Chapter 12

Bailey

Hair and Makeup

Why does it take three hours for hair and makeup? These thoughts fill my mind as I yawn while entering the church. I begin looking for the room where I’m supposed to meet my cousin and aunt.

“We’re down here!” Syd shouts as she waves at me from a doorway at the back of the church.

“I’m so glad you were watching for me,” I say as I hurry towards her.

“I didn’t want my maid of honor to get lost,” she says, giving me a quick hug. “Thank you again for doing this for me.”

Hugging her back, I say, “It’s my honor to be your maid of honor.” This time I genuinely mean the words. Sydney is practically my best friend. I understand why she selected her sister as her original maid of honor, but Ashley messed up and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be her replacement.

The dressing room is a hive of activity as we walk in. Aunt Margaret is getting her hair styled into some kind of bouffant look, not exactly in style, but it looks nice on her. The flower girl, along with her mother, are getting their nails done. A raft of beauty products are spread out on a table, along with a half empty box of donuts and a thermos that’s most likely filled with coffee.

“I hear that you’re dating the best man,” Nana says to me as soon as I walk through the door. She’s already dressed, her mint green outfit coordinates well with the one shade darker dress my aunt is wearing. Obviously, everyone is committed to the mint green theme.

“Yes, Levi and I are dating,” I respond in answer to Nana’s remark, hoping she doesn’t drill me on facts about my fake boyfriend. Why didn’t Levi and I discuss insider knowledge before the wedding? Like favorite color, favorite food, or fifth grade teacher’s name?

She arches her eyebrow. “Margaret didn’t tell me you had a new boyfriend. How long have you been dating?” Unfortunately, I’m the last remaining unmarried grandchild. Ashley’s elopement and Sydney’s wedding cleared the path for me to be the sole focus of Nana’s matchmaking.

Squirming under my grandmother’s intense gaze, I try to formulate a feasible response, not wanting to lie about how long Levi and I have been dating.

“Um, well—” I say, then wince as that brilliant reply tumbles off my lips.

“Josh and Levi have been friends since freshman year. After Todd and Ashley eloped, Levi was a natural choice for best man,” Sydney chimes in.

I toss my cousin a grateful grin, but Nana’s not put off the scent that easily. “What’s that got to do with the price of tea in China?” Her eyes bore into my forehead like she’s trying to read my mind. “How long have you two been an item?”

Counting the original DoorDash delivery, ten days. But who’s counting?

“A while.” I hedge.

Nana grins. “Sounds like you both need a little nudge to speed this along.”

Oh no! That’s Nana-speak for she’s going to double-down on the meddling.

“Wait until Levi sees her in the maid of honor dress,” Aunt Margaret says with a teasing wink. Her styling is complete and her hair looks much more voluminous than usual. I didn’t notice that she had joined the conversation.

“Who’s next for hair?” the beautician shouts.

“You go next, Bailey,” Syd says. “I’ll go last so I don’t mess up the hairstyle getting into my dress.”

Thankful to end this awkward conversation, I quickly make my way over to the hair stylist’s chair. “What style do you want?” she asks as she places a cape around my neck.

“Is my hair long enough for an up-do?” I ask. I’ve always wanted to try an up-do but couldn’t ever figure out how to wrangle my hair to cooperate.

“Sure!” she says and begins to work. I settle back and relax, pushing thoughts about the hunky hockey player best man from my mind. Nana is going to be Nana and none of us can stop her matchmaking attempts. Levi’s a grown man, and he’s been forewarned. We’re either going to move forward in a relationship or it’s going to crash and burn at this wedding. Time will tell.

~*~

When one-thirty rolls around, a nervous, anticipatory vibe fills the room. Surprisingly, between hair, makeup, and nails, it took almost the full allotted three hours to get everyone ready.

Sydney looks absolutely stunning. She’s wearing an off-the-shoulder, sweetheart neckline wedding dress with a mint green sash around the waist. That splash of color against the snow-white dress, highlights her slim waistline and matches my dress perfectly. Now, I fully understand why we couldn’t change the color of the maid of honor dress at the last minute.

“You look gorgeous, Bailey,” Sydney says, blinking back tears. Her emotions are running high, and the makeup artist has had to fix the bride’s eye liner and lipstick a couple times.

“Thank you and you look fantastic, too! But please don’t ruin your makeup,” I say, handing her a tissue.

She sniffles and carefully pats the corners of her eyes so as not to smudge the classic cat eye look that highlights her eyes.

“With your hair in that style, you look so sophisticated. Plus, that dress accents all your curves perfectly. The transformation is quite remarkable,” the flower girl’s mother says. Her eyes widen and she claps her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to imply before you changed that you looked—” Her voice trails off in embarrassment.

“No worries! Honestly, I’m as amazed as you are. I don’t even recognize myself,” I say.

“Your usual casual style is wonderful,” Sydney adds. “It makes you, you.”

I nod, knowing I’m comfortable in my own skin. But I have to admit that it’s fun to look glamorous for once, especially for this special occasion.

“Twenty minutes to showtime!” Aunt Margaret yells. “Nana and I are going to check on the men,” she says in a swirl of perfume as the pair sweeps out the door.

“I asked Mom to try to keep Nana distracted,” Syd whispers. “Hopefully, our grandmother won’t be too obvious in her meddling.”

Rolling my eyes, I say, “Remember when she paired up the wedding party members for that dance at Cousin Doug’s wedding?”

“Oh my gosh! I forgot about that,” Sydney says, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

Doug’s younger sister, Tasha, was a bridesmaid and wasn’t dating anyone at the time. Nana paired Tasha with the best man for the bridal party dance. There were several awkward minutes when the maid of honor wandered around the dance floor, looking for a partner. Nana pleaded a “senior moment” and then paired the maid of honor with Doug’s eight-year-old brother, who was ring bearer. It turned out fine and everyone laughed about the incident. Tasha married the best man a year later and they’re still together. Maybe there’s something magical about Nana’s meddling after all.

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