Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 63rd cycle. Now cycle 64!
"The Bride in White"
Rachel(/Sam, Nell)
Sam & Nell/Samchel series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)
It had started innocently enough. She was due for a haircut and she had been in the salon when a girl came in, bridesmaids and flower girls in tow, all of them getting their hair done for 'the big day.' She had spent the whole time there hearing about how great the girl's future husband was, how long they'd been preparing for this day… The woman who had been working on her kept having to tell her to sit still and look forward.
Then she would see bridal magazines just… everywhere. She would pass bakeries, dress shops… churches… The whole of New York City was messing with her head.
Finally, one day, she couldn't take it anymore, and she'd ducked into a bridal shop. One quick peek should tide her over, right?
"Hi, can I help you with something?" she'd been startled at the sound and she turned to find herself face to face with a tall black girl with a name tag.
"I-I was just looking," she tried to explain without blushing bright red, but the girl just grinned.
"Newly engaged?" she guessed, and Rachel nodded. The girl held out her hand. "My name's Allison." Rachel shook her hand.
"Rachel," she introduced herself.
"When's the wedding?"
"We haven't set a date," she quickly explained. "Actually, we haven't told people at all, just parents and… well, now, you," she revealed.
"It's been driving you crazy, hasn't it?" Allison guided her further into the store.
"Yes!" she sighed with release.
"Well, your secret's safe here, so go on, spill. How'd he propose?" she invited her to sit. She hadn't been able to talk about it at all, and now that she had the chance she was almost too nervous to find the words.
"We were in bed…" she started, and at the amused look on the sales girl's face, she shook her head. "I mean it was morning, we were just waking up. He was in town visiting me, well they were, he and his… our daughter," she corrected herself. She thought the girl might say something along the lines of 'aren't you two a little young? A kid, a marriage…'
"He doesn't live here?" Allison asked, surprised.
"He's still back in Ohio, that's where I'm from. He's a year behind me, so he's graduating this year and then they're moving here," she explained. "It's a long story."
"Where are you at? College?"
"NYADA," Rachel told her, and the girl sat up.
"I knew there was something about you that screamed performer. You a singer?"
"Yes," Rachel smiled. "Or I'm trying to be, you know, Broadway…"
"Oh, yes. I've got a friend there, she's a couple years ahead of you. So you're still in that first year stress."
"Definitely," Rachel sighed. "But I'm going to pull through," she spoke confidently.
"I bet you will. I'll tell my friend to look out for you."
"Thanks," Rachel smiled.
"So, your guy. What's his name?"
"Sam," she smiled when she said it, always did, and Allison smiled back when she saw it.
"And the little one?"
"Nell," she smiled again, reaching for her phone on reflex, pulling up a picture of the two of them and showing the sales girl.
"She looks just like him," Allison smiled brightly.
"We haven't told her about the wedding yet. Until we tell others, it's better that way."
"Yeah, good call," she returned the phone. "Well," she looked to the future bride. "Do you feel like taking a look around? While you're here, you might as well…" she offered.
"I don't know, I mean I want to, so much…"
"Who's going to know?" Allison tempted, and Rachel smirked. "Brides can spend a lot of time looking for the perfect dress," she pointed out.
"Well I'm all about being proactive," Rachel pointed out; she really did want to try at least one. "But I don't want to plan everything without him. I could, oh, I could. Once upon a time, I would have had everything already figured out and he wouldn't have done a thing, but… It's better if I wait, right?"
"It's all up to you," Allison smiled, moving toward the counter and retrieving her card and handing it to her. "If you need any advice, the places to go to, the people to use, for the wedding, or if you just want to have someone to talk to about it while you can't, just give me a call."
"Wow… Thank you, that's… Thanks," Rachel took the card.
"Sure," Allison stood. "So… You want to take a look?"
"Yes, please," she tucked the card away and followed the sales girl.
Walking into that sea of white dresses, Rachel felt suddenly overwhelmed in the best way. She had kept herself from looking at these before, to resist temptation, but now she was here, and she didn't know where to look; everything was stunning.
"Do you have any kind of budget in mind?" Allison asked. "I'm not going to show you anything I know you won't be able to afford."
"I don't know how long it'll be before we actually do get married, or what our financial situation will be by then, if my fathers will be pitching in, so…"
"We'll try and keep it low, and if all else fails, we can find a way to work things out. I'm all about making things happen as close to what the bride wants, you know?"
"Bride…" Rachel breathed. "Not even used to that one, yet."
"Well this one is going to be a real shocker. I think I know exactly what will work for you. Hold on."
The moment she'd seen the dress, Rachel had felt her eyes water up. "I don't know," she took a step back. "Maybe I shouldn't try it on yet, it wouldn't be fair to others who are getting married sooner." She was trying to talk herself out of trying it, she knew, but she really, really wanted to.
"Up to you," Allison told her. Rachel's phone rang before she could answer, and when she looked at the screen, seeing the exact same picture she'd shown the sales girl, she gasped. "That him?"
"Yes, hold on," Rachel stepped aside, taking the call. Sam just wanted to say hello, after a bit of a chaotic Glee Club day. Rachel would spend twenty minutes talking to him, stood in the corner of the bridal shop. When they finally hung up, Allison came to her again and handed her a sheet.
"When you're ready to start looking again, this is the information for the dress I showed you, that way you'll be able to find it again."
"Thank you. I'm so sorry about…" she held up her phone.
"Don't worry about it," the girl smiled.
"I should go. Again, thank you."
"You're welcome. Come by any time."
THE END
A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!