Chapter 6

"I can't believe you still haven't bought a dress to wear at my wedding." Mira couldn't hide her outrage as she glared at her friend in disbelief.

Faith had a look of dread as she stared at dresses in the window shop while trying to gather the courage to walk in. They had already spent too much time at the hair salon so Faith could have a fresh and even haircut, and now here they were, standing in front of a store. She started picking the skin around her fingernails as she looked at all the dresses. Too many options, too many colours... And for sure, none of them will look good on me. Faith had this depreciative self-talk every time she needed to find the proper attire for an event. To her, it was always an awful and anxiety inducing chore that she was forced to do.

"You know I'm more into jeans and boots than dresses and heels. Bad things happen when I'm wearing those." Faith found herself thinking about all the events that she had attended, where she either tripped on her dress or her heel got stuck somewhere. All the embarrassing moments were playing in her head over and over again.

"But the wedding is in two weeks! Just two weeks," Mira whined.

Faith shrugged. Mira's wedding was right after the fall festival. So, due to all the work that had been swapping her, Faith hadn't had the chance to think about what she was wearing. In all honesty, she hadn't even realized that time was going by extremely fast and that her best friend would be married in just two weeks. Maybe I've been in denial... She thought. Faith started to realize that she didn't want to think about attending a wedding right after she had cancelled her own. She didn't want to think about the fact that Ronnie was a guest too, or the fact that attending a wedding involves a whole makeover and wearing dresses.

"You are so lucky that I'm having a small wedding and don't have any bridesmaids or maid of honour. Otherwise, you wouldn't have any say in it."

"I'm well aware of that. I thank the universe every day that you are going to have a small ceremony with only friends and family. Nothing fancy. And no bridesmaids or maid of honour." Faith clasped her hands together as if she was praying, and Mira chuckled.

"It might be a casual gathering, but you still need to look stunning. I want pictures with my best friend and we both have to look amazing."

"You just want to dress me up and to finally fulfil your fantasy of giving someone a makeover. Admit it."

"True." Mira looked at her friend's worried expression. "You know that I don't want you to wear anything that makes you uncomfortable, right? You are already stunning as is."

"Thank you." Faith placed her arm around her friend's shoulder.

"But I can't also let you wear jeans and boots to my wedding."

"I know." Faith sighed as she got ready to walk into the boutique. "Come on. Let's go in before my courage vanishes."

Faith was tall, taller than average, and she always felt like a baby giraffe, still learning how to move and walk every time she wore heels. So, they agreed that she would wear small heels. Pumps with a strap around the ankle were the choice. But there was still the problem of choosing a dress. They were either too short, or too long, or an awkward length. Or maybe I'm the one who's not right and not the dresses, since they look great on the hanger...

Growing up, everyone said that Faith was the cutest child. Such a beautiful girl. People would often tell her parents. But when she hit middle school, she had a growth spurt and suddenly started to feel awkward and unfeminine. For a while, she was the tallest girl, even taller than all the boys in her class. It made her stand out, and she hated it. So, she started to try to blend in, not wear anything flashy that would attract any attention, the plainest outfits she could think of. Once she hit high school, all the boys had suddenly become taller than her or at least, the same height as her, but whereas the girls were growing into their more feminine and curvy bodies, Faith was still stuck on her tall, shapeless body. Looking at herself trying a bunch of different types of dresses made her feel like she was back in high school, crying because she couldn't find a prom dress that made her feel as beautiful as the other girls. As beautiful as Mira, that looked like a princess in a sparkly blue gown, and that was standing right beside Faith, trying to convince her to go to prom and that she looked stunning.

"Okay, last one," Mira said, giving Faith another dress. "My gut is telling me that this is the one."

Faith sighed and took the dress into the dressing room. It was a midi dress in a dark shade of blue, with a corset type bodice and wide straps that tied with bows on top of the shoulders. The dress was gorgeous, and Faith thought that such a dress would be wasted on her, but she still decided to put it on to make Mira happy.

"Oh my," Mira gasped as Faith pulled the curtain to the side and stepped out.

"What? That bad?"

"Oh, my... You look stunning, Fay."

Faith smiled as she looked at the expression on her best friend's face. "Thank you, M."

"I know you don't believe me, Fay. But you do look beautiful. I do hope that one day you'll see yourself the same way I see you." Mira got closer to Faith and gently tucked a strand of hair behind Faith's ear. "Turn around. Look at you."

For the first time in her life, as she looked at her reflexion, Faith was starting to see what everyone else saw and not the jaded view she had of herself.

"Okay, go get changed and let's get this dress before you change your mind." Mira had a small tear on the corner of her eye. She knew how much her friend struggled with loving herself, and she couldn't help but to feel emotional, seeing Faith, for once, not hating what she was seeing in the mirror.

After shopping, the girls met with Richard to have lunch. He's office was nearby, and Mira would always take any chance she could to meet with her fiancé. Richard was a corporate lawyer and a busy man, but he would always make the time for Mira. Always. Every time Faith was with the two of them, she couldn't help but to hope for a love like theirs. For someone to look at her the way Richard looked at Mira. It warmed her heart so much to know that love like that was out there, and that her best friend had found it.

As they are walking down the street, Faith saw something through the corner of her eye that caught her attention. She was sure it was Callum. Callum walking out Dr Clark's clinic. She stopped walking and turned around, surprised to see Callum standing right behind her.

"Hi," Callum said with a dazzling smile. "Ran away from your tower, I see."

She smiled back at him. "Did I just see you leaving Dr Clark's office?"

"Just thinking about what we discussed yesterday. I was just talking to him and looking around the office. They started accepting resumes. Their previous paediatrician just retired. Dr Brooks is in his last weeks."

"Dr Brooks was still working?" Faith couldn't hide her shock. "Shouldn't he have retired like ten years ago or something?"

"He still seems in pretty good shape to me."

"He was my doctor, and he was already too old back then," she said making Callum chuckle. Mira cleared her throat behind Faith. "Oh, by the way, Callum. This is my friend Mira. You've seen her before. And her fiancé, Richard."

They all greeted each other and while they were at it, Mira kept staring at him, making zero effort to hide the fact that she was studying him closely. Making sure he could be a good catch for Faith. Faith felt like face palming herself, as she knew exactly what Mira was doing. Luckly Callum and Richard had started chatting and seemed completely unaware of Mira's scheming.

"Fay, Richard and I have to go, but we'll talk later. Bye," Mira said as she winked and walked away, pulling Richard by the arm while he was still mid-sentence, leaving their conversation halfway through.

"Wait, M-" Too late. Mira was already dragging poor Richard down the street.

"I'm going back to work now. Do you want a ride?"

"Yes, please. Since my previous ride just stood me up. I really need to start using my own car."

"Were you dress shopping?" Callum asked as he looked at the bag Faith was holding.

"Yes," she sighed. "For Mira's wedding. It's in two weeks. And she was driving me insane because I hadn't gotten a dress yet. So, I decided to make her happy so she would finally leave me alone."

"I see that you are extremely excited about it."

"I am. About the wedding. Not about the dressing up part."

"You don't need to worry too much about it. I'm sure that you can put on anything and look beautiful." Callum smirked, and Faith blushed from head to toe. "My car is just around the corner."

They arrived at the house and Callum went inside with Faith since he had bought some groceries that Lydia asked for.

"What are you making?" Faith asked.

"Apple pie."

"Call me when it's done. Bake a whole pie just for me, please. I'm not sharing."

"Young lady, where do you think you are going?"

"Running away to her ivory tower, I think," Callum said making Lydia laugh.

"You and Cal are going to help me make the pie."

"What?" Callum and Faith asked at the same time.

Lydia gave each one of them an apron and placed the recipe book in the middle of the kitchen island. Cinnamon Apple Pie was the title, with a picture of a deliciously looking pie next to it.

"Cal?" Faith smirked as she glanced at the recipe. "Since when are you two so chummy?" She mocked.

"If you left your tower more often, you'd see that I'm around a lot."

"Cal has kindly been picking up groceries for me. Groceries I use to make your sweets, so be nice young lady." Lydia placed a big bowl in front of them and started to get all the ingredients ready. "Start measuring the ingredients."

"Yes, mam."

"Does she have a sweet tooth?" Cal asked as he peeled and chopped the apples.

"You have no idea. I wonder how she fits all that sugar in her body. Must be all the running."

"What's her favourite?"

"This pie. And she keeps asking for my recipes, but she never bakes anything. She just walks into the kitchen whining and asks me to make something."

"You two know I'm right here, right?" They all chuckled.

Lydia drank some tea. While amused, she looked at Callum and Faith. They were bickering with each other while getting the pie ready. Standing next to each other in front of the kitchen island, they would joke, laugh, and push each other out of the way with their elbows in a playful manor. Flour got everywhere, but Lydia couldn't care less about the mess. Faith looked happy, and that's what mattered. She hadn't seen Faith smile like that in a really long time. To be completely honest, Lydia didn't even remember the last time she had seen Faith with such an honest and bright smile.

"Let me see how that's going," Lydia said as she put away her mug.

Callum and Faith walked away from the pie, proudly showing their masterpiece to Lydia.

"I'm surprised. It looks good. The heart is a really nice touch. I like it." Lydia smiled at the heart-shaped cut out that they had made on the dough, right in the centre of the pie.

"Cal's idea." Faith mocked him, using Lydia's nickname for Callum. "Don't you think it's a little cheesy?"

"I think it's lovely. And it will be ready in forty minutes. You two better be here in exactly forty minutes."

"Yes, mam," they said at the same time.

"Off you go while I clean the mess you two made."

"Let me help you," Faith said.

"Go. Outside." Lydia said while she pushed the both of them outside. "It's my kitchen."

Standing in the garden, Callum and Faith awkwardly looked at each other. Callum smirked as he looked at her.

"What?" She glared at him.

"Come here." Callum wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled her closer. Faith felt her heart thump as his fingers touched her skin and he gently brushed off flour from her face.

Faith looked up at Callum. She was tall, but still had to look up to be able to gaze straight at his face. He was standing very close. She could feel his scent. It was warm and musky. It was an earthy smell. But cold. Like a rainy day. A rainy day by the fireplace. And masked by his smell were the smells of the apples they had been cutting and cinnamon. He smells so good. She thought, making herself blush.

Callum smirked as he saw Faith's complexion. "I should go back to work." Not that we wanted to. He would much rather stay here and make Faith blush a little more and hear all about her favourite pastries, but he had already been away from his other chores for too long.

She nodded. "See you in forty minutes. Don't be late or Lydia will hunt you down and force you to sit down and eat a slice."

"I have no doubt that she would." Callum smiled and then walked away to find Kade and go back to work.

***

"It's finally done. You two sit outside. I'll set the table," Lydia said as Callum and Faith showed up exactly at the set time. Neither of them would risk getting Lydia angry.

"I told my uncle I wouldn't be gone for long."

"Don't worry about it. I'll talk to him."

Lydia went down to the orchard to talk to Kade and ended up coming back with him. The four of them sat around the table in the garden and tasted the apple pie. It turned out that Callum and Faith did indeed a good job and the pie was delicious. But despite the delicious pie that was right in front of them, both Callum and Faith couldn't help but notice something a lot more interesting... How close Lydia and Kade seemed.

"So... Do you know anything about those two?" Faith asked as soon as Kade went back to work and Lydia went back inside the house.

"No. Do you?" Callum raised an eyebrow.

"No. But I should. I'm around them twenty-four seven. How come I've never noticed it before?"

"So, you also thought that they looked awfully close, right?"

"Yes! You too?"

Callum nodded. "My uncle never said anything. But then again, he's a man of few words and he doesn't talk much about himself. Well... he doesn't talk about himself at all."

"I would approve. I would be happy for them." Faith smiled as she imagined a whole secret romance between Lydia and Kade. Kade was a widower. He never had kids, and Faith often worried that he was lonely. Lydia had been divorced for over twenty years and her kids lived faraway. A secret romance between two broken souls. How beautiful. She thought.

Faith glanced at Callum and saw him smiling tenderly at her. "What?" She glared.

"A hopeless romantic, are you?"

"Is there a problem with that?" She raised an eyebrow.

"No, not at all. Are you waiting for prince charming? Are you waiting for a prince on a white horse that will take you away from your tower?" He grinned.

"Is that wrong?" Faith's expression became somewhat sombre.

Callum lost his smile too, as he realized that his joke had touched some of Faith's wounds. He should have known better than to mock such a thing. He knew how painful love can be, both searching for it and losing it.

"No. It's not wrong at all," he said with a kind smile, and Faith's expression softened. Callum had always hoped to find the one, and he thought he had. And even though he got his heart broken because of it, who was he to judge Faith for wanting prince charming? I hope she finds him. He thought as he looked at Faith's cute, blushed face and bright green eyes. If she finds him, maybe that will make me believe in love again.