Chapter 16: Elie Saab

Against his best judgment, Dan went to meet with Sarah for lunch on Saturday. He was worried about her email and wanted to make sure she’s ok. Even after 5 years he still felt like Sarah was his responsibility and a part of him that could never be taken away.

She looked almost the same, except for the exhaustion and sadness in her eyes. She told him how after they were divorced, she sold their house and moved out west with the guy. They never got married. The guy she thought was fun and exciting ended up to be an alcoholic and had problems with gambling.  Sarah was always a submissive person and she endured everything until he beat her one night after a heated argument and too much liquor. She left, and moved back in with her parents in Raleigh.

She said she had made a terrible mistake for leaving Dan and deserved everything that had happened. She just wanted to apologize to Dan face to face and ask for his forgiveness. Dan didn’t know how to react to all this. He had dreamed about this day so many times that when it finally happened it didn’t seem real anymore. He never blamed her for leaving and he was so angry at the guy that he wanted to tear him apart.

Dan comforted her as much as he could, and told her he did not have any resentment towards her. He even reached out to hold her hands to assure her things would be all right. He didn’t tell her about Mei for the fear of making the situation any harder and promised that he will help her to get back on her feet.

Seeing Sarah again brought back so many memories of the life they use to have. Despite of the bitter divorce, all he could remember was the good things: how they use to cook together after work, go for a long walk on weekends, or watch an old movie in bed eating popcorn.

Dan didn’t expect the meeting to get so emotional. After he got home, dinner at Mei’s just didn’t seem like a good idea anymore, at least not for the day. He called to cancel the date; Mei sounded disappointed but didn’t push for a reason. Dan knew that he would have to tell Mei about Sarah and he needed some time to think about how to do it the right way.

Dan sounded a little out of character on the phone and he didn’t want to give any details about not being able to come to dinner. This was not like him, he’s always been straight forward with things and Mei trusted he will give an explanation when he’s ready.

Looking at the sparkling clean house and a refrigerator full of groceries, Mei thought about inviting someone else so the food does not go to waste, but then decided against it.  Between helping Tammy to plan for a wedding and her work, she had been so busy lately that a break is desperately needed.  

She thought about this new movie that had just came out, with her favorite actor Edward Norton playing a bad cop turning good and saving his leading lady from a dangerous drug dealer. That’s it, a perfect way to enjoy the night alone.

The movie theatre was located inside the biggest mall in Raleigh—the Rover Mills. The mall has two stories and four wings connected by big department stores. It was not as crowded as she thought, probably because school has just started.

Having plenty of time to kill, she first stopped at a newly opened bridal store to check out some dresses. Tammy always wanted a mermaid dress but Mei thought a princess gown would fit her better. The wedding party will be fairly small, only 4 people including the maid of honor and best man. Tammy wanted Mei to pick her own dress, any dress in the color of peach.

As she was browsing through the bridal gowns, a sales woman politely came over and asked if she would like to try some on. Before she could tell her she’s just looking for ideas for her best friend, she already picked out a couple and said: “These would look perfect on you!”

Mei was amazed at how beautiful the dresses were. One was a deep V-Neck Sleeveless Satin Lace dress, the other was an A-line with embroidery around the sweetheart neckline. Mei suddenly felt sad about not knowing if she’ll ever have a chance to be a bride. With that she swallowed her words and smiled at the lady: “Yes please, I’d love to try them on.”

Looking at herself in the mirror, Mei was lost in emotions. Now she completely understands why in “Say yes to the dress” people always cry when they found the dress. It’s a magical moment; she could almost see herself slowly walking down the aisle with a bouquet in hand, towards the man she will spend the rest of her life with.

“So who’s the lucky guy?” the sales lady asked with a big smile.

“Oh, I haven’t found him yet… Mary.” Mei looked at her nametag and explained the situation, “I am actually browsing to get some ideas for my best friend; she’s getting married soon. I’ve never tried on a wedding dress before and just wanted to see how it looks.” Mei felt a little guilty for taking up Mary’s time; she knows that they all work for commission.

“No worries!” Mary flashed her left hand showing the bare ring finger: “I understand. Every girl deserves to try on a wedding dress just for fun! Take your time. Actually I think you would look great in this dress that just came in today, hold on, let me go get it for you.”

Mary’s words almost brought Mei to tears; she was so thankful that someone understands. And Mary was right; the dress she brought in was absolutely stunning! It was a Minerva off-shoulder column gown with A-line tulle overlay by Elie Saab. It was simple yet sophisticated, with no sparkles or bling-blings, and fitted perfectly on Mei’s body.

Mei almost bought the dress if it wasn’t for the $3500 price tag. It was fun trying on dresses but not fun to spend half of her paycheck on something that she would only wear once, especially when the groom is nowhere to be found.

She took pictures and thought she needed to bring Tammy here.   The night went by so fast that by the time she left the store, the movie was already half way through.

It had started raining on her drive home. She never liked driving in the rain, especially at night time. Just as she was passing the neighborhood park and about 10 minutes from home, she heard the phone ring and the ring tone indicated it was Tammy.

She reached over to her purse trying to locate the phone; she wanted to tell Tammy about the dresses. There were too many things in her purse that by the time the phone was finally within grab, she looked up and saw the headlight of a car heading directly toward her direction without a sign of slowing down.

Everything became silent; she swore it was the most peaceful moment in her life. Time seemed to be running in slow motion and she clearly thought to herself: “This is it. it is my time to go.”

She was neither happy nor sad, not even scared; just peaceful. Then there was a bang, and everything fell into absolute darkness.