Finding a Dress
A/N The story keeps pouring forth. A wonderful day of bridal shopping and salon primping. Enjoy. The preliminaries continue.
Chapter Sixty-four
Stephanie POV
Carlos had kept me up late by mutual consent and after a lot of friend and family pressure, we had decided that tonight I was going to spend the night in Connie's room, so we wouldn't see each other until the ceremony tomorrow.
Mamma had been insistent telling him, "Mijo you are going to sleep together the rest of your lives, it wouldn't hurt to miss one night and that just the one night of being away from each other will make your wedding night more memorable."
Plus, my mother added. "There is no point in doing the First Look special separation before the wedding if you are going to wake up with each other in the morning."
So, grudgingly Carlos had agreed and honestly, I would miss the night of amazing sex, but I had to agree. Carlos, after any time of separation - well after the two days he was held captive and I wondered if I would ever see him alive again was a more attentive and determined lover. He spent more time preparing and pleasing me and we did it more times when we have been apart.
I was enjoying all our time on vacation because so far, most nights Carlos kept me up till midnight or two am making love to me over and over. But then we were sleeping in till eight or nine am or mostly he woke up early and made love to me and we went back to sleep till eight or nine. I didn't know how it was going to be when we went back to work and he was getting up at five am to go work out.
I didn't want to be apart from him today, but I knew he couldn't see me in my dress and he had his men flying in this afternoon to coordinate and get settled. He had told me that to totally let down his guard he needed to feel safe and we were advertising our location and certainly some of the underground would hear about and get to see the video of us getting married.
So, we were going to have guards posted inside and outside the chapel and reception. Guards would ride in the limo back to the hotel and would stay outside our room for the night. I tried to argue with him that we didn't need that.
"Babe, when I found you in New York, nobody knew where we were, and I could enjoy our time together and really let go. If we don't have guards outside our room, I'll never really feel like I can let go and make love to you all night. I will be constantly on guard with two guns and a knife and I won't be able to really enjoy it."
"I understand but it will be weird with the guys right outside the door."
I was afraid we would make enough noise and they would hear us.
"Babe, it's a suite, there will be two closed doors and a living room between them and us. They aren't going to hear anything. Besides if anyone could hear anything, Julie would be complaining that we were keeping her up all night." He assured me.
"That's a good point." I sighed in agreement.
"Besides, once I start working on you, you won't remember your name much less be worried about the guys outside the room." He smirked and I hoped it would be true.
Mary Lou and family couldn't leave as early as Connie and Lula. She had texted me at nine thirty at night that they had landed and were headed to the hotel. I told her to get a good night's sleep that we had a ten o'clock appointment for dresses in the morning and to meet us in the lobby at nine-thirty. Then I told her to meet me at nine-twenty because I had money for her to give to Lenny.
So far Mary Lou was the only other person I had told besides Carlos about the money that Anton had given me. It was weird to think of myself as a millionaire and I didn't want my friends or family to look at me or treat me differently and I didn't want people (say Valerie) to come to me for money. I knew what would happen is that my mother would pressure Valerie to ask me for money and then nag me to give her money and once it started it would never end.
Albert's practice was slowly building, but they had four kids and I knew my mom was still giving them money on occasion so they could make all their bills and that was not how I wanted my money to get spent. I would rather give them a down payment on a house large enough that they could easily afford the monthly payments.
I would have to think about it because I knew with Carlos, I would never want for anything. I did need to start thinking about a new car. Or I could investigate what happened to my old car. It wasn't a bad car, it looked decent and ran well. It was newer than a lot of my cars in the past few years had been and if I could find out what happened to it that might be the best way to go.
RSRSRSRS
Friday April 25, 2014 - Day 164 9:20
Once again at nine-twenty I was waiting down in the Lobby with Julie and Carlos who, knowing how much money I had on me, insisted on accompanying me down. I was wearing another of my designer dresses with two-inch heels because I was going to be on them all day. Lula promised me that we would come back to the hotel to change for the bachelorette party tonight. When Mary Lou showed up, I pulled her aside and secretly gave her $3500.
"What is all this for, Steph? You already paid for our flights and hotel room." She looked like she wanted to give it back so I had to justify this so she would understand what she means to me.
"Go crazy Lou, I want you guys to be able to do whatever you want to do while you are here, plus just eating out every meal with five people is expensive. So, this will give you some fun money and some spending money and some food money. Or if you want eat in your room and put it on the room bill and I will pay for that too."
She grabbed me up in a big hug. "You're too much you know that."
"Lou you dropped everything and drug your whole family all the way across the country to celebrate my big day. I can't thank you enough. You know I have plenty of money now so it's worth it for me to pay a little bit to have my best friend here on my special day. You don't know how much this is worth to me. Besides, you're going out with us tonight and Lennie is going to have all the boys to entertain. This way he has plenty of money to do it." I justified.
"Thanks." She said.
"No problem. Really, just run upstairs and go give it to Lenny now. I don't want anyone else to know how much money I have." I explained and she was gone in an instant.
Lula showed up next and I pulled her aside and gave her $1500. I told her not to tell anyone but Connie that I gave her money. Connie showed up and I gave her $1500 and told her I gave Lula money too but not to tell anyone else.
Next my mom with grandma showed up. I pulled them aside and gave mom and grandma $1000 each. I told them it was to have fun, gamble, go shopping, it was fun money. I whispered to my mom that I had money to give my dad too and slipped her another $1000.
Mary Lou showed back up and Carlos called his mom to find out their ETA. She said she was in the elevator with Abuela Rosa. Minutes later they were standing in front of us and we all got ready to go. I was shocked minutes later when we walked outside, and he led me to a SUV limo. He opened the door and started ushering everyone in.
"This way you can stay together and all travel as a group. It's safer and more fun," he explained and then expounded. "I've rented it till 2 am. You need to be back at the hotel by 2 am or I'm coming to hunt you down and bring you back. You have to be up and ready to go at 8 am so you can't stay out all night." He admonished.
When I got in, I was shocked to find Hal and Cal already inside. I looked out at Carlos.
"They stay with you all day. You have them till eight pm. Then you will get two more for the nighttime party." He smiled at me and closed the door.
Lula was investigating and found the bar and opened a chilled bottle of champagne.
"I think we should save the drinking till tonight," I said. "If we start drinking now, we will be done before dinner time and my bachelorette party will end before it even begins."
She sighed but grudgingly agreed. She couldn't close the bottle, so she poured glasses and passed them around. Mary Lou took one, Mamma took one, Connie took one and they badgered me into taking one. I figured one wouldn't hurt and it may make me more relaxed for this disaster of wedding dress shopping to get on track.
No, I didn't want to think like that. It wasn't going to be a disaster. We would go and I would find the perfect dress to wear and everyone would find perfect dresses to wear – even if they didn't all match – and we would all be ready for the wedding tomorrow.
I would have been happier and more excited to come with Mary Lou, Connie, Lula and Julie but I was afraid with my mother there and grandma I would be getting good advice for the wrong kind of dresses and negative advice on the dresses I really liked.
We arrived at Viva Las Vegas Wedding at nine-fifty and Hal climbed out first, Cal followed him, and they looked around. Then Cal stood at attention with his hand on his gun while Hal helped us one at a time out of the limo. We were quickly ushered inside and greeted by someone I hadn't seen before.
Teresa introduced herself as the office manager and said she would be assisting me in finding a dress today. She led us through the building to a back room that was filled with racks of clothes. Hal and Cal scouted the room and then took up stances on either side of the door.
"This is the room where we keep all our costumes and dresses. You can wear anything you find in here." Teresa explained. "If you can't find anything here, we can give you a voucher for a dress rental at a company up the road so don't worry we will find you the perfect dress." She assured me and I looked around the room. There were racks all up and down both sides of the room, three, four and five racks deep on each side.
Some racks were stunning dresses of all different colors and shapes. Some looking like slinky cocktail dresses and some skimpy showgirl outfits. Teresa pushed two such racks out of the way and started pulling racks of white wedding dresses out to the middle of the room.
"There are four dressing rooms along the back wall." She pointed to the far end of the room. "Once you find something you can try it on. What size are you? We can start there." She asked.
I am a smaller size now because Anton made everything thing we were trying to learn and do harder and harder and with Julie's help I kept right up. She is really the one who got me working out most every day and making it fun. I have never really thanked her for all of her help. It was just that when Anton told us we had to work out I confided in her all the trouble I'd had with Carlos and his work out regiments. She took it upon herself to train me the way her soccer coach trained kids. Slow at first then building up each week. It was a training plan that worked and now I had a body that looked amazing. I just had to find an amazing dress to wear on it.
Teresa must have guessed I was smaller because the first rack she pulled out had size 2 thru 6 on it.
"I'm generally a 4." I let her know and I had to wonder if these ran big or small. So, I voiced my question out loud. "Do these sizes run big or small?"
"Generally they run on size, but many of what we stock have elastic and stretch so they can fit more people; as many of the period dresses here are used as costumes by a large variety of our staff," Teresa offered.
I began looking through the first rack of dresses and found a pretty cream one that had lace on the bodice and ran down the sleeves. There were plastic chairs around the room, and I laid the dress out on it. Teresa then wheeled an empty dress rack over and put my dress upon it.
Half an hour later I was getting fed up. They all looked okay, but I felt like I did in the jewelers. They were nice but they weren't the WOW I was looking for. I mean I was marrying the man of my dreams I wanted to look like "Wow!" I knew what Carlos looked like in a Tux and he was a very handsome man, and, in a Tux, he was James Bond 'can't touch this' stunningly handsome. Like he needed some big breasted blond hanging on him and all he was going to get was me.
I kinda felt bad about that but I didn't; because he was my man and no other woman would ever please him as much as I did. Our love was so strong it was physically real. It pulled us together and when we weren't together, we could feel the absence of it. Like now, I wanted him so badly I ached with it.
I texted him and asked him if we could have dinner together before going off for our parties and he said yes and gave a time and place of a restaurant. I pouted because I meant back at the hotel in our room just him and me alone. So, I told him that I'd had enough friends and family and wanted a quiet dinner with him alone in our room and we could order room service.
He didn't answer right away, and I guessed that he didn't think it was appropriate with everyone here I mean we were going to be alone all of the next week. His parents had already agreed to take Julie for the week, and she had willingly agreed to go spend time with them. So, it wasn't really fair to ditch everyone, but I wanted him, needed to be alone with him one last time before the wedding.
Then Connie stirred me out of my reverie saying. "You're having the happily ever after wedding what about a period dress that has some color to it?"
She pulled out a gold and white dress that was rather pretty.
"That is an 18th century Queen Elizabeth Victorian dress with a square neckline and three-quarter length sleeves." Teresa told us. I looked and it was pretty. It was all lace and ruffles white with gold trim and gold bows all over it. It might have been gaudy, but it was tastefully done. But it did get me thinking. I wasn't any kind of virgin that needed a white dress my colors were gold and fuchsia maybe I could find something that looked good with a little color in it.
"Connie, I like the idea. I'm not sold on that dress, but I think there maybe something else here that I would like better than these dresses." I waved my hand at the rack of discarded dresses and I was frustrated. I wanted to look good enough to stand next to Carlos in a Tux and that required a special dress.
There had been some mermaid dresses that were beautiful, but you couldn't move in them and certainly couldn't dance the way Carlos and I were going to dance. There had been some overly lacy contraptions and very plain dresses that were all white but like my wedding ring they were okay but none of them said 'Wow' to me.
I didn't need a 'Wow' I tried to tell myself. I just needed a dress for one day to get married in. But I really wanted a 'Wow'. When everyone stood in the chapel and turned around to watch me walk down the aisle, I wanted to be the most beautiful woman in the room. I wanted to look like I belonged next to the hottest man in the room, my dear Carlos.
"What about this one?" Mary Lou asked and lifted up a dress that was white with dark pink rose applique's and just like in the jeweler's I got chills that went up my arms and down my spine leaving all the hairs on both my arms standing up just like on Spiderman's arm. I knew this was going to be the right one.
I rushed over looking it up and down. It was a beautiful loose flowing A-line white dress with a tulle overlay that was infused with light pink to dark pink rose appliques. I held it out and it was soft and flowing but the roses made it stand out.
"That is an Anna Campbell special order. It's modeled after the style in the 1940's with long flowing dresses," Teresa told us.
I looked it over. It had a beautiful V-neck in the front and the back looks open except for these specially designed three strung Swarovski crystals that each have one large crystal with six smaller crystals around it making them look like flowers. There were three beautiful strings of them starting at the shoulder and draping down across the back. The back was this sheer nude tulle that looks see-through but buttons up the back with more crystals.
I looked at all the beautiful 3-D laser printed roses. They went across the top of the bodice to the off the shoulder bit that went around my arm. They tastefully trailed down the bodice to wrap around the waist and then starting a third of the way down the dress trailed down to the floor and went all the way around the bottom of the flowy dress.
I carefully carried it into the dressing room and tried it on. I was overcome with shock and awe! It was gorgeously beautiful! I felt a spring of warm shivers fill me up and I shook as it went up my body, across the back of my neck and down my arms. This was the right dress for me. I looked amazing in it!
Surprisingly, it was only a little too big for me and the length was perfect. The previous bride must have been a little bit bigger than me, like a size six; but about the same height because the dress draped gently on the floor and I knew with a pair of high heels it would be perfect! I had a bit of room in it, but I thought if I filled up with the yummy food from our buffet and lots of cake it wouldn't be uncomfortable for me to wear.
I stepped out of the dressing room and everybody oooooed and awwwwwed. I spun around in a circle forgetting that there was a small four-foot train on the dress and getting it wrapped around my ankles.
"It looks perfect," said Mary Lou.
"You look like you will float down the aisle," Connie pronounced.
"You look beautiful!" My Mom agreed.
"You're a pip in that dress. Grand-baby-girl," Grandma Mazur declared.
"You're going to knock him over," Lula said.
Mamma came up to me and looked me over and said. "You look like a million dollars and come tomorrow. Everyone is going to take one look at you and think my son is the luckiest man there to be marrying you."
Abuela Rosa declared. "Deslumbrantemente bella. Él se tropezará consigo mismo para bailar contigo." (Stunningly, beautiful. He will be tripping over himself to dance with you.)
Teresa came over to me and pulled the waist out and said. "We can't modify the whole dress, but we can put a few stitches into it so that it fits a little bit better. If you wait here a moment, I'll have our seamstress come in here."
While they were looking, Lula pulled off a beautiful gold sparkling sequined dress and disappeared into the dressing room. A few minutes later she was out and traipsing around the room in what had to be a cocktail singer's dress. This was a slinky overly spandexed, stretched with-in an inch of its life gorgeous dress with a modest slit up its side to her thigh and it was the right length with the heels she had on but the blue heels she was wearing didn't match.
"It's too bad we can't find dresses for us here." Mary Lou stated. "This would look gorgeous on me and I would love to wear it. Lou was holding up the gold and white 18th century Queen Elizabeth's dress.
"Well go try it on." I encouraged. "I'll take your picture in it and send it to Lenny."
Not needing any more encouragement, she disappeared into the dressing room.
"Let's all find dresses and we can take pictures and post them on your website," Mamma suggested. "I saw one dress that I just loved."
She pulled out a large blue velvet dress that looked beautiful, but I really only got a glimpse of it while she disappeared into a dressing room.
Grandma Mazur was right on the band wagon with an aqua dress that didn't look too flamboyant, but I didn't really get a look before she disappeared.
"I don't know." My mother looked worried. "I haven't seen anything I would want to be seen in."
My mother had always had a conservative style and she wasn't very daring with what she wore. So, I began to look around for her. It didn't take me long to find some dresses that were more her style and I picked one out that I thought would look stunning on her.
"Here Mom. Try this one on," I offered, and she came over to look at it closely. It was a modest pink A-line dress that starting at mid chest swept away with big purple and pink flowers that went all the way around and down past the waist and then the bottom foot of the dress was covered with more purple and pink flowers. It had a pink cape that trailed down both sides with more flowers, but I figured my mother would forgo that.
Connie picked a fuchsia evening gown that had lace going down the front. Just as she got to the dressing room Mary Lou was coming out and I had to say she looked stunning.
The bodice was gold covered in a lace ruffle that went over her breasts and around the collar of the dress. The sleeves were gold to the elbow but then the ¾ length sleeves were all lace the next six inches and the lace opened like a flower and draped down a good six inches from her arm. The front panel of the dress was gold, then a panel of lace on each side. Then gold all the way around the back of the dress. It was an exaggerated A-line dress that was quite puffed up as it stood out about three feet across like a ball gown. There was a foot-long golden lace ruffle all the way around the dress and it was just beautiful. It looked like a classic royal dress with all the trimmings, but she looked beautiful in it.
Lula came over and was going on about how good she looked when Mamma appeared looking very regal. Her dress was amazing. The front panel across her breasts was a royal blue, then going down each side of the blue was a panel of royal blue with red flowers with vines and leaves going down it. Then the dress switched at the waist and the front panel going down to the floor was the blue with reddish flowers and vines and the rest of the dress was just the royal blue. The sleeves were blue down past the elbow but like Mary Lou's dress the sleeves flared out with royal blue material and six inches of lace that that hung like a foot down. The dress was huge like a ball gown.
Grandma Mazur showed up in an unbelievably cute but conservative aqua dress that was covered in raised dots that were actually little flowers made out of cloth and beads. It looked good on her and covered up all her chicken skin.
Connie came out in her flamboyant dress that looked beautiful with decorative lace around the neckline and down the front over her breasts. Then lace went down the panel of the front. The sleeves were bigger than Mamma's a little loose down to her elbows and then flared out with so much material it dripped down three feet, almost to the floor.
My phone pinged and Carlos sent his regrets that all his men arrived early, and that the bachelor party had already started. He wasn't going to get a chance to get away from the group. But he requested I keep texting him with what we were doing today and to please keep checking in, so he didn't worry.
Teresa came back with a petite oriental woman who looked like she was older than my dress. She smiled warmly at me and said in thickly accented English, "I am Quan Luong I will fix you right up." She looked me over and continued, "You need shoes. Go get the right height heel from the wall over there."
I had noticed all the boxes lined up against the wall, but I hadn't realized they were all shoes. On the top of every box was the size, which they were organized by, the color and the heel length. I went to the size seven's and looked for white. I got a white three-inch heel but when I tried them on didn't think they were high enough. I got a four-inch heel and it seemed just right as the dress was just skating over the floor but no longer dragging on it.
I went back to Quan Luong and she began tucking and pinning the dress and it didn't take much until it fit like a glove and I thought there went all my eating room. I would have to watch what I ate for dinner and save my room for all the luscious cakes because I was going to have at least one piece of every kind of cake.
Julie came out of the dressing room in a dress I couldn't describe. It was a ball gown the top was a scoop neck white dress with pink flower and leaves overlays. The skirt was puffed out like a ball room gown but the dress itself was white with the same color pink tulle laid over the white so that it looked pink and the tulle was gathered every few inches around the waist leaving thick stripes of pink in those areas.
"I'm sorry Teresa." I tried to apologize. "We wanted to try on some of the dresses and get some ideas for bride's maid and mother of the bride dresses. We have a lot of shopping to do today and I don't know how we are going to get it all done." I told her regretfully. "Anyway, they wanted to try some of these dresses on and all take our pictures in them."
"Stephanie this is fine, and I hope you are having a lot of fun. We don't normally outfit an entire bridal party but if you find dresses here that you want to wear tomorrow. We can make it happen for you."
"Yes, I want to wear this tomorrow!" Julie declared and I couldn't argue with her she looked beautiful and so grown up in her dress.
"That is one of our Quinceanera dresses. We are occasionally hired to host Quinceanera dances and so we have a dozen or so of those dresses." Teresa explained.
"I want to wear this dress! I look stunning in this dress!" Lula professed and she was right she did look good.
"I can wear this tomorrow?" Mary Lou asked hopefully.
"Yes, if you all want, we can dress you tomorrow. Pick out what ever dresses you want, and I will mark them all and have them in the dressing room tomorrow." Teresa was being immensely helpful, but I saw the dollar signs cha-chinging in her eyes. What the heck it was worth it if we all had our dresses picked out. I checked my phone – by eleven-thirty today it would save us all a lot of hassle.
"It looks like you all have picked out dresses you like. Why don't you come over here and I will write them all down?" Teresa offered and Mary Lou was instantly at her side.
"As I said before this is an 18th century Queen Elizabeth dress. If you turn around there is a tag on the back with a number. I need to write it down." Teresa asked and Mary Lou turned around and on the inside back of the dress was a number sewn on to the tag. Teresa wrote it down and began moving around the room to each person.
"Lula is it?" Teresa asked as she approached.
"Yeah, I'm one of the bride's maids," Lula answered.
"This is a golden cocktail evening gown. Let me get your number." Lula turned around and Teresa wrote it down.
She approached Mamma. "This is a Queen Victoria Renaissance dress. It is incredibly beautiful on you. Or should I say you look exceptionally beautiful in it." She wrote down the number and moved on.
Everyone had a dress and suddenly Abuela Rosa exited the dressing room in a stunning dark blue dress that would go very well with Mamma's royal blue dress. It was stunning because it was covered in shining stars and crystals and sequins and it was a wonderful evening dress and she looked very classy in it.
Teresa was immediately there. "This is one of our cocktail evening dresses, that some of our singers wear. It looks very beautiful on you." She offered and then she was on to Julie. Once she had all our numbers down, she turned to me.
"There is one more thing you need before you go. A veil." Then she held up a beautiful veil that would go down to my knees in the back but not drag on the ground. It had beautiful blush colored roses going all around the edges. There were small rhinestones and pearls in the center of the flowers and gave it the right amount of bling without being overwhelming. It had a thick comb that she tucked into my hair and I realized this was perfect for me and all the dancing we would be doing. It was beautiful and it would be out of the way.
Teresa took multiple pictures of all of us together and in groups on all of our phones. Me with my bride's maids which she said we should do a color coordinate thing. Have Julie's pink then Lula's gold then Connie's fuchsia and then Mary Lou's gold and white. Reminding us that we were keeping with the colors of the wedding.
I took photos with my Mother and Grandmother. One with me and Mamma and Abuela Rosa. One with both Mothers and Grandmothers and then pictures of everyone together and separately without me in them. Teresa explained that the bride's dress was a secret and they were only to show pictures of their dresses without the bride in them to other people.
I couldn't find any shoes I loved and fit well and most of their shoes were three and four inches tall not appropriate for the Mothers and Grandmothers or Julie so we all decided that we would go get our nails done and then go look for shoes and as Teresa reminded us bra shopping. Because several of these dresses required strapless or backless bras. I wasn't so much up on the fashion thing, so I had never owned a backless bra, but Lula assured me she knew what to buy.
Teresa called one of their salons and got us all nail appointments at one o-clock and she coordinated with Mamma to get us lunch reservations at a nice Cuban restaurant nearby. Then she gave me the card of a personal shopper in a local specialty store that would have the undergarments we needed. With that she encouraged us all to go have lunch and celebrate our success in finding all the dresses we needed.
Before I left, she offered to have extra men in the 18th century dress to usher people into the chapel and escort my mother and grandmother to their seats. I told her that we had groom's men doing it and she said it would look much fancier if the costumed men did it. I wasn't going to be there to see it one way or the other, so I consented. It hadn't passed my awareness that everyone here was willing to go out of their way to help us – especially if it were something, they could charge us for.
We all loaded up in the limo and Mamma took us out for Cuban food at Florida Café Cuban Restaurant. She insisted on paying which I felt bad about until I saw she had a black Am Ex with RangeMan's name on it. I texted Carlos and told him things were going great we had dresses for everyone and now needed shoes, nails, and undies. He texted back to have fun and leave him out of the undie's discussion.
At ten till one we were being unloaded in front of Crystals Beauty Nail and Spa. It was very clean almost clinical inside with rows of stations to get your nails done and opposite those were rows of chairs to get your pedicures done. Everyone got busy picking out colors and the owner introduced herself to me as Crystal and told me I was getting the bridal package. She led me in the back and introduced me to Noemi who was going to wax me.
I hadn't been waxed in three weeks and honestly my hair didn't grow that fast and it had been a few days since I shaved. Mainly because we had been busy, and I didn't today because I was in a hurry and wasn't going to be with Carlos till tomorrow. So, they deforested me and once again I got a Brazilian. I was going to be ready for tomorrow and the whole next week of passion filled love making!
After she waxed my legs and privates, she put an exfoliating scrub on all of me from my toes to my shoulders and then did some facial mask that had seaweed and was supposed to make me glow. Then while I was laying there, she gave me a full body massage really working some spots in my feet and shoulders that I didn't even know were tight. After thirty minutes of deep muscle relaxing massage she got me all cleaned up I felt lighter and more relaxed.
Then they waxed my eyebrows which weren't looking bad because I tweezed every couple of days, but it had been three weeks since they had been so sculpted. Now they followed the same lines and got it close to what it had been. They were going to do eyelash extensions and I had heard some good and bad things about them but what I was worried about was the amount of time they would take.
I went out and talked to all the ladies about it. Both mothers and grandmothers started out getting manicures first while my bridal party all started with pedicures. As I talked to them now, they had switched, and the bridal party were getting their nails done. Lula, Mary Lou, and Connie had nail tips added first and were now getting dip done on all their nails. Lula assured us all that it was the best for your nails and lasted the longest.
They were almost done with their nails and all agreed that they would go ahead and go shoe shopping while I stayed there and finished all my treatments. I told Hal and Cal of our arrangements and told them to go with the group.
Cal informed me that Ranger would skin them if they left me unprotected while I was getting treatments done even if I were armed. Of course, I was armed but right now he was right I was naked wearing a robe, but even once I got dressed my gun was under my arm and not the easiest place to grab while having a manicure. It was decided that Hal would stay with me and Cal would accompany the rest of the women.
So, I went into their backroom where they had a chair that leaned me almost all the way back and we discussed lash options. We decided that I would get the hybrid look that combined individual lashes with the small fans of lashes for a fuller look and we decided on the shape that would make my eyes look opened and bright. She said this was a great look if you want to bring out the color of your eyes.
It was an excruciating hour of trying to hold my lashes still while they glued things on them. The only good news was that it would last for several weeks and I wouldn't have to wear mascara the whole time. When they were done, I looked fabulous and my eyes looked amazingly big and my eye color looked bolder! It made me happy to know that while we were running around mostly naked on a beach or in the house, I didn't have to worry so much about my make-up and looking good because with these lashes I looked beautiful and sexy and they made my eyes stand out and even look bluer.
I was tired and needed to give my face a break so I got my pedicure next and had picked out a pretty fuchsia/bright pink that would go with the pink of my dress for both my toes and my fingers. I just relaxed back in the chair and turned on the vibrating massage chair and relaxed. While they were working on me, I noticed I had a few texts. Lula and Mary Lou had been texting me with pictures of shoes they had found and the final choices that they were buying.
They were at their second store and most of them had found shoes that they liked that matched their dresses. Lula was having the most trouble because she had found three pairs of shoes that were tall enough, that she liked, and she just couldn't figure out which one would look best with her dress. I knew she was more worried than the rest because everyone else's dresses covered their feet and went all the way to the floor. Lula's did too but she had the slit up the side that was going to expose her feet – especially her left foot and shoe and she wanted them to look good.
I told her the third option was the best that I saw that matched her dress the best and that it would look good no matter what she chose. They texted me the cute pink shoes Julie got and how very fashionable the shoes were that Mamma picked out. I told them I would buy them everything when I got there but they told me not to worry about it. That Carlos gave them the card and he was paying for everything.
I felt bad because usually the bride buys her bridal party some gifts and I felt like I was missing all the shopping and the chance to buy them things. Lula texted me that they were almost done. Mamma had led the way to get dresses for the flower girls. They found these ombre fuchsia dresses that were white with roses on top and faded into dark fuchsia as it got to the skirt. They had them in both the girl's sizes. She sent me a picture and they just looked darling.
When I went to get my nails done, I was told that I was getting tips first that the bride had to look the most beautiful and that they were going to do special tips on my nails. I took a deep sigh and let them do what they were going to do. I was a little interested in how these would feel when I ran them down Carlos' back as he drove into me and if he would like it. I kinda thought he would. He likes me to grab him and dig my nails into his back as I pull him close. I was getting all hot and bothered thinking about it and I couldn't wait till tomorrow night. It just couldn't come soon enough.
They did pink dip on nine of my nails and white dip on one accent nail. When they were done, I had longer nails than usual but not too long and they had painted a beautiful flower on the white accent nail and glued rhinestones to two others, so I had a little bling but not too much. It all looked very classy and definitely wedding worthy. I would be proud to shake hands with everyone tomorrow and know that I looked good from my freshly painted toenails to the veil on the top of my curly – now my color brown – hair.
When I texted the women that I was done they came back to pick me up and showed me all the shoes they bought and told me they knew where to go to buy shoes for me. They took me to Brilliant Bridal where they had racks and racks of wedding dresses, but a whole wall of bling'ed out shoes waiting for some lucky bride to come wear them.
An extremely helpful sales lady was disappointed to find out that I already had a dress and I showed her a picture of it and told her I needed four-inch heels to wear with it. She led me over to several that were pretty, and I tried a couple on that were in my size. Then I saw them. The ultimate wedding – I would have to call them boots – because they went up to the top of my calf. Then I was disappointed as I didn't see any size seven in this style.
Lula immediately got a saleswoman to go to the back and look to see if they had them in my size. I held my breath waiting anxiously because since I had seen them no other shoe would do. It was like my dress – the minute I saw it I knew it was going to be the right one. These shoes for lack of a better term were see through lace and white ribbons up to the top of the calf. The lace was big roses all the way from the top to the bottom of the shoes. There was a zipper on the inside to hold it together but a ribbon on the outside "lacing" the lace all the way up the leg.
Well after many long minutes she came back with two pairs of them; one for me and one for the sales floor, she said seven was a popular size. I tried them on, and they looked wonderfully hot and I kept thinking how sexy they would look tomorrow night after my dress was gone and I realized I needed sexy lingerie to wear for my new husband tomorrow night. We still had a lot more shopping to do!
Mamma insisted on paying for my shoes and I told the women I needed to buy them presents for them coming out to be my bride's maids and they all said I didn't need to buy them anything. After all I paid for their flights and hotel rooms. And Lula pointed out I had been paying for their meals too. So, I put that out of my mind and focused on buying a bra that would work with my dress and lingerie that would knock Carlos's socks off tomorrow night.
The limo finally pulled up in front of the specialty shop Teresa recommended and we all piled out – after our bodyguards checked the surroundings. It only took a few minutes to find Phil, the guy she recommended, and tell him what we needed. In minutes he had a backless bra for me and outfitted anyone else who needed it. As it turned out only Julie needed a strapless bra and I thought she was still young enough she could go without but then I also realized it made her feel all grown up to wear a bra and I wasn't going to take that away from her.
Then I told him I needed some extra sexy lingerie to wear for tomorrow night and he told me to go to Real Intimate Apparel and so we did and I found some cute white lace panties to wear under my dress and one spectacular outfit to change into for the wedding night and several to surprise him with during the honeymoon. Lula said I needed a garter belt and I realized that I didn't have one. I was looking at a blue one with part of the old rhyme came to my mind.
"What is that old saying. Something borrowed something blue?" I couldn't remember how it went.
"Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a sixpence in her shoe," Mamma offered.
"I don't have any of those things." I wailed. "And I'm getting married tomorrow." I knew I was getting a little hysterical, but I felt like it was the end of time and I was running out of it.
Lula took command. "No problem. Look at the blue garter belt. That is your something blue. You bought those boots and that lingerie that is your something new."
"I was going to wait till tomorrow, but I have a handkerchief that I crocheted that I was going to give you to borrow. All my girls have walked down the aisle with it, and it is very old. I made it when my first baby girl was born."
"There you see that's most of it." Mary Lou said, "I have some hair combs that I was going to let you borrow. I wore them at my wedding they are covered in rhinestones and they are really pretty."
"That would be great Mary Lou. Bring them tomorrow and I will wear them." I remembered them from her wedding, and they would look spectacular in my hair.
"There you go," Lula recapped. "Handkerchief something old, lingerie something new, hair combs something borrowed, garter belt something blue. Don't you worry Stephanie we got you covered."
I relaxed feeling like 'my girls' as I was thinking of them were taking care of me. I had it all down, I thought everything I needed for the wedding and everything I needed for the honeymoon and I was buffed and puffed and waxed and painted and I looked beautiful from my head to my toes.
It was getting late and we decided that we would go back to the hotel and get ready for our night of debauchery and then we would go out to eat and the mothers and Julie would go back to the hotel and it would just be me, Lula, Connie and Mary Lou for the evening.
Carlos had texted me that he couldn't meet for dinner after all and said that his men had kidnapped him, and he would not be available to see me tonight.
In my room I looked at my clothes and couldn't decide what to wear. I had some slinky and skimpy clothes but since I wouldn't be seeing Carlos, I didn't want to dress too attractively. The last thing I needed was for men to be trying to pick me up during my bachelorette party.
I came out in a little black dress and Lula was in my living room waiting for me. Julie came in and was getting her stuff and transferring things to Mamma's suite for the night. I gave her a big hug because I was going to miss her over the next week. Anyway, Lula insisted that I had to dress in white for my bachelorette party and left to go get ready. I went back into my room and found a little white dress that was soft and gauzy and fell to my knees.
I looked good but not like a party girl and not like I was looking to pick someone up. I went back out into the living room to wait but then I thought better of it. Packed a little handbag for the night and headed out to find the rest of my bridal party.
Cal was with me grumbling about getting the shaft today and I asked him what was going on. As we walked down to Lula's room he told me about the bachelor party that was going on all day and that he and Hal had been left out of it all and put on protecting the women, without them knowing what all the day was going to entail.
When we got to Lula's room, she and Connie were ready. Lula told us that the bachelorette party was starting in my room at eight o'clock. So, we went back to my room and each had a drink. In our suite there was a semi-full bar. I mean there was a small bar that had several full bottles of wine, several full bottles of alcohol and mixers that didn't need to be refrigerated. Cal went and got ice for us. I started simply with a vodka and raspberry seltzer water. Connie had a rum and coke and Lula mixed something up and seemed happy with it.
Mary Lou joined us a few minutes later and Hal was showing us pictures of all the bachelor party and telling us all that they had been doing today. Racing Lamborghini's on racetracks. He told us that Ranger was the fastest and considered to be king of the track. Then they went jumping out of airplanes or skydiving and Cal said that this sucked because they didn't know everything that was happening because if they had they would have made someone else come and guard the women.
"We got shafted. All we got was to watch you ladies try on dresses and shoes and they got to watch Ranger drive over cars with a Tank." Cal said and he showed us the video. It looked totally cool and I could hear all the guys chanting "Crush the Cars, Crush the cars."
"This has to totally suck to be you two today." Mary Lou sympathized.
"Yeah we got total screwed out of all the fun today. All we get for doing this is a one week's vacation. But that will be us all alone with no one to go hang out with and party with." Hal complained.
"Now they are back in the city at Top Shot playing laser guns, where you shoot each other with guns that fire blanks. They are getting to do everything fun and all we get to do is sit here with you ladies." Cal said.
"Not that we don't love you ladies, but we are being left out of all the action and getting nothing for us having to work our butts off today." Hal said.
"So where are they again?" I asked.
"Top Shot, it's not very far from here." Cal informed us.
"Can we go join them?" I asked having a wild thought that I would get to see and maybe even shoot Carlos today.
"Join them?" Lula said, "we'll go teach them a lesson. We'll go show them for making Cal and Hal miss all the fun."
Lula had looked it up on her phone and I knew that Lula loved to fire her gun and to go and shoot up some of Ranger's men would be a dream come true.
"I don't mind going." I told them, "how about you two?"
Mary Lou, "that would be fine with me."
"I always love to get to shoot a gun." Connie agreed.
"Well come on then." Lula said standing up. "We ain't got nothin' starting till eight o'clock. We can go ov'r there and teach Ranger a lesson for makin' all those plans and leavin' you out of it." She downed her drink and started for the door. "This way you two get to have some of the fun too."
Minutes later we were in the limo and on our way.
To be continued…
A/N I must thank my most excellent Beta Susan who has been making my writing more readable for all of you.
Thank you all for Reading, Enjoying and if you have a minute leave me your thoughts.
Finally several people wasn't to see here is the Pinterest page for this story: pinterest dot com/rangerbabe21/gone-girl/