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Wedding Plans
“Ilooklikea giant vanilla cupcake with sprinkles!” Dani yelled from the dressing room. “I’m not wearing it!” Maggie rolled her eyes heavenward in the private, oversized waiting area at Patsy’s Bridal Boutique. She had chosen a dozen dresses for Dani to try on and this was number 11. Her best friend had vetoed every one. “Just come out and let us see!”
With her slim figure, alabaster skin and riot of red curls, her bestie looked good in everything. Maggie knew, however, finding the perfect wedding dress was going to be a challenge given Dani’s preference for scrubs and casual clothes. She heard what could only be described as a growl from Dani as the door to the dressing room was held open by the saleswoman, who slinked out like a beaten down dog. Dani marched past her to the little stage in front of the large three–way mirrors like a soldier going off to war. She stood there glaring at her entourage.
Maggie held her hand up to her mouth, discretely covering the smile trying to break out on her lips. She covertly looked at the assembled ladies there to support her best friend in finding the perfect wedding dress. Oh, dear. A bark of laughter escaped from Dani’s Aunt Lu before she covered her mouth with her hand to hold it back, her eyes sparking with mirth. Lu and her husband, Eustace, had raised her after her parents had been killed by a drunk driver when she was eight. Maggie knew she was more than grateful Lu had recovered enough from the stroke she had suffered last year to participate in the wedding. Wanda, the groom’s mother, took an opportune sip of her wine and held her face as blank as possible but Maggie could see one side of her mouth trying desperately to quirk up. Even Kim, Dani’s best friend from her former nursing position in Dallas, was turning puce from fighting so hard not to let laughter break out.
The dress was fitted at the waist and had a sweetheart neckline with sleeves like giant puff balls of white tulle covered in crystals. The skirt was made of the same material sitting over a petticoat that any Antebellum lady would be proud to wear to the ball.
“Heaven help us!” exclaimed Mrs. Wade. “Margaret Elizabeth Wade, what were you thinking? She looks like the Stay Puff Marshmallow bride!”
Maggie’s face pinked and she scowled at her mother. Tricia Wade was known far and wide as the ‘Martha Stewart of the South’ and Maggie had spent her life trying to live up to her mother’s perfect image. After Maggie’s father had deserted them when she was only four, Tricia had picked herself up and created a catering and lifestyle business to rival anyone in the major cities. Maggie was extraordinarily proud of her, but the woman always made Maggie feel like she never quite measured up. Even though Maggie had finished her business degree in three years instead of four, ran her own successful business, and had put together this whole day of wedding planning for her oldest friend, the woman never missed an opportunity to scold Maggie like a six -year- old. She was about to turn thirty for heaven’s sake! Maggie took a deep breath and worked hard to find her patience. Her Southern manners wouldn’t allow her to argue with her mother in front of everyone.
“I picked out all the different styles I could find as she couldn’t decide on anything,” Maggie hissed to her mother. “She’ll find the right one if we have to stay the rest of the day!”
Dani’s fists hit her hips hard as she stood on the little podium and glared at the assembled company. “No! Just no!” She grabbed the voluminous skirts above her knees and stomped back to the dressing room. The bedraggled saleswoman reluctantly followed her back into the confined space like a prisoner on her way to the gallows.
As Maggie waited for the last dress in this group to be tried on, she couldn’t help imagining what she wanted her own to look like someday. She’d recently met and started dating Dr. Zane Savage, a neurologist from Dallas, when he had come to Gladewater. Zane was a colleague and good friend of Dani’s and had come to assist her Aunt Lu after her stroke earlier that year. Zane and Maggie had immediately felt a spark. Though they hadn’t had an opportunity to see each other much since that initial meeting because of the distance between Gladewater and Dallas and their work schedules, they had spoken on the phone and FaceTimed several times a week. She couldn’t stop thinking about him. She loved his laidback style with his slightly too long, sandy blonde hair. The inevitable stubble on his square jaw simply served to frame a devastating smile that never failed to make her heart stutter in her chest. And those eyes...those whisky eyes...
“Maggie!” She was snapped out of her reverie at someone yelling her name.
“Wha…ohhhh! Ohh, Dani!” Her friend stood before her in a silky sheath dress with spaghetti straps and a deep cowl neckline lined with shimmering white beads. The skirt skimmed her legs and flared just a little at the bottom. It was simple and elegant…and just right for her best friend.
Tears shimmered in Maggie’s eyes.“Wait! One more thing!” Maggie ran to the side of the room and grabbed a handful of tulle. She afixed the jeweled comb to the back of Dani’s head, letting the gossamer veil spill down her back to her hips.
“Now, it’s perfect,” Maggie stated, nodding approvingly and wiping her eyes.
Dani grinned and as she turned to look at herself in the mirrors again. “I’ll take it!”
Maggie clasped her hands in front of her chest. She glanced around the group and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Even her mother was nodding approvingly. Maggie sighed contentedly and gave her mother a look. “See, Mama? I told you we’d find one! Twelfth times the charm!”
Maggie was happily exhausted on the ride back to Gladewater after the day’s success. Before finally finding the ultimate dress, they had found the perfect cake and had an excellent lunch. Getting all the ladies schedules synced up so everyone could participate like Dani wanted had been like herding cats, but it had been worth it in the end. A small smile lit her face as she let her eyes close for just a moment. Even though her mother had declared herself the wedding planner, Maggie was the maid of honor and was proud of what she had accomplished so far. Thinking about the wedding caused Maggie’s thoughts to again turn to Zane. He really was perfect. That he was handsome was a given, but he was also thoughtful, had perfect manners, was crazy smart, and a doctor, no less. She couldn’t wait to see him again. Wouldn’t he be handsome in a tuxedo?
“Earth to Maggie.” Dani nudged her out of her daydreaming.
“Huh? Sorry! What did you say?” Maggie turned her attention to her friend. The other ladies had been ushered home in Mrs. Wade’s Lincoln Navigator as it had room for everyone, but she and Dani had come together in Pearl, Dani’s white Mercedes convertible. It was a totally impractical car for someone living out a rutted gravel road in the country, but Dani had been unable to part with her yet. It was lovely to travel in on the highways, however, and It had been a great decision for the two of them to travel separately as she didn’t think she could have taken one more minute with her mother today.
“I said,” Dani said slowly, “did you really like the dress? I know it’s simple, but…”
“Levi’s eyes are going to bug out of his head!” Maggie assured her, referring to her friend’s fiancee. “It’s completely perfect for you!”
Dani grinned. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Mags!”
“I can’t imagine,” Maggie retorted playfully in their common refrain.
“Soo, tell me about you and Zane. Anything new on that front?” Dani asked, quickly glancing at Maggie to gauge her reaction. She could be annoyingly private to Dani’s way of thinking.
Maggie let her smile widen a bit. “It’s good,” she said simply.
“Just good? C’mon, Mags, give me a break! I need some details.”
“There aren’t any details to tell,” she said truthfully. “He hasn’t been able to get back down much because his on-call schedule changed. One of his partners left and he’s got a lot more on his plate right now. I’m not nearly as important as his patients. He has things much more important than me to worry about. It’s fine. And, of course, the cafe is always busy. I can’t leave Sofia to handle everything for me so I can traipse off to Dallas.”
Maggie saw Dani’s green eyes brighten and narrow in irritation. “I know you didn’t just say what I think you just said.”
Maggie’s lips tightened into a hard line. “I don’t know what you mean,” she protested.
“Oh, I’m pretty sure you do. Do I need to spell this all out again for you? It’s been a minute, I guess,” Dani said sarcastically.
