5
Aurelia found it hard to sleep after climbing back into bed.
Between seeing the characters again that night and Julia’s arrival, there was too much to look forward to.
And when she suddenly remembered her deadline, that only added to her sleeplessness and led her thoughts to cycle between excitement and anxiety.
But after her second cup of tea that morning, Aurelia tamped down her worry to focus on another exciting event: she was about to get her first look at her wedding dress at a fitting.
She’d invited Oliver’s mum Johanna to join her, since Johanna had been eager to help with wedding planning from the moment Aurelia and Oliver had announced their engagement.
Walking into the bridal shop, Aurelia immediately felt overwhelmed by the beautiful dresses on display and the stylish décor, which formed a stark contrast with her flushed face and damp clothes.
It wasn’t even midday and the heat was already punishing, so the short walk from the bookshop to the dressmakers had Aurelia looking like she’d just run a few kilometers.
Soft orchestral music was playing inside, which seemed entirely incongruous with the city rush she’d left on the other side of the door, but perfectly suited to the placid interior.
As she took it all in, she spotted Johanna, who looked perfectly comfortable, as though she’d teleported there directly from her house.
The sight of her encouraging smile relaxed Aurelia as they crossed the floor to one another.
“Oh, you might not want to hug me.” Aurelia laughed. “I’m practically soaked through from the walk.”
“Nonsense,” Johanna said, continuing to pull Aurelia into a hug. “I don’t care about that.” She drew back to take her in. “Weeks to go, now. How are you doing?”
“Other than hot, I’m fantastic! I’m really, really good.” Aurelia heard the gushing tone in her voice but couldn’t be bothered trying to tamp it down, not with Johanna and not when she was about to try on her dress for the first time.
“The saleswoman—Poppy, I think her name was?—said it’ll just be a minute. She’ll come get us when she’s ready for you.”
“Good. Gives me a chance to cool down before I try it on.” Aurelia looked around and spotted an air vent, then walked over and stood underneath it. “Ah… So much better,” she said, fanning herself.
“Poppy left us with these,” Johanna said, picking up two glasses of champagne from a small table. She joined Aurelia and handed her one, adding, “That’s the best bit about getting married. They throw bubbly at you like it’s confetti.”
“That’s the best bit? Not the joining your lives together bit?” Aurelia teased.
“Well, that’s a good bit too.” Johanna laughed as she took a sip. “I’ve done this twice, you know.” Her tone was an attempt at being off-handed, but Aurelia heard a note of seriousness there. “I wanted to tell you—”
Johanna paused to look toward the back of the shop, at a curtain that Aurelia guessed the saleswoman had disappeared behind before she’d arrived.
“I wanted to tell you that it didn’t work out between me and Michael, but I don’t want you to think that’s any reflection on Oliver.”
“Oh, Johanna, no—of course not.”
Johanna and Michael, Oliver’s father, had divorced when Oliver and his brother Jack were young, not long after their sister Lottie had died.
“I’d never think that. And look—you found Geoff, and Michael found Ellie. You’re both excellent examples of happy marriages.”
Johanna nodded, looking relieved.
“Ever since he was little, Oliver has always known his mind and followed his heart. I know you two can stick it out, through thick and thin.”
“I’m positive we can. And I’d never worry about Oliver,” Aurelia said with a smile. “He’s steady, like… an anchor. Meanwhile, I’m the madness swirling around him.”
“A little madness is good for him,” Johanna said, raising her glass to Aurelia’s. “It keeps him from getting too serious and set in his ways.”
By the time Poppy came out from behind the curtain to find them (Johanna had been right about her name, after all), Aurelia had cooled down enough to try on the dress without sweating through it.
As they followed Poppy to a fitting room, Aurelia pulled a photograph out of her bag and, after looking at it herself for a moment, handed it to Johanna.
“That’s my mum in her wedding dress,” she said. “I asked them to make something just like it since Mum didn’t save it.”
Johanna stopped and looked down at the photograph reverently before observing, “She was a beauty, wasn’t she. Look how confident she looked in that dress. Was it… yellow?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Johanna gave Aurelia a quick look.
“Mine’s not yellow, don’t worry. I’m not nearly as bold as Mum was.”
“No, but I’m sure you’ll look just as pretty,” Johanna said with a smile.
Poppy turned and beckoned them forward, and Johanna put a hand to Aurelia’s arm as they caught up to her.
Poppy sat Johanna down on a small sofa and took Aurelia behind yet another curtain to help her into the pinned and not-quite finished dress.
She then left Aurelia and told her to take her time.
Aurelia looked up as Poppy stepped out, about to ask what she meant, but then Aurelia caught sight of herself in the panel of mirrors.
The dress was made from an off-white fabric that had a delicate floral pattern outlined in a slightly different shade of not-white.
The three-quarter length sleeves belled at the ends and led up her arms to a scooped neckline bordered in a simple yet delicate trim.
The waist cut in, then flared slightly into a flowing A-line that ended at her knees.
Aurelia shifted on her bare feet as she looked at herself in triplicate in the mirrors, turning to catch each angle of the dress.
Her eyes were able to see past the pins and loose threads to what it would become, her mind filling in the gaps of what would be.
She smiled at her reflection, then widened that smile as she saw Johanna coming through to stand a few feet at her side.
“Oh, Aurelia,” she said in a near-whisper. “It just suits you, doesn’t it? Suits you to a T.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” Aurelia asked just as quietly.
Johanna had the photograph in her hand, and she held it so that Aurelia could see it in the mirror, side-by-side with her own reflection.
“It’s hers, but also yours… Just as it should be,” Johanna said with a firm nod of her head. She paused, then added, “I didn’t think to save my dress for Lottie, either. Not even… before…”
Aurelia flexed her hand as though to reach for Johanna’s arm but waited a moment longer to let her finish.
Naturally, seeing Aurelia in her dress would bring memories of her daughter, just as having Johanna there brought memories of Aurelia’s mother, who should have been standing beside Johanna, rather than held up in a photograph.
Aurelia had guessed she might be teary today, but somehow—with Johanna next to her—it seemed every emotion possible was welling up inside of her.
“My dress wasn’t nearly as stylish as your mum’s or yours,” Johanna went on, her tone attempting levity. “It’s just as well I didn’t keep it.”
Aurelia stepped closer and hugged her gingerly, careful to avoid sticking her with any rogue pins.
“Thank you for coming with me today, Johanna. I know it wasn’t easy, but I’m so glad you’re here,” she said with a sniffle.
“I am, too. And thank you for wanting me here.” Johanna gave her a squeeze for emphasis, then pulled back and laughed as she wiped away her tears. “They’ll think we’ve let the champagne get to our heads!”
“Oh, it happens every time,” came a voice from behind them, making them both turn. It was Poppy, coming back to check on them. “It’s a special moment, isn’t it? Let’s have a look, then.”
She circled Aurelia, tugging here and there at the dress as she considered what was left to be done.
“We’re almost there!” she announced. “Why don’t you change and we’ll meet up front to schedule your final fitting.”
“Final fitting—that sounds ominous,” Aurelia said.
“Not at all,” Poppy reassured her. “Just a chance for more champagne. You can make an event out of it, if you like. Lots of people do.”
“That’s a nice idea, Aurelia,” Johanna said thoughtfully. “Maybe your sister and Julia can come see it?”
“Sure. Invite your girlfriends too and let them have a look before the big day. Though you’d best tell them to like what they see. We won’t have much time to change anything by then,” Poppy said with a laugh.
“I’ll give them firm orders,” Aurelia promised.
Johanna followed Poppy to the front of the shop, leaving Aurelia alone behind the curtain. She looked in the mirror for a final peek and smiled again—a happy, secret smile—as she imagined standing next to Oliver in just a few weeks’ time.