Previously:

"Wait, do you have a maid of honor yet?" Kalia asked.

"Uh… not yet..."

"Then allow me to nominate myself for the job."

"Uh..."

Charlie couldn't think of a reason to turn her down, and it's not like she disliked Kalia.

"Sure, if you're up for it."

"In that case, with the rest of that settled, I think you should be more concerned about your wedding dress."

"And we need to get the wedding invitations, too," Charlie said.

"Well, let's get moving," Kalia said.

Chapter 14: Decisions, Decisions

They went to the printer's next and Charlie placed an order for the invitations with the message she wanted. She picked lettering that was formal without being too stiff or too frilly.

Then they went to a bridal shop. There wasn't one within the Gandor's territory, so they went to the one where Kalia got her dress. (Kate had worn her mother's dress and veil.)

'Wow..." Charlie said, looking around the small shop. It was filled with white dresses made in all sorts of styles and fabrics. There were also some dresses that had color. Charlie assumed these were meant for the bridesmaids.

A woman who appeared to be in her late thirties was standing behind the counter, and she greeted them with a smile.

"Mrs. Kalia." The woman clearly remembered her. "How was the wedding."

"Beautiful, thank you."

"How can I help you?"

"I need a wedding dress," Charlie said. She thought the answer was a bit obvious, but she said it anyway.

"Of course you do. Amanda!"

The woman behind the counter called for someone.

A bespectacled young woman close to Charlie's age came out from the back. She had a measuring tape draped over her shoulders and pincushion with needles strapped to her wrist.

"Does someone need a fitting?"

"Help this young lady find a dress and then tailor it for her."

"Yes, Mrs. Herschel."

"Right this way."

Charlie, Kate, and Kalia stepped deeper into the shop until they were standing in front of Amanda, who went to the went to the first rack of dresses.

"Do you know what style you would like? What material? Lace? Satin? Rayon?

"Uh, I'd like something simple but elegant. I'm open to suggestions for material."

"I see. Let's start with these, then. And keep in mind, if you want to make any alterations, I can do that for you."

Amanda showed Charlie several dresses, but it wasn't until the fifth one that she met her match. Amanda pulled out a dress that was a snowy white satin with a bias cut, a high neckline, and long, flowing sleeves that were fitted closely around the wrist. Charlie thought it was perfect.

"Oh, Charlie. You look so beautiful," Kate said.

"I think we have a winner," Kalia said.

"I'll take this one," Charlie said, admiring her reflection in the mirror.

"I'll hem it for you, then. And maybe take it in a little around the waist?"

Amanda started taking the hem up a little so Charlie wouldn't trip on it.

"I think the waist is fine. I don't want it too tight. I'd like to be able to eat at the reception."

"Good point," Kalia said.

"What about the veil?"

"You can borrow one of ours."

"It can be your something borrowed. Now you just need something old, something new, and something blue."

"Well, my dress is new. And I already have a pair of white shoes, so I guess they could be 'something old.'"

"Oh, no. Your new thing should be lingerie."

Kalia made the bold statement with a sly smirk.

"Don't you want to treat Luck with a surprise?"

"Well, he's never seen anything under my clothes before."

Charlie's cheeks turned pink.

"But I see what you mean."

"Right? Let's take care of that next. We can get something you can wear under your dress, so he'll see it when you take it off."

"But we still have to do the food and the flowers."

"What about the bridesmaid dresses? Will you get them here, too?" Kate asked.

"I was thinking it would be better to buy their dresses with them. I want to pick a dress that will look good on all of them."

"It's your wedding. Pick what you want, and they'll wear it."

"I've been a bridesmaid three times already, and every time the bride would pick what she wanted, regardless of how it looked on the rest of us, and we always came out looking ridiculous."

"You're too sensitive to other people's feelings."

'And you're not sensitive enough,' is what Charlie would have liked to have said, but she didn't want to start an argument.

"I think that's part of Charlie's charm: her consideration for others."

"Just as long as she doesn't let herself become a doormat..."

"I've never been accused of that before."

Charlie paid for the dress and Mrs. Bradshaw promised it would be delivered to her apartment as soon as they finished altering it.

—∞—

Kalia brought Charlie to a department store that had a wide selection of lingerie. Charlie was a little embarrassed, but she managed to find something she was comfortable in that Kalia and Kate thought a man would like to see that wouldn't be visible in any way under her dress.

"I don't know about y'all, but I could use a break."

"It's true that we haven't eaten anything."

"Where were you thinking of getting the food from?"

"There's a good Italian restaurant back in Gandor territory that I had my eye on. I don't know if they'll cater yet, though."

"Well, let's eat there, and you can find out."

—∞—

"We're honored that you would think of us," the manager of the restaurant, Angelo's, said when Charlie asked to talk to him about catering for her wedding. "Of course we can cater your wedding. I'll just go write up a list of options for you."

The manager hurried off, as if afraid she would change her mind if he didn't get back soon enough.

"This osso buco is really good," Kalia said, enjoying the meal she had ordered.

"Yes, the food is excellent. Keith has taken me here before."

"I only discovered it when Luck took me."

"Hmm. So two out of three brothers know about it? That means Berga must know, too… and he never took me..."

Kalia seemed put out.

Charlie hoped there wasn't another argument in their future.

—∞—

"Well, that's the food taken care of. Next is flowers, right?" Kalia said as they left the restaurant.

"I think I'll get forget-me-nots in my bouquet. That can be my something blue."

They got into Kate's car.

"What other flowers were you thinking of?"

"Maybe daisies, pink roses, baby's breath..."

"Daisies?"

"They're a happy flower, don't you think?"

"If you say so."

"In the language of flowers, daisies symbolize 'innocence and purity,'" Kate said. "Pink roses are 'love and gratitude.' Baby's breath is 'everlasting love.' And we all know what forget-me-nots mean."

"I guess that is a good wedding bouquet. Since you're so innocent, despite where you lived in your early years."

"Well, they tried to expose me to the 'business' side of things as little as possible."

"Wait, so do you know how it's done?" Kalia asked.

"Theoretically."

"Oh, good. For a moment I thought we were going to have to explain it to you, so you wouldn't be completely shocked on your wedding night."

"Luck would've helped her understand it."

"Oh, I'm sure he would have."

Charlie's cheeks turned pink and burned a little.

"We'll have to take care of the flowers quick. I need time to get ready to play at the jazz hall."

"They won't care if you're late."

"The customers will."