“Never. Besides, picking out the dress is serious work, a little drink is required,” Catherine said as she took a sip and sighed. The others followed suit. “Now, choosing a dress is very important. You need something that says you’re traditional and well brought up, not too sexy. I don’t know what is with women these days showing so much skin on their wedding day,” Catherine said with a shake of her head.
“Yeah, ridiculous,” Chelsea said with a nervous chuckle.
Self consciously, she gripped her wedding binder just a little harder. She wasn’t going to tell Catherine she was one of those women. Personally, she thought a well done wedding dress could be sultry and romantic. In her binder there were already several dresses that were hip hugging with intricate lace designs and backless. The front dipped down low, just above the belly button and it showed off a small amount of cleavage. Catherine seemed to have entirely different plans. First she picked out a dress that was all white, long sleeved, with a high collar.
“Did I transport in time back to the 1800’s?” Chelsea asked.
Sangi and her mother giggled. Rolling her eyes, Catherine picked out another dress. This one was almost as bad as the first with a huge, puffy skirt. The sleeves puffed at the shoulders. This time it was Dorothy that burst into laughter as she stepped out of the dressing room.
“Awww, look at my little princess,” she cooed.
“Thank mom, appreciate the support,”
That did nothing, but make her mother and Sangi laugh harder as she walked back into the dressing room. She slipped the dress off, hanging it up before she was handed another. Chelsea slipped into it before looking at herself in the mirror. It almost had a Spanish feel. It was very close to the dress she wanted, lace covered every inch of it in soft flower patterns. It flared a little wide at the bottom, but it wasn’t horrible. The dress was cinched at the waist with a small, white ribbon. The veil flowed long and it had long sleeves. Chelsea could tell Catherine was trying to compromise, or perhaps just not be laughed at again as this dress let her bare her shoulders and dipped down between her cleavage just slightly enough that none showed. She gathered the dress before stepping out of the dressing room.
“Holy shit.”
“Honey, it’s so beautiful,” her mother said. She could see the tears in her eyes.
“Lovely. I think we’ll take this one, don’t you?”
Chelsea didn’t know how to respond. As much as she thought the dress was nice, it still wasn’t her. Being put inside of a little traditional bubble wouldn’t hold long either. She shrugged her shoulders lightly, causing Catherine to raise an eyebrow as a little frown appeared on her face.
“I just don’t want to make a decision right now. I mean, it’s beautiful, but I don’t think I can agree to anything just yet. I’m not in love with it,” Chelsea said quickly.
“Nonsense. Now, these dresses are one of a kind. If you don’t get it now, it won’t be here when you come back.”
Chelsea shrugged again, a tight smile on her face. “If it’s not here, I guess it wasn’t meant for me to have.”
Catherine sighed. “Fine, we’ll do it your way. How do you ladies feel about tea? We can go over more plans there.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Chelsea changed back into her clothes. As she headed out of the dressing room, she saw Catherine talking to the woman at the counter and laughing. She wondered vaguely what she was up to, before her eyes fell on Sangi beckoning her outside.