“OK,” I say.
Orla turns back around and looks me over. She nods a few times and even frowns briefly.
“It needs minimal alteration… we should be able to get them done today and have the gown to you by tomorrow morning.”
I nod and walk over to the mirrors that line one of the walls. It really is an exquisite gown. I turn my head as I spin around and look at it from every possible angle. I love it enough that I think I would buy it even if I was paying for it myself.
“Can I show them?” I say.
“Of course.”
Orla follows me back to Brenda and Jess. They moved closer to each other on the couch and are talking in a hushed tone when I walk into the room. Jess sees me and turns toward me. She stands up and walks over, empty Champagne glass in hand.
“You have to buy that,” Jess says.
“Yeah… I agree.”
“How does it fit?”
“They have to make a few small alterations… and it should be ready by tomorrow morning.”
“Good,” Jess says, smiling at me.
I walk back toward the changing room with Orla in tow.
“Do you have shoes?”
“Yes… and I have the perfect pair… they will be beautiful with your dress.”
“Good… and we also need a dress for each of my friends.”
“Do you have more bridesmaids or just the two?”
“Just the two… it was kind of a surprise trip to come here and get married.”
Orla smiles and nods as she leads me back into the dressing room.
“Let me pin the dress where we need to alter it.”
She reaches into a cabinet against the back wall and comes back with a small box. Orla takes the lid off and meticulous places pins in a dozen places around the dress. I thought it fit fine as is and I would have been more than happy to just take it today, but I guess I should let her alter it considering how much it costs—it kind of should be perfect.
“OK… you can get changed.”
She leaves the room and I quickly change back into my own clothes. I walk out of the room with the dress over my arm and Orla plucks it away from me as if I was carrying it wrong. She shoots me a worried look and then hurries off. I head back into the room where Jess and Brenda are waiting.
I sit back down on the couch between them just as the model comes into the room, this time wearing a deep purple dress. The top of the dress is lace with a layer of material behind it that matches the rest of the dress. There is a cute tie sash around the waist and the dress ends just above the models knees. It’s quite lovely… and something I wish I could wear.
“What do you think?” Orla says, as she walks back into the room.
“I like it,” I say, “but I’m not the one who’ll be wearing it.”
“I love it,” Jess says.
“Brenda?”
“It’s very cute… not something I would wear normally… but why the heck not.”
“Are you sure?” Jess says. “We can look at some other dresses.”
“No… it’s wonderful. It’ll be just fine.”
Orla nods at the model and she leaves the room.
“If you could please stand up,” Orla says, “I will take your measurements and make sure that the dresses will fit just right.”
The girl who brought the Champagne to us comes back into the room, hands Orla a tape measure and lifts pen to paper as she gets ready to write down the measurements. Orla measures Jess, calls out the numbers and the girl writes them down just as quickly. She moves over to Brenda and repeats the process before taking a step back and looking over the measurements.
“Yes… we will have this done by morning.”
“Do we need to come back and get them?” I say.
“No… of course not. We will bring them to your hotel.”
I’m a little taken aback by the tone of her voice… it’s almost as if I offended her when I asked if we needed to come get the dresses. I guess it’s maybe a silly question based on how much money we are spending here, but it’s not like I have a lot of experience buy bridal gowns.
“We are staying at the Emerald Hotel.”
“Wonderful… the dresses will be there no later than… nine.”
I nod. I’m not sure exactly how early we need to leave to get ready for the wedding… heck I don’t even know where the ceremony is, but I’m sure nine will be plenty early.
“Now,” Orla says, “if you will please follow me… we will have you try on the shoes.”
We follow her back into the main part of the store and over to a small display of shoes tucked into one corner. Even before she reaches for the shoes I know exactly which ones she wants me to try on and I’m already praying they fit. She takes the shoes off the display and points me toward a bench to sit on. I kick off my flats and take the shoes from her. I turn them over in my hand and marvel in their beauty before trying them on.
The pumps are covered in a scrolling design, which is made of tiny little crystals on top of the silver shoes. The soles are a bright red and the heel is about four inches. Not something I would often wear, but they are stunning… and they will go perfectly with the dress.
I slip my right foot into the shoe and then my left. They fit like they were made for my feet. I stand up and take a few slow steps to make sure I can handle the heels. I’m a little wobbly at first, but I quickly get the hang of them.
“I love them,” I say.
“They were meant for you,” Orla says.
I sit back down and take them. The inside of the shoe is covered in supple tan leather and makes them as comfortable as any shoe I’ve ever worn. I hand the shoes back to Orla and she sets them aside. I didn’t see a price on the shoes, but I guess it doesn’t matter.
“Now,” Orla says, “what size do you ladies wear?”
“Eight,” Jess says.
“Seven and a half,” Brenda says.
Orla nods and picks through the shoes for the next few seconds. She comes out with two boxes of the same shoes and hands one to each of them. I slip my flats back on and move away from the bench so they can sit down and try on the shoes she has picked out for them.
They both remove a pair of black peep toe patent leather pumps. It’s not the kind of shoe I would have imagined going with the purple dresses, but I know that it would be a mistake to not trust the judgment of Orla… she obviously knows what is going to go perfectly with what.
Brenda and Jess both try on the shoes and seem pleasantly surprised with the comfort and look of the shoes. As they walk around I see the same red sole on them as mine… it must be something that this particular designer does to make the shoes stand out and be easy identifiable.
Jess walks over and leans her head to my ear.
“Just so you know… I fully intend to pay you back for these shoes and the dress.”
“No way… they are for you to have. You flew to the other side of the ocean to be here… it’s the least I can do.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes… absolutely.”
“Have you seen the price?”
I raise an eyebrow. She’s been a staunch supporter of me spending money on myself for the wedding… so it’s kind of surprising to hear her bring up the price of a pair of shoes.
“No… and it doesn’t matter.”
“You’re the boss,” she says, smiling at me.
Brenda and Jess take off the black pumps and put their own shoes back on. Orla takes all of our shoes and starts to walk toward the back of the store where there is a small counter and register tucked into the back corner.
“Would you like the shoes now… or delivered with the dresses?”
“We can take the shoes with us now,” I say.
She tallies the three dresses and the shoes. I take out the credit card and hand it to her before she even has a chance to tell me what it is—I somehow feel like it’ll hurt less if I don’t have to actually acknowledge the cost of it all until the wedding is over. Orla hands me back the card and puts the receipt and a pen on the counter. I put my left hand over the top of it to block the total and quickly sign on the line.
Orla puts each pair of shoes in its own bag and hands them to us. She guides us back to the front of the store and holds the door open.
“Thank you for shopping at Mystique, I will see you tomorrow when I drop off the dresses and your gown.”
“Thank you,” we say, in unison.
The driver takes our shoes and puts them in the trunk once we’re back inside the car.
“So,” Jess says, “how much was it?”
“I didn’t look.”
“That’s my girl.”
Jess has a devious smile on her face when I look at her and I can’t do anything but shake my head. Spencer said to spend whatever… I just worry that he might not have had any idea how much my gown and shoes were going to cost. Not to mention the dresses and shoes for Jess and Brenda.
“Where to?” the driver says.
I take a split second to think about what kind of gift I want to get for Brenda and Jess. I'm actually a bit lost, not really knowing anyone that's gotten married lately… but I feel like jewelry for a gift is never a bad idea.
“A jeweler… whatever you recommend.”
He nods and pulls away from the curb in front of Mystique. So far the driver has been spot on with his recommendations… which reminds me that I should probably try to find and ATM so I get out some money for a tip. I guess my ATM card should work… I didn't even really think about it.
“What kind of jewelry are you looking for?” Jess says.
“I'm not really sure… but I'll know when I see it.”
I'm not quite ready to tell them I'm looking for a gift because I have a feeling both Jess and Brenda might be hesitant to go look at jewelry if they knew that was the reason. I've already got it in my mind that I want to buy them something for coming all this way to be here for me… for us.
My phone chirps and I dig it out my purse, expecting it to be a text from Spencer… but it's another text from my mom. Ugh.
Amy, did you get my text? I really want to tell you my news. I know you still might be mad at me for what happened… but can't we at least talk about it?
I drop my phone back in my purse. I can feel myself starting to get more irritated by her… and I'm not going to let it happen. I'm spending the day with two of my favorite people in the world and I'm not going to let my mom ruin it.
The driver stops the car in front of a jewelry store and we get out. There's a tough looking security guard standing out front who nods and pulls the door open for us as we approach. I smile at him and walk into the store. It's a small store with a single u-shaped glass display case that holds all of their jewelry. One look into the end of the case confirms my suspicions… the jewelry is all beautiful and surely quite expensive. There are two saleswomen behind the counter who smile at us as we walk in.
“Hello,” one says, walking over to us. “Can I help you find something?”
“I think… I'm not sure, but I was thinking about a tennis bracelet,” I say.
I'm not sure why I said that, but the more I think about it the better an idea it seems. A necklace isn't a bad option either, I just feel like a bracelet won't be as over the top for something costing about the same.
“Are you American?”
“Yes… why?”
“Oh, no reason… just curious. We don't get a lot of Americans shopping here.”
I nod as I look down into one of the cases. There are a few rings on display, but nothing that comes close to the diamond ring that's already on my finger. I move down to the next case, which has a few necklaces.
“Are you here on holiday?” she says.
“Sort of… I guess. I'm getting married, tomorrow.”
“Wonderful… congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
I walk along the case and continue to look at the jewelry. I want to try it all on… but being here is really about finding something for Jess and Brenda.
“What are you looking for?” Jess says.
“I was thinking about a tennis bracelet.”
“Nice… I’ve always liked them.”
“Did you want me to show you our tennis bracelets?” the saleswoman says.
“Sure.”
“This way.”
We follow her to the end of the case farthest from the front of the store. We would’ve gotten there eventually, but I was already feeling overwhelmed by everything they had.
“Here they are… is there one in particular you would like to try on?”
I nod and look over the display that holds upwards of twenty different bracelets.
“How about that one?” I say, pointing to one near the back.
She looks at me and hesitates a moment before reaching into the case. I extend my arm and she puts the bracelet around my wrist. It’s loose enough that it slides up my arm as I turn toward Jess and Brenda.
“What do you think?”
“It’s beautiful,” Brenda says.
“I love it,” Jess says.
I turn back to the saleswoman as I continue to inspect the bracelet. I don’t need one for myself… especially since I already spent so much money this morning, but I think it would certainly make a good gift for them.
“How much is it?”
“Fifteen-five.”
I force myself not to balk when I hear the price. I’m not sure what I was expecting… it’s a stunning bracelet, but I figured something like this wouldn’t cost more than a few thousand dollars. I guess it’s good that I’m getting close to finishing the movie in Chicago because I really want Jess and Brenda to have one of these… and I feel like it’s something I should pay for myself. Well, I’m going to use the credit card Spencer gave me, but I feel like he didn’t mention anything about spending money on them and I don’t want to assume.
“Euro, right?”
“Yes.”
I turn my head slightly and see that Jess and Brenda have moved down the counter to look at something else while I look at the bracelet. It’s a perfect opportunity.
“It’s eighteen carat white gold… as you can see the diamonds alternate between rose-cut and princess-cut… with a total weight of three and a half carats.”
“I’ll take two,” I say, trying to keep my voice down.
“Two?”
She has a surprised look on her face. I lean over the counter as I start to take the bracelet off.
“They are bridesmaid’s gifts… so I need two.”
“OK….”
I hand the bracelet back to the woman. She turns around and takes two small boxes off the shelf behind her. She puts the bracelet I tried on in a box and then takes another one out of the case and does the same.
“If you would please follow me to the register.”
We walk to the single register and I have the credit card out and ready by the time she has bagged up the bracelets. I hand it to her and glance over my shoulder again. Jess and Brenda are slowly making their way toward me.
“Don’t say anything… please,” I say.
The saleswoman nods as she runs the credit card and puts the receipt down on the counter for me to sign. I push the store copy toward her and she drops my copy into the bag. I pluck it off the counter, smile at her and put the bag into my purse—it’s not exactly something I want to carry around in plain view or leave in the car for the rest of the day.
“You bought the bracelet?” Jess says.
“Yeah… I love how it looked.”
“It’s stunning… it’ll look good with your dress.”
I smile and nod. I’m sure it would look fabulous with my dress, but I can’t fathom spending that money on jewelry for myself. It seems kind of silly, but I would rather spend it on Jess and Brenda.
“Ready?” Brenda says.
“Sure… let’s get out of here.”
We head outside and get back into the car.
“Where to?” the driver says.
I look at Jess and then Brenda.
“Any ideas?” I say.
“Wherever your heart desires… it’s your almost wedding,” Brenda says.
“Well, is there anywhere either of you want to go?”
“No… it’s up to you.”
I bite my lip. There’s a part of me that wants to just go take a nap… but that’s not exactly how I imagined spending the day before my wedding, especially while in Europe.
“Well, Spencer said I should buy something to wear for tonight… and that’s kind of the last thing I need to buy.”
“Do you want to do that now?” Jess says.
“I… I’m not sure. I want to get some lunch at some point… but other than that I’m not sure what I want to do.”
“We're meeting the guys for dinner?”
“Yeah.”
“Should we get your outfit, get some lunch and then relax for a few hours at the hotel?”
“That’s perfect,” I say, “because I’m not sure I could make it much past dinner without a nap.”
“How do you think I feel?” Brenda says.
Jess and I both laugh as she shakes her head.
“Can you take us to a more regular clothing store?” I say, speaking up so the driver can hear me.
“Of course.”
“But still nice,” Jess says, chiming in, “we have a big night ahead of us.”
He nods and pulls away from the curb. I’m excited and nervous at the same time to think about what Jess has planned. I would ask her, just so I can mentally prepare myself… but I know she’s not going to even give me a hint.