I had today off work. Stevie had texted me and said that Harley and Sarah would be in today and that it would be good for Sarah to be in a high stress situation before we gave her a shift that's later in the night. While I believe that to be true, I also believe that this is some kind of punishment for Harley as well.
And apparently Harley had thought the same thing because she texted me moments later, scathing in hatred for Stevie. While I think what Stevie is doing is wrong, I also knew it would end this way and I had told Harley from the start that getting involved with her boss is a bad idea but she did it anyway.
"Good morning, finally" mum greets me as I walk into the kitchen still dressed in my pyjamas. I'd had slept-in this morning, only waking in the early hours to Hex saying goodbye as he left for work before falling back to sleep.
"Good morning" I give her a guilty smile as I have a look in the cupboard for something to eat for breakfast.
"How'd you sleep, honey?" Mum asks as she takes a sip of coffee that I hadn't noticed she held.
"Really good actually. I'm not working today, want to do something?" I ask as I turn and face her. My voice is still scratchy from sleep but I clear it and it helps a little bit.
"Yeah. Any ideas?" Mum questions. I shrug, nothing in particular coming to my mind. Mum apparently has a good idea as I see her eyes light up and the lightbulb above her head turn on as excitement takes over her face.
"What?" I ask hesitantly, a small smile coming onto my face at the look on her own.
"I mean, we could look at dresses?" She suggests.
"Dresses? Why do we need to look at dresses?" There are no fancy parties that we had been invited to, unless mum got an invitation and I didn't or she hadn't told me.
"Wedding dresses, Poppy" her face lights up as she spits the words out and claps her hands excitedly. My mouth forms an 'o' shape, I hadn't even thought about wedding dresses.
"Oh, I don't know mum" I couldn't tell you why I'm hesitant on buying a dress. What if I buy a dress and then by the time we wed I don't like the dress anymore and want a different one? What if it doesn't match the theme we end up choosing?
"Why?" She almost whines "you're not getting cold feet, are you?" She whispers across the island to me, her eyes wide.
"What? No mum, no. I just... I don't know what I want. I don't even have a date booked, surely I should do that first, right?" I ask. I have no idea how weddings work. The only one I have ever been to was my cousin Meredith's and that was when I still worked at Hellbound.
"We can just have a look honey; you don't have to buy a dress today. Maybe you'll have more of an idea of what you want if you have a look" mum reassures me. I begin to warm to the idea, maybe it doesn't sound as permanent as I thought, besides it would be good to spend some time with mum.
"Okay yeah, sounds like a good idea" I smile as I continue looking through the cupboards. A smile pulls at my lips as I hear mum squeal like a little girl behind me.
*
"This one is nice" mum says as she pushes and pulls along the rack of wedding dresses. None of them caught my eye, too puffy, too short, too boring.
"Uh yeah, kind of" I reply and glaze over it. Mum puts the dress back on the rack when she picks up on my obvious distaste for it.
I go through another rack on the other side of the shop but I'm still confused at what I'm looking at. Is that part of a dress or a train?
"Welcome to Bows & Ties, I'm Sasha. Can I help you ladies with anything?" A kind face asks. She's an older lady and her makeup and hair are done to perfection as she stands dressed in a formal suit-dress.
"Yes please" mum steps in to speak for me. "Wedding dresses? My daughter, Poppy, doesn't really know what she's looking for" mum explains as I smile in somewhat embarrassment. Don't most girls always have a vision of their future wedding dress from when they are very young? Am I the only one that never did?
"How about I pick out five styles and you try them on? It's meant help you cut down your options" Sasha smiles at me as I nod and thank her.
A short time later mum and I are seated in a small room with a mirrored wall and a couch facing it. There's a small footstool that I'm assuming I stand on in a dress.
I wipe my hands on my pants as they begin to sweat. Why am I nervous?
Sasha makes an appearance with a dress in a white bag that she holds in her hand above her head in hopes of keeping the end of the dress from dragging on the floor. "Do you want to come with me, Poppy?" She asks as she opens the curtain that is concealing a dressing room.
Sasha helps me into the dress, it's white and tight and reaches the floor. The fabric is silky and feels nice on my skin as I slid my hands down it. Sasha opens the curtains and moves aside to let me walk through.
I focus on the floor, careful not to trip over the dress as it's a tiny bit too long. The sound of mums gasp makes me look up to see her hands over her mouth and her eyes starting to water.
"Mum" I warn because if she starts crying, I know I will too.
I take a step onto the platform and stand on the footstool so that the long dress falls past my feet and lies on the floor around me.
"I love it, Poppy" mum exclaims as I turn my back to her and gaze at myself in the mirror. Mum is right, the dress is pretty and it accentuates my hips but it doesn't do anything for my bust.
"It's pretty" I say as I run my hands down the dress from my collar bones to the tops of my thighs. "But it doesn't fit well here" I say as I tug on the thick straps that cover my smaller bust and go up over my shoulders.
"Want to try another dress?" Sasha offers as she holds out a hand and helps me step down off the stool.
"Yes please" I say as I follow her back in to the dressing room and change dresses.
The second dress had been in a princess style, far too big and puffy for me. So much so that I had struggled to move around and worried that I'd damage it when I had to get through the doorway of the dressing room. The princess dress was an immediate no. The third dress was one that was tight and then flared out at my knees, it fit my body well but I just wasn't feeling it. The forth was lose fitting and it fell down my body into a train almost five meters long behind me, it was cute but not a style I would go for. The fifth dress though, the fifth dress was my favourite. It had lace all over, tight at the bust and flowed into a train. The sleeves fell half way down my arms, like something out of a fairytale.
Despite my favouritism towards the fifth dress, I didn't buy it. It's too far out from the wedding still and I want to set a date before buying a dress; the theme will work better that way. I hadn't even looked at the prices; I just wanted to enjoy the pretty dresses without worrying about affording them.
"Thanks mum, I really enjoyed that" I exclaim as we leave the store, the bell on the door ringing as the it shuts behind us.
"It was fun wasn't it, honey? Now time to set a date!" She claps her hands together, her excitement rubbing off on me. I'm jittery and eager to get home, hoping that Hex comes home early so that we can agree on a wedding date.
I had been too consumed with talk about the wedding that I had accidently walked in the way of someone while they were walking in the opposite direction. The wind is knocked out of me and my handbag lands on the ground as someone runs into my shoulder.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry" I say but he's already bent down and gathering up the items that had fallen out of my bag. I bend down as well and reach for my chapstick that had rolled along the path.
He helps me put everything back inside before grabbing the handbag for me and standing. I stand too and grab the bag from his offering hands.
"You're very welcome, Ms. Hart" he looks up and my eyes connect with his. I feel my face physically turn white and my heart stop beating. My palms sweat and I have the sudden urge to run away as my stomach drops.
His eyes, that face. That face that I thought was gone, that I thought had disappeared. Ace Pollar.
"Congratulations" he nods at my left hand and the ring that lies there before brushing past me and leaving.
"Honey, are you okay?" Mum asks but I ignore her as I turn to look for him. It's too late though, I can't see him, he's gone.