Rain Check?

~107~

  "When did you say the dress will be here?" Leigh Ann asks over the Thanksgiving meal.

  Dempsey is almost nervous to tell her. She looks around the table to see her sister watching her closely as well, but then there's also the fact that there are several eyes of Evans also waiting for her response.  Scott's looks the most nervous, matching Demi's own as she inhales slowly.

  "Two weeks," she mumbles, trying to hide the announcement behind a mouthful of turkey and dressing.

  Lisa is the one that scoots forward, trying to get a little closer to hear more clearly. "Did you say two weeks?"

  Dempsey nods, wishing for someone else at the table to speak up and change the topic. "Two weeks!" her mother shrieks. "How are we going to have time for alterations, or to figure out how it'll work with the chair? Oh, Demi!" Her fork clanks against the China plate as her head drops into her hands. "We're going tomorrow and finding something we can just get off the rack."

  Her daughter's head jerks in her direction. "No, we're not Ma. It's fine. Everything will be fine."

  "How can you be so sure?" Leigh Ann whines. "You're leaving so much to chance! What if it gets lost in the mail on the way here? You'll be stuck with nothing."  Lisa reaches her hand over towards the woman, urging her to calm herself down.

  "It's not going to get lost in the mail, mother."

  "You don't know that," the woman shakes her head unwilling to believe her daughter is putting so much faith into the postal system, especially with adding in international shipping. 

  Dempsey shoots a look over to Scott. He reads her well and begins to chime in. "Actually, Chris is bringing it back with him. He's somehow managed to talk the airline into letting him buy a seat for the dress," he admits, sending most of the table into a roar of laughter. The children of course just watch the adults, completely unsure of what they're finding so funny. "That dress will travel in more comfort than most others on that flight."

  "You think he's gonna sneak a peek?" Carly asks. Dempsey knows she's trying to put the mother's mind at ease, and she's thankful for the effort, but she also knows her mother is just going to worry until that gown is hanging up at least somewhere in Boston. 

  Lisa shakes her head at her daughter. "He  knows better, right Scott?"

  A nod of agreement comes from the other end of the table. "I made him promise and threatened that if we found out he did then they'd have to name their firstborn child after me."

  "What if they don't have a boy first?"

  "Did you not just hear me?" he mocks towards his sister. "I said firstborn. Meaning if they have a girl she'll be known as Scott too."

  Carly averts her eyes to the rest of the group. "Oh, yeah no. He's not looking."

  Dempsey continues eating, thinking that the conversation is over until her mother is reaching over to rest her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Can we please get a back up? Just to put my fears at ease if anything? Please?" 

Demi sees the genuine concern behind her mother's eyes, with a glance over to Conor  she squeezes her mother's hand. "Yeah, Ma. We can go. Conor, do you have plans tomorrow?"

  "Dress shopping," she answers with a wink and a smirk.

  "It's settled then. Back up dress shopping tomorrow for the Abrams women," Dempsey confirms.

  She's surprised by  her mother's next words. "And the Evans women, if they'll join us too?" she looks expectantly at Lisa whose eyes are almost clouding over at the sentimental addition.