Wedding Bells Are Ringing – Chapter 5
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Blair, along with Kimberly and Nancy, were at Kleinfeld, a top-rated wedding store in Manhattan, which shouldn't be that much of a surprise, since Blair is known to only want the best.
There was Blair, standing in front of the mirror with Kimberly and Nancy sitting a few feet away. The two were examining the dress, seeing if it fits their approval. However, it wouldn't matter much, because Blair's approval was the only one that really mattered.
"So what do you think, Kimberly?" Blair asked while posing in a rather regal manner.
"I think it's perfect for you, Blair." Kimberly nodded.
"Yeah, I really like it myself." Blair grinned, showing her pearly whites. The smile quickly disappeared when Blair looked at her watch, as she was wondering what was taking Tootie and Bailey so long.
"It's been past two hours and they're not here yet!" She complained, which sounded a bit like whining.
"Come on Blair, don't you know how many invitations you ordered in such a short time?" Kimberly tried to reason with Blair, while Nancy nodded.
"Not really, since I pre-ordered those invitations six months ago, so they should have been here by now!"
"You're acting like you're going to get married tomorrow. The wedding is not for at least six months." Nancy dismissed.
"Actually, I was able to move it up to next month just a few minutes ago. Jo's priest was more than happy to accommodate a slot for us." She ended with a wide grin that could give the Cheshire cat's grin some competition.
"What!" Kimberly and Nancy jumped out of their seats and shouted in unison.
"Does Jo know about this?" Nancy asked with slight fear.
"Nope, but she will soon." Blair responded nonchalantly.
Kimberly and Nancy shook their heads and went back to their seats. They knew that the very methodical and forward-planning Jo would not like Blair's spontaneous rescheduling. As it was shown at the birthday/engagement party, Jo did not like surprises.
"Oh boy…" Nancy muttered.
Then all of a sudden, the store's front door flew open. Tootie finally came back from the printing press with Bailey, both winded. In their hands were some of the over 10,000 invitations printed, and that was only half of what Blair ordered!
"What took you so long?" Blair admonished unreasonably to the two women.
"Well, if you didn't make an order to print out invitations for the entire city of New York, then we would have been here sooner." Bailey derided.
Blair just huffed and didn't bother to say a word to her sister.
Tootie didn't bother to respond either; instead she looked at the dress and gushed about it. "Wow, that's a great dress. I know Jo will love it!"
"I don't know, Tootie. She looks a bit fat in it." Bailey dryly teased.
Blair knew her sarcastic sister well enough not to get too angry about it, even though she had weight problems in the past. She was no skinny pencil, but she was at a comfortable and healthy weight that highlighted her curvy figure. None the less, she still spat back at her. "Oh shut up Bailey!"
The rest of the women just giggled, not taking Blair's angry spat seriously.
"Yeah, we finally found one that's perfect for her. It was a relief, since we went through like ten already…" Kimberly derided.
"But it was worth it." Blair chimed. "I want nothing but the best for the wedding."
"I can understand. That's how I was in my wedding. It seems like yesterday when me and Roger got married." Nancy brought it up in a dreamy matter.
"Yeah, that was a wonderful wedding." Kimberly reminisced.
"Wait 'til you look back at your wedding photos and see the hairstyle you had!" Tootie joked. It was in 1986, and it doesn't take much to imagine how bad the hairstyle was back in the eighties.
"Oh God, that big hair of mine…" Nancy shuttered, remembering the big bangs she had. It was "totally rad" back then, but now she would consider it to be "totally bogus". "Yeah, thank God those days are gone."
They all chuckled. Then Blair's phone rang. She looked at her iPhone screen and it displayed "My Sweetie."
"Oh, it's my future wife calling." She squealed like she was still twelve.
She answered it, and Jo's distinctive Bronx accent came through the phone.
"Heya Blair, what's up?"
"Oh nothing. I'm trying on the wedding dress. I think I found one that I really like."
"Wedding dress? You already goin' shoppin' for a dress? I thought you went to get stuff like napkins or decorations?" Jo questioned as her confusion started to grow.
"Of course, sweetie!"
A puzzled look appeared on Jo's face. "Okay… What does it look like?"
The rest of the group were just as puzzled as Jo, and they started to look at each other, questioning what was going on.
"A wedding dress? …Already?" Natalie questioned to Willis. Willis just shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah, why didn't she tell me about this? I could have gone with them." Sue Ann questioned. "How inconsiderate of her!" she huffed.
"Don't even bother, honey. Blair does whatever she feels like." Cindy pointed out to Sue Ann.
"I know that Blair was looking forward to getting married, but I didn't think she was going to go this far!" Jo fretted. "Sometimes, I wonder what my heart was thinking when it chose Blair to be my life-partner."
Back at the wedding shop, Blair took the phone off her ear and asked the group. "Jo wants to see the dress. Can someone send a picture to her?"
"No problem. I will." Tootie responded. She whipped out her new Samsung Galaxy s2 and was about to take a picture before Blair stopped her.
"Hold on. I need to have a better pose."
Blair then put on yet another regal wedding pose with her trademarked hair flip and Tootie took the picture. She then emailed the picture to Jo's email.
On the other end, Jo got a message saying that she received an email. She checked it and saw the photo. Jo rolled her eyes, then smiled. She turned around and showed the picture to everyone.
"Hey check it out, folks."
All the women in the room squealed and gushed about it, even tomboyish Cindy.
"Ahh, she looks so wonderful!" Sue Ann gushed.
Willis smiled when he saw it. "That dress kinda looks like what Sharon wore on our wedding."
"Oh it sure does!" Natalie chimed, while Cindy simply nodded.
However, Jo was in no mood to be ingratiating over the picture.
"I know you really want this wedding to be wonderful n' all, but it's at least six months away." Jo wondered as she expressed her confusion with her free hand.
"Not anymore."
Jo nearly dropped the phone when she heard that. "Whaddiya mean 'not anymore'?" Now Jo was really perplexed.
Blair got nervous and stuttered, "I-I-I w-w-was able to move it up to next month."
Jo nearly had a heart-attack after Blair's last statement, as Jo's well-known short fuse went off.
"WHAT?! NEXT MONTH?!"
"L-l-listen honey, the sooner, the better. There shouldn't be such a long delay for our marriage."
But Jo wanted to hear none of that. "Blair! Why do you keep on doing these things?"
"Because I love you honey, and I want us to be wife and wife soon. Don't you want us to be married?"
"I do, but I wish you would talk about these things with me first. I haven't even picked my bridesmaids!" Jo stressed out.
"You got enough time to pick your bridesmaid." Blair added with a matter-of-fact tone. In her mind, she had already picked hers.
"That's not the point! We're supposed to do this together, that's what couples do. What the hell is wrong with you? Why do you keep on throwing caution to the wind?"
On the other end, Blair was steaming up.
"You have the audacity to say I throw caution to the wind! Who's the police officer here? Who rides the bike here? Who messes with electricity or electrical items here?"
"For the bike part, we both do. I taught you." Jo interrupted.
Blair huffed at the other end. "You know what I mean Jo!"
"I sure do, but they are not good excuses for what you just did! At least you know that I'm a cop, and that I ride a bike. And I always have a plan when I do things. I don't do them at a spur of the moment. Heck, you haven't even gotten your bridesmaid."
"Actually, I have. Could you please put it on speaker?"
"Okay…" Jo selected the speaker button and told Blair "You're now on speaker." She then held her phone out in the room for everybody to hear.
"Good. Sue Ann, do you want to be my bridesmaid?"
"Uh… Sure." Sue Ann answered uncomfortably, as she was put on the spot.
"Good, then you'll join Kimberly, Bailey, Nancy, and Tootie as my bridesmaids."
The four women in the wedding shop were both surprised and delighted. However, Jo still wasn't.
"That's fine, but what about me?"
"Well you can ask Natalie and Cindy, I bet they won't mind." Blair simply suggested. She knew that they would obviously say yes.
"Most likely, they won't. That makes two, I still need three more."
"There's also Molly, I know that she wouldn't mind being your bridesmaid, since you two are very good friends."
"That means nothing, Blair. I still have to call her and see if she will accept it." Jo replied. Unlike Blair, Jo don't take things for granted.
"Then call her and see. If she says no, then it's not the end of the world. You got friends at your job that wouldn't mind being your bridesmaid."
"Okay, I got it Blair. I will give her a call." Jo sighed at the end. She was getting tired of this already, and Blair could detect it in her voice, but she kept silent about it. Instead, she brought up that Jo still needed more bridesmaids.
"That will be great. Now that leaves you with two more."
Jo thought about it for a bit before answering. She was thinking about some of her co-workers being potential bridesmaids, but in the midst of her pondering, a special person in Jo's life popped up. She had a profound effect in Jo's life, ever since that day when Jo's car broke down on her way to Yale. She came to pick her up to take her there, had a wonderful chat in the car, and Jo felt her life has been for the better since.
"Hey, do you think your sister Meg would mind?"
That took Blair by surprise. She was expecting someone from Jo's precinct, or one of her old friends from the Bronx.
"…Uh, I don't think so, but why her?"
"Well, ya know ever since that day we talked, I became more religious. She was one of the reasons why I wanted to be a cop. I wanted to do good for a cause that's greater than I am, and I think this is my way of saying thanks."
Blair smiled on the other end. "Well, do you still have her number?"
"Even though it's been over two years since I've talked to her, I still do."
"That's great. Now you only got one more. So who's the last one?"
Jo was irritated again, as she told Blair.
"Blair, will ya' quit rushin' me? Don't put me on da spot because ya can't wait ta get married."
She replied back in the same manner. "Look! I did it for the both of us, whether you appreciate it or not! Now tell Sue Ann that I'm available anytime tomorrow so that she can try on her dress. Good bye!" Blair hung up and was still fuming. The women were looking at her with some sympathy.
"I told you earlier that Jo wouldn't like it." Bailey admonished with an eye rolled as a touch.
Blair simply responded, "Jo will get over it. I hope…"
They didn't have much time to dwell on the blowup, since they had to start looking for their bridesmaid dresses. After all the trying and fitting in the clothes, Kimberly asked, "So Blair, who's going to be the best woman?"
"Yeah, we need to know now since wedding rehearsal is coming up." Nancy asked.
Blair knew she had to make the decision at that moment. She didn't like to be on the spot, but with the serious glares directed at her, she had no other choice.
"Well Nancy, we've been good friends for over thirty years. I couldn't ask for a better friend." A small blush appeared on Nancy's face. "And Bailey, you're all that I could ask for in a sister, when you're not busy being sarcastic and cynical." At first, she rolled her eyes, then she smiled and nodded. "Kimberly, we used to be enemies, but now we're good friends, and I'm thankful for that." Kimberly chuckled, remembering those verbal fights they had back in their Eastland days. "However, Tootie, you've been the closest to me besides Jo, and you have been a great friend for many years, from the days of Emily Dickinson and that van crash, to now. So I have to say that I want you to be the maid of honor.
The news brought an elated Tootie to tears. "Oh thank you so much!"
She jumped out of her seat and hugged Blair, while the other three watched happily. As Tootie joyfully hugged her, Blair smiled, knowing she had made the right choice on that day.
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When Jo hung up, she sighed without saying a word.
"I wonder if Blair was once a baseball pitcher in her past life, because she likes to throw curveballs at you." Cindy stated while shaking her head.
"Yes, she does… Why does she always do this?"
"I don't know." Cindy shrugged. "But while you were on the phone, screaming at Ms. Park Avenue, Natalie and I did agree to be your bridesmaids."
A small smiled formed on Jo's face, even though she had little doubt that they would turn it down.
"Good. Now I need to give Molly and Sister Meg a call."
"Is she still a nun?" Sue Ann asked.
"Yep. She still is. She moved to that monastery on 83rd Street a few years back. She really loves it. I don't know how she stays celibate."
"With all those women around, what makes you think she does?" Natalie joked with a wink. Everyone laughed, even Jo.
"Ah come on now, Natalie. Not all nuns are repressed lesbians! Most are really straight." Jo dismissed lightheartedly.
"Only thing straight about them is that they like to go straight to the muff!" Willis jibbed along, and that caused even more laughter from the group.
"Oh stop it! Sister Meg is a faithful nun. She wouldn't do those things." Jo dismissed again, this time with her head shaking in disbelief.
"We're just kidding, Jo. We know she is. So who's number five, Jo?" Cindy asked.
"Yeah, don't hold up the suspense, Jo!" Willis added.
However, Jo wouldn't answer their question. "I dunno really. I need to think that one over. Let's just get back to the game. Jeter's up at bat." Jo dismissed in a hurry, clearly she didn't want to talk about it anymore. She left the group hanging, and the conversation switched back to the game.
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After the game was over, everybody was leaving, except Natalie. Jo stopped her.
"Hey Nat, can I see you for a moment?"
"Sure. What's up?"
"Umm…" She was nervous about this. It should be simple, since she's been in life-threatening situations before, yet she was still jittering. "I need ta ask ya sumthin'."
"Okay, what is it?"
Sweat was starting to form on her face. She was getting more tense and nervous. "Do you mind being my maid of honor?"
Natalie quickly got excited. "Of course! I was hoping something like would happen to me."
"Great! Thanks."
Natalie said no more as she left the place. When she was outside, she saw Cindy and Sue Ann waiting.
"So she told you?" Sue Ann chimed.
"How did you two know?"
"Jo wouldn't stop anybody like that unless it's something very important." Sue Ann answered.
"But are you okay with that, Cindy?"
She shrugged, "Sure. You're basically her best friend, next to Blair."
"Yeah, it was obvious that she would choose you." Sue Ann shrugged.
"Well, thanks for both of you understanding and not getting upset."
"That's cool, but who could be the last bridesmaid?" Sue Ann asked.
"Like Jo said, she hasn't decided yet on who is going to be the last one." Natalie shrugged. "Well, she'll eventually tell us. Though I have a big hunch who she is."
The blond couple looked at each other. Sue Ann replied, "You mean…"
"Her?" Cindy finished. She knew who Natalie was referring to.
"Yep, her. Hey, she's one of Jo's dearest friends." Natalie defended.
"I have no problems with her, but Blair on the other hand…" Cindy cautioned.
"Yeah, well she owes her a big apology. I'll tell you more about that later."
"I see. Let's go to a bar or some Irish pub and celebrate. Congratulations Natalie!" Cindy chimed.
"Thanks," Natalie replied as all three headed to their cars.
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