7
Later that afternoon, I met Rosalie and Alice to go shopping for Rosalie's wedding dress and clothes for my date. We decided that the dress was far more important – it may have been me who had decided this – and we first went to a bridal shop.
There was a woman smiling sweetly at us as we entered the shop.
"May I help you?" she asked, looking at the three of us, probably guessing who the bride was.
"Yes, I'm looking for a wedding dress," Rosalie said. The woman nodded excitedly and we made our way towards the seats in the middle of the shop.
"What do you have in mind?" the woman – her name was Caroline, I saw on her nametag – asked Rosalie.
"Well, I was thinking that it might be nice to have a strapless dress. It has to be white or a cream colour."
"All right. Well, I'll go and see if I can find something. You are all free to look around yourself, if you would like," she told us, after which she hurried away.
Rosalie and Alice immediately started browsing through the dresses, but I took my time to look around the shop.
The floor was a very soft, beige carpet, which was heavenly to walk on. The walls were nearly the exact same colour and in front of the large windows were long, cream curtains. In the middle of the shop were comfortable, cream chairs, surrounding a glass table on which a large flower bouquet stood, which consisted out of white lilies. Near the windows were large mannequins, showing beautiful dresses. The walls were all covered in clothing racks, which were filled with white, cream, soft pink and even a few red dresses. In the corner was a mahogany desk with also a bouquet, this one a bit smaller. Behind this counter stood a young woman with her blonde hair pulled back in a pony tail. She wore a cream outfit which seemed to fit in perfectly with the store. As I looked at her, she smiled politely. I returned the smile and walked towards Rosalie and Alice.
They were both holding a dress, but I wasn't able to see how they looked. I decided to look around myself and made my way towards the other side of the room, where Rosalie and Alice hadn't been yet.
As my hands were shifting through the soft materials of the beautiful dresses, I realised how much I wanted to have this someday. I thought about the date I had with Jacob and, even though I really liked him and was excited about this date, I couldn't picture myself marrying him one day. Of course, I couldn't picture myself getting married at all, because I hadn't thought about it that much. I had been focused on school and after that on my career, so I hadn't spent time thinking about what I would do if I would be getting married. But now, seeing these dresses and the joy in Rosalie's eyes, I wished I had. So I could picture myself standing in front of the altar, wearing one of these, smiling at the man who would become my husband.
As this image was forming in my head, I gasped out loud as the man suddenly got green eyes and auburn hair. I shook my head and the image disappeared from my mind. What was that?
Alice looked up and looked at my questioningly, probably thinking I had found something. I shook my head and she continued looking at the dresses.
I was absentmindedly looking at the dresses, when there was suddenly a dress that caught my attention. It wasn't that the dress itself was so special that I had immediately focused on it, but the fact it had a subtle beauty and that I could easily picture myself wearing it, made the dress stand out. It was a beautiful, soft cream colour and it had a square neck. The bode was tight-fitted and the fabric crossed at the stomach. It had smaller inner skirt and a bit wider outer skirt which only ran to the sides. It was floor length. I sighed as I looked at it and carefully let my hand run across the fabric. I knew it was selfish, but a part of me didn't want to show it to Rosalie. I dismissed that thought and looked over towards Rosalie.
I saw that Caroline had returned with a few dresses. Well, if Rosalie already had so many dresses to choose from, it would be unfair to make her choice any harder, right? Besides, she was looking for a strapless dress, which this one wasn't. And if all of those dresses weren't right, I would tell her about this one. I smiled and walked towards them.
"Have you found anything yet?" I asked them, before they could ask me. I was already feeling guilty and I knew I couldn't keep this up for long.
"Yes, we have four potential dresses," Rosalie said, beaming at me. I smiled back at her while I was feeling horrible. I sighed and knew that I had to tell her about the dress.
"I also found something you might like, though it's not a strapless," I said quietly. Rosalie looked interested as I led her towards the dress.
"Wow, that's really beautiful, Bella. I will try it on along with these other dresses," she told me. I nodded and, with the other four dresses, walked to the changing rooms where Alice was already waiting, also holding a dress.
"Rose! Look at this dress. Isn't it absolutely perfect?" she yelled, holding up an amazing dress. Rosalie's eyes widened as she took it in. Absentmindedly, she handed the dresses to me as she slowly walked towards the dress Alice was holding. I watched my dress – the dress – lying between the other four insignificantly. I took a deep breath and knew it would be long before I could wear one and when that time would come, this one would already be sold and worn by a much more beautiful woman than I.
Rosalie had taken the dress from Alice, who was looking proud, and had entered the changing room. We both sat down and Caroline stood next to the door of the changing room, ready to help Rosalie when needed.
I involuntarily looked at the dress I had chosen and placed it on top of the others. Alice saw me and a knowing look crossed her face. She smiled sympathetically.
"It's beautiful," she said softly. I nodded and for some reason felt tears pricking in my eyes. I blinked them away and looked up to Alice.
"So, Alice. Are you planning on being asked by Jasper to marry you any time soon?" I said teasingly. She rolled her eyes and smiled.
"If I'm completely honest, I hope so," she said, giggling. I laughed along, but then Rosalie came out of the dressing room and we were both completely silent. We looked at her with big eyes as she beamed and twirled around.
The fabric clung to her body beautifully. It was a white, strapless dress with a small skirt, which was flowing freely around her legs. Her long, blonde hair fell on her shoulders and her blue eyes were sparkling.
Alice and I both got tears in our eyes and I completely forgot about my dress. I looked at Caroline and saw that even she was speechless.
Alice was the first to say something, "I think we've found our dress, don't you think, maid of honour?" I laughed and nodded quickly. Rosalie smiled widely and looked at herself in the mirror.
"It's perfect," she whispered.
"It looks beautiful on you," Caroline said. We all agreed and, after looking at Rosalie for a few more minutes, Rosalie went back to her changing room – albeit unwillingly – and changed back into her own clothes.
"Well, Rosalie, now that we've found your dress, I think it's now time to go shopping for Bella!" Alice exclaimed, after we had ordered the dress and made an appointment to make sure the dress would fit perfectly.
"Don't you think we've had enough for today?" I asked hesitantly.
"Come on, Bella! Don't forget you promised me you would go shopping with me," Rosalie said, with big, puppy-dog eyes.
"I promised to go shopping with you for your wedding dress, I never promised to buy clothes for my date."
"We neither. I think it would be nice if Alice and I gave you those clothes, don't you agree, Alice?"
"Yes, absolutely. Just let us spoil you for once, Bella. You deserve it," Alice said.
"Fine. Thank you," I said, smiling.
Alice led us to a shop she claimed she always went to.
"Now, Bella, remind us. What kind of date will this be?"
"We're just going to go to a movie. I'm not sure if we will have dinner beforehand. We probably will," I mused.
"All right, then we will have to look for something casual, yet classy," Alice said thoughtfully.
"I think we should look for a dress, perhaps a little black dress?" Rosalie suggested. Alice agreed and looked around the shop.
"Exactly. Now Bella, do you think we can let you walk around for yourself in this shop, without you breaking anything?" Alice teased. I rolled my eyes and laughed.
"I'm sure I'll be fine, Alice, thanks," I said, chuckling.
"Okay then. Let's go and find your dress," Alice exclaimed, after which she walked away and started looking through the clothes. Rosalie and I exchanged a look.
I looked around, not sure what I wanted to wear to this date. A little black dress was a possibility, but wouldn't it look like I had made too much effort? That perhaps I thought more of this than he did? I really didn't want to give that impression. But I also didn't want to come, looking way too casual, then it would look like I didn't care at all. Was it always this hard when you were going on a date? I wondered. I didn't really have that much experience, but from what I had, I didn't remember that I had worried this much. But then again, I probably didn't care as much back then. I did really wanted this to go perfect. Jacob seemed like a very nice guy and I would regret it if I would do something that would make this date a disaster.
I decided to just look around with an open mind and see if there was anything suitable. Before I could start looking, though, Alice and Rosalie both started pushing me towards a changing room, both holding a few dresses.
I eyed them suspiciously as I took them from their hands and closed the curtain from the changing room.
A few of them were black, but there was also a green and a blue one. I picked up the green one, but for some reason, it felt like it would be an offence to Jacob to wear it. I put it down and wondered why I thought that.
The blue one was very nice, but somehow it felt like that would be the safe and familiar thing to go with. I wanted to try something different.
There were three black dresses, lying on the small table in the changing room. How could I decide which one would be the best? Well, I just had to try them all, I suppose.
The first one was a dress that came to my knees. It was tight-fitting and quite basic, except for the lace that ran from one short sleeve, along my neck and a part of my chest, to the other sleeve. It looked quite nice and I showed it to Rosalie and Alice, who both seemed to like it very much.
The next one was a bit more loose and also went to my knees. It had a v-neck and beneath my chest was a white band. I preferred the first one, but showed this one to Rose and Alice anyway. They told me they liked it too, but I noticed they also preferred the other one.
The last one was the most basic of all. It had a square neckline and, again, came to my knees. It was also tight-fitting. I liked it and was doubting between this one and the first.
I came out of the changing room and looked at Alice and Rose questioningly.
"Hmm, difficult. The one with the lace looks fantastic on you, but it could be a bit too formal. This one is quite basic, but you can easily pull it off," Rosalie mused.
"I agree. I also prefer the one with the lace and I think you should take that one. Jacob seems like a nice guy who would take you to a nice restaurant where this dress would be perfect," Alice said. I nodded and decided to take the first one.
I put on my own clothes and gathered the five dresses in the dressing room.
"Guys, I really appreciate your offer, but I can't let you pay for a dress for my date."
"Of course you can, It's not that difficult," Alice said. She took the dress from my hands and went to the counter.
"Alice, wait, I can't let you do this."
"Oh, shush, Bella," she said, jokingly. I chuckled and relented. Alice paid, and Rosalie and I put back the other dresses.
"Rose, you really chose a beautiful wedding dress. I think you will be the most beautiful bride ever," I told her truthfully.
"Thank you so much, Bella. You know, I couldn't have done this without you and Alice's help. You are all so great. I'm really looking forward to the wedding and it's even better now that I know that I have a great dress. One day, you will have the same," she said, as if knowing what was troubling me.
I told myself not to worry at all, I mean, I was still in my twenties. But the fact I had never had a serious relationship, did worry me. Perhaps marrying just wasn't for me. I did hope that that wasn't true.
Alice returned, holding a bag in her hands, and we left the shop.
"I would like to continue shopping, but I'm not sure if our dear, little Bella here will be able to survive that," Rose teased.
"You're absolutely right," I said, chuckling. "Let's just grab some food and return home, okay?"
"All right, Bella. I suppose you need to mentally prepare yourself for your date Friday. I mean, it's only two days away, you know!" Alice said.
"Yes, yes. Let's all tease Bella about the fact she has never had a date," I said. I was planning on reacting good-humouredly, but nearing the end of what I was saying, I realised how pathetic I sounded.
"It will be absolutely fine. In this dress, he won't be able to take his eyes off you," Rosalie said.
"I'm not sure if that was what I was going for," I said slowly.
"Of course you were!" she exclaimed. "You will have a fantastic evening and he will ask you out for another date, and then another, and then eventually you will have a perfect boyfriend."
"We'll see," I said, skeptically.