by Juanita Shanklin

Created on: January 30, 2009

The Bridesmaid's Dress

I had been looking forward to being part of Shari's wedding. It had been years since I was in a wedding party. The dresses she chose for the bridesmaids were beautiful Victorian Purple, which is also known as periwinkle, a heavy silk, full length with a fitted bodice, spaghetti straps and a tiny row of silver beads at the waist. Quite elegant.

The wedding was at the end of July, in Montana, which most people who don't live in Montana believe is in a perpetual state of winter, a kind of Narnia-esque landscape. I, too, thought Montana temperatures did not get above 70 degrees in the summer. That's why, when I moved there, I bought a Jeep Cherokee. Without air conditioning. The truth however, is that by the end of July, the temperatures hover in the 90's, and this July was no exception.

The wedding was taking place in Havre, about a five hour drive east of Whitefish across US highway 2, affectionately known as the Highline for the train route. That's way all the worldly names for the towns along the route as well; Kiev and Glascow, to name a couple. The other trivia about the highline is that east of the divide it is windy. Windy? Wind gusts up to 70 mph. The winds are known to push empty freight cars off the tracks every year. Shingles are regularly ripped of houses. Anywhere else in the world, we'd be issued a hurricane watch! Many Glacier Hotel is lifted and moved 6 inches by the force of these winds! This summer was no different.

And that is what I am traveling in on my way to Havre. A hot jeep, all the windows down to catch any breeze, radio full on, rockin' down the highway. I see out of the corner of my eye, my beautiful bridesmaid's dress on a hanger, hanging from the bar at the back seat. Suddenly, the hanger starts chugging like a locomotive closer to the window. I think to myself, "It couldn't possibly." When whoosh! Out the window the dress goes, hanger and all.

I quickly check my rear view mirror to see my dress riding the wind in the opposite direction. Sails are made of silk, aren't they? I slam on the brakes (this is the Highline, thankfully, which means there's not another car in sight for miles) and whip the jeep 360 and chase down the dress, which has now landed on the gravel just off the road.

I jump out of the jeep, run to the dress, pick it up and survey the damage, which is considerable. There are runs down the dress in several places and my stomach turns into knots. The wedding is in two days. Getting another dress

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next Page >>