Two weeks later the Police still had no clue where Jack had disappeared. Emily even in her wanting to be free of him was distressed that he had simply vanished. Her every waking thought besides work was the safety of her unborn child and herself. She had grown paranoid that he was lurking in the shadows waiting to jump out and cause harm. Nothing Jane or I said seemed to calm her. It was probably somewhat hormonal but it was still a real fear. For the first time in Emily's life she had to protect someone besides herself, she had a responsibility that she wouldn't have understood before the pregnancy… only a mother understands the fears completely.
Cherry Spence, Elizabeth O'Brian, and I were playing in the computer lab after class. Elizabeth was planning to get married in April, "Hey lets go have some fun. I want to go to a bridal shop and try on dresses!" Elizabeth said out of the blue.
Cherry and I looked at each other with a giggle. "Sure," we chimed.
As we laughed our way through the hall we saw that Emily's door was open. Cherry and I looked at each other knowingly. Cherry quickly ducked outside and returned to report that it was only Emily and the 3 of us at school. If we left then Emily would be alone. It's not that we actually feared for Emily's safety or thought she needed protected by us. But since Jack was such an unknown we didn't ever like her being anywhere by herself if we could some how manage to be with her.
I spoke up, "Okay call me nuts but Beth do you mind if we ask Emily to come with us? She'll probably say no but well, I hate to just desert her."
"It seems strange asking our Professor to go with us but she's fun so I don't mind," Elizabeth said as Cherry went into Emily's office and stared at her until she stopped waving bye at her emails as she sent them into the great cyberspace.
"What?" Emily signed as I came up behind Cherry and we both stared at her.
"Let's go!" Cherry said moving toward Emily. I followed. Emily looked confused until we lashed onto her arms with a laugh and propelled her towards her office door.
"Stop! Four of us go where?" Emily asked, once she managed to free an arm, in ASL.
"Shopping with us, you go?" Cherry asked.
"Why?"
"Fun," Elizabeth said.
"Fine. I lock," Emily said.
Elizabeth and I sat in the back of Cherry's car while Emily and Cherry sat in the front. Cherry, Elizabeth and I are all shrimps compared to Emily. None of us were more than 5 foot 4 at the most. So we shorties, with the short legs that could be folded up into weird angles sat in the back. Cherry was probably the best signer of us students in the car so it worked out well except for the fact that driving and signing at the same time is sort of precarious at best. It makes you look like your drunk with all the lane weaving that takes place.
We weaved and swerved our way through the streets of Wolf Lake to yet another suburb of the City where we weaved and swerved some more as Cherry signed back and forth with Emily. Elizabeth and I tried to read the signing and talk amongst ourselves as we went. Elizabeth piped up and asked, "What color should my bridesmaid dresses be? Red, Purple or Silver?"
Cherry signed what Elizabeth said to Emily. Emily signed, "My Wedding, not."
Cherry and I both laughed and said, "Purple."
"Okay, purple it is. Let's see Cherry is my best friend. Rachel is my cousin. Emily who do you want to be? My Mother or my Aunt?"
"Joke?" Emily signed.
"No," Elizabeth laughed and signed.
"She may want to pretend she doesn't know us before we are done with this," I laughed. Cherry interpreted where Emily responded with a yes!
"Fine Emily can be a friend that we dragged here under duress," Elizabeth signed with a smile.
Emily laughed her silent laugh as we arrived at Jim's Bridal shop and spilled through the doors with laughter. I must say I'd never actually been to a Bridal shop so I wasn't sure what would be happening. Elizabeth sat down and filled out paper work and then we were shown to about 8 rows of bridal dresses that she could pick from. Cherry and I ran through the rows oohing and ahhing as we went. Elizabeth followed us and picked out some of the dresses that Cherry and I gushed over. Emily looked like a deer caught in headlights and just followed us around the store shaking her head as we went scurrying.
Before we knew it Cherry had picked out 2 bridesmaids dresses in lavender and a wedding dress. Elizabeth had picked out about 10 wedding dresses. I had grabbed just some type of formal dresses of multiple colors. When we all got to the dressing room we all turned and looked at Emily expectantly. "What?" she signed.
"You have to help us!" we all three signed. Emily rolled her eyes.
So there we all were trying to fit into one small dressing room, as we wrestled huge dresses, trying to change clothes. Of course we had to try things on one at a time. Since it was Elizabeth's wedding she was the first. Cherry and the Wedding Consultant helped Elizabeth while Emily and I sat down on the stage and waited. When Elizabeth came out we were awed. The Wedding Consultant had picked this dress and it looked fabulous on Elizabeth. Next came jewelry, veil, shoes and flowers. By the time the Consultant was done with adding accessories we almost believed that we really were planning Elizabeth's wedding instead of just window-shopping. I remembered that I had my camera in my bookbag and told Cherry. She passed me her keys and I ran to the car. When I returned the Wedding consultant was working with Elizabeth and Emily and Cherry had disappeared into the dressing room. I started taking pictures of Elizabeth while we waited for Cherry to come out in a bridesmaid's dress. When she did we were stunned. The dress was gorgeous on her. Cherry could easily be a model. She is lithe and the dress she had on just was wow. Even Emily who had looked like she was bored beyond belief prior was smiling.
I took a picture of both Elizabeth and Cherry together. It was so cool. Then it was my turn. I looked at Emily. "Me, Next?" I signed.
I actually think, Emily let out an audible groan! "Sure," she signed and helped me into my contraption.
When we came out, Emily signed, "Monkey Suits!" Elizabeth, Cherry and I broke up in laughter.
The Wedding Consultant looked confused. So I explained, "Emily is a friend of the family. She's Deaf. She's using American Sign Language to talk to us. What she said that made us laugh is we are dressed in Monkey Suits!"
Ruby the Consultant laughed then too, "That's so cool that you all know what she is saying!"
"Yes it is. ASL is neat. Basically it is a foreign language just like French or German."
"Wow, I have an idea. I'll be right back!' Ruby said with a Cheshire cat smile. She returned moments later with a midnight blue dress and pointed to Emily.
Elizabeth, Cherry and I all exchanged looks. This was going to be Good! Emily in a dress, I don't think any of us could imagine her in anything but Jeans and Khakis. Cherry signed to Emily, "You dress up, same."
Emily promptly signed, NO! NO! NO!"
Cherry, Elizabeth and I started in with the sign for, YES, YES, YES," Ruby joined us figuring out what we were saying and then we all tripped and dragged our way towards Emily while Ruby held out the dress.
"Not Wear. Me Pregnant," Emily said hoping to get out of trying the tent, as she'd probably be calling it if she weren't trying to back away, on.
Cherry interpreted, "I can't try on that. I'm Pregnant."
"Tell her it is maternity. I know she's pregnant," Ruby said. Cherry told Emily, whom rolled her eyes and made a great deal out of really not wanting to dress up.
Ruby disappeared again quickly as Emily stood looking at this dress that she was supposed to wear with a look of disgust on her face. I doubt anyone had gotten Emily into a dress for several years. She was a Jeans and T-shirt type of gal. Ruby returned with the equivalent of shoulder pads and sort of blushed when she gestured that Emily put them in the bust of the gown. I knew it wasn't to increase Emily endowment because Emily is well equipped. It was because Ruby thought there was a chance that Emily could possibly be already lactating. I wasn't about to explain that one to anyone if they didn't catch on, least of all at the shop.
Emily scowled, "Why?"
Ruby seemed to understand what Emily was saying, "To protect the gown."
Elizabeth interpreted to Emily who just shook her head and went into the dressing room that was now piled high with clothes. When Ruby started to follow, Emily signed, "No, myself." Cherry said what Emily had signed and Ruby shut the door.
When Emily came out we were all awed. The blue of the dress made the blue of her eyes stand out. Now we just needed to something about the hair. It so takes away from her face. People always notice the hair first, instead of her face. I signed for Emily to sit in the chair near the stage area. Then I signed, "Your hair me Braid?" with my eyebrows raised in the proper facial grammar for a yes/no question.
Emily signed, "Whatever." She'd given up trying to get herself out of playing dress up with us.
I quickly French braided it as best I could with only my fingers for a comb. It was haphazard but it was still somewhat decent. I pulled down a few wisps to frame her face wishing I could curl it and then signed, "Finish," just as Ruby turned up with a sapphire necklace, earrings and then silver strapped low heels.
"Shoes me wear, not. Four years past ankle broke. Shoes ankle hurt," Emily signed.
"She can't wear those shoes. She broke her ankle 4 years ago and can't wear that type shoe," I explained to Ruby because Elizabeth was changing gowns with Cherry's help.
"Oh, I see. That's fine," Ruby said facing Emily so Emily could see her face. Ruby was picking up fast on how to communicate with Emily.
I turned to Emily and asked, "You understand her?"
"Yes, fine."
"Ok," I signed back as Elizabeth and Cherry returned from the dressing room. They waved at Emily and I to join them.
"Ruby, will you take a picture of us?" Elizabeth asked.
"Sure," Ruby said as I passed her the camera.
"Break camera," Emily signed but smiled anyway. We laughed and then posed.
Emily sat down again in the stuffed chair as I took more pictures of Elizabeth and Cherry and occasionally snuck one of Emily just to annoy her. "Stop that," she'd sign after every shot. I just laughed and used up the roll with more pictures of Elizabeth and Cherry.
I turned to take one last picture of Emily when I saw the same look that crossed her face when she first started feeling the baby moving. Her hand was resting on her abdomen. "You okay?" I signed letting the camera drop to hang from the strap.
"Baby kick. Hand feel," Emily signed still looking amazed.
I turned and practically screamed, "Girls, she felt the baby with her hand."
"Wow," they said and signed simultaneously using SIMCOM, Simultaneous Communication, which is actually a no-no in ASL but we none cared at that moment.
Cherry and Elizabeth joined me at gathering around Emily. Cherry signed, "Can three of us feel?"
"Maybe repeat, not. Ok me," Emily signed as we all placed our hands on her stomach.
"Wait! Baby, don't kick, yet. I can't kneel in this dress. Ruby, help me, please." Elizabeth said as she rushed back to the dressing room.
We all ended up changing clothes and rushing back to Emily whom we had banned from changing out of the tent as she was now calling the dress until we got to feel the baby. The poor woman, she probably was miserable sitting in that dress with 6 hands plus her own on her stomach. There wasn't an inch of her abdomen not covered by hands. Ruby saved her from more torture by saying; "You might let her change back into her clothes so the dress doesn't get dirty."
Gee, why didn't we think of that? I think we all thought as we backed off and let Emily change clothes. She came out within a few minutes and beckoned us to her, her eyes bright. She led each of our hands one at a time to her stomach where we felt the patter of a little foot. As we stood there with our hands pressed one at a time against her stomach each of us looked up into her eyes with tears in ours.