Whiskey and Scotch

Chapter 43

"What do you think of this one?" Chelsea asked as she held up a pink floor-length gown.

I had woken early and been pleasantly wrapped around Bobby, listening to his heartbeat, when a text had come in for the girls to get up and go shopping. I'd been hoping for a lie-in on our last morning in the villa, so the news hadn't been welcome; but after getting ready and then giving Bobby a quick kiss goodbye, I joined the others. We were taken to a café for a quick breakfast first and were now in a shop looking at fancy dresses.

"It's very... pink," I responded to the blonde girl who was way too happy this early in the morning.

"I know!" she beamed. "Isn't it great?"

It wasn't to my taste, but I nodded anyway and was surprised to see her hang it back on the rack and continue shuffling through the dresses, humming to herself.

Priya and Elisa were on the other end of the room, oohing and aahing over a rack of gowns, while Marisol was in the middle of a discussion with the saleslady.

"What do you think of this pattern for you?"

I looked up to see Chelsea holding up a frilly grey dress with a large pink floral print.

"Looks a little bit like wallpaper," I said dryly, and she burst into giggles.

"You're right!" She hung the dress over her arm and winked at me. "I think I'm gonna try it on, I've always wanted to interior decorate myself!"

Priya breezed over and I handed her a gold dress.

"What do you think?"

"Oh, no," she grimaced, "I don't like lace, it itches!"

"I love lace!" I responded. "But I can see what you mean."

We continued going through the racks, picking up a few dresses each to try on and handing them to the saleslady. She carried them into the fitting room for us while we went into an adjacent lounge area and took a seat on the couches there, ready to give ourselves a mini fashion show as we each tried on the dresses.

Chelsea was the first to go into the changeroom, and after a few minutes she came out wearing the patterned dress she had shown me.

"What on earth is that?" Priya asked with raised eyebrows.

"Josie said it looks like wallpaper, so I wanted to try it!"

"More like my nan's curtains," Elisa mused.

Chelsea's eyes widened. "Ooh, do you think Gary's nan would like it?"

"No," Marisol said firmly, and she pointed at the dressing room. "Go try the next one."

"It doesn't even fit properly," Chelsea giggled as she picked up the skirt and headed back to try something else on.

She modelled a few more dresses before eventually settling on a light pink satin dress with spaghetti straps.

Marisol and Elisa went next, and they both chose not to see each other's picks, so one waited in a separate room while the other tried on dresses. Marisol picked out a red dress with a ruffled hem and thigh-high split, claiming it was "something she could dance in," while Elisa chose a partially sheer gown with silver sequins all over.

Priya tried on a number of glitzy, blingy evening dresses that she loved on the hanger, but once they were on, she hummed and hawed over them. They all looked great on her, but she was never quite satisfied, always finding something she didn't like – the way they hung, the way they fit, too short, too long.

Finally, the saleslady suggested she try something completely different.

"I guess it can't hurt," she grumbled as she took one last look in the mirror at the sparkly gold gown she was wearing. She returned to the fitting room while the lady went through the racks and grabbed a few dresses for her.