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After the women have chosen four dresses for us each to wear for the show and the dress fittings are done, the owner offers to order a panini for all of us from a nearby cafe. She then informs us we can now look through the rest of the dresses to choose one for ourselves. The woman from downstairs comes up just a few minutes later with our food and hands us each an orange juice in a champagne glass as well.
"I can't thank you enough for stepping in on such short notice. It almost turned into a disaster," the owner, Louisa, explains to us as she sits down next to us.
We finish our food and are then led into a back room filled with dresses of all shapes, styles, and colors. We see dresses that are simple and elegant, as well as others that are extravagant and over the top. Each of us searches for a while, pointing out the ones we want to try on before returning to our dressing room. We decide not to show each other any of our picks until we have chosen our favorite because, let's face it, we’ve watched each other try on far too many dresses already.
I picked three dresses to take back to the dressing room. An extravagant red dress with a wide skirt and lots of glitter that I quickly realized made me look like a five-year-old playing dress up. A coral dress with lots of detail that was beautiful but didn't quite suit my style. And finally, a silver dress that was simpler but had a slit up the thigh, which also looked stunning but didn't really feel quite right on me. I decide to wait outside for the other girls,maybe they can help me decide.
While I wait, I can't help but look at some of the wedding dresses hanging on the back wall. Each one is more perfect than the last, and my mind begins wandering, daydreaming, and fantasizing about what it would be like to be here buying a dress for me if Nate and I were getting married. Ava startles me when she walks up behind me, loudly singing, "What are you looking at?" before bursting into a fit of giggles. I turn around to see that she's wearing a stunning strapless, long red dress that accentuates all of her curves. It also has a thin diamond belt that falls just below her chest.
"Wow, Ava, you look stunning," I marvel.
"Thanks, I feel like a movie star," Ava admits as she spins around to show me the back of the dress.
"You look like it too, Tucker's eyes are going to fall out of his head when he sees you!"
Next, Harper comes out in a pale-yellow dress that has a thin band of sheer fabric around her waist, so it looks like she's wearing a top and skirt. The top is full of lace and details, and the skirt is cut to look almost like a mermaid silhouette. She looks stunning.
I'm about to tell her so when we spot Riley, who takes everyone's breath away. "Woooow," we all gasp in shock. Riley looks like a hot badass. If I was her, I would refuse to wear anything else. Her dress is jet black and floor length, but there's a piece of fabric missing that goes from her neck almost to her belly button, so her cleavage is clearly on display. The back of the dress has little silver buttons that look like diamonds. They go all the way to her butt.
"Holy shit, Riley! You look hot enough to turn even me lesbian, and you know I like me some man meat," Ava jokes while gawping at her.
"Daamnn girl, you look hot," I exclaim.
"You need to buy that, sis," Harper encourages as she takes Riley's hand and spins her around, so she can see the back of the dress again.
"Why haven't you picked one out yet?" Harper asks suddenly, causing the other girls to notice me standing in my jeans.
"Because she was too busy staring at the wedding dresses," Ava sings as she playfully rolls her eyes.
"Oh, it's a long time before you'll need a dress like that, sweetheart," Louisa suggests, suddenly appearing from one of the side rooms.
"I wouldn't bet on that," Ava laughs.
"Oh yeah? Tell me about him," she coaxes, sitting down on the corner of the table.
"Well..." I begin giving her a brief overview of mine and Nate's relationship. I tell her how we met as kids and became best friends. How we both moved away, without going into detail as to why, and all about our reunion, where our eyes caught across the carousel, and about our relationship since.
"Wow, that really sounds like a fairy tale," Louisa gushes as she wipes a tear from her eye. "I think I have the perfect dress for you," she admits, jumping up and hurrying out the back. I go back into the dressing room, undress, and wait nervously. I'm still waiting when I hear the girls getting changed and redressed before leaving the dressing room again. I’ve almost given up hope when I see the curtain open and Louisa standing on the other side, holding a single dress bag.
"Sorry it took so long. I've had this dress in storage for a long time," she clarifies as she hands me a dress wrapped in a black garment bag. I'm almost afraid to open it, especially when she's had it for so long.What if I don't like it? What if I offend her?
I carefully unzip the bag and nervously look inside; when I do, I let out a loud gasp.The dress is stunning.Excited, I unveil the rest of it and can't help but stare. It's beyond perfect.
Louisa carefully helps me into the dress before covering my eyes and leading me into the room with the mirrors, where I can look at myself from head to toe. I hear my friends marvel and exclaim, "wow" and "it's beautiful," but I still haven't seen it.
"Keep your eyes closed," I hear Louisa say as she takes her hands away.
"Open your eyes on the count of three," she demands excitedly.
"One...two...." I hear the room call out. "THREE!" they shout.
I open my eyes and can't believe that the person staring at me is actuallyme. I look stunning, and I don't care how conceited that sounds.
I continue looking at myself in the mirror, still in shock. The dress has two thin straps on each shoulder, but they are made of lots of tiny translucent beads that shimmer in the light. It has a heart-shaped neckline and is in the most beautiful ice blue I've ever seen. It reminds me so much of Nate's eyes that it unnerves me.
I spin around and notice that it has an open back, but that the same beaded details that are on the straps are also on the corners, so it breaks up the blue of my dress with the skin on my back. It also appears even longer in the back, so when I walk, it looks like I'm gliding as the fabric drags behind me.
"Oh-My-Freaking-God! Wow, Izzy." gasps one of the girls. I'm not even sure which one, since I'm so entranced by my own reflection.
