I floated out of the dressing room, grinning in my dress. My mom, Serena, Anna, and Dawn were all clustered around the little step that the bride was supposed to hop onto to look at the extremely large mirrors. I was at the last fitting for my wedding dress. Giggling shyly, I stepped up onto the step and twirled. It was white, obviously, with a full skirt that trailed behind me and fitted bodice that was strapless. The bodice had a trim of chiffon at the top with pearls sewn beneath the chiffon. Baby pearls outlined the chiffon trim, and the satin fabric of the rest of the bodice seemed to shimmer under the spotlights. My hair was cascading down my back in its natural ringlets and I smiled at myself in the mirror.
"Oh, baby," my mom breathed, tears coming into her eyes as the lady helping us stepped up to place the veil on my head.
I laughed and smoothed down my dress. "What do you guys think?"
"It's perfect Cory. It's like it was made for you," Anna grinned.
"I still think the other one looked better," my sister sulked.
"Well I already had this one hemmed," I sighed, looking back at her.
"So? You can still get the other one!"
I looked down at my sister in disbelief. "The hemming cost a hundred bucks! I am not going to waste that money!"
My sister huffed, looking away in distaste. I rolled my eyes and looked at the lady helping us, Constance. "May I try on the other one?"
Constance shrugged, going to one of the racks in the background. "If you want to. If you decide you would rather have the other dress, I could give you a discount on the hemming for that dress. But you would still have to pay the hundred for this dress."
I looked pointedly at my sister as I took the dress from Constance. "I'm going to need help in the back room. Now, since you forced me to try this one on again, I'm assuming you're going to help me, oh sister dear?"
Serena groaned and started following me. "If I don't come back in ten minutes, send a search party," she told my mom.
I laughed. "Come on."
Many a button later, Serena and I appeared back out in the show room. This dress was cream silk, and was fit to every curve in my body. Luckily, I didn't have many curves that I didn't want shown, but those that I did have could be worked off by the wedding if I chose this dress. It was modeled like a dress in the nineteen-fifties. It fit snugly along my body and then hung down from my knees. It had straps that started at two inches across, but grew to become three as they reached my shoulders.
"Happy?" I looked at Serena.
"Very. Now doesn't this look better?"
I surveyed myself in the mirror. "You know, it does have a very sophisticated, chic look to it."
"Yeah," Anna agreed.
"The other one was very princess-y. This one is more scandalous Marilyn Monroe than sweet, people-loving Princess Di."
"Definitely," Constance agreed. "Now you just have to decide which one your fiancé will like the best."
I laughed. "I think he would like both. He loves me as my sweet self but-"
"He also loves your kinky, closet Latino cat-fighter self," Dawn quipped.
"Not exactly what I was going for, but it works," I shrugged, laughing.
"So, what's it going to be?" my mom asked.
"I don't know. I love this look, but I love the other one, too."
"Well, as you know, shoes make the woman, so maybe if we pick out shoes for both of the dresses, then you can decide which pair of shoes you like better and-"
"I'll take this one!" I interrupted Constance. When she mentioned shoes, I started thinking of the bright white shoes that would go along with the other dress and I had shuddered. Bright white wedding shoes seemed so tacky, and cream ones just seemed better.
"YAY!" Serena cheered.
"Oh, okay…" Constance trailed off.
"Do you think I'll need many alterations?" I asked Constance.
Constance began checking my dress over, pulling at the hem at the bottom, trying to fit her finger underneath the straps, and many other measuring systems that I did not quite appreciate. When she finished she looked up and smiled at me. "This one was truly made for you. It's perfect."
"Ha ha ha!" Serena chanted.
"Serena, you're supposed to be a mature adult. You are twenty-two. Grow up."
Serena shrugged, a smug smile still adorning her face.
My mom began paying for the dress while Serena, Anna, and Dawn went with me to help get the dress off. Once we got it off, I put it in its bag and slung it over my arm.
"Corrine! Where are you taking the dress? You can't take it home with you, because Shawn might see it."
"I know," I smiled at my mom. "I'm taking it somewhere else."
My mom frowned, confusedly, as I thanked Constance. I bid farewell to Dawn, and Anna, Serena, and my mom hopped in my car with me.
"So where are we going?" Serena asked from the back seat.
"You'll see. You guys have to come with me, though."
"Well, actually, your father is waiting for me at your house, so could you kindly drop me off?" my mom asked.
I nodded, and began the drive to my house.
"Come on, Serena!" I prodded. I had dropped my mom off at my house, as well as Anna who needed to work on a report for the local Tulsa magazine, so it was just down to Serena and I. We were at the house where I would be keeping my dress, but Serena was extremely skeptical about going with me.
"Whose house is this?" she demanded.
"You'll see, if you'd just get out of the car!"
"Oh fine," Serena pouted. "The things I do…"
We descended the steps to the front door, my dress in my arms, and knocked on the giant lion-head knocker. Serena looked around. "Awesome house. I love the knocker."
I snickered at the irony. The door swung open and we were face to face with Zac. "Cory! You finally came!"
We hugged and that's when he noticed my gawking sister. "Serena," he said, not quite as excitedly. "Hi."
"Um, hi," my sister mumbled.
"How are you?"
"Fine."
I stood, looking back and forth between the two most extroverted people I knew at their most awkward moment. Both were fidgeting and looking at the ground uncomfortably. "Well," I said, trying to break the tension.
"Um, do you guys want to come inside?" Zac muttered, looking up nervously.
"Sure!" I replied happily. It was evident that they both were still in love with each other, they just didn't realize it. And I was determined to be the one to get them back together.
"Remember that time that we tried to go cow tipping?" Serena laughed, munching on her popcorn.
"Yes! That was so funny! The cows were like, what the hell are you doing? And then that cop came," Zac reminisced, laughing.
"I thought he was going to catch us!"
"I know!"
I sat back, satisfied, as my sister and Zac talked about the good times. I knew that once they had started talking, they would remember their love, and fall back in love. And sure enough, here they were catching up and talking about old times like they were yesterday. The way I saw it was that if I couldn't have the true love that I had dreamt of, then somebody had to.
Zac leaped off of the couch, running over to Vanessa. "Where are you going?"
"Home, so you can confer with your girlfriend," she replied snidely.
Serena and I exchanged shocked glances. We looked back at the couple. Zac had his hand on her arm, his face pleading for her to not be mad at him.
"That's Serena. You're my girlfriend."
"Ah. So we finally meet," Vanessa said slyly, plucking Zac's hand off of her arm and starting over towards Serena. I frowned at her behavior.
Serena looked at the floor, unsure of what to do, and finally stood up, looking Vanessa in the eye. She held out her hand. "Hi, it's nice to meet you."
Vanessa stared at Serena's hand and looked up at her as Serena slowly withdrew her hand. "Stay away from my boyfriend, you slutty little player. Didn't your mother ever teach you not to lead boys on?"
Serena's eyes had grown wide. "Just because I wasn't ready for marriage does not mean I'm a player. My God! I was like, twenty!"
"What's your point?"
Serena sighed and rolled her eyes. "Zac," she said, looking at Zac. "Where ever did you find this one?"
Zac looked at the floor hesitantly, biting his lip, unsure of what to do or say. I looked back and forth between the three, waiting for something to happen. The saying that the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife certainly applied.
"Just stay away from Zachary."
"What if I don't want her to stay away?" Zac asked cautiously, walking slowly over to the two girls. "What if I want to talk to her? And see her? And be friends with her?"
"Then I'm breaking up with you. I don't see why you would want to be friends with such a, a," Vanessa paused looking my sister up and down, "ugly, slutty bitch."
"She is not any of those, Vanny."
"Don't you have eyes?" she exclaimed incredulously.
"Yeah and right now all they're seeing is a jealous snob who has taken over my girlfriend."
"I am not your girlfriend," Vanessa glared.
"What is wrong with you, Vanessa?"
"What's wrong with me? I wasn't the one feeling up another girl."
This time, even my mouth dropped.
"What? Feeling up? I had my feet in her lap! God! What is wrong with you today?"
Instead of answering the question, Vanessa turned to me. "Corrine. Shawn's Corrine." This was when I realized how stoned she was. I was surprised Zac and Serena hadn't noticed. She was obviously extremely hopped up.
"Zac, she's stoned," I sighed. I got up, and grabbed her shoulders. "Vanessa, what have you been using?"
"I haven't been using anything, you whore."
"Um, obviously you have. I'd like to know what it is."
"I'm not telling you, bitch."
"Well, then I guess Zac is breaking up with you," I sighed, removing my hands from her shoulders.
"What?"
"He can't go out with a drug addict."
"What?"
"You're a drug addict, no?"
"So? There isn't anything wrong with a smoke or two."
"What were you smoking, Vanessa?"
"Rock."
I inhaled and frowned as I exhaled, examining her. I looked at Zac. "You guys wait here, I'm going to take her home."
"Do you know where her house is?"
"No. Where is it?"
"I'll take her home. I'll see you guys later."
Zac herded us to his door and bid us farewell with promises of a phone call later that night. As soon as we hopped in car, Serena sunk down in her seat and started to cry.
"I'm not any of those things right? I didn't play Zac, right?"
"No, of course not!" I comforted.
Serena wiped her eyes and nose and chuckled. "I'm so stupid. I can't believe I started crying."
I laughed, patted her knee, and drove away towards home.