Handmade:

       Cindy Graham stood in her bridal gown before the mirror, smiling at her reflection. Her gown was pure white silk, with a sinfully low-cut neckline and filigree silk sleeves right to her fingertips. Cindy’s father had over two hundred, one carat diamonds sewn into the bust line, replacing the traditional sequins.

       She turned to look over her shoulder, and smiled at her teacher, Betty. Betty had been her best friend for the last seven years of her life. After the accident, at age twelve, Cindy had little hope of living a normal life. Suffering a large loss of her motor skills and twenty percent of her speech, she couldn’t have imagined that this would ever happen to her.

       Betty asked. “Have you seen Rick today?”

       Still smiling at Betty, Cindy said, “I nevah thought I’d get mawwied, Beddy. Look at me. I’m standing in my wedding dwess and will be Mrs. Wick Dobbs in just two maw days and you’ll be at my side, as my handmade of honaw.”

       Betty smiled and hugged Cindy. “That’s maid of honor, sweetheart, but have you seen Rick today?”

       Cindy replied, “What do you think of me now, Beddy? See how predee I look?”

       Betty couldn’t believe her eyes. “Oh, Cindy. You’re the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen. Rick is a very lucky man.” It was true. There stood a grown woman with the body of a goddess; Cindy wore the most gorgeous handmade gown that her father’s money could buy.

       “Cindy, listen to me,”   Betty said again. “Have you seen Rick today?”

       “No, I have nod seen him sense yesdewday. Why?” Cindy wanted to know.

       "Cindy, remember when we first met?" Betty asked

       Cindy giggled.  "Yes, you know I do. How could I forged Beddy? We have been best fwiends ever senses. If nod for you I would nod bee here doday. You know I wuv you and anything I have is youws."

       Betty stepped up behind Cindy and kissed the back of her friend’s head. “Sweet heart, your friendship and safety are the only two things you know I want. I just want to be sure this Rick Dobbs is the right man for you. This has been such a whirlwind romance.” 

       “He wov’s me, Beddy. He dells me so when he kisses me.” Cindy grinned.

       Betty took Cindy by the hand and led her to the sofa. “Oh, sweet, innocent child. I have never told you the story of why I first came here. Why I first took the job to care for you and be your companion.  I never dreamed you would have to go out into that world I ran away from. I never wanted you to face the things you are about to face. Yet, when I see you standing there, I knew I had to let you go to let you grow up.”

       “Could you help me with my dwess? We have do gew weady for dinnaw. Wick is coming ovew.”

       “Sure,” Betty said, as she helped Cindy put her wedding gown back into Cindy’s private walk-in safe.

       “Cindy, I tried to tell you why I came here,” Betty said, and then she went on with her story. “Nine years ago, I, too, fell in love with a man named Scott Mosley. He looked something like Rick. He was tall and slim, with a smile that could melt your heart from across the room. All my girl friends thought I was the luckiest woman in the world. Scott had us all fooled. The day I turned my term paper in on ‘Rehabilitation of Lost Motor Skills,’ I found Scott had stolen it and turned it in a week early. I was told I would be given an F for the semester, be expelled from school and would never receive a license to work as a therapist because they would charge me with plagiarism. The worst part was I found out Scott was married the whole time. The day of the disciplinary review board Scott brought his wife and two kids along. The kids were only three and five. His wife knew about us and she allowed it so she could be married to a doctor someday. I interviewed for this job the next day and your father hired me on the spot. What I have tried to tell you is, I hope Rick Dobbs is not just another Scott Mosley.

       “Wick would never do thad do me,” Cindy said as she hugged Betty.

       The butler was heard in the hallway saying, “Dinner is served.”

       When the two ladies reached the bottom of the stairway, there stood Rick.

       “Hi, love,” Rick cooed. “What has my girl been up to all day?”

       “I dried on my wedding dwess to make sure was nod do big,” Cindy giggled.

       Rick leaned very close to Cindy’s ear and whispered something no one else heard and Cindy started laughing out loud.

       “Naughdy boy.” Cindy was still laughing when she got to the table.

       Throughout dinner Cindy’s father had a very stern look on his face. Betty and Cindy both knew that he was very upset about something. They also knew it was best to just wait and let him stew on it. He would get around to letting you know in his own sweet time.

       “Rick,” Cindy’s father said sternly. “I want to see you in my study right after dinner.”

       “Yes Mr. Graham. Right after dinner I’ll meet you in your study. Right after I tell Cindy goodnight.” Rick knew his future father-in-law did not like or trust him. Still, he was not going to cause a scene that would upset Cindy.

       When Rick entered the old man’s study, Cindy’s father was already sitting behind his desk.

        Rick walked over and sat down in one of the two chairs in front of the desk. Hell, he felt more like he was on a job interview rather than he just having a chit-chat with his soon- to be father-in-law. “You wanted to see me, I take it.”

       “Rick, I will get to the point. You know Cindy will someday inherit every bit of what I have. You also know I would do anything in the world for her. I have a check here for a half a million dollars. I did a background check on you last month and found you seemed to have left a long trail of broken hearts behind. .  If you thought you would break my daughter’s heart just to get her money, you don’t know me very well. So, here is what we’ll do tonight. You take that money, walk out the door and nothing will ever be said. You don’t take it, I’ll see to it you’ll never get a hand on one cent of her or my money.”

       Rick reached over and took the check. After he looked it over he, smiled at his would be father-in-law, then folded the check and placed it in his pocket. “I thank you, sir.  I wondered when you would get to this. I’ll have the check cashed by noon.” Then Rick got up and walked out the study door.

       “Damn,” Mr Graham said. “I never thought he would have taken the check. How wrong could I have been?” He knew he would have to tell Cindy the next day.

       Mr. Graham asked the butler in the hallway the next morning. “Have you seen my daughter and Betty today?”

       “Yes, sir. They went out to that new mall, sir,” the butler answered.

       “Well, when you see them, please have Cindy come see me.”

       “Yes, sir. The very first thing,” he replied.

       Betty and Cindy s had just left a shop in the mall when they saw Rick walk up to a young woman sitting on a bench in the food court. She got up and they threw their arms around each other and hugged like they definitely knew each other.

       “Who is dhad giwl Wick hugged, Beddy?”

       “I don’t know, but I’m ready to go home now,” Betty replied.

       When the girls got home the butler told Mr. Graham, “Sir, Miss Cindy is home. Would you care to see her before or after dinner?”

       “After dinner, thank you. Oh, it’s ok. I’ll tell her myself.”

       “Very good, sir,” the butler muttered, as he turned and left.

       That night, as the butler said, “Dinner is served.” the front doorbell rang.

       In walked Rick with the woman that Betty and Cindy had seen him with at the mall.

       “Hi, everyone. I would like you to meet my younger sister, Tammie Dobbs. Her ship was dried docked in England, so she took some time off to come to our wedding. She’ll be house-sitting while we are on our honeymoon.”

       Rick walked over to Mr. Graham and slipped him an envelope. Then he walked back and put one arm around Tammie and one around Cindy. “Sis, you should see the food in this dump.” 

       After they were out of sight, Mr. Graham looked at the envelope and saw it was from the same law firm he used. Inside he found a prenuptial agreement along with a bankbook. He flipped it open to see a half-million dollar deposit in his daughters name Cindy Cynthia Graham. The prenuptial stated that anything in Cindy’s name prior to or after their marriage Rick couldn’t touch. It was signed and dated the day before.

       Mr. Graham smiled and said, “Hell, Cindy is right! It looks like he was handmade for my little girl.”