I grabbed my purse and keys on my way out the door. "Good luck, Ace," Logan called to me on the way to the door. "May the odds be ever be ever in your favor," he added, imitating Effie from The Hunger Games.
I paused and shot him a dirty look. "Logan!" I chastised. He rushed over to me, put his hands on my hips and gave me a sweet kiss. That boy and his wiles!
The car that picked up my mom was downstairs waiting for me. I climbed inside of it.
"So, tell me again why you invited Logan's mom?"
"Mom, weren't you the one who told me to kill 'em with kindness? I'm extending an olive branch. I needed to do something to help my cause. I can't let Logan keeping fighting alone," I explained. "Now let's see if we can't make this a successful outing. Honor will be there, too. She knows how to handle Shira. She's been doing it for years!"
"Ok, Rory, but I really, really dislike that woman!"
"I know, Mom."
We arrive at the first appointment on Honor's list. She was there with Shira.
"I'm so glad you could make it, Shira!" I greeted her with kisses on each cheek. "We have a lot of work ahead of us, ladies," I start my pep talk. "Honor has picked out some great places and I'm confident we'll find me something to wear so I don't have to get married naked," I said jokingly.
Everyone groaned at my poor joke. I needed to do something to break the ice. I let Honor take the lead. She was the expert in this field.
We spread around the boutique, looking at various dresses. There were so many choices, styles and colors. Where am I supposed to begin? I make my way to a rack that's primarily non-white dresses. I definitely don't want white!
Mom comes up to the same rack. "Do you have any idea what you are looking for?"
"Something not white," I replied. "I'll know it when I see it."
Honor comes up to me with a beautiful ivory dress. "This would be perfect for you, Rory!"
"Um....I'm not so sure, Honor. It's beautiful, but it looks awfully low-cut," I reply.
I try on a few dresses Mom and Honor have brought me. Each was beautiful, but they weren't right. We move onto the next appointment, the next, and the next. I'm starting to think I'll never find anything. Maybe I should have had my mom make the dress for me, but there's not enough time for that. I think I've tried on fifty dresses already; I don't know how many more I can take. Thank goodness we took a lunch break after the second boutique. I was famished and desperately needed sustenance if I was going to make it to any other appointments.
I suddenly realized that Shira had been fairly quiet today and now she had disappeared. I looked around and spotted her outside on her cell phone. She could have, at least, tried to be nice and enjoy herself.
"Honor, your mom sure has been quiet today. What's going on?"
"I have no idea. I thought this would make her happy, to be included. At least she hasn't been in a fighting mood today," Honor replied.
"Honey, this can't be easy for her either," Mom chimed in.
Shira came back inside with a smile on her face. "I have a surprise and the car will be here in a few moments!"
A surprise?! This was our last appointment today and I was determined to find something, anything at this point in the game! I just don't know what I will do if I can't find anything today. I will find something. I have to find something! We get into the car and begin the journey to wherever Shira was taking us. I hope this isn't some plot to keep me from finding a dress.
We pulled up to another boutique in SoHo. I was certain Honor said there were only four appointments today and this one doesn't look open.
"Let's go," said Shira.
She led us to the door, rang the buzzer and waited for a response.
"Hello, may I help you?" a voice responded.
"Hello, it's Shira Huntzberger."
I heard the buzzer unlock the door and we went inside. The boutique was beautiful, elegant.
"Shira! How wonderful to see you and such a pleasant surprise!" a well-dressed woman said, greeting her with kisses on each cheek.
"Thank you so much for fitting us in today, Vivian! You have no idea how much we appreciate it!"
"Please look around and let me know if you need anything!" said Vivian.
Shira had called in a favor for me?! Had I really broken her down? Maybe it was to save face? I was confused and thankful at the same time. This place has the most elegant dresses I have seen all day. I'm beginning to feel a sliver of hope.
Vivian leaves us to browse. "Vivian is an old friend of mine. She's usually booked almost a year out. I could see you were losing hope. I remember how Honor felt when she couldn't find a dress. I thought she was going to call off the wedding. I don't know how you are keeping yourself together with the pregnancy hormones! I remember laughing one minute and crying the next. Compound that with the stress of dress shopping....." she didn't finish her thought.
"I have a feeling you are going to find the right dress here," Shira said to me, softly. It was not her usual fakery or condescending tone. The sliver of hope had grown.
I walked over to my mom. "Did you hear that? She called in a favor....for me."
"Don't get too excited just yet, kid! Have you looked at the price tags on these dresses? They are beautiful, but way out of our price range!" Mom warned.
"At this point, there's no harm in trying them on. Maybe I can find a similar dress for less somewhere...." I said, feeling my hope slipping once again.
I reluctantly begin looking at dresses. How am I supposed to find a dress here if it's so far out of my price range? I know that I haven't had to worry about money with Logan, but I can't expect him to pay for everything. I decide to look anyway. I find my way to some dresses by a designer named Jenny Packham. I have no idea who she is, but they are elegant and feminine. Oh great. Now I've found something I actually like.
"Rory, these dresses are beautiful! Jenny Packham is one of my favorite designers and beloved by Duchess Kate!" Honor informed me.
Maybe I'll try just one on. It can't hurt. Maybe I won't like these either! I picked out a dress called Blossom. As if on cue, Vivian came out to assist me. I came back out and stood on a small pedestal in front of several mirrors. I looked at myself in the mirror. All eyes were on me and there were tears in mine. The dress was......perfect! It was ivory colored and the details were striking, yet delicate.
"Rory.....you look...." Mom was choked up.
Even Shira was quietly looking at me with a smile. "We'll take it!" She said to Vivian.
"What? No, Shira. I couldn't possibly let you do this!" I said to her.
"The dress is perfect. Just because you aren't having a grandiose social event, it doesn't mean you shouldn't have the most beautiful dress. Please, let me do this for you!" Shira replied.
"I....I don't know what to say. You have no idea how much this means to me!"
I felt like I should do something more in gratitude, but I decide to let the moment speak for itself. There's no need to get too carried away. I'm still skeptical about the sincerity of the gesture.
I descended the pedestal and went back into the dressing room. This really was the perfect dress and I can't believe it's a reality. Even if it was Shira's next move, I didn't care. I was truly grateful.
"I gotta hand it to you, kid," said my mom as she entered the dressing room area. "You have really impressed me. I was afraid all hell was going to break loose with her here, but it turned out all right. Heck, you even found the perfect dress! I can't believe you are getting married!" She tried to hide her tears.
"Oh, mom! Don't cry, or you'll make me cry too!"
We took a moment to gather our emotions and walked out together. Everyone gathered their things while Shira took care of the purchase. We headed out to the cars. Next stop, home!