The First Man You Meet - Debbie Macomber

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the wedding dress you were wearing.

      Mine.

      The very dress the old Scottish woman sewed for me all those years ago. It seemed to me I was receiving a message of some sort and that I’d best not ignore it. Neither had you! You’re about to embark on the grandest adventure of your life, my dear. Keep me informed!

      Believe me, Shelly, I know what you’re thinking. I well remember my own thoughts the day that Scottish seamstress handed me the wedding dress. Marriage was the last thing on my mind! I had a career, back in the days when it was rare for a woman to attend college, let alone graduate from law school.

      You and I are a great deal alike, Shelly. We value our independence. It takes a special kind of man to be married to women like us. And you, my dear niece, are about to meet that one special man just the way I did.

      All my love,

      Aunt Milly

      P.S. You’re only the second person to wear this dress, my dear. Never before have I felt like this. Perhaps it’s the beginning of a tradition!

      With hands that trembled even more fiercely now, Shelly folded the letter and slid it into the envelope. Her heart was pounding loud and fast, and she could feel the sweat beading her forehead.

      The phone rang then, and more from instinct than any desire to talk, Shelly reached for the receiver.

      ‘‘Hello.’’ It hadn’t dawned on her until precisely that moment that the caller might well be her mother, wanting to bring over a man for her to meet. Any man her mother introduced would only add to the growing nightmare, but—

      ‘‘Shelly, it’s Jill. Are you all right? You sound…a bit strange.’’

      ‘‘Jill.’’ Shelly was so relieved that her knees went weak. ‘‘Thank heaven it’s you.’’

      ‘‘What’s wrong?’’

      Shelly hardly knew where to begin. ‘‘My aunt Milly’s wedding dress just arrived. I realize that won’t mean anything to you unless you’ve heard the family legend about my aunt Milly and uncle John.’’

      ‘‘I haven’t.’’

      ‘‘Of course you haven’t, otherwise you’d understand what I’m going through,’’ Shelly snapped. She immediately felt guilty for being short-tempered with her best friend. Making an effort to compose herself, she explained, ‘‘I’ve just been mailed a wedding dress—one that’s been in my family for nearly fifty years—with the clear understanding that I’ll be wearing it myself soon.’’

      ‘‘I didn’t even realize you were dating anyone special.’’ Jill hadn’t managed to disguise the hurt in her voice.

      ‘‘I’m not getting married. If anyone should know that, it’s you.’’

      ‘‘Then your aunt simply intends you to wear it when you do get married.’’

      ‘‘There’s far more to it than that,’’ Shelly cried. ‘‘Listen. Aunt Milly—who’s really my mother’s aunt, a few years younger than my grandmother—became an attorney just after the Second World War. She worked hard to earn her law degree and had decided to dedicate her life to her career.’’

      ‘‘In other words, she’d planned never to marry.’’

      ‘‘Precisely.’’

      ‘‘But apparently she did.’’

      ‘‘Yes, and the story of how that happened has been in the family for years. It seems that Aunt Milly had all her clothes professionally made. As the story goes, she took some lovely white material to an old Scottish woman who had a reputation as the best seamstress around. Milly needed an evening dress for some formal event that was coming up—business related, of course. The woman took her measurements and told her the dress would be finished within the week.’’

      ‘‘And?’’ Jill prompted when Shelly hesitated.

      This was the part of the tale that distressed her the most. ‘‘And…when Milly returned for the dress the old woman sat her down with a cup of tea.’’

      ‘‘The dress wasn’t ready?’’

      ‘‘Oh, it was ready, all right, only it wasn’t the dress Aunt Milly had ordered. The Scottish woman explained she was gifted with the ‘sight.’’’

      ‘‘She was clairvoyant?’’

      ‘‘So she claimed,’’ Shelly said, breathing in deeply. ‘‘The old woman told my aunt that when she began the dress a vision came to her. A clear vision that involved Milly. This vision apparently showed Milly getting married. The old woman was so convinced of it that she turned what was supposed to be a simple evening dress into an elegant wedding gown, with layers of satin and lace and lots of pearls.’’

      ‘‘It sounds beautiful,’’ Jill said with a sigh.

      ‘‘Of course it’s beautiful—but don’t you see?’’

      ‘‘See what?’’

      It was all Shelly could do not to groan with frustration. ‘‘The woman insisted that my aunt Milly, who’d dedicated herself to her career, would marry within the year. It happened, too, just the way the seamstress said it would, right down to the last detail.’’

      Jill sighed again. ‘‘That’s the most romantic story I’ve heard in ages.’’

      ‘‘It isn’t romance,’’ Shelly argued, ‘‘it’s fate interrupting one’s life! It’s being a…pawn in the game of life! I know that sounds crazy, but I’ve grown up hearing this story. It was as though my aunt Milly didn’t have any choice in the matter.’’

      ‘‘And your aunt Milly mailed you the dress?’’

      ‘‘Yes,’’ Shelly wailed. ‘‘Now do you understand why I’m upset?’’

      ‘‘Frankly, no. Come on, Shelly, it’s just an old dress. You’re overreacting. You make it sound as if you’re destined to marry the next man you meet.’’

      Shelly gasped audibly. She couldn’t help herself. ‘‘How’d you know?’’ she whispered.

      ‘‘Know what?’’

      ‘‘That’s exactly what happened to Aunt Milly. That’s part of the legend. She tried to refuse the dress, but the seamstress wouldn’t take it back, nor would she accept payment. When Aunt Milly left the dress shop, she had car problems and needed a mechanic. My uncle John was that mechanic. And Aunt Milly married him. She married the first man she met, just like the seamstress said.’’

      Chapter Two

      ‘‘SHELLY, THAT doesn’t mean you’re going to marry the next man you meet,’’ Jill stated calmly, far too calmly to suit Shelly.

      Perhaps Jill didn’t recognize a crisis when she heard about one. They were talking about destiny here. Predestination. Fate. Okay, maybe, just maybe, she was being a bit melodramatic, but after the ghastly day she’d had, who could blame her?

      ‘‘Aunt Milly came right out and said I’m going to get married soon,’’ Shelly explained. ‘‘The family legend says that the first man you meet when you get the dress is the man you’ll marry.’’

      ‘‘It’s just coincidence,’’ Jill reassured her. ‘‘Your aunt probably would have met her husband without the dress. It would’ve happened anyway. And don’t forget, she’s an old woman now,’’ Jill continued soothingly. ‘‘I know this wonderful old lady who comes into the pharmacy every few weeks and she always insists I’m going to get married soon. I smile and nod and fill her prescription. She means well, and I’m sure your aunt Milly does, too. She just wants you to be happy, the way she was. But I think it’s a mistake for you to take any of this prediction

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