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Carol released Callie's hair from the loose, wet bun on the top of her head and spread it over her shoulders. "I love your hair. It's such a pleasure to play around with it."
"How would you know? You've never played with it before."
They had been friends while working together in the café, but they hadn't hung out outside of it. Callie had been busy finishing her degree and serving drinks in Brundar's club at night. That hadn't left time for anything else.
Then Carol had left with Lokan, and they barely talked because it was too dangerous for Carol, or maybe just because she was too busy building a fashion empire in China.
Callie was also busier now than she had been before, even though she'd finished her studies and wasn't working in the café or in Brundar's club. Her restaurant was a full-time job even though it was only open for dinner.
"I imagined doing it so many times." Carol reached for the curler. "I always wanted a little sister."
Sitting on the bed behind them, Wonder sighed. "I miss Tula. For me, it wasn't that long ago since the last time I saw her, but she lived for thousands of years while I was in stasis, and she probably barely remembers me."
"She remembers you," Carol said. "She's never forgotten you or Annani or Esag or Khiann."
Callie tried to see Wonder's expression in the mirror, but Carol was blocking her. The rest of her guests were in the cabin's living room, and given the laughter coming through the open door, they were having fun.
Amanda had brought Onidu with her, and he was mixing drinks for everyone and getting them in a good mood for the wedding.
The successful end of the mission had something to do with the mood as well. Everyone had been worried about the tour guide and his family and what those monsters might be doing to them. Now, the guy and his family were safely home.
Brundar had returned from the mission in a good mood, too, which Callie was thankful for. The wedding was stressing him so having an outlet for the stress had been good.
She didn't want to think about what he had done to release that stress. Sometimes, it was better not to let imagination run free.
"You haven't shown me your wedding dress yet," Carol said. "Is it another one of Amanda's designers?"
"No." Callie smiled. "I went to a wedding shop and bought a ready-made dress. I'm not a designer clothing kind of girl."
Carol paused with the curler. "Are you telling me that Amanda agreed to wear a bridesmaid dress that wasn't custom-made for her?"
"I didn't leave her much choice." Callie chuckled. "Not only that, the tulle inserts are made from nylon. I hope she doesn't have an allergic reaction to the material."
"You'd better not tell her about that." Carol wound another lock of hair around the curler. "She might refuse to wear it, or worse, refuse to be your bridesmaid."
Callie doubted that was true, and Carol was probably exaggerating to poke fun at Amanda.
"That's why I brought the dresses with me and didn't let any of you try them on. I just hope everything fits."
Callie had collected everyone's measurements and delivered them to the bridal shop, so they should be okay, but it made her anxious to think that her bridesmaids might not approve of her choices.
"I'm sure they will fit perfectly," Carol said without much conviction in her voice.
"Now that I think of it, I shouldn't have done that," Callie murmured. "I should have let all of you choose your own dresses, go to the fittings, and have everything done perfectly instead of trying to save time and money. I keep forgetting that I don't have to do that anymore. Brundar makes a very good living as a Guardian, the club is finally making a profit, and my restaurant is doing extremely well. I could have hired Amanda's designer to do all the dresses, including mine."
"Are you unhappy with your choice?" Wonder asked.
"I love the dress." Callie smiled at the mirror. "Wearing it, I feel like Cinderella going to the ball. All I'm missing is a pumpkin-made chariot and mice-made horses. Oh, and glass slippers."
"If you're happy with the dress, that's all that matters." Carol released the curl and wound another section around the device. "I'm glad you didn't hire the designer. I couldn't have made the fitting appointment, and I bet the others would have hated running all around town to try on bridesmaids' dresses for ten weddings."
"That's what I was thinking, but now I'm having second thoughts. What if everyone hates what I've chosen for them?"
Carol shrugged. "I'm sure I'm going to love mine, and even if I don't, it's not a big deal. It's just a dress, and most bridesmaids' dresses are horrible. It's your night, and you are the only one who matters."
"Brundar matters too, and I'm worried about him as well. Anandur is so disappointed that he didn't even agree to a small get-together with the guys. It is difficult for Brundar to be around people. If he spent time with the guys, he would have been emotionally exhausted by the time he needed to show up at the altar. It was one or the other."
Wonder pushed to her feet and loomed over Carol as she looked at Callie through the mirror. "He spends long days with Kian in meetings. How does he handle that?"
