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“Oh, ‘Ice Ice Baby’ is on the playlist,” she assures us.
“We have another gift,” Ansley’s mother calls.
“Right. I almost forgot,” Ansley says as she reaches behind the counter and pulls out two large white bags.
Inside is a package for each of us with our names printed on the top.
I bring it to my ear and shake. “What is it?” I ask.
“Open it,” she urges.
We all lift the lid in unison and find a pair of pink silk pajamas with the wordbridesmaidembroidered on the back.
“Wow, fancy,” Erin says as she holds the top up.
“I have a white pair that saysbride, and Mom, Sara-Beth, and Leona have ivory.”
“You shouldn’t have. You already sprang for the jewelry,” I tell her.
“I didn’t. The magazine is going to photograph us getting ready before the wedding and thought it’d be nice if we were all in matching outfits. The designer partnered with them and gifted the entire bridal party with these. There are robes and slippers for each of us as well. Oh, and, Jena, I have a set, along with earrings, for Annabelle,” she explains.
My daughter, Annabelle, is her flower girl.
“She’ll love that,” I say.
“We should have told them they could photograph you on the honeymoon. You’d have gotten a whole new free designer wardrobe,” Erin says as she slides her arms into the pajama top.
“God, no. It’s enough to have them at the wedding. I’d like to relax and enjoy my honeymoon. Thank you.”
“Where are you two going?” Anna asks.
“Home,” Ansley says, her voice a blissful sigh.
“Home?” I question.
She looks at me and grins. “Yep, we get four luxurious weeks alone at our new home that we’ve yet to spend any time in since it’s been completed.”
“You mean you could go anywhere in the world you want to go for four weeks and you chose here?” I squeak.
She nods. “Absolutely, and we can’t wait.”
It makes sense. Garrett is a musician who has been on a worldwide tour, promoting his latest album. Ansley has flown out to meet him at a couple of stops, so of course, they prefer to settle in and spend quality time at the new mansion on the mountain he had built for them.
“And we are looking forward to having Garrett around for a while,” Sara-Beth adds.
I lean in to whisper to Ansley, “You’d better lock the gate and turn your phones off.”
“Oh, we will,” she agrees.
We all carefully remove our dresses and return them to their bags while Sara-Beth and Ansley’s mother, Mrs. Humphries, help Ansley out of her gown.
Once all of the formalwear is secured, Erin passes us back our glasses, and we dig into the pizza.
The rest of the evening is spent laughing and crying and enjoying each other.
I’m so lucky to have this group of fierce women in my life, and I am overjoyed that my daughter has them in her life as well. I pray she finds a tribe this amazing one day.
Maxi
