Forever and Always His

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

                Being a bridesmaid was a complete and utter exhausting task.

                You would’ve thought that being a bridesmaid had its luxuries- getting to wear a custom picked dress by the bride, being in literally all of the pictures, having the best seat at the ceremony and being recognized as one of the bride’s most important people. Yes, it did include all of the listed perks, but being a bridesmaid definitely had its downfalls, especially if you’re a bridesmaid for someone like Mrs. Lopez, who was a perfectionist.

                I barely got more than a few hours of sleep last night just because Mrs. Lopez decided to call all of her bridesmaids at the crack of dawn to rush over to her beautician’s spa. She insisted that the earlier we started getting prepared for the wedding day, the better.

                So at six in the morning, with my flannel shorts and baggy sweater still on, I was getting groomed at a spa. I was half way asleep, as a manicurist sat on one side of me, doing my nails, while a hairstylist stood on my other side, curling and pinning up my hair with an endless amount of bobby pins. Every now and then, I felt a soft brush fanning over my cheeks or eyelids, and something sticky and wet swiping over my lips. I was too tired to even peer open my eyes to see what was going on, and I could tell that Maria wasn’t too ecstatic about waking up at five in the morning either.

                “Hon,” Margaux, the make-up artist, said with her thick French accent, nudging my shoulder gently to wake me up from my deep slumber, “I need you to open your eyes for a second.”

                I let out a low grunt, before opening my eyes tiredly with all the energy I had inside me. She began to swipe a thick brush over my eyelashes, making me flutter my eyes every so often. “There, we are done Miss Riley.” Margaux exclaimed, her lips coated with bright red lipstick stretched into a broad grin. “You look beautiful!”

                I stared at my reflection through the long mirror, noticing how well of a job Margaux did, covering up my dark circles and all. I gave her a sleepy smile, before nodding in appreciation. “Thank you, Margaux.”

                Once Cecelia, the wedding planner that Mrs. Lopez hired, saw that I was done with my hair and makeup, she rushed over towards me with my bridesmaid dress in her hands. The satin blue material peeked out from the plastic wrapping covering the dress, as she gestured it towards me. “I need you to put this on real quick. The photographers have already arrived at the rose garden and none of us are even ready yet!”

                I pushed myself off the chair with all my might, finding an empty dressing room to change into my dress. The royal blue dress was simple, but it wasn’t any of our intentions to outshine the bride, so none of us minded. The bust of the dress wrapped around my top tightly, flaring out just slightly at the bottom, making the dress look as if the panels reflected ripples of water. I grabbed a pair of sparkly silver heels to match my dress, sticking in a pair of diamond studs my mother let me borrow. I snapped a matching bracelet around my wrist, before hurrying out of the dressing room.

                I noticed Maria leaning against the wall, her head snapped up when she saw me. “Oh good, you’re here!” she said, wrapping a hand around my arm. “Come on, everyone’s waiting in the limo outside.”

                The sun had just rose half an hour ago, making the sky look clear blue. While we were in the car, driving towards our destination to take wedding photos, Cecelia passed us each a mug of coffee. I gratefully took it from her hands, knowing that I was going to need a lot of coffee to keep me awake for the rest of the day and night. Once I took a sip, I made a face from how bitter it was. Cecelia must’ve noticed my expression, along as Maria’s, because she nodded. “It’s extra dark.” She explained. “It’ll keep you all energized.”