*all ages

Thanks so much to Lynn and Bonni for editing this for me and, again, to Lynn, for the idea of ‘the list.’

"But Trixie," Diana Lynch wailed, looking at her friend sitting next to her in the comfortable armchairs Diana had recently moved into her bedroom. "You have to come with us. This weekend is the only one Honey has free for the next month, and who knows when I'll be able to get Mart to agree to go again."

"Your wedding isn't for over a year yet," Trixie replied. "Why do we have to go this weekend? I haven't seen Dan all week and I would like to spend some time with him."

Diana sighed in exasperation. "I told you, Trixie. This is Honey's only free weekend and Mart has agreed to drive us to New York. I know the wedding isn't until next November, but if we don't find something we like, we'll have to have the dresses made and that will take forever. Please Trixie, you can spend Sunday with Dan, can't you?"

"I suppose," Trixie answered slowly. Spending the day in New York City shopping for a dress she'd likely wear only once, would probably play up every figure flaw she had and be an unflattering color besides, didn't strike her as the best way to spend a Saturday. But, it was Di's wedding. Trixie supposed she could make the sacrifice for her friend.

"Okay, Di," Trixie said. "Saturday it is. What time will we leave?"

"Early, probably by eight or so." Diana reached out and gave Trixie a hug. "Thank you so much Trixie. My mom has completely taken over the planning of this wedding. You'd think she was the one getting married. I want to do this one thing myself."

"Why don't you just tell your mom how you feel?" Trixie asked. "I'm sure she'd understand that you want to be more involved in the planning of your own wedding."

"Only someone who isn't planning a wedding would suggest something like that," Di laughed. "Ever since Mart proposed, my mom has been relentless. Have you set the date? What colors do you want? Are you sure you want to have the wedding in November? The weather is so unpredictable. It just goes on and on.

"Just wait until it's your turn Trixie Belden." Di paused briefly to admire the diamond ring on her finger. "Being the only girl, it'll probably be twice as bad for you. At least I'm not my mother's only chance to plan a wedding."

Trixie blushed. "Well, we won't have to worry about that for a while. And if Moms wants to plan the whole thing, I say let her. I know nothing about weddings. I think I may just elope."

Diana smiled. "That sounds more like Dan's style than yours, Trix. And you know you'd never disappoint your mother that way anyway."

"True, but you'd be surprised about Dan. He's a lot more romantic and traditional than I ever thought he'd be. I don't think he'd go for an elopement. He wants a church wedding."

"Oh!" Diana squealed. "Are you saying...?"

"No, I'm not saying," Trixie answered. "We were just talking about weddings in general. In case you didn't notice, we're right in the middle of planning one."

"Yeah, but wedding are usually a subject guys shy away from," Di pointed out. "Remember how I had almost given up on Mart? I think Dan must at least be considering it, if he's willing to talk about it."

"Jeepers Di, it was only a general discussion," Trixie groaned. "We are not, and I repeat not even thinking about marriage. We've been dating for less than a year, and I'm not ready to settle down yet. Now, can we forget this conversation and talk about something else?"

"Sure Trixie," Diana replied. "Whatever you say."

 

***

"Rise and shine, squaw." Mart poked his head into Trixie's room on his way to the shower. "We have to leave in 45 minutes and I don't want to be late. We have to pick up Honey and Di and I hope we can beat some of the traffic."

Trixie groaned and pulled the covers over her head. She knew she had fifteen minutes before Mart was done in the bathroom, but she couldn't fall back to sleep.

Sighing, Trixie pulled on her robe and wandered down to the kitchen. Although the dishes in the sink attested to the fact that someone besides Mart was already up, the kitchen was deserted.

Trixie was rummaging in the refrigerator trying to decide what she wanted when a knock sounded at the kitchen door. She yanked the container of orange juice from the shelf and set it on the counter, then ran to answer the door.

"Dan!" Trixie smiled at the handsome, dark-haired man standing on the porch.

"Hey, Trix!" Dan grinned and kissed her as he walked in and sat down at the kitchen table.

"What are you doing here?" Trixie asked, pouring herself a glass of juice. She lifted the container in Dan's direction. "Do you want some?"

Dan shook his head and got up to pour himself a cup of coffee. "I just stopped by for a minute on my way to the stables. With the four of you gone today, I thought I'd help Uncle Bill exercise the horses."

"Oh, thanks Dan. I'm sorry about today..."

"Don't sweat it." Dan brushed off her apology with a wave of his hand. "We have lots of Saturdays ahead of us. I'll see you tomorrow though, right?"

"Of course." Trixie heard Mart start down the stairs. "I've really got to get ready to go," she said apologetically, getting up from the table. "Mart's on the warpath about leaving on time."

"That's right," Mart asserted as he entered the kitchen. "The sooner we start, the sooner we'll be finished." He rolled his eyes at Dan. "This should be a fun trip, to say the least."

Trying hard not to laugh out loud at the expression on Mart's face, Dan kissed Trixie again and gave her a push toward the stairs. "Have a good time, Trixie. I'll see you tomorrow."

With a small wave, Trixie disappeared up the stairs. A moment later, the sound of running water was heard.

Mart picked up Trixie's half finished glass of juice and drained it. "Hey, Dan? Why don't you come with us? It would at least make the trip bearable. What do you say?"

Dan finished his coffee and set the empty cup down on the table. He held up both hands in front of himself and backed toward the door. "No way, man. I'm not spending my Saturday wandering around the city looking at dresses. By the way, why are you? The girls could have taken the train in themselves you know."

"I know that," Mart groaned. "And I said as much to Diana, but she's so ....um.... obsessed with doing this herself. She feels like her mother has taken over the whole wedding and she's feeling kind of left out."

"Yeah, I get that part. But how will you being there make Di feel more involved?" Dan questioned.

"Why are you even asking?" Mart shook his head, looking at Dan with mock despair. "Haven't you realized by now that these women have their own logic? Even if it makes no sense to us, I'll bet Trixie, Honey or Di could talk for hours about why I need to be there.

"Besides, you know I can't say 'no' to Di. One look in those violet eyes and what else could I do but agree to go?"

"Boy, have you got it bad," Dan grinned. "Personally, violet eyes do nothing for me, but blue ones...well, that's a different story."

"Yeah, yeah, get out of here." Mart pointed to the door. "And I thought you were my friend, Dan. Leaving me alone with the three of them all day. I may never recover."

"You'll be fine," Dan said over his shoulder as he started down the stairs. "And it could be worse. Hallie could be here too. Then you'd have four of them to deal with. Or, Di's little sisters could be coming too. If I were you, I'd thank my lucky stars Mrs. Lynch already had plans to take both sets of twins into White Plains."

Mart smacked his forehead. "You're right. I never thought of that."

The sound of Dan's laughter floated back to Mart as he watched Dan walk toward the Manor House. "Have a good day, buddy," Dan called, disappearing down the driveway.

"One can always hope," Mart muttered. He began to wash the dishes while he waited for Trixie to get ready.

*     *     *

To Mart's delight, they were able to leave the house on time. After picking up Honey and Di, they headed toward New York City, armed with what Diana was calling 'the list' - the names and addresses of all the shops Mrs. Lynch insisted they must visit.

"I do wish Hallie had been able to come with us," Di said wistfully as they drove. "But she said whatever we choose is fine with her."

"She's so pretty, anything will look good on her," Honey commented. "I wish she was here too, but if we had waited for her, who knows when we would get this done."

"She'll be down to visit as soon as school is done anyway," Trixie added. "We can always take her into the city to show her the dress then. Assuming we find one," she added darkly.

"Oh Trixie, lighten up." Honey laughed. "It's not going to kill you to look at some dresses."

"Did you guys see ER on Thursday?" Di asked, turning around to look at Honey and Trixie in the back seat. She thought they needed a new topic of conversation. "Did you see Carol's face when she opened the box from Doug and it was filled with animal crackers? I thought I would die! He wants her back so bad, I don't know why she won't just go to Seattle."

"Maybe because she's got some sense," Trixie answered. "I thought that box of animal crackers was weird. If Doug wants Carol back so bad, why doesn't he ever come to see her, or the twins? I think he's a jerk."

"Oh no," Di protested. "I think he's just afraid she'll say no. Look at how many times he's screwed things up with her."

"Yeah, so why should he get another chance?" Trixie questioned. "Especially now that Carol's spending so much time with Luka. Did you see the way he looks at her? That man is in love."

"And he's hot!" Honey interjected, giggling.

"Well, I'll give you that," Di agreed, glancing sidelong at Mart, "but I still think Carol should be with Doug. He is the father of her babies, after all."

"Well, Carol needs to make up her mind!" Trixie retorted. "I almost cried when Luka told her how much he was looking forward to the coming year, and all Carol said was that she couldn't have dinner with him. Did you see how disappointed he was?"

"Yes, but..." Diana started.

"But nothing," Trixie snapped. "She's playing with him. She likes having a man around, but she doesn't want to get involved because she still loves Doug. Fine! Go to Seattle and be with Doug. But stop leading Luka on!"

"Well," Diana turned back around and faced forward. "I didn't realize you felt so strongly about this. I'm sorry I brought it up."

A giggle from Honey caused both Trixie and Di to turn and stare at her. "What's so funny?" Diana asked stiffly.

Honey tried unsuccessfully to stifle her laughter. "You two are," she managed to get out. "You do realize that you're talking about a television show, right? These are not real people, they're characters!" She giggled again.

Mart's laughter joined Honey's. "You guys are too much," he snickered. "Getting all bent about Carol, Luka and Doug. Besides, what's there to argue about? Carol's leaving the show at the end of the season. Where do you think she's going...to Alaska?" He paused. "No, she'll go to Seattle to be with Doug. End of story."

Trixie and Diana both looked a little shamefaced. "You're right Mart," Di answered. "This is silly. I'm sorry Trixie."

"No, I'm sorry Di. I don't know why I got so upset."

Honey leaned forward and grabbed the hands of her best friends. "Let's forget this. Trixie, our best friend is getting married to one of my four favorite guys in the world. We should be having wonderful time."

"Absolutely right, Honey," Mart answered. "Although I'm not going to ask where I fall on that list of four."

They all laughed, the last of the tension that remained between Trixie and Diana evaporating. Mart turned on the radio and they all sang along as they sped toward the city.

*     *     *

"Hey sleepyheads!" Mart nudged Diana next to him and turned to glance into the backset. "Wake up, we're almost there."

Di rubbed her eyes and sat up. "Did we all fall asleep?' she asked, yawning. The sight Trixie and Honey also rubbing their eyes gave her the answer.

"I'm sorry, Mart," Diana said contritely, reaching out to touch his arm. "The drive couldn't have been much fun for you with nobody to talk to."

"Oh, I managed," Mart answered, activating the turn signal and moving toward the exit ramp. "Actually, it was kind of peaceful without all that feminine chatter."

As Di took a playful swipe at Mart, Trixie looked out the window. "Why are we getting off here Mart?" she questioned. "The exit the city isn't for a while yet."

"I know," Mart answered, "but I don't want to get gas in the city and I'm sure we'll be too tired to stop on the way home. Besides, I'd like to get a snack. Isn't anybody else hungry?"

"I'm not hungry," Honey replied, "but the restroom sounds like a good idea. I could use something to drink too."

Trixie and Di nodded their agreement as Mart pulled into the gas station. "Okay girls, don't take forever in there," he admonished as he began filling the gas tank.

"If this bathroom is anything like most gas stations, that won't be too much of a problem," Trixie snorted, heading into the mini mart to get the key from the cashier.

The girls were pleasantly surprised to find the restroom quite clean. After combing their hair and applying fresh lipstick, Honey and Di went to return the key and purchase some drinks and snacks to tide Mart over until lunch. Trixie walked back to the car where Mart was still pumping gas.

"Thanks, Trix." Mart smiled at this sister as she approached and offered to take over the fill up. "I'm almost done. It sure feels good to stretch my legs after that long ride."

"I know," Trixie agreed. Looking back to make sure Honey and Diana were still in the store, Trixie asked, "How come you agreed to come with us Mart? I'm not too thrilled to be here myself, so I can imagine how you must feel."

Mart hung up the gas hose and screwed the gas cap firmly into place. "I'm here for the same reason you are, Trix. Diana asked me to come. Don't you know I'd do anything for her? I love her."

Without a backward glance, Mart ran into the store to pay for the gas.

Well, I guess that answers that, Trixie said to herself. She felt a little ashamed for not agreeing to the trip more graciously. I should have paid more attention to Di's feelings than my own, Trixie thought. I can see Dan anytime, but Diana's only going to get married once. Well, at least I can do my part to make sure the rest of this expedition goes smoothly.

Feeling much better after her resolution, Trixie climbed into the car to wait for the others.

*     *     *

Despite her good intentions, Trixie's smile was forced by three o'clock that afternoon. Looking around her, she was sure she wasn't the only one who was getting frustrated. They had been to every shop on Mrs. Lynch's list and had found nothing that even came close to what they were looking for.

Diana looked slightly panicked at the thought that they might actually have to have the dresses made and was mumbling to herself under her breath. Honey had stopped making cheerful comments about how nice it was that they were all doing this together an hour ago. And Mart looked longingly into every restaurant they passed, the hot dog he had purchased for lunch from a sidewalk vendor only a distant memory.

I have to do something! Trixie thought. There has to be someplace in this city that has a dress we can all agree on.

"Listen up everybody," Trixie announced. "We are going to find a dress."

"Ah, my shamus sister is about to solve "The Mystery of the Elusive Bridesmaid Dress," Mart snickered. "Pray tell, dear Beatrix, what is the solution?"

Trixie glared at Mart, but controlled her temper. Arguing wasn't going to help anything. She knew everyone else was just as tired and discouraged as she was.

"Well, let's start by stating what we're looking for. Diana wants the dresses in some shade of purple. We don't want long dresses or anything frilly and we hope we can find something we might want to wear again. And reasonably priced would be nice." Trixie ticked the items off on her fingers. "Did I leave anything out?"

Di, Honey and Mart were staring at her in amazement. "How did you do that?" Diana asked.

"Do what?" Trixie was honestly confused.

"Take the last five hours and condense it into three sentences?"

"Well, I just thought about all the dresses we've tried on so far and the comments we made about them. I thought it might make it easier if we knew exactly what we were looking for." Trixie looked at the others. "Why, did I leave something important out?"

"No!" Di exclaimed. "I just wish we had done this before. We wouldn't have wasted so much time. I feel so much better now. Where should we start?"

"Well, we've exhausted 'the list.' Let's try the phone book," Mart suggested, smiling at Di's renewed enthusiasm. "Maybe a name in there will strike a chord. We'll leave the car here and take a cab if it's too far."

"That's a great idea, Mart," Honey exclaimed. As she and Di walked to the nearest phone booth, Mart turned to Trixie.

"Thanks, Trix. Diana really needed to hear something positive from somebody and I couldn't think of anything myself. This is really important to her. And if we can find the dress in a shop her mother didn't suggest, well, I think that'll make Di's day." Mart put his arm around Trixie's shoulder and gave her a squeeze.

"Oh, well..." Trixie was embarrassed by Mart's praise, especially since it was given so rarely. She was saved from answering by Di running toward them, Honey close behind her.

"I think I found it!" Diana exclaimed, waving a piece of paper over her head. "It's called The Wedding Center and it just jumped out at me. Let's try it - I have a good feeling about this."

"Okay, gang, let's go!" Mart hailed a cab and herded the giggling girls in ahead of him.

*     *     *

"Oh, how quaint!'" Honey exclaimed as they arrived at The Wedding Center "I've never seen anything like this!"

They stood in front of the small shop tucked away on a side street. The facade resembled a country cottage and they could see that there was more than one floor inside.

"Well ladies, let's get this show on the road." Mart opened the door and stood aside so the girls could enter before him.

Almost as soon as they were through the door, a saleslady appeared before them. "Welcome," she smiled graciously. "What can I help you with today?"

After a glance at Diana and Trixie, Honey stepped forward. "We're looking for bridesmaid dresses," she answered. "Something simple, in some shade of purple, calf-length. Do you think you might have something like that?"

"Oh, I'm sure we can find something you like. My name is Lois by the way. Why don't you follow me and we'll see what we can find."

The girls and Mart followed Lois up the stairs to the second floor. Trixie had never seen so many dresses in her life, including a whole rack of dresses in every color of purple imaginable. This may be it, Trixie thought to herself.

Lois seated them and brought a selection of dresses for them to view. The third dress caused Diana to suck in her breath and Honey's eyes widened. Trixie gasped.

"Wow!" Mart exclaimed. "That looks just like what you've been searching for. That's really a pretty dress."

The dress was a deep purple velvet; very simple in style with long tight sleeves and a low scooped back that ended in a large sateen bow. The skirt was slightly full and looked to end at mid-calf.

Honey and Di both reached out and stroked the fabric, the look on their faces clearly stating that they felt the search was over.

"Would one of you like to try it on?" Lois asked.

At their nods, Lois looked over the three girls. Pointing to Trixie, she said. "I think you are the closest to the size of this sample. Why don't you put it on and we'll see how it looks."

With Honey and Di following her, Trixie disappeared into the dressing room.

The dress could have been made for Trixie. Zipping up the back, Honey motioned for Trixie to turn around.

"Oh, Trixie, you look beautiful. What do you think, Di?"

"I think this is exactly what I had in mind," Di answered. She tilted her head and looked at Trixie. "This style and color should look good on everybody. With a crinoline to hold out the skirt a little, I think it will be perfect. What about you, Trix?"

Trixie looked at herself in the mirror. "I never thought I would hear myself say this Di, but I love it. And I think I might actually wear it again."

"Wonderful! It looks like we're all happy. Let's see how Mart feels about it," Di suggested.

Mart stared at his sister as she exited the dressing room. "Well," Diana demanded, "don't just sit there and stare! What do you think, Mart?"

"I think you've found your dress," he answered.

*     *     *

After being assured by Lois that she would hold the dress for them and making arrangements to come back at a later date with Hallie and Di's younger sisters, the tired quartet collapsed in the back of the cab for the trip back to their car.

"I'm so glad that's over," Honey sighed, leaning back against the seat. "I'm definitely going there first, if I ever need bridesmaid dresses." Trixie nodded her agreement.

"Well," Mart laughed, "The Mystery of the Elusive Bridesmaid Dress" has been solved, thanks to our super sleuth." He winked at Trixie over Diana's head to let her know he was kidding.

"Can we get something to eat now?" Mart asked pleadingly. "I'm starved!"

The End

 Trixie Belden Homepage