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It’s totally not like I’ve thought about this before. Nope, not at all.
“See anything you like, Bray?” Piper asks with a smile.
“Everything is beautiful,” I mumble with a sigh. “I won’t be needing one anytime soon, though. Where’s your dress?”
“Martha is just grabbing it from the back. You also never know when you’re going to need one. I wouldn’t be surprised if those boys put a ring on your finger before you know it. Can’t have anyone stealing you away from them.”
“I highly doubt we’ll be getting married any time soon. We still don’t know if this poly type relationship will even be sustainable.” I bite my lip nervously as I avoid eye contact with Piper. “What if they can’t handle all of them being with just me? They could choose that this is too difficult and leave.”
“Bray,” Piper says softly. When I don’t respond she pulls me into her arms, stroking my hair lightly. “You are the most incredible person I know. Those men know exactly what they agreed to and they know that you are worth every second of it. They aren’t going anywhere because there is no one better out there than you.”
“You’re biased.” I laugh softly.
“I may be biased, but so are they.” Piper pulls back with a wink.
Martha comes out of the back room after that, shooing Piper into the change room to put on her dress. An awkward silence fills the shop as we wait for Piper to come back out, Martha is not a chatty person at all. After what feels like eons, she steps out of the changing room in her wedding gown. Tears spring to my eyes as I watch her walk out, the white silky material flowing around her.
“Josh is going to lose his mind when he sees you in this dress,” I whisper in awe.
“He better! I’ll never wear anything like this in my life again.” Piper laughs. “That boy better get on his knees and worship me like the angel I am.”
“I have a feeling this conversation just took a dirty turn.” I laugh as Piper winks at me.
Martha directs her onto a pedestal in front of three full length mirrors. Piper and I chat about various wedding details as Martha quietly works her magic. It doesn’t take as long as I thought it would and soon we’re headed right back out to the car. We decide to stop for lunch and then hit up a dress shop down the street for a dress for me.
The afternoon flies by with lots of laughs, fun, and dress shopping. I found a beautiful strapless dress in lavender for her wedding. It surprisingly fits perfectly with no alterations needed. I drop Piper at home with promises to get together in a few days again. Driving home, I sing Play It Again by Luke Bryan at the top of my lungs, enjoying the windows down and the summer breeze.
When I get in the house I find Mom in the kitchen baking some cupcakes, probably for her book club she always goes to on Wednesday nights. I pull out my dress to show her, our relationship slowly mending over our rift. We came to an agreement last night that has so far been okay. This morning she actually acknowledged me for the first time in a while.
“Mom! I got a dress for Piper’s wedding,” I shout excitedly. “Look!”
“That’s stunning, Bray. It’ll look so nice with your hair pulled up in a nice updo, maybe a few curls pulled out.” Mom smiles at me, brushing my face with her hand.
“I’ll have to check with Piper and see if she wanted anything special for hair and makeup.” I scrunch my nose up, making a mental note to ask. “Knowing her it’s probably a no, she’s crazy laid back about it all.”
“Bray,” Mom murmurs hesitantly. “Can we talk for a minute?”
“Sure, Mom.” I sit at the island as Mom makes her way around to me.
“I want to start by apologizing. I was wrong to judge you and your relationship with those boys so quickly.” Mom smiles, taking my hands in hers. “I got lost in my own version of what I thought you needed. I didn’t stop to think about what you wanted or needed. I thought a lot about it last night after you left and I realized how wrong I had been to act like that. I am so sorry, love.”
“It’s okay, Mom. I know you were just acting out of love,” I assure her. “It doesn’t mean I’ll let it slide, but I know you were coming from a place of love.”
“It still doesn’t make it right. My ideology is a bit old fashioned, but hearing you talk about how you feel around them, well it’s the same way I feel about your father. You know, your grandma wasn’t too thrilled about me dating him either. She tried to force me on some dull aristocratic type men that bored me to tears.”
“That sounds like Grandma,” I say with a laugh. “She was a touch uptight from what I remember.”
“Oh goodness, she was super uptight.” Mom laughs as she reminisces about her mom. “She would have died right then and there if I dated five of your father. I promised I would never be like her to you and yet I still ended up trying the same thing.”
“Maybe I’ll break the mold if I have a daughter in the future.”
“I’m sure you will, darling. You never were one to follow anyone else’s path but your own.” Mom pulls me into her arms, hugging me tightly. “Now, let’s chat about having those young men of yours over for dinner.”
“I ran it by them last night and they are all in. They love your cooking so it wasn’t hard to convince them,” I joke. “Although, you need to keep Dad in line because he keeps trying to steal them from me.”
Mom laughs at that, shaking her head. “That’s your father for you. That man is funnier than a pig in a beauty pageant. It’s one of the many reasons I married him.”
Giggling, I shake my head at Mom’s analogy. It sure does paint an image in your head of a huge pig walking the stage in a muddy pageant dress. That’s an image I will always cherish. I’d like to think my straight-laced, conservatively raised Mom came up with that saying but honestly, she probably got it from Dad and his crazy family. I’m sure glad they rubbed off on Mom the way they did.
