Am I Pretty Yet?

Chapter Sixteen

This chapter has been edited 12/28/16.

___

The bridal shop was a bit cramped.

Parker nearly missed it as we were driving through the area since it was squeezed right in between a pizzeria and an elementary school. The first thing that caught my attention as soon as we entered was that there was only one fitting room. The number of racks spread out across the shop were filled with heaps of dresses on hangers in all different colors, sizes, and fabric textures that made me feel like I was being thrown into a vogue jungle.

"We tightened the back of the dress so it could flow down a bit more smoothly across her chest," the tailor explained, placing her hands right at my waist. A wooden chopstick held her hair up in a bun, and a silver pendant hung just below her collarbone. "It's more cinched in here, you see?"

Richel nodded, enthusiastically clasping her hands together. She wiped away at a fake tear streaming down her cheek. With her, water works were inevitable.

"I do. Oh, Nina, you look gorgeous!"

I observed myself in the mirror: long, sleek hair swept over my shoulder; rosy cheeks; clear eyes. The shop owner and tailor had done an excellent job with the alterations. The sequins glittered along the bodice like diamonds with every small movement I made. The beige fabric didn't wash out my skin at all. It was the one dress I had tried on in a span of sixteen years that I actually felt confident and comfortable in.

"Thank you," I softly replied, smiling. I turned to the shop owner, a petite Asian woman holding a flimsy yellow measuring tape with her silver wiry glasses atop her head. She handed the tape to the tailor, who then wrapped it around my waist. "The changes are wonderful. I feel great."

Saying this sentence out loud felt like such a giant leap of improvement for me. There truly was a difference between someone telling you how wonderful you looked versus you telling yourself.

"You are very welcome," the shop owner responded, eyeing Parker. "Is this for a dance?"

Parker, who had been dozing off while sitting on a nearby plastic chair, looked up. His eyes fell on me and he let out a low whistle. I quickly averted my gaze away from him, my cheeks warming up.

"No, it's for a beauty pageant."

The tailor nodded wisely, unwrapping her measuring tape from my waist.

"You are going to win, my dear."

She disappeared into the back room while the shop owner scurried off to the back counter to begin ringing me up on the cash register. Richel followed the lady at a rather fast pace to discuss more about the dress, leaving me unable to take off the dress by myself, what with the zipper being all the way behind me.

"Need some help there?" Parker asked, getting up from his seat and walking towards me.

"Um..."

Richel was still idling by the counter, chattering away and probably attempting to get a bigger bargain for the total of the dress, plus the alterations made. She wouldn't be done talking for another solid five minutes, ten tops.

I felt a tingle jolt up my spine as Parker's fingers brushed against the skin of my back, the zipper sliding down. As soon as he was done, I quickly turned around to face him, my hands wrapped tightly around my arms to cover up the embarrassing goosebumps that had formed.

"Thanks."

His eyes moved down to my mouth. "You're welcome."

"Thanks for asking me to the dance, too."