Chapter 43 #2
Jamie barely had time to see the dresses on her.
They were on and off before she could glance in the mirror.
They came in such spurts that all she saw was white, ivory, and light creams covered in tulle, beads, and the occasional sequins, depending on what phase of Bonita’s life they represented.
Sometimes she expressed such hatred for her designs that Jamie was afraid the designer would rip them off her body and burn them in the middle of the studio.
These dresses that had to be worth thousands of dollars already…
“Stop!” The studio went silent as Bonita stared in fascination at the latest piece Jamie wore. Even if they weren’t involved with this fitting, women all around the studio looked up to see what was going on. “This is it. Adele, come here, tell me I am a piece of shit.”
“I’m sure that’s not necessary.” Nevertheless, she rose from the bench to view Jamie from the front. Her face instantly changed from indifferent to…
To…
“Holy shit. Jamie, you have to look at this dress on you.” Adele grabbed Bonita’s arm. “You’re a piece of shit.”
“I know. I do my job.”
Jamie slowly turned with the help of an assistant, for the skirt was so full that it was easy for her to lose her footing on the raised dais. When she looked into the mirrors now in front of her, Jamie had to wonder if she were still sleeping – for what dream had she stepped into?
It was not the first princess dress she put on, although this one borderlined on ball gown territory. It was, however, the first one that fit right and didn’t make Jamie feel like she was sucked into a dress vacuum.
While its flaring skirt and strapless, sweetheart-shaped neckline was not a new idea, the way it hugged Jamie’s body and accentuated her figure was something she had never seen on her frame before.
She… well, she looked like a princess, but not the fairy-tale kind.
She looked like a modern day princess, the kind who worked a shitty desk job as opposed to cleaning out fireplaces for an evil stepmother.
Until Her Royal Highness – who was probably her boss – showed up and changed her life forever.
The gentle slope of the silk skirt moved whenever Jamie did.
Fluid movements. The kind that made her and the dress look like one as opposed to two entities fighting for control.
Her breasts neither bulged from the top nor disappeared into oblivion.
There was enough flesh and cleavage to be sexy without vulgarity.
And her arms! They miraculously didn’t look fat, which was Jamie’s biggest issue with strapless gowns.
None of that compared to the detail on the skirt.
The whole dress wasn’t white, although that was the dominant color.
All over the skirt and crawling from the waistline up were light gold leaves sewn directly into the fabric.
It created a golden illusion, like a burst of sunset breaking through a cloudy sky.
The train was long enough to look regal without dragging half the dress on the ground.
The bow beneath the back buttons blended seamlessly into the rest of the look.
But it wasn’t until the assistant pulled back Jamie’s hair and put a tiara on her head that she started to cry.
“See? I told you.” Bonita sniffed. “I am the best. Even this girl can look like a princess.”
“I’ll pretend you didn’t imply something about her, Bonita.”
“Don’t pretend. I say everything I think.”
“So I’ve always noticed.”
“Well?” Bonita asked, louder. “Isn’t this the dress you will lose your last name in?”
It was such a gruff way to put it, but Jamie could only think of Etta’s face when she saw her in this dress.
I would be good enough. Good enough to call me her bride.
More tears began to fall down Jamie’s face.
Tears of happiness, of course, but she did not expect them so soon, let alone this weekend.
She looked over her shoulder and nodded to both Bonita and Adele.
“This is the first dress to make me feel like a bride,” she said.
Bonita scoffed, because of course it was. Adele, on the other hand, grinned and told Jamie that she was the most beautiful bride in Europe.
“We must make alterations, of course,” Bonita said, summoning a different assistant to take notes. “Hold still while we measure you. Then we’ll make sure all the alterations are made before your wedding. I’ll come to America myself to fit it on you.”
“You only offer that because Jamie’s your ticket to wowing Americans.”
“No kidding?” The designer put her hand on Jamie’s bare shoulder, studying her breasts and waist and how they fit in the dress.
“If this Jamie is marrying a woman as big as you say she is, then my design will be all over the American papers. You are my big break, sweetie, and I will never forget… this dress.”
Fifteen minutes later, Bonita was satisfied with the numbers written in the notes and instructed her assistants to get Jamie out of the dress. However, before anyone could leave, she told Adele and Jamie to wait on the bench while business was discussed in the back corner of the studio.
“I’m happy for you,” Adele said, fanning herself with her address book, “and for myself, because now I can spend the rest of my weekend relaxing with Italian wine and fashion.”
Jamie was still reeling from the sight of her reflection in that dress. I can feel it on my skin, even now. How silky it felt. How luscious the design was. How it moved with such graceful airs that it felt like it weighed nothing at all. Now that was the kind of dress she could get married in.
“You didn’t have to do this,” she said, facing Adele.
“Of course I did. Seeing your demeanor was worth it.”
“You don’t mean that…”
“Why wouldn’t I? I couldn’t very well let you get married without the perfect dress, now could I? So I called Bonita and told her that if she could get you dressed for a high-profile American wedding, there would be a lot in it for her. That’s the language she really speaks.”
Jamie ignored that. “I mean… you didn’t have to do this because you barely know me. As far as you’re concerned, I’m your ex-girlfriend’s new fling.”
“You say that so flippantly.” Adele put her address book back in her purse. “I’ve told you before. If I thought you weren’t a good match for Etta, I would’ve made that clear from the beginning. The fact I’m bringing you out here should say something, I hope.”
“But… why?” That was the question burning in the back of Jamie’s mind ever since she first met Adele in Etta’s office.
“Why would I like you? I told you that…”
“No. Why did you say no?”
They were silent, Adele absorbing that question as if she weren’t certain Jamie meant what she did. “You mean… why did I say no to Etta’s proposal all those years ago?”
Something was lodged in Jamie’s throat, and it wasn’t her tears of happiness. “I ask because even she couldn’t answer that, you know.”
“I’m sure.” Adele crossed her legs away from Jamie.
Here came the wall building between them.
I’m so dumb. This woman had gone out of her way to make sure Jamie had the perfect wedding dress, and now that woman was dredging up some powerful memories.
Not the fun kind, either. “That was a long time ago.”
“You really surprised her. To be honest, she was a train wreck on the emotional front when I met her. A whole five supposed years after you guys broke up.”
“Like I can take responsibility for her throwing a tantrum because she didn’t get what she wanted.”
Jamie looked askance at her. Was that supposed to be said out loud?
“You want the simple answer?” Adele asked. “Or do you want the long one?”
“I have no idea.”
“The simple answer is that she and I weren’t compatible.” Adele pulled a tissue from her purse and ripped it apart between fidgety fingers. “I had known it for a long time, but kept putting off a breakup because I knew it was messy. Yet when the woman proposes to you…”
“You didn’t expect that?”
“You know her. She’s not exactly the type to run around proposing to women.”
“She told me it felt wrong to choose an engagement ring for you. So she bought several for you to choose from.” Jamie wouldn’t say that Etta had replicated the same situation for her. “I think she was implying that you’re so independent.”
“It’s true. That’s how it happened.” Adele sighed. “Don’t get me wrong, Jamie. I did love her. Just not like that.”
“Apparently, she loved you that way.”
“Is that my fault?”
Jamie moved down the bench. Hurricane Adele was about to land. “No, of course not. I only meant…”
“The long and complicated answer is that I could’ve never been happy with her in the long run. Not romantically.”
“I see.”
“We had some good times, don’t get me wrong.
I don’t regret my relationship with her.
I regret how it had to end, since I should’ve ended it the moment I knew it wasn’t going to work.
I am sorry for how she took it and what it did to her personal relationships until she met you, but it would’ve been worse had we actually married.
We would’ve been divorced by now. Definitely not business partners.
This was the best way it could have gone, for both of us. ”
Jamie almost didn’t want to ask, but felt compelled. “Why weren’t you two compatible?”
Adele shifted in her seat, probably wondering what was taking Bonita so damn long. “When I met Etta, she was only starting to get into the whole… you know. Thing.”
“Ah.”
“I’m not that into it. That would’ve put a strain on things right there. It already had.”
“I see.”
Jamie had uncorked something in Adele, for she continued, “Plus, I know that even she couldn’t satisfy my own inclinations long enough.
I don’t stick with one person for very long.
Etta was one of my longest relationships ever, and that’s only because we got along great as friends.
When I realized that I cared more about our conversations and parties than spending time alone…
like that… I knew it was only a matter of time before the shit hit the fan, and she was getting mad because I kept putting off sex. You know how she gets.”
“Sure.”
“It’s not her fault, Jamie. I’m not saying there’s something awful about her. She just wasn’t what I needed in a partner, let alone a wife. I spent most of my twenties trying to figure out who I am while building my business. Now I’m spending my thirties doing fuckall I know.”
“Is that why it didn’t work with your assistant?”
“Ha! He was a plaything from the beginning. Not even a very good assistant. I grew bored with him to the point of tears. Too meek and submissive. Lesson learned. Told him to go to that sex club and try his luck with a Domme. You might see him around there.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually.”
“Enough about me. This is your weekend, Jamie. We may have gotten you a dress, but that doesn’t mean the party’s over!”
Bonita chose that moment to come back, peppering so much Italian into her sentences that only Adele could understand her. Something about taking three weeks to do the alterations. Would personally escort the dress to America to fit Jamie. More details to come later.
Bonita completely switched to Italian at the end of her explanation, placing a hand on Adele’s shoulder. “Sei molto sensibile quando ti tocco. Andiamo a casa tua o a casa mia?”
Adele blushed. The assistant standing behind Bonita blushed harder before turning away. Jamie had no idea what was going on, and didn’t care. She saw her wedding gown on a mannequin a few feet away, and it was calling to her, saying, “You are so getting married in me.”