Riley
“I have something to tell you,” I said as I sat in the back of the town car Richard was currently driving to the bridal boutique.
“Oh my God, you’re pregnant.” Hadley said the words like it would have been the worst news in the world.
“Oh no. Hadley, I’m not pregnant.”
“Thank you, tiny baby Jesus.” Relief was evident in her voice and also in the loud exhalation that came after the words. “What is it, then?”
“I’m about to try on a wedding dress,” I tell her tentatively, knowing it could go one of two ways. She’ll either be excited or pissed.
“What? Aren’t you in Arizona?” she asked, making me think she was going to lean more toward the pissed side of things.
“Yeah,” I replied hesitantly. “But I’ve got it all worked out and Lily is going to video call you so you can see.”
“Really?” she exclaimed.
“Is that all right? I’m so sorry you can’t be here. I just saw the dress and I couldn’t take my eyes off it—”
“Riley, it’s fine,” she stated, interrupting my verbal vomit. “Do I wish I could be there? Of course. But I’m just happy I’ll get to see it happen. That I’ll get to see the look on your face when you see yourself in it. That’s all I’m really looking for.”
Her words were strangely sentimental. Hadley didn’t do sappy normally. Sarcasm was her verbal currency, so to hear her get emotional triggered something inside me and suddenly I was emotional too.
“I just wish you were here.”
“Well, I’m there in spirit.”
“Okay,” I said, taking in a deep breath. “At least this way my mom gets to be there to see me try the dress on.”
“Oh, Riley, that’s incredible. I’m sure that means a lot to her.”
“I think so too.” The town car slowed and I saw we were approaching the store. “Okay, I’m gonna go in and get all set up. Do not put your phone down. Lily will call you soon from my number.”
“Okay, I can’t wait!”
“Oh, and don’t tell Camden anything. I want to be the one to tell him.”
“Roger that.”
We ended the call and Richard opened my door, holding out his hand to help me from the car.
“Thank you,” I said as I righted myself, straightening my skirt.
“My pleasure, ma’am.”
“I’m going to grab a ride back to the hotel from my mother. I think it would be okay for you to go home now, seeing as how I’m not doing company business anymore.”
“If you think that’s best,” he replied, giving me one more chance to change my mind.
“I do. Thank you for your help today. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“I’ll be there at noon to take you to the airport. Call me directly if you need anything before then.” He produced a business card like a magic trick with a quick hand movement.
“Thanks,” I said with a laugh.
He winked and then walked back around to the driver door. “Hello, ma’am,” he said to my mother as she appeared from between two cars. “Lovely evening, isn’t it?” I watched as Richard’s eyes followed my mother until she met me on the sidewalk.
“It is,” she said with a blush.
Richard looked between me and my mother, let his eyes rest on her for moment, then gave us both a nod with a grin, climbed in the town car, and drove away.
“Who was that?” my mother asked.
“That’s Richard, my driver for my trip.”
“Oh,” she said, her voice an entire octave higher than normal. “I’m so glad you called.” She wrapped her arms around me.
“I’m glad you could make it. Sorry it’s so last-minute. I did not intend on shopping for a wedding dress on this trip. This all came out of left field.”
My mother’s eyes lit up with anticipation. “Is it gorgeous?”
The corners of my mouth tipped up and my heart fluttered in my chest. “It’s the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen.” There might as well have been big cartoon hearts where my eyes were.
“I can’t wait.” My mother’s voice was raspy now, and I knew she was getting close to tears.
“Come on. Let’s go inside and see if they’re ready for us.”
We didn’t make it five feet inside the store before Buffy descended upon us like a moth to a flame.
“I’m so glad you’re back,” she squealed, clapping excitedly. “I knew you’d come back for that dress.”
Lily walked in a few minutes later and everything began to move very quickly.
I was whisked away and pushed gently into a dressing room where Buffy began taking measurements and fitting me for undergarments. I handed my phone to Lily and asked her to video call Hadley for me, smiling when I heard Had’s disembodied voice introducing herself to Lily.
I was thrust into a strapless bra and shimmied into a pair of Spanx that were entirely uncomfortable. In all the years I’d been planning weddings, dress shopping wasn’t always something the event planner helped with, but even on occasion of being with the bride on the day of the dress, I was never in the dressing room. There was always a consultant from the store for that. I helped more with the theme of the dress, the look. I helped accessorize. I made sure the dress fit the bride’s vision. So I’d never seen the moment the bride saw herself in her wedding dress for the first time.
But that’s what I saw when I looked in the mirror.
Me. In my wedding dress.
Buffy had slipped it effortlessly over my head and zipped up the back before I’d even been able to blink. And then I blinked a hundred times. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was me, but I was a bride.
“This length really makes your legs look incredible,” Buffy said, pulling me from my bridal trance. My eyes were drawn down to my legs and sure enough they looked fantastic. Every part of me looked better than it ever had.
“Is this dress magical?”
Buffy laughed.
“I’m serious,” I said, turning to look her straight in the eye. “I’ve never looked like this. Ever. I’m not this beautiful.”
“Oh, sweetie. You’re definitely a looker, but what you’re experiencing right now is the Dress Effect.”
“So it is magic,” I said with a nod, my eyes moving back to my reflection.
“You know what? You’re right. It is magic. But it’s the same magic every other woman has ever experienced when she found the dress and put it on for the first time.”
“The dress?”
“Her wedding dress.”
Holy crap. This is the dress.
“Let’s go show everyone. Your mom is a mess.” Buffy’s words were kind and soft.
“All right.” I let Buffy lead me from the room even though I knew the way. As I followed her around the very last corner, I had a mini panic attack, wondering what I would do if everyone hated the dress. In that moment I couldn’t even imagine taking the dress off, so hearing they hated it would confuse me and I liked the wonderful happy bubble I’d found myself in. Luckily for me, they didn’t hate the dress.
I stepped around the corner and my gaze narrowed in on my mother. Her mouth dropped open and was then covered by her hands, her eyes wide and filled with tears. She was speechless.
“Riley,” she rasped from behind her hands, then let out a small sob.
“Holy shit.” I heard Hadley’s voice and saw my phone in Lily’s hand, Hadley’s face on the screen, her expression much like my mother’s. And Lily’s, for that matter. They all looked shocked.
“It’s incredible,” Lily said, her words a little breathless. “You look amazing.”
“You look fucking fantastic, Riles. Just gorgeous.” I wished Hadley was there in person instead of just a voice on my phone. I missed her.
“It’s perfect,” my mother said, wiping tears from her eyes. “I can’t imagine a better dress.”
“Yeah?” I asked. Even though all three of them were losing their minds, I still needed that reassurance. This wasn’t any regular dress. This was the dress I’d be vowing my undying and eternal love to Camden in. It was a big fucking deal. Bigger than I ever imagined it to be. I had a newfound respect for all the brides I’d worked with, having rolled my eyes when they tried on a million dresses. If they didn’t feel like I felt in that dress, then it wasn’t right. I understood that now.
“Yes,” Lily said. “It’s… I don’t even have words.” She let out a breath and then asked, “How do you feel about it?”
“I love it,” I said as I ran my hands down the skirt, letting my fingers trail over the lace. “I didn’t think the dress was a big deal, but this dress is everything.”
“It is,” my mother agreed. Buffy came up behind her and stealthily handed her a tissue.
“What color is it?” Hadley asked from my phone, squinting.
“It’s like a champagne color. Almost gold, but not quite,” Buffy supplied.
“Are you okay with not having a white wedding dress?” Lily asked, not unkindly. I was well aware of the fact that choosing a nontraditional dress would raise some eyebrows.
I turned around to face the wall of mirrors behind me, three of them angled so I could see myself from almost every side. A slight twist of my hips and I could see the back of the dress. I looked at how the lace lay against my skin, how the champagne color made everything look more elegant.
“I think so,” I said thoughtfully, turning back and forth to examine myself in the dress from every possible vantage point. “Everything about my relationship with Camden so far has been nonconventional, so this isn’t too far off the mark.”
“Do you want to try a white dress on? I can probably find something similar….”
“No,” I say softly, finding her gaze in the mirror. “I don’t need to try anything else on.”
“You’re going to get the dress?” Hadley’s voice rang out from the phone.
I turned to face everyone and simply nodded, unable to find words in the moment.
All the women around me let out cries of happiness and excitement, and I’d never in the months since I’d gotten engaged been so excited to get married. I loved Camden, had loved him in some way or another since that very first kiss in the middle of a basketball game. But right then, standing in a bridal boutique with two strangers, my mother, and Hadley on the phone, for the first time, I couldn’t wait to marry him.
I stood in front of that mirror for a very long time, just gazing at my reflection. My mother came to stand next to me and fussed over the dress. Eventually Lily had to leave to meet her fiancé, and Hadley had to hang up too, so then it was just my mother and me standing in front of the mirror, admiring my beautiful wedding dress.
“What color shoes are you going to wear?” she asked. “And how will you wear your hair?” She picked my hair up off my nape and rolled it into an impromptu bun, then narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side. “Up or down?”
“I’m not sure,” I said, lifting the hem of the skirt and letting it float down around my thighs for the millionth time. “Maybe a sparkly pump?”
“That would be gorgeous,” my mother said with a gasp.
“Ladies, I hate to break up the dress ogling, but the store will be closing soon,” Buffy interrupted, her tone sweet as ever. She’d been more than accommodating, letting me stand there in front of the mirror for who knew how long. “Have you thought about whether you want to order a new custom dress from the designer, or purchase this dress right off the rack?”
“Oh, um, well,” I said as I turned and looked at the dress from all the angles again. The only reason to order another dress would be if the one on the rack wasn’t the right size, or if it had been tried on so much it wasn’t in pristine condition. My dress, however, fit perfectly, and I’d watched it be placed on the rack for the first time. I was the only person to wear it. “I think I want to take it with me.”
“Sounds great. Do you want help taking it off?”
“No,” I said, smiling. “I think I can manage.”
“Sounds good. I can ring you up whenever you’re ready.”
“Thank you.”
Buffy wandered away and I heard her talking to another bride who had also fallen under the Dress Effect when my mother placed her hand on my shoulder.
“Riley, I would love it if you let me cover the cost of the dress.”
Her words shocked me and caught me completely off guard.
“What? Mom, no. That’s not why I asked you here.”
“I know that, sweetie. But I’m your mother and the cost of the wedding is supposed to fall to me.”
“Mom, please, I don’t want you to worry about paying anything toward the wedding.” I turned to her and looked her in the eye. The last thing I wanted was for her to think I expected money from her. Money wasn’t even on my radar when I decided to try on the dress. In fact, I hadn’t even looked at the price tag.
Her hands came up and rested on my shoulders. “Riley, I won’t be able to help much, and I know I won’t be able to provide the kind of wedding that’s expected of a mayor’s son, but I have some money saved up and it would make me so happy to pay for your dress. It will probably be the only thing I can contribute toward.”
My heart ached with her words. She wanted to help, but I knew she couldn’t afford to give me what she thought I wanted.
“Please,” she asked again.
I found the tag and flipped it over to look at the price. There was good news and bad news. The good news was it wasn’t the most expensive dress I’d ever seen. In fact, it was pretty reasonable. Probably because it was a nontraditional color and tea length. The bad news was it was still a wedding dress, so there was more than one zero at the end of the number.
“Mom, I know you mean well and want to help, but it really isn’t necessary, Camden and I—ˮ
“Just bought a house,” she said as she interrupted me. “Trust me, I knew one day you’d be getting married and I knew I’d want to help, even if it’s just the dress. Let me buy my baby girl her wedding dress.”
I was torn between giving in to something she obviously wanted so badly and making sure she kept that money and used it for something more useful, like retirement. But in the end, I knew it would hurt my mother more to deny her.
“Thank you, Mom.” I wrapped my arms around her and felt her shudder with the small sobs of a happy mother.
“You’re going to look so beautiful on your wedding day. I can’t wait.”
Me either.