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“And breathe,” he chuckles, smiling from ear to ear. “I’m loving the enthusiasm.”
“I’m excited.”
“Me too. That makes me happier than you can imagine.”
“This doughnut makes me happier than anyone could ever imagine.” I hum loudly with joy as I sink my teeth into the gooey centre. “Promise me you won’t enable my bad eating habit.”
“I promise.” He twists a lock of my hair around his finger. “You too. No more fattening dinners for me.”
“Agreed.”
“What do you want to watch?”
I shrug. “Whatever, just don’t make it a long one. I have a busy day tomorrow.”
“Doing…?”
“Dress shopping.” I bounce a little. “I think I found the perfect one.”
“I wish I could come with you.”
“You could go suit shopping.”
“Not until you give me the colour scheme.”
“I’ll let you know.” He kisses the chocolate from my lips and tastes it with his tongue. I love this man.
Jeanine joins me on the hunt for the wedding dress expedition, mostly to help me look after the babies. I’m relieved to have her here, not just for her help but also for the company.
“I’ve missed you,” I admit. “It feels like whenever I see you it’s always fleeting.”
“You’ve been busy; I understand. We get to catch up today instead.”
“Exactly.”
Heading into the wedding store I found online, I browse the rows upon rows of dresses until an attendant comes to help me. I show her the one that I saw online, annoyed when she tells me it was an exclusive for that particular model and would be, ‘above what I can afford.’ No kidding, she said that so I left.
We hit all of the mainstream wedding boutiques, looking at table centrepieces and colour fabric blends. Nothing appeals to me and by the end of the morning I’m feeling disheartened and bored of it all. The kids are beginning to get restless too. The only person who looks to be having a good time is Jeanine.
“Let’s stop for lunch,” she suggests, pulling us into the next restaurant we see. Her phone comes out the second we stop at a table. “We need to stop going to all of these commercial places. They’re overwhelming you with their business cards. How many photographers do you now have in your pocket? How many caterers?”
My cheeks puff out as I blow out a breath. “Too many.”
“Give them to me.” She drops them into the middle of the table. “Forget about all of that. Planning a wedding should be a happy time and you look rotten.”
“I feel it.”
“Which is a shame because this morning you looked so happy.” She checks her curled hair in the mirror on the wall and flags down the waitress. “You’d think they’d put menus on the table.”
Smiling at said table, I wait for the waitress to bring some over and tell her my drink order before she leaves.
“So, I propose we spark that fire in your eyes that was there this morning and have another look at the beautiful dress you fell in love with.”
At her command, I open the image on my phone and we stare at it, smiling with joy and love for it.
“Right, let’s see if we can’t find us an independent dress maker.”
“Won’t that cost a fortune?”
“Not if you find the right one.” She winks and turns her phone to me. “Well, would you look at that? It’s fate. There’s one just around the corner.”
“If you consider five miles away just around the corner then sure.”
“It’s nothing when you’re driving.” She waves her napkin at me and turns to the kids. “Are you babes hungry?”
“Nom nom,” Emily says quietly as Dillan bangs his hands against the plastic surface of his highchair.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” I whisper and we both laugh together.
Feeling rested, full and fresh, we head out to the car and find the independent dress maker. It isn’t easy as it sits below a townhouse down a side street. I leave the kids with Jeanine at first to check that it’s open and also because if this is a failure like the rest I’ll feel awful for getting them in and out of their car seats for the hundredth time today.
At first I assume I have the wrong place because of the numerous dream catchers on the inside of the window and the strange dark purple, sparkly net that hangs just behind them. It seems to be a display for one of those palm reading stores. The sign above the door reads,
‘Altered Illusions.’
The name seems… well strange, but who am I to judge?
I knock on the glass of the door before opening it and it rattles and jingles in such a cute, old timey store way.
The store itself is very dimly lit and smells wonderful, spicy and sweet all at once. I can’t decide what it smells like, I just know that I like it.
