Mitzi glanced up at the clock. “Good grief, where did the morning go?”

“I slept away part of it.” Paula appeared in the doorway. “Sounds like Ellie Mae is here.”

“Are you feelin’ better?” Jody asked.

Paula sat down at her machine. “Little bit. I figured I can feel sick here or at home. Here I can at least take my mind off it with work. I don’t have a fever, so I’m not contagious. Probably just something I ate.”

“Jody, get her opinion on what’s happening while I go take care of this,” Mitzi said as she headed out of the room.

“Sorry I wasn’t right here. The time got away from me,” Mitzi apologized as she showed Ellie Mae the sketch pad with front, back, and side drawings of her in the dress.

Ellie Mae clapped her hands and squealed, “It’s perfect. I don’t want to change a single thing. It’s just what I dreamed it would be. I’m so glad that you’re making it for me in such a short time. You know we really planned on a fall wedding, but then we got this great deal on a honeymoon cruise for July, so we pushed it up. When do I start fittings?”

“A week from today,” Mitzi said. “We’ll do one a week until the dress is finished and then one final one with the hat and shoes. That way we can be absolutely sure that you don’t want to add a bead or change your mind about shoes.”

Ellie Mae sucked in a lungful of air and let it out slowly. “I’ll feel like a princess. Oh, and would you please make Darcy’s dress? I’m only having one maid of honor, and I want her to wear red satin. I’m not real picky about what style, though. I’ll leave that up to y’all.”

Mitzi bit back a giggle. “Have you told your sister your colors?”

“Nope, but red is her favorite color. But at least talk her into leaving off long sleeves and a collar if you can. She’s conservative,” Ellie Mae laughed.

“So we’ll slit up the sides to her hip, then?” Mitzi teased.

“I’d love that, but she’d just faint dead away if we even mentioned it. Now let’s go get me measured.” Ellie Mae headed toward the fitting room.

Mitzi wrote down all her measurements in a notebook as she worked. “So is eleven thirty good for you each Friday? We can stay late if you need to come after work instead, and I’ll need Darcy to come in the first of the week to get things going for her.”

“No, this time is great. I’ll tell Darcy to call you and set up an appointment for Monday morning. I wish you did flowers. I want a special kind of bouquet,” Ellie Mae said.