finish her exams the following week. Then she thought about the wedding. It was early August, and she would be getting married in less than a month. On a sunny Saturday morning, she was eating breakfast with Remo when Lucy stumbled into the kitchen. Still half asleep, she asked, “What are we doing today?”
Alessa looked up from her breakfast. “Well, I thought we would go shopping for wedding dresses.”
Thrilled, Lucy squealed with delight. “I can’t wait. What time are we going?”
“We should be ready to leave at noon, okay?”
The child looked at the clock on the wall. It was only eight thirty. “Okay, I’ll be ready.”
Lucy would be Alessa’s maid of honor. Two of the girls who lived in the apartments below that Alessa was closest with had been chosen as her bridesmaids. One girl was seventeen years old. When she was fifteen, she announced to her parents she was gay. They had responded by beating her, claiming that God wanted them to beat the devil out of her body. When she recovered from the beating a few weeks later and told them it had made no difference and she was still gay, they had thrown her out of their home and told her to go live in the devil’s playground with the other sinners. They were convinced she would be exiled to hell forever, never to see or know God. She was a sweet girl clear about her sexuality, but very confused about people and life in general. She had had a very religious but stable childhood, and when her parents threw her out, she suddenly felt as if she knew nothing, either about people or about love. She had taken a bus into Philadelphia and had been living on the streets until the Outside Inn opened.
The other girl selected as a bridesmaid was sixteen years old and had been severely abused as a child. Her mother had died of breast cancer when the girl was only four years old, and she had been raised in a house full of men. The youngest of her siblings, she had been raped by every one of her family members—starting from her father to her three older brothers. She wore scars from cigarette burns on her arms and legs, all inflicted by her father. The men would also torment her with taunts about her being ugly and stupid. For a time, she believed she was mentally unstable. The day after one of her brothers let his friend have sex with her for money, she fled her home, knowing she would never return.
Faced with the slimmest of chances, both girls, like Alessa, had found a way out of their predicament. These were the typical stories of many homeless teens. However, to survive such abuse without developing a heart of stone was rare. Usually—and understandably—these young teens were wary and on the defensive, always apprehensive that the world was out to hurt them. Like Alessa, though, both girls had come through, nurturing the hope there were people with the capacity to love and care for other humans. It was this thread of hope shared by all three that had made the girls instant friends.
Later that day, Alessa first looked for Lucy’s dress in the bridal shop, finding an inexpensive purple and white gown, the right style for an almost eleven-year-old. Satisfied at having made her first sale, the saleswoman showed them the matching gown for the bridesmaids. These dresses were also purple and white but with variations to distinguish the maid of honor from the bridesmaids. None of the girls were picky. Their mission was to find dresses that looked good on them and cost as little money as possible.
Finally, the attention was focused on Alessa. The saleswoman sized her up and said, “I have a couple of dresses I think would be perfect for you.”
The woman came out with three dresses and led Alessa to the dressing room. The first was in a mermaid style, form-fitting from the bust to the knees and flaring out at the bottom. The second was in silk, with a full lace overlay. It had a halter neckline and a straight fit down to the floor. Both dresses were beautiful, and Alessa realized she and the girls might have a hard time deciding between them. She knew that if left to her, she would pick the cheaper one. The third dress had a heart-shaped bodice in satin that narrowed down to her navel. The skirt consisted of layer upon layer of the softest white tulle studded with small pearls and clear stones. The first two dresses had been stunning, but when Alessa put the third dress on, she felt like a princess in a fairy tale. She had worn nothing as beautiful, and the dress looked perfect on her. The stones caught the light as she moved, creating an angelic effect.
The saleswoman studied her carefully before she spoke. “Yes,” she sighed with contentment, “I knew this would be the right one.”
When Alessa came out and posed for the girls, they gazed at her with their mouths open. None of them had ever seen a dress so elegantly simple, yet so exceptional.
Alessa looked at the saleswoman. “How much is it?” she asked tentatively.
The saleswoman fluffed the tulle. “Well, is this the one you like the most?”
Alessa hesitated, not wanting to commit to a dress she couldn’t afford. “Yes, I love it,” she replied. “But I need to know how much it costs.”
The saleswoman seemed oblivious to her client’s concern about the price. “It doesn’t matter how much it costs,” she replied merrily, then added, “because your new father-in-law, Patrick, is buying it for you. In fact, this is the very dress he thought would be perfect for you. He said it would be his gift to welcome his new daughter into the family.”
Alessa cried, and the others were too moved to hold back their tears. Lucy, however, looked a little disappointed until the saleswoman turned to her and said, “While Patrick didn’t pick your dress for you, he said he wanted to buy whatever you picked as a gift for his new granddaughter.”
The child was elated at the thought that Patrick had remembered her. Now she felt accepted.
When the girls got back to the car, Alessa looked over at Remo, who was pretending to be unaware of their presence, and said, “You knew, didn’t you? That’s why you brought us here.”
Remo slid his hand down her arm. “Of course I knew.” He smiled. “It was my dad’s idea, though. He wanted to do something special for you and Lucy. He told me what he had done and where I was to take you. He loves you both, you know, and is happy for all of us.”
When they got home, Alessa immediately called Patrick. The sound of his voice, as he answered the phone, made her feel connected to him. For the first time in her life, she felt as if she had a father.
“Hello, Patrick,” she said, then overcome by emotion, lapsed into silence.
Remo’s father could hear how moved she was. He waited for her to speak again.
“Patrick,” she said, “I wanted to thank you for buying my dress and Lucy’s. I had never expected that and neither had she. I can’t describe how much it means to us.”
Patrick choked up, and he was silent for a moment. “You’re welcome, Alessa. I never had a daughter and now I do. Even better, I have a daughter who makes my son happy. You’re a part of our family, and I wanted to welcome you the right way. I realize things are hard for you with Hannah, but even she can’t deny how happy Remo is with you and Lucy. Keep that in mind the next time she says something annoying.”
They both laughed at his comment about Hannah, knowing well that she was unlikely to change her views about Alessa and there would always be tension between them.
After Alessa had hung up the phone, she turned to Remo and wrapped her arms around him tightly.
Remo could feel her muscles tensing beneath his arms. “What’s wrong?”
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she clung to him. She took several deep breaths and looked up at him. “Nothing’s wrong. It’s that I never really had a dad, and yours makes me feel so special. I’m crying because I’m happy. I’m so happy.”
Remo held her and smiled at Lucy, who watched contentedly as the woman she loved the most in the world proclaimed her happiness.
“What do you say, Luce?” Remo said, catching her eye. “Should we go celebrate with some ice cream?”
Lucy jumped up at once. “Yeah, man,” she replied enthusiastically. “Let’s go. I want vanilla with rainbow jimmies.”
Alessa gave her a grin. “Of course you do. That’s your favorite,” she remarked.
Lucy skipped to the car, the two adults following close behind.
