In sync

Laila's mind and hands were all over the place as she was trying to gather everything together and figure out how she could turn the fifteen minutes she had, into the 45 minutes she needed. "Oh Garry, I am going to be so late! I still have to steam my dress. Take a shower. Set out my jewellery. Even walking up the stairs will take me five minutes in this state. How am I going to do all of this and still get to the event in time?! Noah will surely get angry with me and he will have every right to. He even repeated to me that I should leave on time as not to be late, as I am considered to be one of the hosts."

Fortunately Garry was as dependable as ever and said in his calm and collected voice, one you only acquire after you reach a certain age, "Calm down ma'am. Why don't you get yourself upstairs. I will have Giselle and Gretchen steam your dress and get out your accessories. Gretchen has done this plenty of times before and I am sure with your sketches she will manage this time as well. If not, she can ask for your directions while you are in the chair getting dolled up. They can also help you get dressed once you are done with the people from the salon. Meanwhile I will be here to receive them and let them know where they can set up. And of course you can leave these papers and things to me as well. I will be sure to carefully put them away for when you return."

Laila looked at Garry with slightly reddened eyes, before letting out a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you Garry. You are right. Panicking won't help the situation. If you could take care of those things, that would be wonderful. Honestly, what would I do without you?" Garry smiled ever so slightly before he replied, "Nothing to thank me for ma'am. I am sure you would have managed on your own, but I am happy to help whenever I can."

With those words Laila hurried upstairs, as far as a person in her state could hurry up the stairs. She quickly took off her clothes, dropping everything to the floor and leaving the mess to be picked up later. She hopped under the shower and figured that a towel would be enough to cover herself with in front of Giselle and Gretchen, saving the picking out of undergarments for later and even hoping that Giselle and Gretchen would take care of that too.

The water from the shower had barely touched her hair, or did she hear the soft clicking and clacking of their low heels on the floor. Expertly Giselle grabbed the dress and put it on a hanger, while Gretchen got the steamer ready. While Gretchen was tasked with steaming the dress, Giselle used the opportunity to pick up the clothes Laila had dropped to the floor and get out some underwear as well as a slip dress for underneath her gown. The two of them were so in sync with their actions, that it was almost as if they had done this every day for several years. No sooner had Giselle put down the undergarments on the bed and folded the clothes Laila was wearing before, when Gretchen was done with the first half of Laila's dress and needed Giselle's assistance to turn the dress around so she could get the other half done. A task which Giselle performed smoothly and without the need of being asked.

As Gretchen finished up the final inches of the steaming, Giselle had also picked out the jewellery she thought Laila would want to wear with the dress she had designed and a back-up just in case it wasn't to her liking. She had just placed those next to the undergarments on the bed, when Laila stepped out of the bathroom from the fastest shower she had taken in like forever. It couldn't have been a moment too soon, because almost simultaneously Garry opened the door to let the people from the salon in. As promised he guided them to the room where they could put down their stuff and let them get ready to do Laila's hair and make-up, while the person in question hastily thanked Giselle and Gretchen for coming to her aid, as she quickly slipped on the undergarments Giselle had laid out for her. Giselle then helped her into her silk robe, before showing her the jewellery she had picked out for the evening and Gretchen allowed her to examine the steam-work she had done.

"This is perfect! Thank you both for doing such a wonderful job in such a short moment's notice. I don't know how you managed to get it done in those few short minutes I was in the shower, but I will be sure to thank you properly tomorrow. For now I have to rush downstairs." Giselle and Gretchen both had a similar reaction to Garry and told Laila that a thanks wasn't necessary and that they were happy to help.

The three people that had come from the salon were just about ready for her, when Laila stepped in the orangery. They had picked that room as it had the best lighting, namely, natural lighting. With the many window's and French doors, the room looked very spacious and light, even at this time of the day. Giving off that feeling of spring and summer on any given sunny day, regardless of which month of the year it was.

And just like that, with the help of many wonderful and dependable people, Laila had managed to catch up on the time she had lost and was back on schedule. Little did she know that even all her planning and her carefully constructed schedule would not get her to the event on time ....