Dress Shopping

"How many places are we hitting today, anyway?" Eden asked after a few minutes of silence from the backseat.

"Four. I'm determined to get a dress today no matter what," Aubrey said firmly. "I don't want to have to get my mom and Jenny up here a second time before the wedding. All of the appointments are spaced two hours apart and we're going to have to stop for fast food or something around lunchtime."

Four bridal salons in a single day? That was no small excursion. "…remind me how many people are coming with us."

"The rest of my bridesmaids and one of my aunts because she lives in Oakland and didn't want to miss out on the fun."

Oh boy. Nine people. And the rest of Aubrey's bridesmaids were a lively bunch that had all been members of her sorority so Eden knew them well. Carrie Sandlin, Mariah Dent, and Gina Appleby.

Gina was the president before Aubrey was and had been the one to recommend she apply for the position. But out of all three of them, Eden knew Carrie best because she had been a nursing major and they shared a few prereqs for both of their programs. They used to study together.

The last time she saw these three was at Aubrey's engagement party shortly after graduation. She had been keeping up with their career successes on social media but had been too embarrassed to share her own situation.

Since graduating, she hadn't kept up with many people from college. Her days off were primarily spent with Aubrey and David. Sometimes they brought a few extra people along because they were both hardcore extroverts but that had never included any of the other bridesmaids.

Most people weren't willing to go do things on a weeknight and that had been the only time Eden was ever free. Not anymore though! She would be able to hang out with people on the weekends from here on out like almost everyone else she knew.

Catching up with those guys might be nice, especially Carrie, but she also knew that those three were incredibly opinionated fashionistas. She had been shopping with them once before to get a new swimsuit and it had been like shopping with wolves. Except instead of tearing apart their prey, they tore apart everything she tried on.

They obviously meant well but she really hoped Aubrey had a lot of patience in reserve today. Those three weren't afraid to tell it like it was. If a dress had the slightest flaw, they would pounce on it.

They were already at the bridal salon waiting for them to arrive. Eden had delayed the bride—the most important person in this shopping venture. Oops.

"Eden! I haven't seen you in ages," Carrie greeted warmly with a hug. "How are you, girl? You look great!"

She couldn't help but smile at her friend's enthusiasm. "So do you. I'm doing pretty well. How's being a nurse?"

"Oh, don't get me started. I love it and hate it at the same time."

She linked elbows with Eden and marched her into the bridal salon chattering away. She hadn't been kidding when she said not to get her started. She didn't stop until the consultant came out to ask which one of them was the bride.

Aubrey raised her hand and began chatting with the woman about what potential styles she might be interested in. She had done her research beforehand and liked tiered skirts. That was her only preference but it was better than going in blind.

The consultant went off to find four different dresses to start with. When she came back, Jennifer raised her eyebrow and said rather bluntly that they all looked exactly the same, causing the others to all gasp.

"They do not!"

"The shades of white and embellishments are different."

"The necklines too. How could you possibly think they all look the same?"

Eden barely held back her laughter. She had known the other bridesmaids would be like this. Personally, her thoughts were more in line with Jennifer's. They were incredibly similar dresses.

Diana ended up cooing over how beautiful Aubrey looked in every single one she tried on while the others offered commentary on how different features of the dresses did or didn't flatter her. Eden was completely lost. She thought her best friend looked gorgeous in all of them too.

"I don't know if I'm feeling any of these," Aubrey said with a frown as she twirled and looked at herself in the mirror on the last dress. "I look like a kid playing dress up. Maybe tiered skirts aren't the right fit for me after all."

The consultant jumped in immediately. "Would you like to try A-line gowns with V-necks? Many of our more petite clients find them flattering."

"Sure."

Aubrey liked the line of the dresses she tried on better but wasn't satisfied with any of the straps in the three dresses the consultant brought out. "I don't like my tattoo only partially poking out. It either has to be completely covered or completely seen. Do you have anything that could do that?"

"I'm afraid not," the consultant said professionally. "We could potentially alter the straps but it would take time and would detract from the original design of the dress."

She sighed. "That's what I thought. Thanks anyway. I won't be getting any of these."

With a dainty hop off the modeling pedestal, Aubrey summoned her mother to help her get out of the dress while everyone else waited. The tattoo was a bit oddly placed for tank tops. Whether thin or thick straps were involved, it was always covered somehow.

Thick straps usually covered all but part of the rear wing on one of the butterflies and thin ones ran straight through it. Certain halter tops or strapless ones were better for showing it off in its entirety.

When she came back out in her usual clothes, she asked if everyone was okay with making a quick stop at a popular soup, salad, and pasta chain before heading to the next stop. Nobody had any objections so off they went.