At the Drop of a Hat Read Free Page B

“Longingly.”
    â€œReally?” I asked. I ignored the heat I could feel warming my face. “I must be hungry.”
    â€œBut not for food, yeah?” Fee asked and then laughed. Viv joined her but Ariana gave us all a confused look.
    â€œIgnore them,” I said to her. I rolled my eyes. “They’re just teasing me. I mean Harrison, really?”
    â€œI don’t know,” Ariana said. “I may be getting married to his teammate in a month but even I can see he is quite dishy.”
    Now my face was flaming hot. Subject change now.
    I forced a smile. “So you’re getting married? Congratulations. Is that why you want the hat refurbished?”
    Ariana’s face grew somber. “Partly. You see, my mother passed away when I was in school. My father’s new wife”—she paused and made a pained face—“gave away my mother’s wedding dress to charity when she was clearing out her things, so this is all that I have of hers and I was really hoping to wear it at my own wedding.”
    A glance at Viv and Fee and I knew from their sympathetic expressions that they felt Ariana’s sadness as deeply as I did.
    Viv turned the hat around in her hands. “There are some tears and discoloring in the silk. In order to fix it, I may have to remove large sections of the original material.”
    â€œBut you think it can be done?” Ariana asked.
    Her hopeful expression had me holding my breath as I waited for Viv’s answer. I so wanted Ariana to have her mother’s hat on her special day.
    â€œYes,” Viv said. She gave a decisive nod. “I can do it.”
    â€œOh, that’s wonderful!” Ariana cried, and she clapped her hands together. Then her face fell. “I am on a bit of a budget, however.”
    â€œNot to worry,” Viv said. “Before I do any of the work, I’ll get you an estimate. We’ll make it work within your budget.”
    â€œThank you,” Ariana said. She glanced at the watch on her wrist and her eyes widened. “Oh, I have to go. I work for a solicitor in Kensington, Mr. Anthony Russo. He’ll throw a wobbler if I’m late getting back.”
    â€œHere, give us your phone number and we can text you the estimate,” I said. She was looking anxiously at the door and I didn’t want to hold her up longer than necessary.
    She quickly jotted down her number and I walked her to the door. I retrieved her coat from the rack and held it open for her.
    â€œThank you,” she said. She glanced back at Vivian and the hat and asked, “You’ll mind it well, won’t you?”
    â€œAs if it were my very own wedding hat,” Viv promised with a smile.
    Ariana puffed a sigh of relief, cried her thanks one more time, and hurried back out into the lead-bottomed day. As the door shut behind her, a draft of cold and wet snuck in and splashed against my black tights. My black ankle-high boots and purple knit dress were no defense against the damp, and I hurriedly closed the door after her.
    â€œShe’s going to make a lovely bride with this hat on, yeah?” Fee asked.
    â€œI wonder what her gown looks like,” I said.
    I love weddings. I love everything about them: the brides, gowns, tiaras, flowers and all that goes with them, well, all except for the groom. As I mentioned, I was off men for at least a year and thoughts of men in tuxedos were not helpful, so I found it better just to focus on the bridal portion of things. Luckily, at Mim’s Whims, we were mostly about the bride.
    â€œWe’ll have to ask,” Viv said. She was considering the hat, turning it over in her hands.
    â€œMaybe she’ll order all of her bridesmaid’s hats through us,” Fee said. She gave us a hopeful look as she left the front of the shop and headed back to the workroom to finish her latest project.
    â€œAssuming she hires us to fix the hat,” Viv said. She was still