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Ella
“IsthiswhatIthink it is?” I ask Claudette, my hand instinctively clasping my chest.
She nods excitedly.
Right.
“Just wait in that coffee shop,” I tell Tiero, who looks at me utterly unimpressed to be given orders.
“Please,” I add, giving him my sweetest smile. “You can watch the shop from the window, but you should go somewhere warm and dry.”
He opens his mouth to protest, but I raise my hand to stop him.
“You asked me this morning to marry you before the year is over. And in the span of a few hours, most of the important things have already fallen into place. So why wouldn’t I find a dress today too?”
The question is more directed at myself. I’m still in a state of shock, but in a good way, about how all of this is panning out.
“Don’t disrupt the flow, amore. Nothing will happen to me or peanut. Please, just wait in the café. We won’t be long.”
“Fine,” he huffs, his eyes softening.
Raising onto my tiptoes, I kiss his cold lips.
“I’m a bit excited about this,” I whisper against them. “What if I really find my wedding dress there?”
Tiero rests his head against mine, his features relaxing. Who would have thought that talking about our wedding would have this effect on him? I’m impressed.
“If you’re not back within half an hour, I’m coming to get you,” he tells me.
I rub my nose against his. It’s cold and delightfully ticklish.
“I’m okay with that,” I reply, our breath mingling in small, visible puffs.
With one last lingering kiss, he lets me go.
Claudette doesn’t waste time. Taking my hand, she guides me to an unobtrusive little shop that’s mostly hidden behind a large Sitka spruce tree.
Said tree is decorated with streaming fairy lights, cascading from high branches all around us. They twinkle and sparkle with the falling snowflakes.
I’m frozen in place for a moment as I take in this magical setting.
“This place is like straight out of an enchanted fairytale,” I whisper in awe. “I want to get married under a tree like this.”
“That’s a wonderful idea,” Claudette chimes in. Of course she heard me… or she read my mind; one of the two. “A winter wonderland wedding under the stars and an ancient tree for wisdom and stability… just before midnight on New Year’s Eve. Nothing could be better.”
The picture is so vivid in my head. It’s pure magic. And in this moment, I know this is exactly what I want.
Beaming from head to toe, I push the fairy lights aside to enter the store, the bell above the door chiming in a melodic welcome.
How did Claudette even spot this shop? But then we’re talking about Claudette. She follows her nose and her intuition.
The door creaks as we close it behind us. The scent of sandalwood is the first thing I notice.
Claudette grabs my hand again and squeezes it excitedly.
“Come on… it’s this way,” she says as she leads me further into the store with determined strides.
“It’s not your typical white wedding dress,” she explains as she glides through rows of clothing. “This is something really special. And I think it could be perfect for you.”
