Chapter 24
The following Saturday,a rowdy group of Charleston socialites, minus myself (since I didn”t consider myself a socialite), showed up at nine a.m. for my appointment at Maisie’s Trousseau and Bridal Boutique. Apparently, it was the it place in Charleston for couture wedding gowns and I was guaranteed to find my treasure, or that’s what Ava and the gang assured me. I still wasn’t sure about any of this, but Pearce made me promise not to pay attention to the prices because he said he didn’t give a damn what my dress cost. He wanted me to be happy in whatever I chose. But boy it was hard ignoring those tiny pieces of cardboard dangling off the zippers. I finally couldn’t help myself and grabbed one to check it out. Much to my surprise, there wasn’t a price on it. Ava pulled me aside and said, “They never put prices on designer gowns. You’ll have to go with the flow.” Not knowing how much I’d be spending notched up my anxiety over the entire process.
Lisbeth noticed because she also approached me. “Alexia, don’t worry about it. Your fiancé has the money.”
“I know, but I’m not used to this extravagance.”
“Yes, but you’ll get used to it.”
I gave in after that, knowing she was right.
Ava and Lisbeth were also right about the gowns. The designers knew exactly what they were doing when it came to wedding dresses. They were utterly magnificent. The only problem was I liked almost all of them. Maisie’s carried many designers, but I loved several the most. One particular designer had gowns made for angels, only they were sexy, tasteful, and unbelievably gorgeous. They flattered everything about the wearer, emphasizing every asset and hiding every flaw.
I finally settled on the first gown I tried on. It was constructed entirely of tulle with lace appliqués peppered over the whole dress, with an under-layer of white silk. It had a rounded neck in front but dipped to the waist in a vee in the back. It was gathered at the waist and softly fell to the floor, I felt like a princess in it. The women couldn’t stop oohing over it. I couldn’t tear my eyes off it either. It was perfect.
I gave myself one final twirl in front of the mirror and announced, “I’m pretty sure this is the one.”
Everyone clapped and I cried. Now it was time to pick out a veil. I opted for the one that matched the dress. It was plain tulle with a thin strip of lace at the headband. What I loved most about this gown was it didn’t have a train, so I wouldn’t have to worry about a bustle and all that mess during the reception.
Next, I picked out shoes and I was finished.
“Well, girls, why don’t you look at the bridesmaid dresses. I kind of like the idea of everyone wearing the same color but a different dress.”
I’d asked a friend of mine from work to be in the wedding as well. She could always come and pick out a dress later.
“Lex, what color were you thinking?”
I smiled. “I’m going to let you two haggle over it, but I get the final decision.”
“Yay,” they both screamed.
Ava yelled out brown and Terri yelled out navy. I laughed. I liked both. The girls liked both colors too.
Avery piped in and said, “You know, girls, since it’s going to be October, brown would be gorgeous with some pretty autumn flowers to accent it.”
“Ooh, that’s right,” Terri agreed. “I hadn’t thought about it being autumn.”
Avery took it one step further. “Why don’t you girls look at that color bronze that’s so popular.”
Both their eyes lit up and they headed over to the bridesmaid dresses to look. The salesclerk, Rosa, came out and suggested they might rethink the bronze idea. Often, the manufacturers had their own version of bronze. It would be risky to try to match them.
“Back to brown, ladies,” I yelled. “Thanks, Rosa.”
By one, we were finished, and then we headed to Pete’s Cafe for some lunch. We were all starved, as shopping and trying on clothes makes one especially hungry. Terri was holding up pretty well in her wheelchair. Her cast was coming off the following week and she would be starting therapy. I knew she was nervous, so I think the shopping excursion was a good outing for her.
When we were finished, she called Justin and he was there a few minutes later, ready to take her home.
“Call me after your appointment on Monday,” I told her.
“Okay.”
“Thanks for coming. You know how much it meant to have you here with me, don’t you?”
“Yeah. Love ya, girl.”
“Love you too.” I hugged her hard. Justin put her in the car and off they went.
* * *
Work had crankedup like mad. I didn’t know if it was because we were in the summer months or because we were being awarded contracts left and right. We ended up getting Carolinas Healthcare System, so now I was working on a couple of healthcare networks in Atlanta. Life was crazy.
Pearce was insanely busy too. Summertime brought in all sorts of trauma, a lot of it from boating accidents and other things people shied away from in the winter months.
Avery and Susan concluded that our wedding reception would have to take place at the Yacht Club. And I don’t just mean a room there. They were renting out the entire club.
“Are you sure? Won’t that be too expensive?”
They both scoffed at me. “There’s nothing too expensive for my first grandson’s wedding, honey. Remember, the two of you decided against Middleton Manor. That didn’t leave us many options due to space restrictions. We needed huge because the guest list is over eight hundred.”
I gulped, then gasped. WTF! Eight hundred! Surely, I heard wrong.
“Did you just say eight hundred?”
“Uh-huh, sweetie. We did warn you, didn’t we? Or at least I thought we did. Didn’t we warn her, Susan?”
“I assumed Pearce told her.”
I started fanning myself. I didn’t even know eight hundred people. I didn’t think I knew eight hundred people if I started adding them up from birth.
“Who are these people?”
“Don’t you worry yourself about them. They’re just a bunch of local idiots.”
“Avery,” Susan admonished. “They’re not all like that.”
“No, there will be about twenty normal people there, and Lisbeth will be one of them,” she said with a chuckle.
Ohmygod! Ohmygod!
“I’m going to kill him,” I said out loud.
“What’s that, dear?”
“Oh, I just said this is thrilling.”
* * *
My handsclenched together as I waited on Pearce to get in from work. My foot tapped in a rhythmless fashion on the wooden floor, and I twitched all over the place. I’m sure I looked like I was about to have a seizure.
When he walked in the door, he looked at me and automatically smiled and then his brow furrowed.
“What’s that face for?”
“Eight hundred people? Are you out of your mind? What the hell, Pearce Middleton? How am I supposed to even pretend I’m enjoying myself when I won’t know who I’m chatting with?” My eyes darted around like a rat’s looking to scurry at any minute.
His arms caged me as he told me to breathe. Phil also suggested this technique if I ever felt an anxiety attack coming on. It always worked like a charm.
I rubbed my face against his cheek and sighed. “Better?” he wanted to know.
“Yeah, thanks. But I didn’t think the whole town would be invited.”
He just laughed. “Baby, I told you I’d take you to the Elvis Chapel in Vegas.”
“Yeah, and your family would’ve hated me forever.”
“No one could ever hate you.”
“This freaks me out though.”
“We didn’t have much choice. It was just one of those things. But don’t worry, I won’t leave your side for a second and I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
I believed him because he’d never given me any reason not to trust him.
“You’d better not or I’ll kill you, Pearce. Really. I’m not kidding.”