thirteen: dresses & details

a month and a half later

mid-april

Austin sat at his computer, drumming his fingers nervously on the keyboard. It was about a month after they'd gotten out of quarantine and he was waiting for Ally to show up at his apartment so they could get some more details set in place for the wedding. They'd all been very grateful to finally leave the Music Factory, but Ally made them promise to be careful so they could all stay healthy for the wedding, and as a result, insisted on doing most of their planning via video chat. Today was a big day, however; one they felt they needed to be together for. Austin and Ally were going to pick out wedding rings, and Ally was also going dress shopping with Trish, Mimi, and Penny, who'd booked a special flight back from Africa to help her pick it out.

Austin heard a knock at the door and jumped up, setting his laptop down on the couch lightly and rubbing his hands on his pants. He went over to meet Ally, who he was sure was grinning underneath her mask.

"Hey," he greeted, giving her a side hug.

"Hey, yourself," she teased, walking into his apartment and over to the couch. She sat down and pulled her laptop. "You ready for today?"

"Yeah-bsolutely," he smiled and took a seat next to her. "Remind me what all is happening today? All this research has turned my brain into scrambled eggs."

Ally giggled. "We're going to pick out our wedding rings, remember? Oh, also, my mom is flying in to help me pick out my dress. And we have to pick our maid of honor and best man soon...which shouldn't be too hard. I mean, I already know who I'm going to pick."

"Yeah," Austin said, biting his lip. "So, if you're going dress shopping, does that mean..."

"Yes, you have to pick out your tux," Ally finished, "You've literally had about a month to do it and it still hasn't been done, so you should go get it soon. It's kind of a big part of the groom's job."

"It's so weird hearing you say that word," Austin mused, "Groom. I can't believe you get to call me that."

"It'll be even weirder calling you husband." Ally smiled, glancing up at him. "A good weird, though."

"Aren't those, like, the same?" Austin furrowed his brow.

"Kind of...Nobody will call you the groom after the wedding, though. It's like a wedding night-only thing."

"Huh. That's weird."

Ally stifled a laugh. "Yeah, it is." She looked over at the clock, which said 11:15. "Should we get going?" she asked, "Our appointment is at 11:30." Austin nodded. The two of them put their masks back on and headed out to Austin's car.

"Ugh, it's so hot out here," Ally commented once they were outside. It was mid-April, but that still meant hot weather in Miami. She preferred wintertime in Florida since even the spring gave them seventy to eighty degree weather. She enjoyed the luxury of wearing a light jacket, because the opportunity didn't present itself that often. Plus, any temperature higher than eighty degrees was torture if you weren't by a body of water.

When they got to the jewelry store, Austin turned the car off and they headed inside, holding hands the entire time. A young man who looked to be in his thirties greeted them when they walked in, and Ally looked around in wonder as the man started talking to Austin, who had been in this store before when he picked out Ally's engagement ring. This was all new to his fiancée, though, who became fascinated with every ring that she saw. Austin followed Ally around the store as she pointed out various different rings and he nodded in approval, only for her to move on to a different one. As much fun as it was planning the wedding, Austin was incredibly bored. After looking at about twenty different rings, Austin sighed.

"These all look good, Ally. Why don't we just pick one?"

She gave him a stern look. "Because there's no going back on this, Austin. We're going to be wearing these for the rest of our lives!"

Austin's eyes widened. "Well, when you put it like that..." They looked around for a while longer until Austin dragged her over to the section of the store that had the cheapest rings.

"See, I like these. They're cheap and simple. Who cares if our wedding rings are sparkly, anyway?"

Ally frowned. "I guess. I mean, my engagement ring is already pretty sparkly. Besides, we need to save money if we're going to fit the bouncy house into the budget."

"Exactly my point."

Ally rolled her eyes. "Okay, so then which one do you like?"

"I kind of like this one." Austin pointed to a simple silver ring with white on the inside. "It's only Four hundred and fifteen dollars."

Four hundred?" Ally exclaimed, her eyes widening a little. "That's a lot!"

"Not compared to your engagement ring," Austin muttered.

"What was that?" Ally asked, only half-listening as she admired the ring in her hands.

"Nothing. Anyways, do you like that one?"

"I do." She looked up at Austin, grinning.

"Great. We'll have two of those," Austin said, turning to the employee, "One in a size four, one in a size 6.5."

After Austin paid for the rings, they headed back to his apartment to do some more planning. The wedding was in less than eight months, and they still had a lot to figure out. It wasn't stressing them out too much yet, but if they put off planning out the big stuff any longer, Austin knew it would get stressful for both of them— especially Ally.

"So, we never really decided which song we want to have our first dance to," Ally mused as they stepped back into his apartment, "Or what we want to walk down the aisle to. Or what we're serving at the reception, or"—

"Ally." Austin put both hands on her shoulders. "Calm down. We'll get it all done."

"But how?" she asked, "Austin, the wedding is in eight months and the world has basically shut down. Nothing's even going to be open."

"Not true," Austin said, grabbing a notepad from the counter. "The other day, I ordered our wedding cake. A six-layer, white chocolate cake, to be specific." He showed her the notepad and she grinned. "The one that you made in high school."

"You mean the one I ended up covered in after Dez slammed the door in my face? Yeah, I remember that clear as day," she stifled a laugh. "But we haven't even set a date yet, remember? When did you tell them to have it made by?"

Austin's smile faded. "Oh, right. Uh...I need to go make a call." He grabbed the notepad and went into the other room. Ally shook her head. Austin might've been a little dim at times, but that was what made him cute. That was what made him Austin.

Austin emerged from the other room a few minutes later. "Okay, I didn't know which date to tell them so I just cancelled the order. We can always reorder it when we decide on a date." Ally nodded.

"We should probably take care of that first," she said. "I'll ask my mom when she's going to be home from Africa when we go dress shopping this afternoon and we can base it off of that. She's gone quite a bit and I don't want her to miss my special day. Plus, I want both my parents to walk me down the aisle. It'll be more special."

Austin nodded. "Same here. My mom insisted on both of them walking me down, too. I'm their only kid, after all."

"Yeah." Ally paused. "Well, let's look at the calendar and pick out some dates. I think we should wait until the end of the year, so like the end of November/early December...except the end of November is my birthday, so... let's look at early December."

"Early December sounds good," Austin agreed. "The weather will be nice, then, too."

Ally pulled up her calendar. "We want to make sure it's not too close to Christmas, or else not many people will show up. Then again, we don't know what the case counts will be like in December..." her voice trailed off as she stared at her computer screen.

"That's a good point," Austin said. "What about the first weekend of December? Like, the fifth? That's a Saturday."

"Looks good to me. It should be on a Saturday so people don't have to miss it because of work." Ally bit back a smile. "So, are we going with the fifth?"

"I think we are."

Ally squealed. "This is so exciting, we have a date set for our wedding! We should tell our parents. Ooh, we should tell our wedding party. Wait...we don't have a wedding party yet...Agh there's so much to do! We have to"—

Before she could say anything else, Austin leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips. Ally sighed, leaning into it and pulling away a few seconds later. "Yeah, you're right. I should probably shut up now."

Austin chuckled. "That wasn't to get you to shut up. I think it's cute when you ramble like that. I just wanted you to stop worrying about everything."

Ally smiled. "Well...thanks," she said, "I appreciate that, but we still have a lot to do, and not much time. First, we have to create a guest list. Now, we should be careful about who we invite so we can keep it small. It's probably a good idea to encourage the guests to get tested, too, even though it'll be outdoors." She paused and shook her head. "Hold on, I'm getting sidetracked. You start making a list of people you want to invite and I'll start making mine. I have to go in about an hour, so we can share who we put down before I leave."

"Sounds good," Austin said with a smile. Ally put on some music and both started to work on their prospective guest lists, humming along and occasionally asking each other questions. They kept this up for about forty-five minutes, until Ally received a text from Trish, asking if she was ready to go. Trish had been dying to help Ally pick out her dress, especially since, as an extrovert, quarantine was taking a toll on her. She'd been talking about it for weeks.

"Okay, Trish just texted that she's almost here. What've you got so far?" Ally asked her fiancé.

Austin frowned. "Uh, I don't have many."

Ally gave him a gentle smile. "That's okay, just show me what you have. I won't judge."

He grinned sheepishly and showed her his computer, on which he had written only a few names: Mimi, Mike, Trish, Dez, and both sets of grandparents. "I promise I was trying...I just don't know that many people."

Ally giggled. "It's fine, we can always work on that later. I basically have the same thing, plus a few family friends. We have to keep it small, anyway, so if we only come up with, like, fifty people we want to invite, that's completely fine." She stood up from the couch and grabbed her purse from the counter.

"Trish is here, so I have to run. But we'll talk more later, okay?" Austin followed her.

"Okay." He gave her a peck on the lips and watched her walk out the door, a grin forming on his face.

"I'm so lucky," he muttered to himself, the smile only growing bigger. He picked up his phone to call Dez and begged him to help him find his tux. He needed to make sure everything was perfect for their big day, and even though there'd been a slight hiccup when he got the ring, he still trusted his best friend. The clock was ticking; they had no time to waste.

Ally stepped inside Trish's car, feeling palpable energy radiating off of her best friend. Trish squealed with excitement when she saw Ally.

"Heyyy, girlfriend! You ready to say yes to the dress?"

"Absolutely," Ally smiled, "We finally set a date today, and that's making it feel more...real."

"Ooooh, really? When? I've gotta mark my calendar!"

"December 5th," Ally replied, stifling a laugh at her friend's excitement. "You'll be there right?"

"Well, DUH! I wouldn't miss this for the world! Have you decided on a theme yet? Or a location?"

"We don't have a theme yet, but we want it to be outside, for a multitude of reasons. And I'm glad you said that because I actually had a question I wanted to ask you."

Trish's smile never disappeared and she squirmed in her seat. She'd been waiting for Ally to ask this question since Valentine's Day, when she'd gotten engaged. "Okay..."

"Well, I was debating on how to do this because I know a lot of people create these fancy baskets with embroidered cards, but I felt like this way would be more heartfelt," she cleared her throat, "Trish, I don't think there's been anyone who's had a bigger impact on my life than you. When we met in kindergarten, we just clicked, and you stuck by my side. Through my stage fright, through the many ups and downs in my relationship with Austin, through my highest points and my lowest points... I'm so incredibly grateful for you and," a tear forced itself down her cheek and she couldn't help but laugh, "man, I should've gone with the basket..."

Trish smiled and nodded, telling her to go on. "Well, I...I was wondering if you would be my maid of honor"—

"Yes, yes, yes, a hundred times yes! Absolutely. I'm so proud of you, Ally. You've come so far. I'd be honored." They shared an awkward hug over the console, and by the time they parted, happy tears were filling both of their eyes.

"Well, shall we?" Ally asked, wiping her eyes and buckling her seatbelt.

Trish smiled. "We shall."

Dez darted down the driveway with a skip in his step, yanking the door open and hopping in the passenger seat gleefully. "Hi."

"Hey," Austin chuckled, putting the car in reverse. "You ready for this?"

"Totally. My best bud is picking out his tux! This is a momentous occasion!"

"Do you even know what either of those words mean?"

"Nope!"

Austin shook his head. "So, uh, there's actually something I wanted to talk to you about."

Dez raised his eyebrows. "Okay..."

"Well, uh, you've been one of my best buds since, like, forever, and I was wondering if you'd be my"—

"Flower Girl? I thought you'd never ask!" Austin frowned.

"Uh, no, Dez...I was going to ask if you'd be my best man?" Dez's face fell, then a smile gradually appeared on it.

"Wait, you don't trust me to be your flower girl, but you do trust me as your best man?"

Austin nodded, trying not to take his focus off the road. "Well, I mean, part of it is that...you're not a girl...but don't question my logic, dude. Anyway, what do you say?"

"Of course, man. I'd be honored." Dez gave him a small smile.

"Cool."

Austin kept driving and the conversation eventually shifted to other topics. Before they knew it, they'd arrived at Men's Warehouse, the place that Austin's dad had suggested he rent his tux. He knew that this was the only occasion when he'd even be wearing one and figured renting could save them money in the long run. He and Dez entered the store and looked around for the cheapest yet sharpest looking tux.

"Ooh, what about this one?" Dez was standing next to a mannequin with a suit on that had colorful diamonds all over the vest and matching pants.

Austin raised an eyebrow. "I think that's more your style, Dez. I want simple, yet chill. Like a black coat with a dark blue vest and a matching bow tie. And black pants. And black shoes. Not that I've...thought about it or anything."

"You think this is my style, huh?" Dez mused, looking closer at the mannequin. "When I imagine my and Carrie's wedding day, I always picture myself in one that has flamingos all over it. It's classy, stylish, and Carrie loves flamingos."

"Dude, it's my wedding day not yours. Plus, I don't think they make jackets with flamingos on them."

"Did you know a group of flamingos is called a flamboyance?"

"Dez!" Austin snapped his fingers, annoyed. "If you aren't going to be helpful, then why did you come?"

"Because being unhelpful is my personality, duh," Dez said, obviousness layering his voice. "At least, that's what Trish says."

Austin rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'm going to go find someone who can help me try this on." After he disappeared, Dez turning back to the diamond-patterned tux in front of him, frowning. He hadn't told anyone yet, but the reason he agreed to come with Austin was because he was entertaining the idea of proposing to Carrie. He'd seen how happy Austin was with Ally and he selfishly wanted that for him and Carrie, too. He just needed to figure out if that was what she wanted.

Dez thought about the conversation he'd had with Trish before they left for tour, and how she had said that Carrie was his person. He hadn't really know what that meant until he flew back and they'd spent the next couple of months playing video games, watching zombie movies, and obsessing over llama videos they found on the internet. The feeling he had gotten deep down in his stomach when he had to get on his plane back to Miami, that familiar gut-wrenching ache, confirmed Trish's comment. Dez wasn't certain about a lot of things, but one thing he did know was that he never wanted to be apart from Carrie ever again.

an hour later

Ally trudged out of the dressing room, beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she spun around for what felt like the millionth time to showcase a dress for her mom, Trish, and Mimi. The three ladies sat on the bench in anticipation, and though Ally couldn't see their faces, the crinkle by their eyes indicated that they liked this one...just like they had liked the other hundred dresses she'd twirled around in.

"So," she said, lifting the left side of the dress and striking a pose, "How do you guys like this one?"

"I like it," Trish mused, nodding.

Penny nodded in agreement.

"It suits you."

"You look beautiful, sweetie," Mimi added.

Ally groaned, throwing her head back. "You've said that for every dress I've tried on! Give me something more...I don't know, enthusiastic!"

"Wow! I love it!" Trish exclaimed with obviously fake excitement. "There, how's that?"

"Ally, honey, don't worry if you don't find your dress right away. It often takes a while for the bride to find the perfect fit. It took me hours, but I eventually found mine." Penny went over to Ally and rubbed her shoulder.

"Yeah, and how'd that work out for ya?" Ally snapped, surprising everyone including herself. "Sorry, it's just...I'm tired, I'm hot, and the mask makes it hard to breathe. It's necessary, but it's a pain in the butt."

Penny laughed. "I deserved that, I guess. You'll find your dress eventually, though, I promise. Here, let's have you try on another one. Your perfect dress is right around the corner, I can feel it."

After trying on two more, Ally was nearly ready to give up. She'd gotten up early to get some wedding details in order and it was especially hot in Miami that day. She walked out of the dressing room and right away, she could tell something was different about this one from the way her mom, Mimi, and Trish reacted.

The dress itself was plain white and fairly long, but light and flowy. Lace covered the front of the dress from her chest to the middle of her torso. It lined her sleeves and stretched to the back, where there was an opening from her shoulders to just above her hip, which Ally wasn't a big fan of. Nevertheless, she could tell that everyone's reactions were genuine.

"Honey, it's..." A tear escaped Penny's eye when she saw her daughter. "It's gorgeous." Ally looked down at the dress, grinning.

"You really think so?"

"Oh, yeah. Girl you look hot in that dress!" Trish exclaimed, making all four of them burst into laughter.

"Oh, sweetheart!" Mimi exclaimed, standing up to take a closer look at it. "You look beautiful!" Ally grinned, spinning around to look at it more closely in the mirror.

"Thanks, Mimi," she replied as Mimi took a seat back on the bench. Penny then came forward, admiring the design.

"What do you think, Ally?" she asked eagerly. "Is it the one?"

Ally glanced around to make sure nobody saw her pull her mask down so she could reveal the huge smile that had formed on her face. "I love it."

All four of them squealed with excitement, calling the employee over to see what she thought. She agreed that it was a perfect fit, and after confirming that alterations could be made to the back, Ally purchased the dress and headed back outside with her mom, Trish, and Mimi. She wouldn't get to actually see it until the alterations were made, which would take a few weeks, but the thought of seeing Austin's reaction as she walked down the aisle in the dress made her heart flutter. She couldn't wait until the big day.

Ally sauntered back into Austin's apartment after Trish dropped her off, a grin stretching across her face. Austin glanced up at her when she walked in.

"So... Did the wedding dress shopping went well?" he asked.

"It did," Ally replied, taking a seat next to him. "After about an hour I found the perfect dress. It's stunning. I can't wait for you to see it." She sighed. "What about you, any luck finding a tuxedo?"

"Yep. And Dez found his, too."

"His best man tux?" Ally asked.

Austin faked a laugh. "Nope. The tux he wants to wear at his wedding. He started talking about how he wants to propose to Carrie which is like, great, awesome, but this is my wedding we're shopping for. He wasn't much of a help, to say the least."

Ally's eyes widened. "Wait, Dez wants to propose to Carrie? That's amazing, Austin! Why aren't you happy for him?"

"I am!" Austin argued, "I never said I wasn't."

"Well, it sure sounds like you weren't supportive. You should call Dez and apologize. What did he say when you told him you were proposing to me?" Ally's eyes locked with Austin's. He suddenly felt guilty.

"He said go for it," Austin mumbled, "Of course, that was way before I bought the ring, too. Still, he was behind me 100%."

"Exactly," Ally said, gripping his hand, "So why can't you do that for him? You're being selfish right now, Austin. Dez is your best friend. Go apologize."

Austin sighed. Deep down, he knew that Ally was right. She was always right about these things. He thanked her and gave her a peck on the cheek before grabbing his phone and going into the other room to call Dez. Ally kept working on getting details straightened out until he came back, but found it hard to focus. She'd never seen Austin and Dez get into an argument like this (a worthwhile one, at least). Sure they'd had little disagreements here and there, but this was next level.

She tensed up when he returned, but he sent her a reassuring smile, telling her that everything had gone okay, and that Dez had forgiven him. Ally nodded and turned her attention back to her computer.

"So, what else do we have to do today? Or, what do we have to do before December fifth?" Austin grabbed a soda from his refrigerator and sat back down on the couch.

"Well, I made a list." Ally pulled out a notebook where she'd written down everything they still needed to do, to her recollection. It looked a little something like this:

For reception

Order cake

Finalize guest list

Create/plan menu

Confirm venue booking

Create playlist

-decide on first dance song/walking down aisle song

For ceremony

Hire officiant

Order flowers

Pick best man/ maid of honor

Pick flower girl/ring bearer

Write vows

Pick rest of wedding party (bridesmaids/groomsmen?)

Austin's eyes slowly widened as he read through the list. "Wow," he finally said, "There's...a lot to do."

"I know it looks intimidating, but we can do it. We still have eight months until the big day." She paused. "So, what do you want to work on first? I figured we could start with the music...should be easy, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay, so, let's start with our first dance song. Have any ideas for that one?"

"Actually, I do," Austin said, surprising her, "I've known what song I wanted to have my first dance to for a long time."

"Wait, you have?" Ally asked, "I didn't think you were that kind of guy."

"Well, I am," Austin chuckled, "I've narrowed it down to three. 'I swear' by John Michael Montgomery, 'Perfect' by Ed Sheeran, and 'I Do it For You' by Bryan Adams."

"All of those are solid choices." Ally nodded, impressed. "I originally was thinking we could have our first dance to the instrumental version of 'Two in a Million,' but now I think I want to walk down the aisle to it. It seems perfect for that."

Austin nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking, too. It represents us so well. So, what do you think about the first dance song?"

"I had a couple of ideas for that, too. There's this song by Dolly Parton, 'From Here to the Moon and Back,' that I think really represents our relationship, not to mention it has your last name in it—well, soon to be our last name." Ally looked up the song on YouTube and pressed play. They listened to it for a few seconds until Austin got up from the couch and held out his hand.

"May I have this dance?"

Ally giggled. "Um, sure?" He pulled her up and they swayed back and forth to the sound of Dolly Parton's voice. Austin occasionally twirled Ally around, spinning her out and bringing her back in, both his arms wrapped around her. Neither of them said a word as they danced; they just gazed into each other's eyes until the song ended.

"So, I take it you like the song?" Ally whispered as they sat in each other's arms, not wanting to let go.

"I think it's perfect."

Ally grinned in response. "I agree. It's very 'us.'"

Austin nodded and leaned down to kiss her before she could say another word. Suddenly, Ally forgot all about everything they had to do and just about melted with happiness. The kiss didn't last long, but it was sweet and passionate, and they held each other a while longer before letting go.

"So, we have 'Two in a Million' for when the wedding party comes in, and 'From Here to the Moon and Back' for our first dance?" Ally confirmed, and Austin nodded. "Great. Now we just need to create the rest of the playlist and decide which songs we want to dance with our parents to...and complete the rest of this list." She sighed. "You know, I'm really looking forward to our wedding, but planning it sure is a lot of work."

"Yeah. It's a lot more money than just going to City Hall and eloping. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not completely against that option, either." Austin chuckled. Ally nodded in agreement.

"That sounds really tempting right now," she mused. "But I'm only getting married once. I've dreamed about my wedding since I was a little girl. Plus I want my friends and family there, too. I think Trish is more excited about this than I am."

"Really? I didn't think that was possible," Austin joked. Ally smiled but was quickly distracted by her cell phone ringing. She looked at the caller ID and saw her dad's contact. Figuring he was just calling about something wedding-related, she answered cheerfully.

"Hey, dad," she chirped, "What's up?"

"Hey, Ally," his voice came from the other end, "Um, listen, there's something you should know about."

"Okay..." Ally was starting to get suspicious. His voice sounded serious. Her mind started to flood with questions.

"Well, last week, a friend of mine tested positive for the virus. He didn't think he had it because his symptoms were fairly mild but evidently he did. And...I was with him last week so I had to get tested too."

Ally gulped. "Oh, no, that's terrible! Have you had any symptoms?"

"Well, that's the thing. The only symptoms I've had are a slight cough and fever, so I thought it was just a cold. The bad news is I tested positive."

Ally's heart dropped. "So, what does that mean?"

"Well, I can't go anywhere for a while," Lester said, the disappointment obvious in his voice, "I was actually calling to see if you'd set a date for the wedding yet so I knew if I could come or not."

Ally shook her head. "It's not until December fifth. But don't say that— we can't have the wedding without you!"

Lester sighed in relief. "Oh, good. Well, I'll be out of quarantine by then. Luckily my case isn't as bad as some of the others."

Ally nodded. "Just... keep us updated on everything so we know whether to reschedule or not."

"Ally, you don't need to reschedule for me"—

"I'm not willing to compromise on this one, dad. I want you there."

There was a pause, and Austin looked over at Ally with concern, placing his hand on top of hers. When he saw a tear roll down her cheek, he and reached over to wipe it away. Ally looked over at him and after a few seconds, Austin mouthed, 'is everything okay?' She ignored him and said goodbye to her dad, hanging up the phone. She leaned back against the couch and sighed, staring up at the ceiling.

"What was that about?" Austin asked softly.

"My dad has Covid," was all she said. "His symptoms are mild but I'm still worried about him." Austin grabbed her hand and gently kissed it before pulling her closer to him.

"Everything's gonna be fine, Als," he whispered into her ear. "I promise."

Ally glanced up at him. "You really think so?"

Austin didn't know a lot about the virus other than it affecting people differently. There was a lot about it that confused him, and when he tried to look it up he got even more confused by all the medical terminology he came across. There was only one thing he knew for sure, and that was that Lester was a fairly healthy person. The people that the virus hit the hardest were people with underlying conditions. Nevertheless, he knew it was a scary thing, and that Ally was terrified of it. Seeing his fiancée upset always made him bummed out, too, and while he couldn't make the virus go away he could at least try to make her feel better.

He exhaled silently and nodded. "I know so."

Wow okay, once again a lot to unpack xD Yay for Ally and Austin getting started with wedding stuff! but poor Lester caught the virus :( Read on to find out what happens on A & A's big day! Oh, and don't forget to follow, favorite and review :D -EJ