Heartdriven: Too Driven To Drive

9. Sebastian Vettel And The Quest For The Pieces Of Tradition

Sebastian checked the store with Alice before setting her off on her own, certain she could find what she was looking for in there. He went to another store across the street to find a suit for himself, and sometimes Alice could see him through the windows like a walking distraction, and she headed to the upstairs (!!) department to continue her quest.

They had agreed to meet back at the entrance by lunch time, to get some food (and Sebastian to use his credit card) and search for more things from Alice's list. The dress alone was starting to stress her out. Not that the selections weren't nice, she just needed that one dress to pop. The personnel were sweet and kind in helping her try out some different options, but after a while, she wandered off to herself.
She wasn't picky, yet she felt such as she reached further further down there store, like looking for a needle in a haystack. Maybe they had too many options, and she just needed them to pick one for her.
She looked in a bodylength mirror, going over her body, trying to figure out what dress shape would suit her. She was a bit curvy, she didn't need it flat down over her stomach and expose her belly. She didn't mind exposing her cleavage to please Sebastian, the neckline would be no trouble. The colour didn't matter, it didn't need to be white. There wasn't much to work with in the leg area, they weren't long or short, just plain.
Her eyes caught a floofy sleeve in the reflection that caught her interest. She hadn't looked at any dresses with sleeves, but they were a little see-through and puffy, with cuffs at the wrists, and in an aisle of strap dresses, it stood out and waved at her. She touched the fabric, feeling it silky and loose, she pulled the dress out by the hanger. It wasn't exactly white, but almost. Kind of a very bright creamy pearl color. The skirt continued down with the same light fabric, making waves around, to a length below the knees. Met in the middle, it was tightened around the waist and folded over the breasts like a robe, with a deep v-neck. It was simple, not messy or distracting, just pleasant and traditional. It was perfect.
Walking all the way back to the personnel with a smile on her face, she was met with just a big as one as her own. They recognised customers with that smile.
Helping her try the dress, they explained she had wandered off to the outdated section of vintage clothing, unique dresses no longer in production. It made her worried about the price, despite agreeing with Sebastian to not consider the price, but she was told it was just a fancy description of outlet, making her feel better.
Much easier to find some fitting shoes, they had been the least of her concerns, just little flat ballet pumps in a matching colour, the rest of the day seemed easier to overcome with the weight of the dress off her shoulders. Painless.

Her little piggy bank showed up on time with a bag containing a black box; he had had some success in his shopping as well. Her curiousity made her try to sneak a peek as Sebastian was paying, but he turned his back to hide it from her, but at least he reamined unfazed by the price, so she hadn't went and spent his entire bank account. He just seemed happy she had been able to find something in the first store — or pleased with himself that the dress was found in the store he had picked.

During some planning for the rest of the day during lunch, antique shops and jewelry stores were at the top of the list, for her demands of the traditional items.
"Something new... does the dress count?", he wasn't foolish enough to think she would fall for that, but that smile on his face almost made her buy anything he was selling.
"Noo! Babe, we have to do this right!"
Having just tried on her wedding dress moments earlier, Alice had opted for a salad for lunch, and was starting to regret it. After skipping through breakfast, that little lettuce was not going to keep her full for the rest of the day, and Sebastian spotted her picking at it. "You know, this mascarpone sauce ain't half bad."
"I bet," she snarled at him.
He sighed loudly to show his annoyance, "Why did you choose the salad? You are not a bunny."
"I need to fit into my wedding dress."
Shaking his head in disapproval, "Alice, that's dumb. We are getting married tonight. You're not gonna gain enough weight to not fit it by having some proper meals. Didn't you buy it in your size?"
"Yes, well, they only had one and it fit... but...", her fork went around a tomato. 
Waving his arm up, his voice broke through the air, "Excuse me, waiter! Hi! Yes, she will have the chicken club sandwich with extra mayo and some mozzarella sticks for the both of us. Thank you." He returned to give her a smug smile.
"Sebastian..."
"No, you—", as he had interrupted her, she did it right back, "... I love you." She took his hand across the table and pulled it up to give it a kiss. "Thank you."
Smugly, he was self-satisfied that she didn't object further, "You like when I take charge too?"
"I like that you take care of me when I'm being an idiot," that was always certain, that no matter how angry he was with her, he would always take care of her... she felt safe. 
"Here," he slid his bracelet from his wrist across to hers, "Your something borrowed."
"Babe, I can't wear this."
"You don't like it?"
She pulled her hand to her chest, almost protecting her wrist with her heart, keeping the bracelet safe, "No, I mean yes! I do like it, that's not it. It's your bracelet."
"Precisely. And you can borrow it."
Stroking her fingers across the bracelet, it was braided together of strands in different shades of blue with one red line passing through,"But it's your lucky charm. Fabian made it for you, it brings you comfort."
"Maybe you need it more than me today, because I already feel like the luckiest man alive," he put on the charm with his lips pressed together like he wanted to bite them... or her. He definitely had something on his mind. 
"You're gonna make me cry." She left her seat, to hold his face between her hands for planting a kiss on his lips, just as their food arrived when she sat back down.