Previously:

"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."

Chapter 15: Bridesmaids

Charlie placed the order for her bouquet and flowers for the bridesmaids and church, and got ready to perform without a moment to spare. She very nearly was late for opening when she arrived at Coraggioso. Charlie smiled at Luck when she saw him and took her place at the piano.

Charlie couldn't wait to tell Luck about everything she had decided on for their wedding (except the lingerie, which was a surprise; she had paid for that with her own money).

Fortunately, time seemed to fly, and soon the customers were leaving, and the jazz hall was closing up.

When Charlie came up to him, Luck could tell she was bursting to tell him something. It wasn't hard to guess what.

"How was it?"

"We took care of everything except booking the band, getting favors for the guests, and picking out the bridesmaids' dresses. The cake is from Esposito's. It's a millefoglie. And the food will be from Angelo's."

"That was fast. And you made good choices. I knew leaving it up to you was the right thing to do. I'll take care of booking the band. I know exactly who to call."

"So how much did all of this cost?" Berga asked.

"Uh, well… you'll see when you get the bills. I apologize in advance."

"That bad, huh?" Luck asked wryly.

"Well, it seemed like a lot to me, but Mrs. Kate and Mrs. Kalia said I got a good price on everything."

"Then you probably did."

"Yeah, they know how much everything costs from their own weddings."

"So when can I see you wearing your wedding dress?"

"At the wedding. It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding."

"You know that, Luck."

"I don't believe in that superstition."

"Better safe than sorry. One of my friends didn't believe in it either. She showed off her dress to her future husband, and the restaurant that was going to cater the wedding was shut down for food poisoning and the bakery they were getting their cake from burned down."

"Wait, this wouldn't be Joe's bakery?"

"The same."

"So you're saying his bakery burned down because of someone else's bad luck?" Berga asked.

"It is quite a coincidence. The Marinos were always very careful about that sort of thing, and yet..."

"Okay, fine. We won't tempt fate."

"Thank you."

—∞—

"In Chinese culture, red is often worn at weddings. It's the color of happiness," Lia said as they looked through the dresses at a certain department store the next day.

"Red would look good on you, but I think it would clash with Ennis' hair."

"Ah, that's true."

"Is there any color that won't clash with her hair?" Seina asked.

"Maybe a purple or navy blue..."

"Um… if it's causing a problem, I can—"

"I want you there, Ennis."

"I-I see."

That made Ennis happy.

"Then, I don't mind wearing whatever color you pick."

"See? Ennis herself said she doesn't mind."

"I don't mind either," Lia said.

"What colors are the flowers in your bouquet?" Seina asked.

"White, pink, and blue."

"Let's get something in pink or blue, then."

Charlie and her bridesmaids looked at all the blue and pink dresses and managed to find a floaty chiffon tea dress in blush pink that more or less suited everyone, even Ennis.

"This is lovely," Lia said, admiring the dress on herself as she turned to look in the mirror at different angles.

'I really did end up getting something pink...' Charlie thought wryly. She would have preferred blue, but none of the blues they encountered were the right shade or temperature. This pink dress could be worn by all three women. And it was affordable.

"I have a pair of white shoes I could wear with this," Seina said.

"I'll wear pink shoes with mine," Lia said. She had a pair that were just slightly darker than the color of the dress. "What about you, Ennis?"

"I… I don't have any shoes to wear with it."

Ennis just now realized how limited her wardrobe was.

"Well, let's get you some."

"Are we wearing gloves with our dresses?"

"It's a formal occasion. We should wear gloves."

"Do you need gloves, too, Ennis?"

"Yes."

"Stockings?"

"Yes."

They bought the dresses, which were folded up neatly and placed inside boxes for them.

They looked at the shoes next. There were shelves upon shelves filled with boxes. Some of the different types of shoes were on display. They gleamed, shiny and new, beckoning to all who saw them. A faint smell of leather pervaded the air.

Ennis had thought the display of dresses was impressive, but the shoes seemed to have their own kingdom.

The ruler of this kingdom was currently assisting another shopper, who was trying on a number of shoes. She looked up and said, "I'll be with you in a moment, ladies. Please feel free to browse."

So Charlie, Ennis, Lia, and Seina began to look through the shoes. They found several pink shoes, but they were all the wrong shade. They began looking at the white shoes, and found a pair Ennis liked that wasn't expensive.

"Do you know what size you are?"

Ennis shook her head.

At that moment, the sales clerk popped over to assist them.

"How can I help you? Ah, you have your eyes on a very good shoe. Simple but elegant and not too expensive."

"Yes, but could you measure her feet first?"

"Certainly. This way, please."

The sales clerk guided Ennis over to a chair where the foot measuring device was waiting. She had Ennis put her foot on it and took her measurements.

"Still want that shoe you were looking at?"

"Yes."

"I'll be right back."

The sales clerk left to retrieve the shoes in Ennis's size. She returned and helped Ennis put them on.

"They fit," Ennis said.

"Try walking around in them a little to be sure."

Ennis stood up and walked around. There were no problems. They bought the shoes and moved on to the stockings, where they picked out a nice pair of nylons for her. Then they went to the gloves and got her a set in a classic style.

"I spent more than I meant to."

Ennis was concerned. Firo had been kind enough to help her pay for the dress, but then she went and got more things than they agreed on.

"I'm sure Firo will think it was worth it when he sees you wearing it."

"It's good you buy all this," Lia said. "Now Firo can take you someplace nice."

"Yeah, if he wants to take you to a nice restaurant, you'll have something to wear."

"Oh, he doesn't have to do that. He does so much for me already. And I can cook spaghetti and meatballs now, and I bought a cookbook."

"Ennis, if Firo offers to take you out, it's because he wants to do it. I think it would make him happier if you said yes than if you said no," Charlie said.

"… You think so?"

"I agree," Lia said.

"Men like to feel needed," Seina said sagely, nodding her head.

—∞—

Somewhere in Little Italy. Firo's apartment.

"So, how'd it go?" Firo asked Ennis when he came home.

"It went well. Charlie wanted to find a dress that looked good on everyone, so it took a while, but we found one. Only… I had to buy three other things as well..."

"What three other things?"

"Shoes, stockings, and gloves."

"Oh."

It hadn't occurred to Firo that she would need those things, too, but when he thought about how most women dressed, it made sense.

"That's all right. Can I see how it all looks together?"

Ennis nodded and went into her room to change.

Firo waited a few minutes, and when she came out, he was floored. His jaw dropped as he stared at her. For a few minutes, that was all he did, stare at her.

"Um… Is everything all right? I hope you're not mad..."

That snapped Firo out of it.

"Mad? Why would I be mad? Y-you look beautiful! Really. I'm glad you got everything you needed."

As he spoke, Firo started to blush more and more, but he managed to calm himself down and it went away. She had really caught him off-guard.

"Really?"

Ennis smiled, blushing a little, and Firo felt that it was totally worth whatever he had to pay. He would've bought a hundred dresses to see Ennis smile like that.

—∞—

The next day. Coraggioso.

"What brings you here, Firo?" Luck asked a little curiously. Wasn't it about time for him to go to work?

"Ah, no. I was just looking for Charlie. Ennis was really happy with the dress she picked. I wanted to thank her."

Firo held up a small paper bag that held Charlie's favorite pastry in it.

"Is that so? In that case, I'm glad for you."

"Huh?"

"It made you happy, too, right?"

"Ah, yeah… You should've seen her smile. It-it was beautiful."

"Did you tell her that?"

"Yeah."

"Good. At least you were able to communicate that much to her. Maybe you'll be able to hold her hand soon."

"W-what? Why would I want to hold her hand? Look, just give this to Charlie when you see her and tell her I said thanks."

Luck smiled. Firo was so obvious. His whole face was red.

"Sure. I can do that for you."

"Thanks."

with that Firo left before Luck tried to put anymore crazy ideas in his head.

—∞—

"Hm? What's this?" Charlie said when Luck gave her the paper bag Firo had left for her.

"Firo wanted to thank you for making Ennis happy."

"I made her that happy?"

Charlie thought about it for a moment.

"Firo must've seen her in the dress and smiled. She was worried she had spent too much because there were a few other things she needed, but I told her Firo would think it was worth it once he saw her wearing everything."

"You were right. He told her she looked beautiful."

"Ah, I bet that's what really made her smile."

"You think his love is reciprocated?"

"Ennis can be a bit dense when it comes to stuff like that, so she probably just sees Firo as family right now… but I think once she starts to consider the possibility, it could happen. I don't know how long it would take, though."

"Good thing they're both immortal."

"I don't think you two can talk about others taking their time," Berga said, alerting them to his arrival. "You took two years to get together and then you took another four months to get engaged. That's almost three years you've known each other without anything happening."

"I'd say a lot happened in the last four months."

"What do you think we've been doing, twiddling our thumbs?"

"What's in the bag?"

"Oh, this? I don't know."

Charlie opened the bag and peered inside. She grinned.

"What is it?"

"This," Charlie said, removing the pastry from the bag.

"Ah. I see he got you your favorite."

"I'll save it for after lunch."

"Why not just eat it now?"

"Don't tempt me. My self-control isn't that strong. These things are my achilles heel."

"You'd better stay away from them until after the wedding then, or they might have to adjust your dress again."

"Berga… Women who gain weight live a lot longer than the men who talk about it."

"… You're a little scary sometimes."

It was quite a cold look she was giving him, as cold as the iceberg that sank the Titanic.

"I'm sure that won't be a problem. Charlie takes good care of herself."

"I limit myself to one sweet a day, if that."

"Your self-control sounds all right to me."

"Not when it comes to waiting. I try to save dessert for after supper, but I often end up cracking around lunchtime."

"That doesn't sound like a problem to me."

"It is when I've specially baked a cake and plan to eat a slice after supper, but I see one of these babies in the window on display."

"That's a pathetic dilemma. Just eat them both."

"Weren't you just saying I should watch my waistline?"

"So who did you book for the wedding?" Berga asked Luck, wisely changing the subject.

"The Jerry's boys."

"Oh, yeah. They were pretty good."

"I don't think I've heard them before."

"No, you were at Alveare that night. But you would've liked them. They play music you can dance to."

"That's good. I want to dance at my wedding."

"I thought you would."