Chapter 29
Avidya
Shopping with Julia wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It was actually quite enjoyable. I had figured that being dragged to a number of bridal stores would have been tiresome. It ended up being the complete opposite. Even with Jonas trailing behind every step of the way.
We only ended up going to two bridal stores. One for the bridal dress styles, which Julia said she’d figured out the perfect design based on a few that I picked out that I thought everyone would like.
Julia was insistent on Violet being the one and only bridesmaid in the wedding. Mostly because her husband, Melio, would be the best man. Since I had no friends or family that would be remotely interested in being in the wedding, let alone come to it, I didn’t put up much of a fight.
I had yet to meet Melio. I had seen him in passing at the church off and on, but that was about it. I couldn’t tell anyone what he looked like, as I never really paid attention.
It didn’t take too long for Julia to write down a few notes on the style of dress that she thought would fit Violet and match the theme that she was going for. Zachariah had told her to just pick a theme and get it set up to how she saw fit, which I was more than fine with.
At the next bridal store, it was apparent that an appointment had been made, and that Julia was well known at the small, but very stuffed full bridal shop. Racks upon racks of white dresses were stuffed by size into every possible place.
A lady was quick to show us to the rack size that I was in, which Julia was able to answer without a thought.
Towards the back of the store where an arc mirror area set up with an oversized blue chair and a couple of dressing rooms.
“Let me know if you need any help,” the sales receptionist stated before leaving us.
“Have a look,” Julia said with a small smile and nod of her head towards the row of dresses. “If you don’t find what you like, I’m sure I can get something made to your style.”
Of course, she could. I laid out the ones that I liked over the back of one of the two chairs that were sat up.
“How has Zachariah treated you so far?” Julia asked out as I laid out yet another dress.
“Fine,” I answered, not sure how to answer otherwise as I sorted through the dresses. A few of them I just didn’t like for one reason or another.
“He will hardly tell me anything,” Julia pointed out as she stood next to me, looking over each dress also.
“There really isn’t much to tell,” I summed up. There wasn’t. Zachariah said I was could speak freely to his mother, but there wasn’t anything to say about any of this.
“Did he want your . . . mark to be covered?” she pressed.
“He said he didn’t care,” I answered. “One less thing for me to worry about right now.”
“That makes picking the right dress a bit easier,” she laughed, sounding relieved. “You know, no one in our family has ever had this branding on them before. Ever. You are the first.”
I simply gave her an unsure smile, not sure how to take that. Was I supposed to feel honored by that statement?
“I have Carlos’s name tattooed on me,” she whispered. “Just don’t let Zack know that.”
“Why would he care?” I asked, generally curious.
“He probably wouldn’t. But he’d tease me for the rest of my life. Along with his father,” she laughed.
For the next hour, I looked at each dress, picking out a handful that I halfway liked. Some were just too skinny or lacked something. The dresses I picked out, I ended up trying on and ended up falling in love with the dress. A dress that I had never thought I would like, truthfully.
Julia was patient, giving hints here and there and helping me with shoes and hair pieces that would match afterward. She treated me as a daughter that she had always had.
Why hadn’t I been allowed to talk to her before? Julia was much nicer of a person than I ever thought she would be. Cody always made her and her family seem stuck up because they had money when it was actually Cody himself that was the stuck-up person.
After dress shopping, Julia had Jonas drive us to a little restaurant that wasn’t too popular, thankfully. She was well known by the staff, but the other customers hardly paid her any mind as she easily led the way into the place.
The Dive was more like a small brunching area that many people didn’t seem to know about. The light hardwood floors and log like walls felt homey and welcoming. The booths and chairs around square tables were all matching in color with pre-lit lantern like candles set in the middle of each.
Jonas took a seat at the bar, facing the door, as Julia and I took seats farther towards the back and out of sight from the frosted covered windows.
“This is one of my favorite places,” Julia told me as I looked over the menu that had already been placed at the booth. She sat across from me, seeming as though she was at home. “Of course, Zach owns this place, but he doesn’t come here often.”
“What doesn’t he own?” I mumbled to myself. I wasn’t all that surprised that he owned so many places. As the days passed, I learned he owned a lot more than I ever thought possible.
“That he sure does,” she agreed. “I love this place most out of everywhere else, and he knows that. He bought it when this small restaurant was about to go out of business a few years ago.”
“That was nice of him,” I said.
“It was,” she replied fondly. “He may be younger of the two boys, but he’s more thoughtful. And wiser when it comes to his money. I’m sure he’s trying to figure out something that will make you as happy as this place did for me.”
“I don’t need anything,” I said. “He’s already done more than enough for me. I don’t expect anything from him.”
“Which is the precise reason on why he wants to give you everything he can to make sure you are happy with a life with him,” Julia stated, looking me in the eye. “He cares about you, and everyone can see the small changes in him already.”
She paused briefly as we ordered food. Julia ordered a small stir fry dish while I ordered a shepherd pie, something that looked amazing from the ingredients that were lined out on the menu.
“I heard your mother can’t be found,” Julia hinted after a few moments of quiet between us.
“It seems so,” I confirmed with a shrug.
“Carlos has no idea where she could have gone,” she hinted again.
“Neither do I,” I deadpanned. “I wish I could help. At least to keep her safe. I know Cody; he’ll kill her if he gets to her first. But she . . . . gave me a few journals from my biological mother, and it sounds like mom knew what she had planned after she knew I was safe from Cody. She . . . she sent a note shortly before she left stating she was getting out. She had contacts.”
“Oh?” Julia said in surprise. “I didn’t know she knew many people.”
“Either did I,” I said with a small shake of my head. “I just hope she’s safe, wherever she is.”
“It sounds like she is, if she has contacts,” Julia answered my worries. Just like Zachariah, she was able to soothe my fears without much trouble. “Have you found any information in the journals about anything? Zach had mentioned that you were trying to figure out who your parents are.”
“Not much of anything,” I said with a grimace. “My mom’s name was Rachael, and she loved this man who didn’t seem to know she existed for at least a year. It wasn’t until the end of the second journal when she starts to date, a guy named Aaron.”
The journal had been really boring mostly. There wasn’t much information on anything important. To me, it seemed as though Rachael was the middle sister who ended up keeping to herself and out of trouble. She complained her parents tended to be overbearing, but not as bad as they were to her older sister, who she never named.
Towards the end, she wrote that Aaron asked her out, and they started to secretly date, despite her father’s wishes. Her words struck me to the core, as I felt similar many times growing up.
Aaron’s family is bad news, that’s what dad says. He demands that I never talk to him and forget he even took notice of someone like me. What is that supposed to mean? How can I just forget the guy I’m falling in love with? Surely daddy can look over this one thing, right? I can’t be perfect. That’s what Sassy Sissy is good for. She’s always fricken perfect. I will never be more than Rachael Heart.
The last name had struck something within me, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.
“I knew a Rachel when I was younger,” Julia mused, bringing me out of my thoughts. “It can’t possibly be the same person, though. She really was perfect in all sense. Bright, smart, and outgoing. She never married. Thinking about it, towards the end of high school, she left to go overseas and I hadn’t seen her again after that.”
I shrugged, having no answer either.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out,” she went on in a motherly fashion. “Between Zach and the journals, I’m sure he’ll be able to piece together what happened to her.”
“I don’t doubt it,” I said with a smile, knowing he’d be able to do that without any issues.
“So, Zach also tells me you don’t know what you want to do,” she implored as the food was set before us.
“No, I don’t,” I answered. “Cody had my life pretty much lined out in a way that let me know I had no chance to being something more, doing anything but being a stay at home child making machine,” I laughed with an eye roll. I hated the idea.
“You certainly don’t have to do that,” she agreed. “But you want children, don’t you?”
Julia knew easily my feelings on the subject, which shouldn’t have surprised me one bit. Zachariah had said how easy I was to read more than once, but hopefully, he couldn’t see through this. I only wanted to make him happy.
“Zachariah doesn’t,” I pointed out. “So, I don’t really know what I want to do. No college, though. I refuse to spend day and night studying anymore.”
“I didn’t do college either,” she smiled without a beat. “But I have easily filled my time helping my husband. Our family owns a number of things around the town, and it certainly keeps me busy to oversee a few things that are needed here and there.”
“That seems like a lot of work,” I stated, dreading spending my time making sure people were happy. I didn’t want to be what sounded like a manager of a bunch of places.
“It is on some days,” she agreed. “You’ll find something to keep you busy though when Zach works more hours. He can be gone days at a time sometimes.”
“Yeah, he mentioned that,” I recalled. “I’m not a people person, so I’ll easily figure something out.”
“I’m sure you will. You are one smart girl, Avidya,” Julia smiled. “I can’t wait to see how happy you can become in this family.”
“I sure hope so,” I mumbled out to myself, hoping that it was true.
I wanted to be happy. Wanted a family that made me feel like I belonged. A family that I could call my own.