It had been years since Jesse had whistled. And here he sat, filling out the morning paperwork, whistling like one of the seven dwarves. Of course, Sheriff noticed it when he emerged from his office and made his daily trip to the coffee station.
“What’s got you all happy today?” he asked, tossing Jesse a grin that suggested he knew before he had even asked.
“I’ve managed to find someone who can put up with me.” Jesse lifted his pen from the accident report he’d been preparing. “Do you think she’s too good for me, Sheriff?”
“Maybe, but just consider yourself lucky.” His voice had a bitter edge, understandable considering his wife’s numerous lovers. He came over to Jesse’s desk and pulled up a chair. “I thought I was lucky, but I knew deep down that Penny wasn’t what I needed. I’d tried to replace Nancy, and it backfired. But son, I think you’ve got a good woman here, just like Nancy. Had I known she’d be gone five years after we married, I might not have taken a chance on her, but I’m glad I didn’t know, because that five years was the happiest time of my life. Don’t waste your chance.”
Jesse swallowed past the knot in his throat and managed a nod. Sheriff stood, cup of coffee in one hand, while the other hand gave Jesse’s shoulder a quick, firm squeeze. The look they shared said what words couldn’t convey. Jesse owed this man more than he could ever repay.
And then Clara had to shatter the moment. “Be sure you wear a condom!” she called from her place behind the counter.
A teenage driver was sitting in the license photo seat. Her lip curled into the typical teenager disgusted expression. The camera flashed.
Jesse scrubbed a hand over his face, trying not to laugh. “I’ll be fine, Clara!”
Sheriff shook his head and sipped his coffee, waving her off. “I’d fire her, but she’d just come back. I’m convinced she’s immortal.”
The phone rang as Jesse finished sorting the latest court summonses, divorce, and child support papers he needed to deliver today. Certainly not his favorite part of the job. Chasing escaped pigs was better than this stuff. Strike that. No, he’d rather not be covered in pig shit again.
Clara answered the call, her volume stuck on high again. He felt sorry for whoever was on the other end. “Beach Pointe Sheriff’s Department, can I help you? ...Yes… All right…When? Speak up, for Christ’s sake… Got it. We’ll send someone out.”
She tottered over to Jesse and stuck a Post-it note with an address on the papers in front of him. “Possible break-in overnight at Bride Pride. Better go take a look.”
“Okay. Thanks, Clara.”
“Huh?”
“I said thanks!”
She pressed her thin lips into a thinner line. “Hmph. You don’t have to yell.” Then she tottered back to the counter.
Just another normal day at the office. Except this time, Jesse had someone to go home to. He got up to leave then turned back for his hat, sitting in its usual forgotten place on his desk. It made him think of Leigh, how she'd saved his hat and his conscience doing what came naturally to her. She helped people with their problems because it helped her overcome her own fears.
God, how he loved that woman.
When he arrived at Bride Pride, he hadn’t gotten two steps from the car before Avery Price came barreling out the door. Fists perched on her hips, she looked mad as an old, wet hen.
“Took you long enough,” she said.
“Sorry, ma’am. What seems to be the trouble?”
“Someone took my Alfred Angelo.”
“Is that your dog or…?”
“No, it’s a bridesmaid dress. A very expensive one. It was… Just follow me.”
She marched back inside. He tried to keep up, but for a short woman with short legs, she sure was fast. Inside, she led him past rack after rack of frilly white, pink, and blue things in various shades that only women could name. How she didn’t get lost among the silk and satin, he didn’t know. He could barely see the top of her head, weaving between them. Finally, Jesse pushed past a rack of scratchy veils and trains or whatever they were, and almost stumbled over Avery.
She’d parked herself in front of a naked half mannequin. “It was right here yesterday, and now it’s gone.”
He pulled out his notebook and licked the tip of his ballpoint pen. “Were there any signs of forced entry?”
“The back door was unlocked.”
“Are you sure you didn’t leave it unlocked and maybe just misplaced the dress?”
“Seriously? I never leave the shop unlocked, and neither does Glen.”
Jesse knew Glen and his husband, Jeff. They were the only married gay couple in town after all. Luckily, they were older and had been out of high school long before Jesse could unleash on them. “Would Glen have worn it or…?”
“Uh, no! Glen’s gay. He’s not a drag queen. At least I don’t think so.”
“Hey, who’s the muscle?” Glen breezed by from the back of the store and headed for the front counter. “What’s up? Everything okay?”
“Speak of the devil,” Avery said. “You know anything about the Alfred Angelo?”
“What about it?” Glen narrowed his eyes, sounding hesitant.
“It’s not here.” Avery slapped the mannequin. The blonde wig swished as the fake lady wobbled, her face frozen in solemn plastic obliviousness. “That wedding party will be here in half an hour for a final fitting, and if I have to order a new one and let it out again for that woman who thinks she’s a twelve but is actually a sixteen, I will go insane and take you down with me!”
“Easy now,” Jesse said. He didn’t know Avery well, but he’d have never guessed her to be a hothead. She had a sweet, heart-shaped face you’d expect to see in a choir. And she'd cried a lot back in high school, mostly because of him. He had yet to cross her off his list, but right now wasn't the time.
Glen propped a hand on his hip. “Geez, who stepped on your train?”
Avery squeezed her eyes shut. “The back door was unlocked when I got here, and the dress was gone.” She took a deep breath, sounding slightly calmer this time.
Flattening his palms on the counter, Glen’s face went pale. “I didn’t lock it? I thought I did. I am so sorry.”
“When was the last time you were here? Last night or this morning?” Jesse asked.
“Last night.” He glanced at Avery then averted his eyes.
Avery arched one skeptical eyebrow. “And did you take the dress with you?”
“I, uh, took it to the cleaner’s.”
If Avery had been a teakettle, she would have been spewing steam. The red on her face matched a gaudy, sequined dress on a nearby rack. “What did you do, Glen? Did you wear it? Did Jeff?”
He cringed, tongue stuck out slightly as if he might gag. “Are you joking? We’re gay, not drag queens.”
“Told you,” Avery whispered, nudging Jesse.
Nodding, Jesse just crossed his arms and waited for the mini drama to play out. He’d play bouncer if he had to. Right now, his only struggle was trying to keep a smile off his face.
“All right, all right.” Glen held his hands up in surrender and came out from behind the counter. He walked up to Avery and looked down at her. Glen wasn’t tall, either. She was just that short. “I have a confession.”
“You wore it.”
“No! For crying out loud, it’s a hideous color. I wouldn’t wear it even if you gave me a raise.”
“That’s a beautiful color. How can you say such a thing?”
Jesse stepped slightly between them, pointing his pen between the store owner and her employee. “Could you perhaps get on with the story, please?”
“Okay, so I closed up and left last night, carrying my Starbucks cup. They gave me regular when I had asked for blonde roast. That stuff’s so strong, you can polish silver with it.”
Clearing his throat, Jesse rolled his finger around in a ‘get on with it’ gesture.
“Sorry. Long story short, I dropped the coffee, and it splattered all over the dress.”
Avery gasped. “You didn’t.”
“I did. So, I rushed it to the cleaner’s right after that, and I was going to pick it up this morning as soon as they call to tell me it’s done. I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.”
“Me? Not notice? And what about the door?”
“I guess I rushed out last night so fast that I forgot. I’m so sorry, Avery. I’ll make it up to you.”
“Darn right, you will. Leigh and I need a girls’ night out. You’re buying.”
“Whatever you want. Just don’t get the bourbon. It makes you crazy.” Glen turned to Jesse with a shaky smile. “I guess you won’t be putting me in handcuffs, Deputy.”
“Nope.”
“Pity.” Glen’s phone dinged. His face brightened. “Oh, oh, it’s ready. I’ll go right now and get it. I’ll be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.” He took his keys from his pocket and rushed out.
“This day is not off to a good start,” Avery said and heaved a long, weary sigh. “I’m sorry to waste your time.”
“All in a day’s work,” Jesse said.
As he stuck his notebook back in his shirt pocket, Avery crossed her arms. Lips pursed, she thumbed her silver hoop earring. “How’s Leigh?”
“She’s okay. She’s tough.”
“Mmm.” Avery nodded slowly, eyes scanning the room before resting on him again. “She texted me from the hospital. I was tied up here. I wanted to rush over there, but she told me to stay put. She hates being fussed over. She also told me what you did for her, so thank you.”
“Of course.”
“Leigh is like a sister to me, understand?”
“Sure.”
“We know everything about each other. And I know she has a thing for you, which surprised me at first. Actually, it shocked the hell out of me. But then I realized she’s attracted to brokenness. That’s why she wants to be a counselor. She needs to know she’s not the only one with problems, and it makes her happy to help people. It makes her stronger. I’ve always worried she’d get stuck with some nut like Mitch, but she knows the risks. She’s taking a risk on you. You know that, right?”
Jesse nodded. Surely Leigh hadn’t told her about their conversation last night.
Avery stared him down, shoulders squared, an intimidating five feet and some change. “Which is why I’m telling you now… I think you need to add another name to that list of yours.”
“Um…she told you about the list?”
“Yes. She didn’t go into specifics, but I’ve heard people talking about all the nice-guy stuff you’ve been doing.”
“Okay, so whose name am I missing?”
“Leigh’s.”
“I don’t understand. I only met her a few weeks ago.”
“No, you two crossed paths a few years back. Remember senior prom?”
Jesse scratched his eyebrow. “Yeah, I remember. I wasn’t allowed to go. My grades were too bad.”
“But you went anyway, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, sort of. What’s that got to do with Leigh?”
“She was there too.”
“I thought she was homeschooled.”
“She was. I took her as my ‘date.’ Her hair had grown back, but it was really fine and patchy. She didn’t think she was beautiful, and I had to show her that she was. We arranged her hair so that none of the bare spots showed. She was scared, but happy. The way her face lit up when she saw herself in the mirror with her dress and shoes—I’ll never forget that. Then we got there.”
A sinking feeling settled in the pit of Jesse's stomach. That night had been just one venue for his many sins. He’d been angry, ashamed, and jealous of all the other kids who could just be normal kids and have dates and corsages and cummerbunds. They had parents to buy all that stuff. Parents who gave a shit, who cringed at the price of a prom dress or tux rental while oohing and aahing as they snapped pictures of their babies awkwardly posing with their equally awkward dates. But he didn’t know Leigh back then, had no idea she was there or the risks she had to take to be there. Truth be known, he wouldn’t have cared back then anyway.
Avery continued, “The disco ball, the decorations, music, and lights mesmerized her. We stood there in the foyer, her taking it all in and me taking in her excitement. We put on our lipstick, high fived, and headed for the action. That’s when the fire alarm went off, then the sprinklers on that end of the gym. Leigh and I were both drenched. Her makeup ran. Her hair came loose from the pins so everyone could see the bald spots. When they started to stare, she ran back outside. I had never seen her so disappointed and embarrassed. Later we heard that you were to blame. She didn’t know you, but she hated you for that. Which is why I’m surprised that out of all the guys she could meet, you’d be the one to steal her heart.”
At a loss for words, Jesse rubbed the back of his neck and averted his gaze. What had seemed like just another of his stupid stunts now speared him with guilt. Finally, he worked up the courage to reply. “I was expelled for it, but I think that’s what finally woke me up. A few months later, I got my GED and started training for this job. But I’d never really owned up to all the hurt I caused until I started seeing Leigh for counseling.”
“Yeah, you were a total dickhead there for a while. But hey, the past is the past. You can’t wallow in guilt forever.”
“You’re right. I have to do something for her. And since you're on my list, too, what can I do to make it up to you?”
"Tell you what. You do good by Leigh, and that's good enough for me. But you have to go big or go home on this one, big boy. Got it?"
"Got it." A rack of dresses in every color imaginable caught his eye, as well as the sign above it that read Prom Clearance Sale. “I have an idea.”
“Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?”
He grinned.