell arrives with their dinner.