'Matilda, come here baby, mommy wants to fix your dress'.
'Taylor, honey, that's our job for today. Just sit still and let Jemma fix your hair, please'.
Andrea gently pushes Taylor back into her seat in front of the dressing table, going to chase after her granddaughter, now gorgeously dressed in her flower-girl outfit, a white dress with a blush pink bow, a flower crown adorned on her head.
Taylor sits back, watching Andrea go, and takes a deep breath. This was it. She was getting ready. For her wedding day.
Despite all the times she'd written and sung about what this day could potentially be like, right now, sitting in the make up chair, it was like nothing she's ever imagined. She felt like she was having an out-of-body experience: giddy, excited, nervous, concentrating on little things that really, she knew, were the concern of others for today. But at the root of it all, she knew none of it really mattered, because she would be meeting Travis at the end of the aisle and beginning the rest of their lives together. The thought alone filled her with such contentment, she couldn't wait to get there.
'Tay?'
Kylie snaps her out of her daydream, and she smiles at her soon-to-be sister-in-law. She's holding a bouquet of flowers, not one Taylor recognises, and a gift bag, and she grins, knowing who they are from. 'Hey, Ky'.
'These are from Travis. He asked me to give them to you when you were getting ready. I'll leave you to read the note in peace'.
She hands them over, squeezing Taylor's arm as she leaves, and Jemma leans down to whisper she'll give her some privacy, too. Taylor leans forward to smell the beautiful flowers, appreciating the arrangement, before unwrapping the rectangular box that was placed in the gift bag.
The bright blue of the Tiffany's box peeks through and she gasps as she opens it to see the teardrop pearl necklace and matching earrings, the set the perfect accompaniment to her wedding dress. She hurriedly looks in the bag again, pulling out the card addressed to her in Travis' scrawl.
My beautiful Taylor,
I can't believe we're actually here - our wedding day. Nothing has made me happier since you and Matilda walked into my life than the knowledge that you wanted to be my wife. I cannot wait to see you today and declare how much I love you in front of our friends and family.
You've changed me in so many ways, Tay, it's hard to even explain. But your love for me sustains me through every moment of every day, always driving me to be the best version of myself. I hope I'm able to give you back a fraction of the love I feel from you.
You gave me the honour of fatherhood, too, and for that I am forever thankful. Matilda is such a wonderful little girl, a testament to you, and it is the privilege of my life to be called her father. I can't wait for the day that we are blessed with her little brother or sister. You were born to be a mom.
I can't wait to see you today. You know I'll cry, but know they are absolutely, 1000%, tears of joy.
I love you.
Travis
Taylor's thankful Kylie chose the moments before she got her make up done to hand the note over, because the tear tracks on her cheeks would definitely have put her on the receiving end of a telling off from Lori. She's smiling, clutching the card to her chest, when everyone comes back into the room, unable to articulate just how sweet the message was that Travis had written.
The glam squad steps up into full gear after that, and soon she's being helped into her dress: a classic, Caroline-Kennedy-esque silk slip dress with thin straps, the material pooling at her feet to provide a small train, cascading down her body and hugging all the right curves. Her hair is in an elegant chignon gathered at the base of her neck, some tendrils left to frame her face, and her makeup gives her a dramatic eye but a soft pink lip, matching her bridesmaids - and more importantly, lessening any need to carry wipes to clean it off Travis later.
