The receptionist at the bridal salon directed us downstairs to alterations. Merritt took the tiny elevator with Alec and his stroller, while Naomi and I walked down the flight of stairs.
“I cannot wait to see your gown in person. The photos you sent were gorgeous, and I’m sure they don’t even do the dress justice,” Naomi said.
“I hope so. It’s the most money I have ever spent on anything for myself in my entire life, and that was with the trunk show discount.”
Merritt was waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs with Alec and one of the salon’s seamstresses.
“Which one of you is the bride?” she asked.
I raised my hand.
“Wonderful. I’m Sylvia. Nice to meet you.” She motioned us down the corridor. “Come with me. We have you all set up in the far dressing room.”
We followed her down the long, narrow hall of maroon curtains, until we came to the last one.
“Did you bring shoes and the undergarment you’re planning to wear that day?” Sylvia asked.
I pulled out a pair of white satin Louboutins I’d bought on one of those resale consignment websites and a cream-colored lacy bustier.
Sylvia pointed to some chairs outside the changing room. “Your guests can sit here, while I help you into the gown, and then we’ll do a full reveal.”
Merritt and Naomi took their seats and even turned Alec’s stroller around to face the curtain.
I followed Sylvia into the dressing room, where the gown was hanging in a garment bag on a high hook. Sylvia popped up on her toes to unzip the bag.
“There she is. What do you think? Do you still love it?” she asked.
I covered my mouth with my hand and inhaled deeply. “I think I love the dress even more than I did when I bought it.”
“Good, that’s exactly what we like to hear. I’ll step out for a moment, so you can get into the bustier. Give me a shout when you’re ready, and I’ll zip you into the gown.”
Sylvia ducked past the curtain and out of the room, while I took a few steps closer to examine the dress. It was exquisite. A blush organza gown with full tulle skirt, antique silver beading embellishments, cap sleeves, fitted bodice, and open back. The dress was dreamy and romantic and exactly what I’d imagined myself walking down the aisle to Sam in. It was the first and only dress I tried on, and the minute the zipper closed, I knew it was the one. I slid the bustier on and called for Sylvia to come back into the changing room to help me into the dress.
A few moments later we opened the curtain for the big reveal. I did a full turn in my spot. “What does everyone think?”
Naomi jumped out of her seat first. “God, the workmanship on this dress is incredible. Who’s the designer again?”
I smoothed down the tulle. “It’s a Georgica Goldstein. I never in a million years thought I could afford one of her gowns, but between this being a sample dress and the trunk show discount, I was able to make it work.”
Naomi raised her eyebrows. “Georgica Goldstein? The designer of Princess Victoria’s dress?”
I nodded.
“It’s gorgeous, Jo. Really.”
I glanced over at Merritt, who was being uncharacteristically quiet.
“Mer, what do you think?”
“It’s a beautiful gown, Joey.”
Sylvia came around to the front of the curtain. “The dress is much too big on her, that may be what’s throwing you. When we take it in on the sides like this,” she said, pinning the material, “the effect is very different.”
Sylvia continued pinning the dress in several different spots, to take away some of the excess material. When she was finished, she stood back to admire her work.
I twisted my torso in the corset. “It feels so much better.”
Sylvia stepped back and away from the pedestal. “There, now you’re wearing the dress, it isn’t wearing you.”
I turned to my sister. “Merritt?”
“It’s an absolutely stunning dress, but I’m not sure it’s really you.”
I blinked hard. That was not at all the reaction I was expecting.
She continued, “It’s so formal and so . . . I don’t know, poofy. It’s not really what I was picturing.”
I caught Naomi shooting Merritt what could only be described as a death stare. “What were you picturing?”
“Something more vibrant. More fun, maybe?”
“It’s my wedding, not a New Year’s Eve party.” I turned to face the mirror. “Besides, I think Sam would love me in this dress.”
Merritt stood up and put her arm around me. She tilted her head and scanned my reflection up and down. “I’m sorry, I should’ve kept my big, stupid mouth shut. I don’t know what I’m talking about. The dress is amazing. You look amazing.”
Sylvia clapped her hands together, breaking the tension in the room. “We’ll see you back in about two weeks. It’ll take a bit of time to finish the alterations. Someone from the salon will call you to schedule an appointment once we’re done.”
“Before you get changed, I have something for you,” Merritt said.
Naomi stood up and handed Merritt the shopping bag that had been hanging from the handles of Alec’s stroller. Merritt opened it up and delicately pulled out a wedding veil.
“I searched Dad’s house high and low for this,” she said.
“Mom’s wedding veil? I thought it got misplaced when Dad moved to the condo?”
“I think he didn’t have the heart to look through Mom’s things, so I offered to do it.”
“Does he know you’re here?”
Merritt slipped the comb into my hair. “The veil really suits the dress.”
I turned to face her. “Merritt, does Dad know you’re here?” I repeated.
“He does.”
“And he still won’t come to the wedding?’
“We’re working on it,” Naomi said, chiming in.
“He wants to Jo, let’s just give it a little more time.” She picked up the veil and held it up to the dress. “Everything’s right except the color. I’m not sure how I feel about a blush-colored dress and a stark white veil.”
Sylvia lifted the veil to get a closer look at the trim. “We may be able to dye it. Leave it here—let me see what we can do.”
I smiled, pulled the comb out of my hair, and twisted the veil around my arm. “If not, I’ll still have time to order the matching one, right?”
“We can put a rush on it,” Sylvia answered, “but we’ll do our best to get it to match, I’m sure it’s very sentimental for you.”
“It’s fine either way,” I said.
Alec suddenly let out a piercing wail.
“Merri, we’re way past his naptime,” Naomi said, taking him out of the carriage and bouncing him up and down on her knee.
“Go back to the hotel with the baby and get him down. It’s gonna take me a few minutes to wiggle out of this dress, and then I still have to go settle the final payment.”
“You sure?” Merritt asked.
“Yeah, of course. Sam and I will meet you at dinner later, like we planned.”
Merritt leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “Thank you for inviting us to be a part of today.”
Sylvia motioned to the curtain. “Come, let me help you get changed. I don’t want you getting stuck by a dozen pins trying to get out of the dress.”
I waved Merritt and Naomi off and followed Sylvia back to a changing room, where she painstakingly helped me out of the gown.
“Don’t take what your sister said to heart,” Sylvia said, slipping the dress back onto the hanger. “It’s a spectacular gown, and once we finish all of the alterations, you will look absolutely phenomenal in it.”
My phone was vibrating from inside my bag.
Sylvia handed me a yellow receipt. “I’ll leave you to get dressed. When you’re ready, you can pay the balance in the office adjacent to the reception desk.”
I smiled, reached into the pocket, and pulled out my phone to find a text message from Sam.
Please don’t kill me, but I can’t make dinner tonight. Trying to tie up the last of the loose ends on this deal, so we can have our yes date tomorrow. Have fun with Merritt. I love you.
I typed out a text telling him how disappointed I was that he still hadn’t met Alec and how hurt I thought Merritt and Naomi would be by his excuses . . . and then deleted every word. Sam was doing all of this for us and our future, and how could I be angry at him for that? I texted back a simple, I love you too and put my phone away.
The next morning, I woke up to a large bouquet of yellow teacup roses, and Sam humming away in the kitchen while making us coffee.
“Rise and shine, kid,” he called from the other room. “We’re already behind the yes date schedule.”
I sat up, kicked the blanket off my legs, and looked at the clock. It was 9:00. We weren’t a little behind, we were a lot behind. I jumped out of bed and pulled on my jeans.
“Why didn’t you wake me?” I yelled back to him.
He walked in carrying two steaming mugs of coffee and passed me one.
“You’ve been so crazy with the wedding Boot Camp, I couldn’t even remember the last time you slept in. You looked so peaceful, I didn’t have the heart to wake you.”
“We missed pancakes and strawberry picking. The next activity isn’t until 11:00.”
He set the coffee down on the nightstand and pulled me into his arms. “I have a couple ideas on how to fill the time. What do you say?”
“Hey, Mister, this is my yes date remember, what do you say?”
He lifted me up and carried me back to bed. “Yes, yes, and yes.” And just like that, our dry spell was broken.