Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Hailey
I lose track of how many dresses I try on and how many stores we go to. Maggie can tell I’m reluctant when she takes me to a bridal boutique, even though I don’t even hesitate.
Well, I guess maybe my steps slow as we approach it, but I’m sure that my feelings are written all over my face. I’ve been told by more than one person that I don’t have much of a poker face.
“Okay, look. I get it. This is a small ceremony, probably at a park, only a few friends as witnesses—which I’m really excited about, by the way.
So’s Jack, though it might not have been obvious.
He’s been practicing what he’ll say. And if you tell anyone I told you that, I’ll deny it until the day I die.
” Then she leans in close. “Seriously, though, it’s adorable.
I have a son, and he helped Jack out by setting up some of his stuffed animals for him to practice with.
” She lowers her voice to a whisper. “I took pictures.” I can’t help grinning at that.
“And maybe you don’t want to wear white, but they’ll have a variety of gowns in different styles and colors.
Plus, they’ll pamper you more than the other stores we’ve been to will.
It’ll be fun. When else are you going to get to do something like this? ”
And with that, she hooks her arm through mine and half-drags me to the door while I’m flailing for an answer.
I don’t have one, though, and she’s not wrong.
They do pamper us here, leading us to plushly upholstered straight back chairs ranged in front of a dais that’s surrounded by mirrors.
“Can I get you ladies anything to drink? Champagne? Water? Juice?” asks the elegant woman who introduced herself as Shannon after showing us to the seats.
“Oh, I’ll have a water,” I say. We’ve stopped for refreshments a couple of times, but it’s been a while since our last pit stop, and I’m parched.
“And champagne for both of us, please,” adds Maggie with a wide smile. “Thank you.”
“Of course. One moment.” Shannon disappears, coming back with two champagne flutes cradled in one hand and two small bottles of water in the other. She hands me the waters, and I pass one to Maggie. Then she passes us each a champagne flute.
As we sip, she smiles serenely and clasps her hands. “Now, ladies, what are we looking for today?”
Since I have a mouth full of champagne, Maggie does all the talking.
Of course, she’s been doing most of the talking this whole trip.
Honestly, I don’t mind. She’s kind and friendly and seems to know all the right things to say.
It’s a far different experience from hitting the thrift store on half-off day, I’ll say that much.
Though I suspect I’d have fun doing that with Maggie too.
She’s open and free with her opinion, gushing over what she likes and dismissing things she doesn’t with equal fervor, and I know she won’t lie to me if she thinks I look hideous in a dress.
Especially because at the first store, she said exactly that.
I tried on a butter yellow strapless dress with a poofy skirt that stopped well above my knees.
“No. Gag. No,” she said. “That color is awful on you, and I don’t like the style either.
I mean …” She’d grimaced, looking at me guiltily.
“Unless you love it, of course. Then it’s wonderful. ”
Laughing, I shook my head. “No. I don’t like it at all. Plus, I tried sitting down just to see if I could, and there’s barely enough fabric to cover my ass. Pass.”
She’d sighed with relief. “Oh, good. Okay. Next!”
Over the course of the last few hours, we’ve narrowed down that I look better in colors on the cool side of the spectrum—so no yellows or oranges for sure—and I’ve realized I want straps. No strapless bras for me, thanks.
Maggie rattles off the list of style things we’ve figured out, and finishes off with, “And we need something we can buy off the rack. Slight alterations are okay if you have someone who can handle it quickly.” With a wide grin, she says, “Hailey’s eloping, so the timeline is pretty short.”
Shannon’s eyes go wide at that news. “Okay. Well, that does narrow down our choices a bit. Let me see what we have that might fit you. I’ll just pull everything that’s available in something close to your size, and we’ll see what we can do. Sound good?”
“Perfect, thanks!” chirps Maggie.
I nod and smile, too, adding a murmured, “Thank you,” as Shannon turns to leave.
Maggie faces me and gives a happy wiggle. “This is gonna be fun,” she whispers, then claps her hands lightly.
Grinning at her antics, I sip my champagne, then decide I should focus more on the water. I’m a lightweight, and while one glass of champagne isn’t enough to get me drunk or even tipsy, my incipient dehydration combined with alcohol is likely to leave me with a headache.
“Sorry,” Maggie whispers after Shannon leaves.
“For what?” I’m genuinely confused. Did I miss something?
“Oh, just … sometimes I take over. I think it’s a side effect of motherhood, and since I planned all of our shopping destinations …” She flops her hand around, which I think is supposed to indicate how that would lead to her taking over.
“Honestly, you’ve been keeping better track of what styles I like than I have. It gets a bit overwhelming after a while, especially …” I trail off, biting my lip, and Maggie gives me a concerned look.
“This is all a bit of a whirlwind, isn’t it?” She straightens and looks around. “I mean, you just moved to Seattle, immediately got sick, and now we’re shopping for a dress. Have you applied for the marriage license yet? I know you have to wait a few days before you can actually get it.”
I shake my head. “Not yet.”
“Well, I guess we know you’ll have at least four days since it’s after five already.
The earliest you can apply is tomorrow. So if we need minor alterations, we have that much time to work with at minimum.
I know Jason wants the ceremony to happen before training camp starts.
Have you looked at any of the sites he was thinking about? ”
Just then, Shannon returns with a rolling rack of dresses in all shades of white and cream, saving me from having to respond.
Looking at sites? I thought this was going to be a quick courthouse wedding.
What sites? I guess he did mention the schedule was kind of full at the courthouse, so we could have his friend do it at a park, but …
it’s not like I care that much about which park it is. This isn’t real.
I mean, it’s real in a legal sense. But it’s not like I’m marrying the love of my life.
Although …
I have to admit that Jason’s better than any boyfriend I’ve ever had—taking care of me while I was sick, making sure I have everything I need, doing his best to support my goals …
If I were to pick out the qualities I’d want, those would all be at the top of the list. And it will seem less weird for him to help me with a car and money and stuff like that if we’re married …
And I have had a crush on him since I was old enough to understand what that was. He’s hot. And kind. And caring. And I really like spending time with him …
But this is all just to assuage his guilty conscience, after all.
Shannon clears her throat after hanging a few dresses on hooks next to the dressing room. “I thought we’d start with these, just to get a few ideas.”
“Oh, no, not that one,” Maggie says, pointing to a cream colored dress with a big skirt and a train.
Even hanging on the hook, it trails to the floor.
And realistically, I’m not that tall. “It’s going to be an outdoor wedding, so we don’t want anything dragging the ground.
And Hailey and yellow don’t get along. Trust me. ”
Shannon’s nostrils flare ever so slightly. “It might be worth trying on for—”
“No, Maggie’s right,” I say, looking it over. “That one’s a definite no. But I’ll try the others.”
Covering her irritation, Shannon gives me a closed-lip smile. “Wonderful. Here’s your dressing room. And I have a slip for you as well. If you need a strapless bra, let me know your size, and I’ll grab one.”
“No, thank you. I want a dress I can wear with a normal bra.”
“Many of them also have corset styling, which wouldn’t require a bra, even if they’re strapless. Something to keep in mind. But wear whatever you’re comfortable with for today. Once you’re ready, let me know, and I’ll help you into the first dress.”
I give Maggie a wide-eyed look. “Help me?”
Shannon looks confused. “Of course. Is this your first …” Her delicate brows pull together. “You mentioned you’ve been shopping …”
“This is our first bridal boutique. Since it’s an elopement, Hailey wasn’t sure she wanted a traditional wedding gown, so we opted to start with more general boutiques and department stores.
At a couple of stores, someone helped with zippers.
Or I did. But no one’s helped her into the gown altogether before this. ”
“Well,” Shannon says, turning to me after Maggie’s explanation, “this is what we do here at Blushing Bride. That way we ensure that everything fits how it should. If you weren’t determined to buy off the rack, we’d have you try on a variety of samples.
Sometimes they’re large enough that we have to clip them back to give you a better idea of how it’d look when it’s fitted properly.
Since you specified no trains or full-length skirts, though, I’ll only pull the ones that are tea length or shorter, okay? ”
“Okay,” I mumble.
Maggie says, “Sounds perfect. Thank you.” Then she settles back in her chair, sipping her champagne, her eyes dancing over the rim of her glass as she makes a shooing motion for me to go into the dressing room.
Giving her my signature narrow-eyed glare, I go into the dressing room anyway, stripping down to my underwear and putting on the skirt slip. Crossing my arms over my chest, I call, “I’m ready.”
The door cracks open, and a dress comes through the opening. I can’t even see Shannon amidst the froth of tulle and satin. “Arms up!” she chirps.
Gamely, I do as directed, and the dress slips over my head. As it’s going on, I realize there are wide straps, so I angle my arms to go through them correctly.
While she seemed a little annoyed that Maggie and I have clear ideas of what I want, she at least starts us out with something that might fit those parameters.
Once the dress is on me, Shannon appears. “Turn around, and I’ll lace you up.” And that’s when I realize this is a corset style like she mentioned earlier. I’m not sure how I feel about that, but I present her with my back.
She talks about the dress as she tugs and pulls.
“There’s a modesty panel in place right now below the lacing.
That way, you can still wear a bra if you prefer.
However, it’s easy enough to put bra cups into something like this, then you can leave the back open.
Not everyone likes showing that much skin, though, so it’s up to you. ”
“Sounds good,” I murmur, dropping my arms as the dress conforms to my body.
“Done!” she says, sounding inordinately satisfied. “Come out and take a look in the big mirror out here.”
She backs out of the dressing room and indicates that I should stand on the dais. I feel a little silly standing on a stage and twirling around. “I feel like I should have my violin,” I say to Maggie.
Grinning, she shakes her head. “You’re not allowed to play at your own wedding. Too bad you don’t know any musicians here yet. It’d be fun if you had some friends playing for you.”
I mumble my agreement, then turn to face the triple mirrors. “Wow,” is all I say.
“You look stunning,” agrees Maggie.
“I’m honestly surprised at how well that fits,” Shannon comments as well. “The silhouette is perfect for you.”
It’s a simple dress, white satin with seams that follow the line of my body before flaring into an A-line skirt that falls a little below my knees. It has just enough poof to be pretty without being over the top.
“I love it,” I breathe.
Maggie turns to Shannon, a wide smile on her face. “I think we’ve found our dress.”
“On the first try? You don’t want to try on any of the others?”
I shake my head, staring at my reflection as though transfixed, like a character from Greek myth, but Maggie stands. “Let me just look through the rack. I’ll see if there’s anything else that seems likely. But there’s a solid chance, this is the one.”
Shannon’s smile seems more real now. “Feel free to take a look,” she says to Maggie, including me in the invitation as well. “Let me know which one you want to try on next.”
Stepping down from the dais, I join Maggie at the rack. We peruse the offerings, but none of them are as nice as this one. I shake my head. “I want this one,” I say, surprised at how easy it is to make the decision once the right dress is on my body. I almost don’t want to take it off.
Maggie grins. “Then that’s the one we’ll get.”