Chapter 15
Chapter fifteen
Standing in her living room in her wedding dress, Naomi stretched her arm out for a selfie.
“Smile!” On the screen of her phone, she could see Abby flash a peace sign from her spot on the floor beside the train of Naomi’s dress.
After getting Abby’s approval, she uploaded the photo to Instagram and typed out a caption:
The bustle party is on! I hope you all are lucky enough to have a best friend who is willing to spend two hours looking for tiny loops on a wedding dress so you can dance the night away. #bffs #bitchesbebustling #wilomi
She hit post, and immediately the likes and comments came flying in like a meteor shower.
She still wasn’t entirely used to the throng of excited, and sometimes fanatical, followers who hung on her every word.
A month ago, what she posted online was seen—if at all— by a few friends who knew her well, could hear her voice in the words she wrote, and could envision her, the three-dimensional person, in the two-dimensional pictures she posted.
But now, her words and photos were being consumed and dissected by people around the world who were creating an image of her in their heads based on tiny snippets of her life.
It was terrifying. And enthralling. She knew that when it was over, she wouldn’t miss it at all.
And yet, she also knew she was going to miss it more than she cared to admit.
Sometimes it was hard to imagine going back to a life where the world wasn’t excited about everything she did.
Sometimes she couldn’t wait to return to the normalcy and privacy she’d enjoyed her whole life but never truly appreciated.
But tomorrow she would be married, the wedding special would be over, and so would the entourage of cameras, the whirlwind of interviews, and the clamoring of followers for her to share more, more, more …
“Everyone is commenting that we have to go live so you can show off your technique!” Naomi held out the phone to Abby.
Abby inspected the screen and laughed. “Everyone is obsessed.”
“We can ignore them,” Naomi said.
“No.” Abby swept the phone from Naomi’s hand and tapped at the screen. “No, no. We must give the people what they want. Besides, I’ve got this down. And while I don’t quite understand the sudden, international fascination with bustling, I’m ready to be crowned champion.”
“Oh boy.”
Abby wasn’t someone who sought the spotlight, but when it found her, she never shied away.
So, it only made sense to Naomi that she had adapted quickly to her role as co-star.
Abby never tried to take over, but when the moment was hers—like the world’s sudden obsession with her ability to bustle—she embraced it without hesitation.
And though she’d never admitted it, Naomi had a feeling she was having more fun than she let on.
After a little bit more tapping, Abby said, “Here we go!” Naomi couldn’t see her screen, but she assumed Abby had done the deed when she heard her say, “Ask and you shall receive. We are live because the time has come for me to restore my honor and show you all my newfound talent. Actually, I’m realizing I got ahead of myself.
Our glasses are empty, so, first, allow me to hand over the reins to the beautiful bride so I can refill our wine. ”
Abby handed the phone back to Naomi, who smiled into the camera.
The view counter was already well into the four digits and climbing.
“Hey all! How is everyone doing tonight? I know you’re all coming here to catch Abby bustle her way to fame, but to fill the time, I can answer a few questions while we wait for her to come back with our drinks.
” She watched the comments scrolling across her screen.
It had taken a little practice but she was starting to get the hang of replying to people as their questions tumbled by like an avalanche.
“Am I worried Will is going to see my dress right now? He’s already seen it.
It was too hard to keep it from him when it was all over social media and TV.
I know, it sucks. But I think it’ll still be special for him when he gets to see me wearing it down the aisle with my hair and makeup and everything.
What time are we getting to the studio tomorrow?
Oh my God, we have to get there at like four in the morning.
So definitely going to be winding down here soon.
Oh no, Yumi— you have to work tomorrow and can’t watch it live?
I know, Monday in the middle of the day is kind of a tough time.
I didn’t pick it. But I know NGN said they were going to put the replay up right away so hopefully you can catch it later.
We don’t have any surprises planned, so the good news is you don’t have to worry about spoilers.
You’ve seen all the preparations so there’s nothing people will be talking about.
Oh, thank you, WeedWaterWoo. I think that glow you’re seeing is mostly from the wine, though. ”
“Speaking of.” Abby appeared holding two very full glasses.
Naomi took the glass with her free hand and tapped it against Abby’s glass. “Cheers!”
Wine emojis and “cheers!” rolled by.
“Yes,” Abby said, replying to someone. “White wine only around a wedding dress. It was this or vodka, but we decided hard liquor the night before a wedding was not the way to go.”
“What do you say, Abby, are you ready for your big performance?”
Abby took a large gulp of her drink and then set it down. “If I ever met my younger self, I’m not sure how I would explain this particular moment in my life. But sure, here we go!”
Naomi looked into the camera lens and gave her invisible audience a stern, but playful, gaze. “This is my best friend, so be nice.” She handed the phone back to Abby, who had knelt beside her train.
“For starters,” Abby said, holding the phone up to the lacy fabric near the bottom of the train. “I defy any of you to find one of the loops that will hook onto the buttons—which we will be getting to shortly. Keep looking. Give up? It’s here.”
With her free hand, Abby lifted a single thread hidden across the lace.
A section of the train came with it as she pulled up.
“But wait, now we have to find the corresponding button.” She scanned the phone across Naomi’s skirt.
“Holler when you spot one. Go ahead. Nothing? Okay, here’s one.
” Still holding the loop, she pointed at a tiny, lacy button the size of a Tic Tac.
“Now it takes two hands to get this little loop around the button, so Naomi, if you could.” Abby returned the phone to Naomi, who kept it pointed at Abby while she carefully connected the two pieces together.
After a few extremely low-stakes tense moments, she lifted both hands over her head in triumph.
“Tah dah! There it is! I win! I win bustling!”
“Yay!” Naomi cheered. “Give it up for Abby!”
“And I only have to do that nine more times to actually bustle the dress!”
“Everyone is saying they had no idea it was so overly complicated,” Naomi reported to Abby.
“YourPalAl says we can send live images from Mars, but can’t invent an easier way to get the train of a dress off the ground.
I agree, YourPalAl. So now maybe you all should go make some memes about how amazing Abby is as penance for all your trolling. ”
“I also accept Venmo and wine as penance,” Abby said with a laugh.
“And with that, I’m going to say goodnight. But I’ll try to go live before the wedding and, of course, I’ll be seeing you all tomorrow at noon when I get to marry the love of my life! Ahhh! Okay bye! Bye everyone. Bye!” She waved at the camera before ending the live and collapsing on the couch.
Abby joined her with a sated sigh. “On my deathbed, I will go peacefully knowing that I was mocked by the internet and then redeemed myself.”
“I’m sure your grandchildren will sit around your feet and ask you about it.”
Abby widened her eyes into a doe-like stare and said in a high-pitched voice, “Grandma, pretty please tell us the bitches be bustling story one more time?”
It wasn’t that funny. But the combination of the wine and the pressure of the last few weeks made it the funniest thing she’d ever heard, and soon they were falling over each other in a fit of laughter.
The only reason either of them heard Abby’s phone ringing was because they both stopped to take in a breath at the same time. Wiping her eyes, Abby picked up her phone from the coffee table.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” The laughter was gone.
Naomi pressed herself to seated so she could see Abby’s phone. The screen said SECURISAFE. She put the pieces together quickly. “Is that your alarm company?”
“Yep. But they won’t be my alarm company the minute we’ve put you in your ‘just married’ car.
I’m over this, but I haven’t had the time to get set up with a new company.
” She accepted the call and said began responding in a curt voice, “Hello. Yes, this is she. Uh huh, my code is 122119. Yep, I’m on my way.
” She hung up, making a guttural noise of frustration as she did.
“On your way? You really have to go right now?” Naomi asked.
Abby sighed as she stood up from the sofa. “It’s the same old drill. They’ve already called the police, so I have to go.”
“Do you want me to come with?”
“I appreciate the offer, but unless you’re wanting to try out what it feels like to be a runaway bride …” Abby gestured at Naomi, who looked down at the partly bustled wedding dress she was still wearing.
“It’s not buttoned up in the back, I could—”
“Naomi, as your maid of honor, I absolutely insist that you do not spend your last night as a single woman going to my office and standing there while I assure the police for the millionth time that nothing has been stolen. You should go have a cozy bubble bath and then get into bed. I would be doing you a disservice if I let you do anything else. You, more than anyone, need to be well-rested for tomorrow. No one will be paying attention to me.”
On quite literally any other night, Naomi would have been adamant about keeping her best friend company on her annoying errand.
But tonight, the night before her wedding, she could let Abby convince her to stay in.
A bubble bath and an early bedtime did sound extremely enticing, especially compared to the chilly evening spring air outside. “If you’re sure …”
“I’m sure,” Abby said as she grabbed her jacket off the chair and walked to the front door. “I don’t know what it says about me that of the half dozen times this has happened, this is not the first time I’ve had to go down there when I’m not entirely sober.”
“It says it’s happened a half dozen times too many.”
“You always know exactly what to say.” Abby opened the door. “Alright, I’ll be back in probably a little over an hour. It’s late, and you have to get up at an ungodly hour to get married tomorrow, so I won’t be offended if you fall asleep.”
Naomi gave her a salute.
As the door closed behind Abby, Naomi stood up and walked into her room, where she carefully shimmied out of her dress before placing it back on the bridal hanger she had ordered from Etsy, which was emblazoned with her name.
With the studio covering all the major wedding expenses, she had been able to splurge on all the dreamy Pinterest extras that caught her eye, like custom hangers for her and her bridal party.
Given the number of people who had keys to her apartment, walking around naked was always a somewhat risky activity—not that any of those people with keys hadn’t seen her naked before.
More on principle than actual concern, she jogged into the bathroom and closed the door.
Then, per Abby’s suggestion, she started a bath.
As the steamy water began to fill the tub, she opened a drawer and pulled out a red satin bag containing a lavender scented candle, matches, a paper face mask, a sparkly bath bomb shaped like a unicorn, and a note that read, “Happy birthday!
May your baths be extra bubbly, your face masks extra soothing, and your lighting extra flattering.
Love, Riley." She had been saving their gift for a night when she deserved some extra pampering, and this seemed like the perfect occasion.
With the candle lit, mask on, and bath bomb frothing, she was about to step into the bath when her phone beeped. Her body reacted instantly as she read the word “UNKNOWN” across the screen. Her phone might not know who was texting, but she did. And she knew why.
She placed a hand on the edge of the sink for balance and, with the other hand, picked up the phone.
UNKNOWN: Hi Kiwi
After more than half a year of silence, yesterday he had started calling again.
She had ignored him until, on the way to the bachelor/bachelorette party, she had started receiving a slew of texts from him.
As she read them, knowing that not only Will but the cameras were watching, she tried to keep her body and breathing neutral, but it had been nearly impossible.
At first, her heart rate had skyrocketed out of fear, but then it had morphed into a flutter of disbelief and finally elation.
It was really happening. She had been right.
Going public with her relationship hadn’t angered Simon; it had finally, truly changed him.
After so many years of empty promises, things were finally going to be different.
She had wanted so badly to tell Abby in that moment, to assure her that all her fears had been misplaced.
But she knew she could never say a word.
Abby had never known Simon like she had, and Abby could never understand the other side of Simon, the side that Naomi always knew would win out in the end.
UNKNOWN: You around?
NAOMI: Yes.
Her phone began to vibrate with a call. She took a deep breath and answered it.