“We’ll talk her into it if she doesn’t find anything down here,” Olivia said. “I doubt any of us would object to a weekend getaway!”
I had less than nothing to contribute, and no money left in the budget for such a trip.
Eventually Caryn emerged in the next dress, which was skintight to the knee, where it flared into a sea of feathers.
Olivia started to cry, and I commiserated. Okay, I thought crying was a little extreme, but it was heinous. It looked like a swan had exploded at the bottom of her dress. “It’s just so perfect,” Olivia said, her eyes glistening as she dabbed at the corners to avoid smudging her makeup. I had never seen anyone pretty cry before. Ugly cry? Sure. But Olivia actually looked better when she cried. It wasn’t fair.
Wait, did she say it was perfect?
I looked around. The other girls were nodding in agreement, their faces cast from the same mold.
Caryn burst into laughter. “Lily, you have no poker face! At all!”
They all turned to me and I tried desperately to arrange my face into something resembling theirs. Unfortunately, I still had my original nose and ability to move my forehead, so that wasn’t possible. I settled for trying to look like I didn’t hate it.
“You don’t like it?” Mia asked, incredulous.
“I—um—Caryn, do you like it?”
“You pinned one just like it,” Caroline said pointedly to Caryn before she could respond. “The Versace? Remember?”
Caryn studied herself in the three-way mirror and shook her head. “It’s beautiful. But the feathers are a little too much, I think.”
“Something a bit simpler?” the saleslady asked. Caryn nodded and retreated back into the dressing room.
“I tried on something similar for my wedding,” Caroline confided. “It was gorgeous of course, but I just didn’t have the curves to pull it off. You need more of an hourglass figure for a dress like that.”
“But not too curvy,” Mia said. “If you’re too hippy, white just isn’t your friend.”
“No,” Caroline said in an exaggerated whisper. “Caryn would really be better off in ivory. It’s more forgiving.”
Guess I’m not wearing white at my wedding, I thought, horrified. No one defended Caryn, but a stormy look crossed Dana’s face so quickly that I wondered if I had imagined it before it was replaced by an utterly bland expression. I took another swig of champagne. This was going to be a long day.
Caryn stepped out a few minutes later in a simple satin sheath. It was draped at the neckline to give the illusion of cleavage, which Caryn didn’t really have, and looked like something Zelda Fitzgerald would have worn before diving into a fountain. I adored it.
“Do you want something that plain?” Dana asked.
“It’s too basic,” Olivia announced.
“You look like you’re wearing a nightgown.”
“A little tacky.”
Caryn looked to me, and I bit the inside of my lip. I thought it was perfect. Put a long strand of pearls on her and one of those short veils that just skimmed the face, and I couldn’t imagine a more elegant wedding dress. But Caryn didn’t seem to be a fan, so I shook my head. The bridesmaids looked at me with the first hint of approval I had seen so far, which I realized had nothing to do with my reaction being tailored to Caryn’s. They only cared if I agreed with them. But I just wanted Caryn to feel good in her dress. And I had more of a poker face than she thought. “Too simple. I like the neckline though.”
Caryn smiled reflexively at my reflection in the mirror, then retreated to the dressing room again.
We left the store around noon and went to the second bridal salon, where we sipped more champagne and Caryn seemed to try on the same nine dresses.
“Don’t be discouraged,” Mia said. “No one finds their dress in the first store they go to.”
Dana nodded. “As long as you get it with seven months to go, you’ll be fine.”
“Seven months?” I asked. “Why seven months?”
“It takes that long to order a quality dress,” Olivia explained. “They’re made from scratch to order.”
“Oh.”
I suggested we break for lunch between shops two and three, but Caryn said we didn’t have time between appointments. Besides, they were all doing juice cleanses and not eating solid foods right now.
“They’re really wonderful for flushing the toxins out of your system,” Caroline said. “And it’ll help you take off those extra pounds in plenty of time for the wedding. I’ll send you the info for a weight-loss specific plan.”
I stared at her in absolute horror. What extra pounds? I wanted to ask. Were there days when I looked in the mirror and wished I could lose a few pounds? Of course. But I had never had a virtual stranger tell me that I needed to lose weight before.
I was too shocked to make a snappy comeback and instead mumbled something that sounded like “thanks” as I looked at the four bridesmaids and wondered again what exactly I was doing there. They didn’t even eat! It explained their size, but it did not reassure me that they were actually human. I tried to remember seeing Caryn eat anything normal. She usually had a smoothie in disgusting shades of green and orange at lunchtime. Definitely a lot of carrot and celery sticks. But I wasn’t sure I had ever seen her put a piece of office birthday cake into her mouth.
I, however, needed food and wished I had brought a snack in my purse. Not that I had the guts to eat it in front of any of them or, even worse, one of the shop assistants. If I thought the coffee thief was bad, I didn’t want to know what would happen if I pulled out a sandwich. It was already two o’clock and the protein bar I had scarfed down in the car just before arriving at the first salon wasn’t cutting it with all of the champagne.
“Car, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to bail early.”
She looked surprised, but didn’t ask what I had going on. “Okay,” she said, leaning in to hug me. “Thank you for coming today! Will we see you next weekend?”
“It’s my mom’s birthday, but I’ll come for as much as I can.”
“Of course,” she said. “Well, hopefully we find something amazing at the next store and we’ll be done!”
“Send me a picture if you do?”
“I’ll try. Most of the high-end salons won’t let you take pictures of their gowns.”
I said my goodbyes to the blondes and made my escape. When I got to my car, I turned the air conditioner up all the way and took a deep breath before I put it into reverse. That was more intense than I expected. Are all the weddings going to be like this?
I took quick stock of the five brides. Madison was the only wild card. I had no idea what her friends would be like because I didn’t really know what she was like. When it came to my sister, I knew all of the bridesmaids. Did I like them? Absolutely not. But I could be honest with Amy at least. Megan might as well have been my sister—except one I actually wanted to spend time with. And Sharon didn’t even want a wedding. I doubted her mother would allow us to go dress shopping—outside opinions might spoil her vision.
So this should be as bad as it got. And Caryn was fine. She didn’t even mind that I bailed early. Her friends were intimidating, but Caroline seemed like the only one with a real mean streak. Yes, they were all Stepford robots, but the rest of them didn’t rub it in that they were supermodel skinny with rich husbands and an innate understanding of all things wedding.
I even felt a little bad for being so judgmental about them as I waited in line at Five Guys. Whether she liked them all the time or not, they were Caryn’s friends and had been for a really long time. There had to be some redeeming qualities that I just hadn’t seen—probably because I was too hangry to look. Maybe I’d even learn to like them by June. No, they wouldn’t eat a cheeseburger with extra pickles and an order of fries in the car on their way home today. But I also refused to feel shame for eating solid food. I saw the look on Dana’s face when I suggested lunch. Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but those Five Guys Cajun fries are a pretty close second.
CHAPTER SIX