The Difference Between Getting and Needing

f o r t y - n i n e

there's only so much of this precious time,
and i want to spend it by your side
tonight and every n i g h t . . .

〰️〰️〰️

My mom's teary eyes were the first to spot me when I walked into the hotel lobby just ten minutes before the party was supposed to kick off. She was the last person I expected to be crying today, and I didn't even know what she could be crying about. I'd been married for seven months and tonight was purely an excuse to celebrate it.

If she was a blubbering mess now, I couldn't imagine how she would have been if she was at the actual eloping ceremony.

"She's already starting," Sutton mumbled to herself from where she was marching five steps ahead of me and Koa. Neither of us could keep up with her since we got out of their car in the parking garage, and instead of my big sister making sure I wasn't dragging the slight train of my gown, it was Koa's job. Over her shoulder, she called to me, "You deal with her. I have to go up and make sure everything's ready."

The flowy skirt of her orange maxi dress swayed with every step she took towards the elevators like a trail of fire left in her wake. It was a color that would have me feeling like a lanky pumpkin. Of course for Sutton, it worked. Seeing how good she looked almost made me regret not putting her in some drab bridesmaid frock, but I knew it didn't matter what she wore. My sister had the power to make even the frumpiest of outfits look runway-ready, and I'd always envy her for that.

"Koa! Come on."

At the barking of his name, her husband sighed. I laughed to myself and twisted toward him to take the fabric of my dress out of his hands. "I'll see you guys up there," I told him, knowing Sutton wasn't going to acknowledge me if I spoke to her right now. Her brain was on perfect-party-planner mode and nothing was going to get in the way of that.

"Lemme know if you need anything." Koa jerked his head towards my sister who was tapping her foot impatiently. "I'll make sure she doesn't throw a fit in the meantime."

I gave him a mock salute before the two of them disappear through the shiny elevator doors, with Sutton babbling away to no one in particular and Koa serving as her shadow. Once they were gone, I made my way to my parents.

"Oh honey," my mom cooed as I approached them. She was clutching the back of the plush chair that my dad was camped out in, calm and comfortable, completely the opposite of his wife.

"Mom, out of everyone I thought you'd have the strongest front tonight," I teased her.

She shook her head with a watered-down giggle and dabbed at the corners of her eyes. "You just look so beautiful."

"I clean up well when I want." I shrugged, brushing my hands along the front of my dress.

The dress Donatella made for me with her own two brilliant hands. I still couldn't believe she did it, but then again, she had a supernatural kind of talent so I never really doubted her.

We managed to do it, among all the mayhem of preparing for Fashion Week that was just around the corner. I didn't want to burden Donatella too much with any outrageous ideas, though she told me time and time again that this was her gift to me and I could make it as extravagant as I wanted. Immediately, I threw out the idea of a proper wedding gown. No frills, no puffy cupcake skirts, no matching lace veils. No "princess bride" bullshit. All I wanted was something kind of elegant, kind of sexy, and easy to dance in. And that was exactly what we came up with.