"What about this one?" Tara asked, twirling around for full effect, "Do you like it?"
Brian dropped his head into his hands and sighed.
"Shouldn't one of the girl's be helping you with this? Wedding dress shopping is not exactly on my list of special skills."
"They're both busy," Tara replied, smoothing out the lacy white gown she had on and looking at herself in the mirror, "I know this isn't your idea of heaven but I really need another set of eyes on this. Eyes that aren't trying to make a commission. And I need to organise my dress like yesterday. God, this isn't right, none of them are right."
"You look very pretty," Brian said, caringly, "I like the little bead-y things on the sides."
Tara smiled at him in thanks before going back behind the curtain to change out of the dress.
"I really appreciate you coming with me for this," she said over the curtain as she stepped out of the fabric, "I owe you one."
"It's really no problem," Brian replied, his tone genuine, "I know I'm whining, but that's just because I don't want the snooty saleswoman to think I'm not a real man 'cause I don't mind going dress shopping with someone who isn't even my girlfriend."
Tara dragged the curtain back and handed the dress to a saleswoman who had been hanging around near-by and was currently shooting daggers at Brian for calling her snooty.
"How about I buy you lunch as a thank you? Then there's just one more store I want to check out and if I can't find anything there...well then I'll have to consider the possibility of getting married naked."
"I'm not sure Willow would like that," Brian grinned as he held the door open for his friend and fell into step with her on the sidewalk, "Then again…"
Tara playfully hit him on the arm with a giggle.
"Where do you wanna eat? There's a great sushi place around the corner."
"Sounds delicious. Lead the way."
Tara walked them around the block to a small sushi bar and they both sat at the counter, plates of food revolving around them. Tara grabbed a couple of pairs of chopsticks and gave one set to Brian, picking up a California Roll with her own and popping it into her mouth.
"So how's Wills getting on?" Brian asked, picking up a spicy tuna roll.
"She's doing great," Tara said with a fond smile, "She calls me every night. She said the first week was really hard but that this week is much better now she's gotten used to the schedule and everything. And she says her roommate is awesome, they're really great friends already."
"You must be really proud of her."
"I really am."
The two friends shared a smile until Tara suddenly remembered something.
"Hey, whatever happened to that girl Becky was teasing you about? You haven't mentioned her since...since Willow's last night."
"Oh, yea," Brian said, looking down, "She just wanted a 'no strings, fun' kind of thing, so I called it off. As tempting as it was, I want more, you know? I want what you and Willow have. I want real love."
Tara put one of her hands on the boy's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.
"You're gonna find her and have that. I know you will, you're a catch."
Brian smiled again and let out a laugh.
"Jeez, dress shopping, talking about my feelings, bitching about wanting commitment. It's official, I'm a girl."
"You've always been one of the girls," Tara replied, laughing along, "Thank god you've finally accepted it."
"What can I say, I can deny who I am no longer," Brian said with a flourish of his hand, "So how goes all the wedding plans? Is the dress conundrum the only thing you have to contend with?"
"I wish," Tara responded, rolling her eyes, "I still need to find somewhere to host the reception, find a rabbi who'll marry us, get the cake ordered, get the flowers sorted, find a DJ or band of some description for the reception, I don't even know where to start there…I'm still waiting on confirmation that we're okay to have the ceremony in the Public Gardens. Then I need to organise the actual reception, I mean, there's not that many people but I need to make sure we have enough food and a bar there so that everyone's happy. The only thing I actually have done is the sending of the wedding invitations – you got yours, didn't you?"
"Yes. I like the silver writing. Very cool."
"Thanks. But yea, invitations and wedding rings are the only things done. And even then, the rings are still being engraved so it feels like I have nothing done."
"You're stressing pretty hard, huh?"
"A little," Tara admitted, then relented off the look she got, "Okay, a lot. I've got a heavy caseload in work as well at the moment and you know, no one to unload on when I get home."
"Call me anytime," Brian offered with a warm smile, "I know I can't cuddle it better but you can bend the ear offa me anytime you want."
"Thank you, Brian. You're a great friend."
"I know I am," Brian said in a campy voice, "I'm just fabulous."
Tara laughed once again, inwardly delighted that the girls had been busy that day. It wasn't that she didn't like hanging out with them, she did, very much so, but she was having a great time with Brian and was laughing a lot more than had been normal since Willow left. She could feel all the stressors she had been feeling weighing down her shoulders start to drift away as she continued to talk to her friend and eat the sushi laid out in front of her.
They both ate their lunch leisurely, enjoying each other's company and the relaxed and easy way they were chatting until Tara glanced at her watch and saw that there was only an hour left until the shop she wanted to visit, closed. Upon realising that, she swiftly went to pay for the food before grabbing Brian and dragging him out of the restaurant and across the road.
"Jeez, Tara, I just ate. Slow down!"
Tara eased her pace and shot an apologetic smile at her friend.
"Sorry. I just literally have no other time to do this."
"Chill," Brian replied, linking Tara's arm as they walked down the street, "We have time now."
"This is it," Tara responded, stopping outside a bridal shop that had an explosion of white in the window, "Wow. That makes my eyes hurt."
"You're telling me. Right, well, in we go."
They both walked inside the relatively small store and a saleswoman was upon them immediately, her grin brighter than the window display.
"Good afternoon, my name is Nichole. Welcome to Rashida's Bridal. How may I be of service?"
"I need a wedding dress," Tara said with a courteous smile.
"Wonderful," Nichole replied, clapping her hands together. Tara could practically see the dollar signs light up in her eyes, "Do you know what exactly you're looking for?"
"Simple. Just plain white. I don't mind a small train, but nothing ridiculous. And no frills. I have definitely decided against frilly stuff."
"Well, I think we can accommodate that. We have a wide selection of bridal wear," Nichole said, then glanced at Brian, "Um, does your fiancé want to maybe get some coffee while you try things on? You know, bad luck to see the bride in her dress before the day and everything…"
Both Tara and Brian's heads jerked to the side, looking at the entrance as if they expected Willow to be standing there.
"My fiancée…" Tara asked, confused, then glanced at her and Brian's still-conjoined arms. Holding back a giggle, she slowly extracted her arm, "This isn't my fiancée. This is my friend, Brian. He's my spare pair of eyes for the day. As for my actual fiancée…I'll make sure she doesn't see it."
Nichole seemed to pale and almost back away from the blonde, as if she was afraid she would catch something, before the prospect of those dollar bills flashed in her mind again and she jumped forward.
"Well then, let's get to work. I'll go arrange an ensemble for you to look at."
Tara nodded her head, agreeing to the arrangement.
"Thank you very much."
Tara watched the small woman depart and glanced at Brian, shaking her head as a stray giggle left her mouth.
"Did you see that? I think she thinks being gay is contagious."
"And she thought I was your future husband," Brian replied, not able to hold his own laughter, "I can't wait to tell Willow that."
"Oh, you should email her. I'll be talking to her anyway, she'll love getting the story from you."
"I'll do that."
The two regained their composure again as Nichole returned with a rack of white dresses. Tara walked over to them and picked up the first one. She smiled, it looked quite nice on the hanger, but then again, so had a lot in the three other stores she'd been to that day.
"In here?" she asked, pointing to what she presumed was the changing room.
Off Nichole's nod, she entered and stripped down to her underwear, before pulling the dress over her head and doing the zipper up her side. She instantly felt almost a connection to the dress. It seemed to fit her perfectly already, and though she couldn't see herself since there was no mirror in the room, glancing down she definitely liked what she saw.
She left the small room, holding the fabric around her thighs so she didn't step on it and heard Brian gasp as soon as she came into view. She turned and looked at herself in the full length mirror that was set up there, a slow, delighted smile forming on her face. The dress was a simple white and flowed down to her ankles and fit her perfectly, thick straps holding it in place around her shoulders as the neckline plunged slightly, showing off her cleavage.
She turned, biting her lip excitedly and nodded at Brian.
"This is it. I found my dress."