Here's the next chapter! Hope you all enjoy!
"Are you sure about this, Aisha?" Kim grimaced at her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing a horrifying white dress that was better off rotting at the bottom of a junk pile in an antique store.
About seven months passed since Kim and Tommy had gotten engaged and Aisha has thrown herself full-on into the wedding preparations. Kim and Tommy were only too happy to give her free reign over the entire thing, believing that they didn't have to do anything but show up on the day of the ceremony.
"Yes," answered Aisha. She grinned at the sight of Kim while Trini snickered in the corner. "You put me in charge of this wedding and as your maid of honor, I am going to make sure that it's absolutely perfect!" She put an arm around Kim and grinned wider. "Besides, you look great!"
"Yeah, but this isn't really what I had in mind. I thought you were going to come up with some designs or something." Kim grimaced at herself again as Aisha let go of Kim and looked around behind her. "Not dig through the junkyard and throw me in the first dress you could find," she said under breath, loud enough for only Trini to hear.
This time Trini didn't even try to hide her laughter. Kim glared at her in the mirror. "You are looking fantastic, Kim," she added sarcastically.
"Just you wait, Trini Scott. Don't forget, she's doing your dress, too!"
"I'm not worried about that. Aisha wants to make herself look good. Therefore, I will be looking good." Trini laughed again.
Kim shook her head and moaned at her reflection. She watched as Aisha was talking to the seamstress that they had hired to do the dresses, speaking very animatedly to her. "What if Tommy takes one look at me and run?"
This time Trini's laugh came out more gentle. "Please. You could be wearing a brown paper bag and Tommy will still look at you like he's seeing you for the first time in his life."
"I think I'd rather be wearing a brown paper bag."
Trini laughed again. "Don't worry. If you're dressed in that the morning of your wedding, I'll save you."
"Save you from what?" Aisha asked, walking in to the little dressing area that she, Trini, and Kim were gathered.
"Nothing," Trini and Kim said in unison.
"So it fits right?"
"Yeah, but 'Sha, I'm not too sure about this--"
"Forget about that. How does it feel? Does it fit?"
"Well, yeah, it fits fine--"
"Fine? Just fine? Or this it fit fit?"
"Uh...I guess I'll just say that it 'fit fits'."
Trini smirked from her seat and shook her head. "So glad I didn't go through this for my wedding," she mumbled under her breath. Kim heard and glared at her again.
Aisha was talking to the seamstress again. "There are...I think five--Kim, how many bridesmaids and groomsmen were you and Tommy planning on having again?"
"Uh--" Kim tried to step down from where she stood in front of the mirror, but the dress was preventing her from doing so. She settled for turning around and facing Aisha. "There's you, Trini, Amy, Hayley, and Kira. And I think Tommy's planning on asking Jason to be his best man, with Billy, Zack, Rocky, and Adam. I don't think he's asked them yet. I haven't even asked Hayley or Kira yet."
"You need to get on that, Kim! We're losing time here." She turned to the seamstress again. "So we'll meet again on Thursday and I'll bring the color and fabric swatches, then." Aisha shook the seamstress's hand and turned back towards Kim. "Get out of that dress now Kim, you don't want to ruin it before the big day."
Kim shot a worried look at Trini and cleared her throat. "Yeah...about the dress...I'm just...I'm not too sure about it, 'Sha."
"What??" Aisha's eyes filled with pain at Kim's words. "But I picked it out especially for you!"
"I know...but...I just kind of wanted to pick out my own dress for my wedding."
"But it was specially made, just for you! I designed it myself. And put a little bit of you and Tommy in it!"
Kim looked down at the dress she was wearing, thinking that Aisha was going crazy. There was no way she and Tommy were in this dress. She looked back up at Aisha and was surprised to see tears forming in her eyes. Kim immediately felt bad. "Maybe...this dress...maybe it's something that grows on you, I guess."
Aisha immediately brightened up and grinned. "Yeah. Something that'll grow on you, right?"
Trini sat in her corner, laughing.
"Okay, everyone," Rocky said after he bowed to his class. "Great job! See you again on Friday!"
Tommy walked in the dojo, dodging the young kids who were scrambling to get their shoes on and meet their parents. He hung around at the front desk, waiting for Rocky and Jason to finish talking to some of the parents and students in their class.
"Hey man," Jason said, bumping his fist against Tommy's. "What's going on? Nothing to do since Kim's out of town with Adam?"
Tommy laughed. "Pretty much. And before we left we barely got any time together since Aisha kept calling with details about the wedding."
Rocky and Jason laughed. "Yeah, that's 'Sha for you," replied Rocky. "For our wedding, she told me to shut up and make sure I'm there for the ceremony. She never listened to any of my ideas."
"Well, if she did, Rock, we would've gone to a masquerade instead of a wedding," Jason said.
"And you guys still don't see how cool that would've been? Wearing masks? That's cool!"
Tommy laughed and shook his head. "She about had Kim in tears! Kim kept repeating something...something about an ugly dress and a brown paper bag. All I could do before she and Adam left was console her. She just seemed so distraught!"
"Yeah...Kim made a mistake by putting 'Sha in charge of the wedding."
"I'm sure she's feeling it now," added Jason.
"Yeah," added Tommy. "Apparently 'Sha calls Kim in the middle of the night, telling her that they have to get something for the wedding. Or instead of doing these flowers, they should do something different. I don't get why Kim won't just tell her to stop so Kim could plan the wedding. She used to be so good at planning things like this."
"Yeah, but Aisha loves it," said Jason. "Kim's mom isn't here, so Aisha is the next best thing. She's kind of the 'mother hen'." Jason used his hands to quote.
"Okay, well, you guys know that you're in the wedding, right?"
Jason and Rocky looked at each other. "We better be in the wedding!" Rocky exclaimed. They all laughed.
"And Jason," Tommy said, turning to his friend. "Best man?"
"Sure thing, Bro." The two of them bumped fists again.
"And Rock, groomsman?"
"I better be number one groomsman."
"Of course you are."
"Then of course I'm in."
Adam, Kim, and Kira wearily gathered their things and headed off the plane as soon as it landed. Kim rubbed her temples and closed her eyes briefly. She was still thinking about the dress Aisha made her try on and dreaded telling her that there was no way in hell she was wearing that. She heard Adam laugh and take her hand, leading her through the airport. Kira smiled sympathetically next to them, hearing the horrid story from two weeks ago on the plane.
"It'll be okay, Kim," Adam said, pulling her into a hug. "I'm sure 'Sha will let up now that you're in LA and she's clear across the country."
"Adam. I wouldn't put it past her to follow me here."
"Trent!" Kira dropped her bags and ran to hug her boyfriend. "What are you doing here?"
Kim and Adam's gaze followed Kira. "I didn't know Trent was gonna be home," replied Adam.
"Me neither. Guess we won't be seeing Kira much when we're not in the studio." They followed Kira and said their hello's to Trent.
"I didn't know you were going to be in town, Trent," Kim said. "What brings the surprise?"
Trent gestured to them. "You guys coming. I had a break in school, so I decided to come back. Get a little reunion of the Dinos together, right?"
"Oh, but I left Tommy at home." Kim winked at him.
"I should've specified which generation."
"Hey...watch out now. You remember that we were on the same team with Tommy," said Adam. They laughed and headed for baggage claim.
"You guys meeting up today?" Kim asked Trent.
"Yeah, if you don't feel too tired," Trent said, looking at Kira.
"No, I feel great! I can't wait to see Conner and Ethan! It's been so long," Kira replied.
"How is Conner, anyway?"
"He's doing a lot better. He started up soccer again, going really easy at it, though," answered Trent. "You could tell he still hurts to move though, even if he doesn't admit it."
Kim nodded. She didn't mean to bring back the bad memories again, but the two of them talking about Conner and Ethan reminded her of all the other ranger friends she met. She thought of Kat and how close they were to Angel Grove. Maybe she could talk Adam into a visit with her. After everything that's happened, she meant to keep in better touch with everyone and Katherine, especially, but she has been slacking in the past few months.
"Kim, have you checked your email?" Adam asked, holding his phone to his ear.
"No." Kim furrowed her brow. "I just got off the plane, why would I?"
"I got a very nasty voicemail from Aisha. I suggest you check it right away."
Kim rolled her eyes as she pulled out her phone and turned it on. Kira laughed and explained to Trent what was going on. He laughed also. They headed outside after picking up their luggage from the baggage claim.
"We'll see you guys later," Adam said, nodding to Trent and Kira. He held the door open for Kim to get into a waiting cab before him.
"Bye guys," Kim said, giving Kira and Trent a hug before scooting into the cab.
"See you tomorrow," replied Kira. She and Trent waved to Adam and Kim before getting into their own cab.
"She is unbelievable!" Kim complained after Adam shut the door. "Thirty emails? Seriously!"
Adam laughed after giving the driver an address. He shook his head. "You should tell her to quit it. Or since I know you won't tell her that, at least tell her to back off."
Kim shook her head. "I can't do that. I know when that day comes it'll be as unbelievable as she is. And I mean that in a good way."
Adam laughed again. He checked his phone after it beeped. "Hey, Zack's gonna be able to make dinner after all."
"Great!" Kim exclaimed. "I haven't seen that guy in forever. I thought that since the show was on hiatus, he'd be able to visit, but he hasn't been able to get away."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. At least we'll see him tonight, anyway. And Hayley and Billy."
"Yeah...hey, I was thinking, do you want to go up to Angel Grove and visit Kat? I haven't talked to her in a long time and I haven't seen her since the last time we were in Angel Grove, when everything happened."
"Yeah, that's right. Sure, I was thinking about that too, after seeing Trent. We should run it by Billy and them, too. Maybe they'll want to come."
Amy twirled around in her dress, looking at herself in Aisha's floor-length mirror. "These are so beautiful," she proclaimed, rubbing her hands up and down the dress. "It's so soft!"
She and Trini were trying on their bridesmaids dresses in Aisha's bathroom. Aisha was helping Trini into her dress when she glared at Amy.
"Don't do that! You'll get it dirty!"
Amy stopped rubbing her dress and rolled her eyes at Aisha. "My hands are clean, 'Sha." Trini caught Amy's eye in the mirror and smirked.
"We don't want to take any chances!"
"I know, 'Sha. I stopped."
Aisha looked back to make sure she did. "How does it fit, anyway? Feel better than the last time?"
"Yeah, it's great."
"What about you, Trini?"
"Uh, it's fine." Trini took a step back from the mirror and looked at herself. "Wow, it's so comfortable." She looked down. "I think it's a little long, though."
Aisha dropped to her knees and measured from Trini's waist to the floor. "It's a little long, but you should be fine with heels, right?"
Trini looked down again. "Yeah, should be fine, I guess." She eyed Aisha suspiciously. "Do you already have shoes?"
"No, I do not already have the shoes." She stood up and looked at Trini and Amy's reflections. "I'm planning on getting those next week." She looked back at Amy and Trini. "So, everything's good, right? It fits well and all?"
"Yeah, it's good," replied Trini.
"Mine too," said Amy. "I think I'm in love with this dress. Can I take it home?"
"No!" exclaimed Aisha. She looked back toward the open door of her closet and saw two other dresses hanging on the rack. "I still need to get Kira and Hayley to try theirs on. I should've asked Kira to come over before she left with Kim and Adam."
"How are you going to get Hayley to try hers on before she flies out for the wedding? It's in about a month, so..."
"Yeah, I'm still trying to figure that one out. Kim gave me her card and told me to have free reign on whatever I wanted to plan for the wedding. I wonder if she'll notice that I took a weekend trip out to Reefside."
"What about sending it to her?" asked Trini.
Aisha grimaced. "The dress might get ruined."
"Oh yeah, that's true."
"Maybe I should send Hayley a different dress that's made the same way and have her try that on," Aisha said, thinking out loud. She looked at Trini and Amy. "That's what I've been doing with Kim and her dress."
Amy and Trini burst out laughing. "What?" they said at the same time.
"I've been wondering about that!" exclaimed Amy.
"Now you really kept that a good secret," replied Trini.
"You guys must've thought I was crazy!" Aisha started to laugh. "Heck no, I won't put Kim in that ugly dress. I just can't wait to see her face when she sees the real thing."
"Do you have it?" asked Amy. "Can we see it?"
"Sure, but I'm swearing you both to secrecy."
The two of them held up their hands. "Of course."
"And you can't tell Kim anything about your dresses."
"You make us promise each time we try them on," said Trini. "Although I wish you picked a different color."
Amy laughed. "What, like yellow?"
"Yeah," Trini and Aisha said in unison.
"Here it is," Aisha said, pulling out a garment bag from the furthest end of her closet. She pulled down the zipper and carefully pulled the dress out.
"Wow," breathed Amy.
"Wow is right," agreed Trini. "It's beautiful."
"Yeah, I don't even want to touch it."
"Good," said Aisha. "Don't do it."
Amy rolled her eyes at Aisha. "I won't."
Trini smiled. "It really is the two of them."
"Yeah. I thought they'd appreciate that."
"I thought you were out of your mind, 'Sha! When we were at the seamstress that time a couple of weeks ago, and you said that the dress was so Kim and Tommy." Trini laughed again. "You've been doing good!"
Aisha shook her head. "It's been so hard! I haven't been able to tell anybody since Kim's been in town. I'm so glad she finally decided to go to LA with Kira and Adam. I think I drove her crazy enough to make her leave town."
Trini and Amy nodded their heads.
"So, how much more is there to do for the wedding?"
"Umm, aside from the shoes, I think everything is pretty much set. At least until the the day comes and I bet everything's gonna be late and stuff. But I think next week, I'll go shopping for shoes and pink dye to match the dresses. I think I'm looking more forward to this day than Kim and Tommy are."
Trini and Amy nodded their heads again. "It kind of shows." They laughed.
"Well, what I'm looking most forward to, is seeing their faces when and if--fingers crossed--everything goes according to plan. I know I can be bad, but I've been purposely trying to make them both extra crazy."
Trini and Amy laughed again. "Are the guys' tuxes done?"
"Yeah," answered Aisha. "Those were easy. Tuxes for all the guys. White for Tommy. Black for everyone else. Vests, bowties, handkerchiefs."
"What color are the vests and bowties and stuff going to be?"
"Pink. The same shade as our dresses."
"Oh," said Amy. "You weren't going to have the whole ranger color thing? Doesn't Tommy have other colors?"
Trini nodded. "Yeah, green, white, red, black."
"I was trying to," replied Aisha. "But it's hard! I couldn't figure out how I could work green and red into the whole color scheme, so I settled on pink, white, and black."
"Well, you got me looking forward to Kim and Tommy's wedding now."
"Yeah," agreed Amy. "At least I see where your craziness is headed to now."
"Well, I am glad that you guys don't think I'm truly crazy." Aisha smiled.
"Yeah," agreed Trini. "We don't think you're truly crazy. We know you are." Aisha playfully hit Trini's arm, who recoiled from her. " 'Sha!" she exclaimed. "You might get the dress dirty!"
"Yeah, you guys have me all week," Zack said. He cleared the rest of his plate and took a sip of his drink. "When should we go?"
"We have to go to the studio tomorrow," said Kim, "but the day after should be fine." She looked at Adam. "We're not doing anything, right?"
Adam pulled out his phone and checked. "No, we're good. Road trip? What about you guys?"
"Sounds good," said Hayley. "I'd love to go to Angel Grove again."
Billy nodded. "Yeah, I'd love to go as well, but do you think we should call first and ask Katherine if it's okay to visit her?"
"Oh yeah, huh," said Kim. "I guess I'll give her a call later and see what she says. I'll let you know tomorrow or something."
"So, what do we do now?" Zack asked. "Movie sound good? I know which ones are good. Dinner's on me, by the way."
Everyone laughed. "Yeah, it sounds good," said Kim. "I don't think I'm ready to turn in yet."
"Even though you're three hours advance?"
"Let's just say that I'm reveling in the fact that I don't have to listen to Aisha in my ear all the time. She's been showing up in my dreams."
"I think those are called nightmares," said Adam, laughing.
"I don't think I would have it any other way, though. That's how Aisha is. I love that lady."
There's that chapter! Let me know what you think!
