Chapter 4

"Getting Fitted"

Now, if you were wondering what I was doing in this part of the story, I was doing what every bridesmaid or any wedding guest would do: get fitted for clothes at least for Henry, Alice and me.

There was a dressmaker's shop in the village where we would go to for dresses that we could wear to important functions. It was here that the dress I was originally going to dance in for Queen Seraphina before it got ruined was bought.

"Well, Mrs. Mouseling," said the tailor, Mrs. Folly. "I think this particular one will be perfect for Angelina."

With one of the many dresses held up to me, I stood in front of the mirror as I tried to picture myself actually wearing it.

"I think it looks beautiful, don't you think, Angelina?"

"Yes, but it doesn't seem like something for as big as a royal wedding," I said. "Remember that I am in the wedding and I don't think green is such a right color for me."

"Of course," said Mrs. Folly. "Your friend, Alice is wearing green."

"She always does."

Turning around, I looked to see one of the gowns that caught my attention: a rose-pink taffeta gown trimmed with blue satin ribbons and glittery pearls. Something about this particular dress caught my attention. I was picturing myself in it.

"Um, can I try that one?" I asked, pointing to the dress. "The pink one?"

"Of course, Angelina," answered Mrs. Folly, taking the dress off the rack. "Pink is your favorite color after all."

"It's not just that, Mrs. Folly. I think the dress…is speaking to me."

Now it's not very common for someone to say that clothes were talking to them, but this one I felt was.

"I am the one, Angelina," I could hear it say inside my head. "Pick me."

So, Mrs. Folly held the dress to me and I looked at myself in the mirror, picturing being able to walk down the aisle and curtsying for the future Princess Ivana.

"Well, what do you think, Angelina?" my mum asked.

"This is it," I answered without hesitation. "This is the dress I should wear in the royal wedding."

"Good choice, Angelina," said Mrs. Folly. "I think you will stand out amongst everyone."

Of course, I didn't want to upstage Valentine, Sophie and Phoebe since they were Prince Reginald's sisters, after all.

…

Putting the dress on, I stood in the mirror as Mrs. Folly and her assistants got to work making sure that the dress was fitted accordingly. As I was being fitted, I could hear my mother starting to sniffle.

"Mum, are you crying?" I chuckled amusingly.

"Sorry Angelina, but you are so..so..beautiful!" she cried.

"Aren't I always?" I playfully retorted. "Besides, if I make myself any more beautiful, I'll upstage the bride and I can't do that, can I?"

Even though I was in my moment of fashion glory, it was obvious that Miss Lilly had to miss out on such an important moment. It's too bad because she would have reacted the same way.

"These are the matching slippers, Miss Mouseling," said Mr. Folly, the other tailor, handing me a pair of pink sequined slippers. "If you would please try them on."

Carefully, I placed my feet in the shoes as I held my breath. My ensemble was complete and I was truly a bridesmaid. Once again, I could hear my mum cry happy tears.

"Oh, mum!" I chuckled. "Honestly!"

…

Once the fitting was over, we left the tailors and returned home with the dress and shoes. At the same time, Henry was over showing off the blue suit he was going to wear as the ring bearer.

"I'm going to be a ring bearer!" Henry sang as he danced around the room wearing his suit. "I'm going to be a ring bearer!"

"Of course, you are Henry," chuckled Aunt Lavender. "Now, don't get your suit wrinkled. It needs to be perfect for the wedding!"

"Okay, mom," Henry said, stopping his dance and making sure his red bow tie was straight.

"So, there it is, everyone!" I announced, showing off the gown I would be wearing as a bridesmaid. "What do you think of it?"

"I think it's lovely, dear," said my dad as Polly also let out a babble of approval. "Matilda, are you…?"

"I can't help it, Maurice!" sobbed my mum.

Obviously, my mum was crying because she was beaming with pride and who could blame her? This was an important milestone for me and the princesses.

"Angelina, Henry, we are both so proud of you for being involved in the biggest wedding in Mouseland."

"Thank you, Uncle Maurice," said Henry. "At least I also get to see Phoebe again."

"Of course, Henry," I added. But with all the excitement building around my house, part of my mind was also on Miss Lilly, who was missing out on all of it.

…

That night, a train was heading towards Chipping Cheddar and among those aboard was Miss Lilly and Mr. Operatski. He had taken up on Miss Lilly's suggestion that he should spend time with Ivana at the royal palace, but the chest pains were on and off and he first needed to visit Dr. Tuttle.

"Well, the pain has stopped yet again," Mr. Operatski said as he drank a cup of tea. "Lilly, do you think I should have accepted your offer?"

"Ivor, I think this was best for you, darlink," answered Miss Lilly. "Spending some time with those who are closest to you before the wedding is better than not spending time at all."

However, there was a far more pressing issue within Mr. Operatski that was already concerning Miss Lilly.

"Besides, I think your heart has been acting more and more concerning to me," she added. "It would make me, your daughter and those who look up to you better if you did get your heart checked out darlink."

Placing his paw to his chest, Mr. Operatski once again could feel his heart beating irregularly, fueled largely by anxiety over seeing his only child getting married to a prince.

But there was also something in Mr. Operatski that Miss Lilly saw for she was one of her oldest and dearest friends. For there was something that happened during our troublesome production of Cinderella that caused her to bring back memories. Something that me nor any of my friends knew happened.

"Lilly, I am sure it's nothing serious. I mean, I might have a heart condition, but it shouldn't…"

"Ivor, I mean it. The last thing any of us want is for you to have a heart attack at your own daughter's wedding."

"What would Queen Seraphina say about that? I mean, wasn't she a nurse in the war?"

"Before marrying King Ferdinand and becoming queen, yes and it was because of Seraphina that many lives were saved during the war."

The idea of having Queen Seraphina herself in a high medical situation didn't seem to faze Mr. Operatski, but the threat of a heart attack was still there.

…

A little while later, the train pulled into Chipping Cheddar and Miss Lilly took Mr. Operatski to his house.

"Now try and get some sleep, Ivor," Miss Lilly said as he laid in bed while she placed a glass of water and a warm cloth on his forehead. "Dr. Tuttle will look at your heart in the morning."

Sighing and taking a deep breath, Mr. Operatski fell asleep with both his brain and his heart riddled with anxiety. But a pair of questions remained as the night went on: would Mr. Operatski fully embrace the idea that his only living child was getting married and most importantly, would he even be able to walk her down the aisle?

…

…