"Okay," Batty said calmly. "Why?" Jane was in a frenzy.
"I hadn't ordered the fabric yet, that wasn't supposed to happen until June." Batty nodded. "Well, I went to the fabric store, and the fabric I would have been ordering is out of stock, and the store isn't getting another shipment of it until May!"
"Is there no other fabric?" Jeffery asked. "It seems unlikely that the fabric you would use is the only white fabric in town."
"Well, there is other white fabric, true."
"Okay, then use that." Jeffery said sanely.
"So, you want your bride to be wearing fleece and lace?" Jane said sarcastically. Batty cringed a little. "'And, the only other fabric stores are at least 3 times more expensive! It would be cheaper to buy the dresses." Jane sighed wistfully. "Though they would have been fun to make." Batty smiled at her older sister.
"Jane, I promise, you will get to make something for my wedding. What about the flower girl's dress? Just for a start?" Suddenly, she gasped a little. "I completely forgot! Nicole, sweetie, how would you like to be the flower girl? And Owen, would you like to be the ring bearer?" Nicole climbed onto her aunt's lap. In a serious voice, she asked,
"Would I get to wear purple?" Batty smiled
"Yes, you may wear purple."
"Okay!" Nicole looked sweetly at me. "Aunt Lydia, can I have a brownie?" Rosalind broke in.
"Not right now sweetheart. Maybe later, okay?" Nicole nodded. Returning to the matter at hand, Batty turned to Bear, who had accidentally hidden the little body of Owen.
"Owen, do you want to be the ring bearer?" A little sigh came in return. Owen had fallen asleep, using Bear's stomach as a pillow. Rosalind smiled and picked up her sleepy son, but Tommy swooped in and took Owen from her.
"Tommy, I can hold a five-year-old."
"Rosy, I've got it. Sit." Tommy lovingly pushed his wife down again, and Rosalind rolled her eyes, exasperated.
"People, focus!" Jane yelled. Or, as close to yelling as Jane could.
"Sorry, Jane." Rosy said and took a deep breath. "When are we going shopping?"
"Tomorrow. I already booked an appointment."
* * *
Rosalind, Skye, Jane, Batty, Mom and I walked into the bridal shop. A petite woman was waiting for us.
"Hello! I'm Colette, and I'll be helping you today. Who's my bride?" Batty raised her hand, then took the woman outstretched hand in a handshake.
"Batty Penderwick."
"Nice to meet you! Who do you have with you?"
"My sisters and mother." Batty seemed stressed. I leaned closer to Jane and whispered
"I feel like I'm on Say Yes to the Dress or something."
"Or something." Jane laughed. Colette ushered us into a huge white room filled with dresses in all shades of white. Was this what it felt to visit Antarctica?
"So, Ms. Penderwick, what are you looking for? Do you have any particular styles you would like?" Colette asked, smiling phonily.
"Something simple, yet elegant." Batty replied, smiling genuinely. Colette nodded and pulled a dress off a rack.
"So, how this will work, is I'll choose a dress, you'll choose a dress, and then your family will choose a dress. We'll start there, then proceed." Batty nodded. All of us began to wander around. A few dresses caught my eye, but none of them seemed right. The perfect dress for Batty was somewhere, I just wasn't sure where. Rosalind let out a little gasp.
"Battikins, come over here!" All of us ran to her side. She was holding a dress, the dress. I knew it. Batty looked hesitant to commit so quickly-she liked to think things through and took her time when making a serious decision. But she took the dress, which Colette took from her. Batty chose a simple white dress, with no bling or bedazzlements.
Batty walked out and stood in the center of the room. She was wearing the dress Colette had chosen, a lacy mermaid style with a jeweled belt. It was beautiful, but it wasn't Batty's style. Colette looked a little sour when we nixed it. When Batty came out in the second dress, you could hear everyone's jaws hitting the floor. It was an ivory a-line with a sweetheart neckline and a minimal amount of floral lace that floated down the dress.
Batty's dress
We walked out of the store after setting a date for a fitting. Batty sighed.
"I never want to do that again. It was fun but stressful." Rosy smiled at Batty.
"I know. But I seem to remember you loving the fittings with Jane for me and Skye's double wedding."
"But that was different!" Batty protested.
"You made the perfect choice, don't worry Batty." I piped in. I could tell that was what was worrying her.
"Besides," Jane said "We only have the bridesmaids dresses to get now. Speaking of which, we have 12 minutes to get to the salon."
"You booked both appointments for the same day!" Batty cried in indignation.
"Jane, I really don't think you could have made a more bone-headed decision!" Skye said. "But too late now."
"I just hope we don't get someone like Colette again. She seemed a little-how to say it nicely- rude." Mom said. We all heartily agreed, and rushed to the salon, miraculously not crashing the car. When we got to the dress store, we were greeted by a world of color and a sweet elderly woman named Amy Anne.
"Hello! And who is my blushing bride?"
"Me." Batty raised her hand, and, like at the bridal salon, shook the woman's hand. Amy Anne brought us around the salon slowly, letting us examine the dresses, and pull out the ones we liked. Batty had wanted different colors and slightly different cuts, so we didn't really have to compromise with anyone other than Batty. I must have tried on a hundred dresses! First navy blue, then green, then orange (it was pretty, but clashed with my hair). Then another navy blue one. Nothing seemed quite right. Finally, after almost 2 hours, we settled on four different dresses. Rosy's was red, Skye's blue, Jane's orange, and mine yellow. Since Rosy was the matron of honor, she had normal spaghetti straps, and the rest of us had halter tops.
Rosy's dress Skye's dress Jane's dress Lydia's dress
They were the perfect choice.
^^^^^^^^^^
Authors Note
So, a long chapter and 2 pictures. It is because I love y'all, and because... THIS BOOK HAS OVER 760 VIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you guys sooooo much!
Special shoutout to@Ginny4eva for being here since the very beginning
QOTD: Which dress is your favorite?
Comment, vote, and tell me what you think
Lots of love,
Sammie K