No Future in the Seams
Pine Hollow has followed the same wedding custom for more than a century: the groom must hand-stitch a pair of bridal shoes for his bride to wear during the wedding send-off.
If the shoes fit, it means the ancestors have blessed the couple with a lifetime of happiness.
I tried on six pairs, but each one was either too large or too small.
Every wedding had to be canceled.
Each time, Cole Bennett promised me guiltily,
"Audrey, wait for me. I swear I'll make you a pair of bridal shoes that fits perfectly."
I believed him.
Then, at our seventh send-off, I put on the shoes and my toe tore straight through a hole in the front.
I froze, but Piper Dawson, who had come with the groom's party, pointed at me and burst out laughing.
"Sorry, Audrey. I didn't know the pair I bought this time would be so poorly made. They're even worse than the first six!"
I stared at Cole in disbelief.
"She bought all the shoes? We prepared for seven weddings, and you let her turn every one into a game?"
He frowned and looked at me as though I were the unreasonable one.
"Piper is a tomboy. Why are you making such a big deal out of this? You already waited through six weddings. What difference does one more make?"
Then he stroked my hair and spoke casually.
"Stop making a scene. I promised Piper I wouldn't marry you until she turns twenty-five and can live independently.
"I promise I'll stitch the next pair myself."
I watched him in silence.
He had forgotten that I no longer had the right to make a scene.
In Pine Hollow, seven failed wedding send-offs marked a bride as ill-fated.
Within three days, she had to enter an alliance marriage with someone outside the community.
And she was forbidden from returning home for seven years.