"Hey, gals," Lilian said with a smile as Lita and Trish walked up to the bench where she and Stephanie were sitting.
"Hey girl," Trish said with a giggle, reaching down to hug Lilian. "How's my favorite pregnant engaged blonde ring announcer?"
"I'm the only pregnant engaged blonde ring announcer and I'm fine," Lilian said with a laugh as she hugged Trish back, accepting the blonde's hand to help her up. "A little nauseous but fine. How are you?"
"I'm great," Trish said, looping her elbow through Lilian's. "Ready to look at some wedding dresses!"
"Yeah, me too," Lilian said with a grin, winking at Lita as Trish all but pulled the blonde into the dress shop. "How are you doing, Li?"
"I'm good, Lil," Lita replied. "Tired, but good."
"Ah, out partying late again, eh, Li?" Stephanie asked, holding the door of the boutique for the redhead.
"Yeah, I'm a real party animal," Lita said dryly. The others laughed as they entered the dress shop, quickly becoming quiet as they simply stared.
"Wow," Lilian murmured as she looked at the rows and rows of wedding dresses and bridesmaids dresses. "Good God there's so many dresses."
The girls stared at the dresses for a few more moments until an older lady in a business suit walked up to them. "Hello, ladies," the woman said. "My name is Susan. Can I help you with anything?"
"Yeah… I'm getting married in a few months and I need a wedding dress and possibly bridesmaid dresses," Lilian said, feeling slightly overwhelmed by all the possible dresses.
"Okay," Susan said. "Do you have any ideas about what type of dress you would like?"
"I just want something simple, yet elegant and pretty," she responded, allowing Susan to lead her and the ladies to a section with wedding dresses.
"How about bridesmaids dresses?" Susan asked. "Do you have any colors in mind?"
"Well, my fiancé and I decided that our colors would be pastel pink, cream, and white," she replied slowly, thinking. Lilian then cleared her throat slightly and said, "There's one more thing. I'm pregnant. I'll be five months pregnant at the time of the wedding. If I choose a dress here, what do I do about alterations?"
"It's not a problem, dear," Susan said kindly. "Just make sure you try the dress on at least two weeks in advance and there will be no problems to do alterations."
"Okay," Lilian said, relieved.
Two hours later, Lilian had tried on five possible dresses, and had narrowed the choices down to two possibilities. As she was walking through the bridal boutique, however, yet another dress caught her eye.
"Oh, my God," Lilian gasped, detouring to the dress. "This is it. This is my dress," she gushed, pulling the dress off the rack.
The dress was simple, a flowing white strapless gown. There was a slit along the right side to the knee, and a very small train. There were no fancy beads or sequins, it was just… elegant.
"It's perfect, Lil," Stephanie said quietly, tears forming in her eyes as she looked at the dress Lilian held up to her body.
"Why don't you try it on," Susan suggested gently. Lilian nodded, stepping into a dressing room and pulling on the dress quickly. She stepped out, all four ladies breath catching as she did so.
"God, Lilian," Trish was the first to speak up, stepping up to her so she could zipper the back of the dress. "You look so beautiful."
"Do I really?" Lilian asked shyly, turning so she could see the dress from the back.
"Girl, you are going to knock Dave off his feet as you walk up the aisle," Lita replied with a shake of her head.
"You look so amazing," Stephanie added.
Lilian glanced in the mirror again, looking at Susan, who too was smiling. "I think we have a winner," Lilian told the saleswoman.
Half an hour later, the girls left the boutique, one wedding dress paid for and on hold until Lilian could pick it up later in the week. They hadn't seen any bridesmaid dresses they liked, but they weren't worried. After all, there were still a few months to find dresses. They were all giggling loudly as they walked down the street, excited for Lilian. "I am so hungry," Trish declared. "How about you girls?"
"My stomach's settled down. I could go for something to eat right now," Lilian admitted.
"Like what? Some ice cream with hot sauce?" Stephanie asked, feigning shock when Lilian flipped her off. "Ms. Garcia! Don't be doing that kinda stuff! You may corrupt Baby!"
"Eh, Baby can't see me," Lilian said with a shrug, placing a hand on her stomach. "Besides, you know I hate hot, spicy stuff."
"What are you doing with Dave, then?" Lita asked slyly, grinning when Lilian flipped her the bird also. "Okay then, ice cream with barbeque sauce?"
"You guys are so mean to me," Lilian grumbled, linking her arm through Trish's and walking ahead of Stephanie and Lita. "To think I thought you were my friends!" she sniffled dramatically, laying her head on Trish's shoulder.
"It's okay, Lil," Trish replied smoothly, playfully glaring at Stephanie and Lita, who were now walking with their heads ducked, as if they were ashamed. "You guys should be ashamed! Making fun of Mama over here!"
Lilian pulled her head up, looking at Trish. "Mama?" she asked, giving Trish a look. "Hmm… I kinda like that… makes me feel like Jessie from Saved by the Bell, but I like it!"
The girls all laughed again, this time Lilian joining in. "You are such a geek," Stephanie told the little blonde with a shake of her head, rolling her eyes at her friends' obsession with Saved by the Bell.
"Hmph," Lilian said, tossing her hair back. "I guess you'll have to find someone else to buy your lunch then."
"Hey, hey, don't tease me with free food and expect to get away with it," Lita said with a smile, jogging to catch up with Lilian. "Where are we eating, anyway?"
"I don't know… there's a Dairy Queen, Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, and Arbys along this strip," Lilian said. "But I'm not feeling McDonald's cause I'll probably be sick within the next half hour."
"That's fine… we don't want you to get sick," Stephanie said sincerely. "How about Dairy Queen?"
"That's fine," Trish said with a shrug, glancing at Lilian and Trish, who too conveyed their agreement.
The short walk to Dairy Queen was fairly uneventful with Lita telling a joke to the girls. They entered the empty restaurant, looking at the menu board, not noticing the awed look on the face of the cashier when he realized that the ladies were part of WWE.
Lilian's cell phone rang, the blonde sighing as the noise cut through the quiet room. "Can you order me a grilled chicken sandwich without mayo and a small Reese's Cup Blizzard?" Lilian asked, handing her credit card to Trish. "Order whatever you want. It's on me," Lilian added, walking off to answer her cell phone.
"All right," she heard Lita say. "Shopping spree time! I saw an awesome shirt in a shop as we walked by…"
"Don't even think it, Red," Lilian threatened as she walked off and answered her phone. "Hello?"
"Lil?"
Lilian frowned, glancing at the number on her phone. A South Carolina area code, she was sure of that… but still…
"Yes?" she answered politely, leaning against a booth.
"Lil… it's Dahlia."
Lilian froze at the sound of her older sister's voice, a voice she hadn't heard since August of 1999. "Lil? Are you there?" she heard her sister ask.
"Yeah, Dahlia, I'm here," Lilian finally replied, sitting down at a booth.
"How are you?"
"I'm good. You?" Lilian answered, slightly confused.
"I'm great… I, uh… I just talked to Daddy." Lilian remained silent, and Dahlia took her silence as a cue to continue. "He told me you're getting married, so I guess congratulations are in order." Still, Lilian didn't say a word, and Dahlia sighed in frustration. "Lil, would you talk. Say thanks, curse me out, do whatever, but please, say something."
Lilian sighed, shaking her head slightly. "Dahlia, I'm sorry… it's just, I'm surprised to hear from you, that's all. Thank you… for the congratulations. It means a lot."
"You're welcome," her sister said softly. "How have you been?"
"Pretty good," Lilian replied. "I, uh…" she hesitated, not wanting to reveal to her sister that she was pregnant, at least not yet. "It's been a whirlwind five years, especially these past two weeks," she finally said.
"Yeah… I can imagine," Dahlia replied. "Trying to plan a wedding is hard work."
'You have no idea,' Lilian thought wryly. "Yeah. So, what did Daddy have to say about me getting married?" she casually asked her sister.
"Uh… do you really want to know?" Dahlia asked gently.
"Eh, maybe not," Lilian replied wryly.
The two made more small talk until Trish, Lita, and Steph joined the little blonde at the table with their food, glancing at her curiously. "Look, Dahlia, I need to get going. I appreciate you calling."
"It's not a problem, Lily," her older sister replied. "I'm just sorry it's been this long."
"I know, Lia," Lilian replied with a sigh, trying to hold her tears back. "I've missed you so much."
"Me, too," Dahlia replied, the crack in her voice letting Lilian know that her sister was upset as well.
"Look, sweetie, I have a show tonight and tomorrow," Lilian said. "But why don't I meet you sometime Wednesday… maybe we can go to lunch or go shopping."
"But won't it be hard to come to South Carolina?" Dahlia fretted.
"Lia, our sisterhood is more important than the money I'll lose changing my airline ticket," Lilian replied softly. "Let me call you tomorrow and we'll make plans, okay?"
"Yeah, Lily," her sister replied. "I love ya, Runtkins."
"Love you too, Tortuga," Lilian replied, smiling at the use of their childhood names. "Talk to you soon."
"Bye." With that, Lilian hung up the phone, looking down at her food for a second before meeting the gazes of her friends.
"Was that Dahlia, as in your sister Dahlia?" Trish asked gently, taking Lilian's hand in hers. Lilian nodded, and Trish gently prompted her, "What did she want?"
"I'm guessing to make amends," Lilian said with a shrug.
"Well, are you?" Stephanie asked.
Lilian sighed, slowly unwrapping her sandwich. "I don't know, Steph. Ask me on Wednesday."
End Part 2.6