ABC/DISNEY owns GH. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 4
"Okay mom. Ready for dress number one?" Venus had helped Elizabeth get into the gown. "This is an off the shoulder mermaid style gown."
"She's going to look amazing." Diane said to Milo who just sipped his coffee. "Come out Elizabeth." The attorney requested.
Liz made her way out to the viewing area and stepped onto the platform. In the three way mirror she viewed her reflection and tried not to cringe. She thought the dress was horrible. Tight from the sweetheart neckline all the way down to her knees she was just barely able to walk in it. The satin material was shiny, and the added rhinestones didn't help. It was a hot mess.
"She has such a lovely shape." Diane said taking in the gown.
"My ass is huge in this." Elizabeth said looking at the rearview. "And I feel half naked. Like I should be in Vegas, I also hate the way the bottom sticks out." There was nothing about this gown she liked. Which meant this wasn't the dress for the pretend wedding that hopefully wasn't going to happen.
"I must admit it is a bit busy." Diane said agreeing with her daughter that this wasn't the one. "Although the designer is one of the hottest names in the industry right now."
"Milo?" Elizabeth looked at the guard, since he was here he may as well give his opinion as well.
"It would be great for a pageant. The part where the ladies have to smile while answering the questions about making the world a better place." He told them what it reminded him of.
"Exactly!" Elizabeth said nodding. "We can put this firmly in the no column." While the wedding they were prepping for wasn't real, Liz was learning what she did and didn't like in gowns. So something was coming from this.
"There are plenty of gowns in the boutique left to try on." Diane said walking around her daughter. "I do think we are heading in the right direction. Are there more mermaid style dresses in the changing room?"
"Not at the moment." Venus said getting that her client didn't like this style. "Let's move to another silhouette, just for comparison." She helped Elizabeth down. "Which one next?" Venus asked when they were alone.
"The dropped waist gown. May as well let her see what I look like in that style." Elizabeth said eyeing up the garment that had an actual corseted bodice. Breathing wasn't necessary as long as you looked good.
"It's smart putting all her choices up front." Venus had seen this strategy before. "That way you finish with what you like. It was also smart to pick the most unflattering dresses in those styles."
"I stacked the odds in my favor to make my winning hurt less." Elizabeth said laughing as she slipped on the dress. She was trying not to stress Diane, but was starting to stress herself. "Okay cinch me up." She said taking a deep breath in.
"Next gown." Venus said holding open the door.
"That's a lot of cleavage." Diane said taking in Liz. The corset had given her a more exaggerated hourglass figure and pushed her breasts up.
"I feel like a salon girl." Elizabeth thought this would work for Halloween. The lace bodice wasn't working for her either.
"Jason will end up killing someone." Milo said not sure he should be seeing this. "And you look kind of cheap." He said being honest. "That dress has all eyes on you for the wrong reasons."
"This isn't the one." Elizabeth said stepping down and going back into the dressing room without waiting for an opinion.
"I have to agree." Diane said pursing her lips.
"Okay then." Venus said heading back into the changing room to get the next gown on her bride.
More gowns were tried on and rejected. Only one so far had sparked a heated argument. A one shouldered asymmetrical waisted gown with a ruched bodice and multilayered ruffled skirt. Elizabeth looked stunning in the designer original which was hilarious because on the hanger she said it looked like a train wreck. When she put it on the individual features came together and didn't clash like she thought they would. Diane loved it said it was couture at its finest. Milo liked it saying it fit perfectly, but then said he could see from her body language that Liz didn't which meant it wasn't the one. Elizabeth didn't just dislike it, she hated it. It just wasn't her. No matter how much Diane championed the dress Liz wasn't changing her mind. She couldn't see herself having a pretend wedding wearing this. So it went in the reject pile.
"That just leaves the final dress." Venus said unzipping the clear garment bag. "The one you really liked." The consultant said smiling.
"I'm pretty sure this one is not going to go over well." Elizabeth acknowledged as she slipped it on. She had no idea how Sarah did this every weekend for four months.
"You'd be surprised. It's not just about the dress, a lot of times the family is won over by how the bride carries herself in the gown. When it's the right one, you stand up straighter. You smile wider, and there is a charge about you." Venus said zipping up the dress. Like with all the others Elizabeth put it on facing away from the mirror. The first time she saw herself would be out in the viewing area.
Liz stepped out and onto the platform, and felt nothing. This was what she said she wanted in a gown. A dress with a fitted bodice, straight floor length skirt made of silk, and cap lace sleeves. There were no sequins or over the top embellishments on the garment to overwhelm the eye. It was simple and stunning, but she didn't feel like a bride. Not even a pretend one. Her shoulders slumped in disappointment.
"No." Diane said frowning. "There is nothing about this gown that screams young bride." She hadn't expected this to be so difficult. That they hadn't found the one perfect dress wasn't surprising, but she and Elizabeth couldn't even agree on a direction they should be heading in.
"Milo?" Elizabeth asked the guard. Over the course of the morning he had really gotten into being a fashion consultant.
"It's boring and flat." Milo said shrugging. "You are younger than that dress. You need something that will bring all eyes on you, that isn't going to do it. Your attendants are going to outshine you if you pick that one."
"Milo, you are completely wasted as a guard." Diane said wondering if Kate had a need for a fashion savvy young man. Milo was good looking, he could be a model, with his discerning eye in time possibly even a designer. "He's right, it's boring. That's the biggest sin you can commit as a bride."
Venus had to agree. The dress was nice, if Liz was in her forties and this was her second marriage. "Why don't we try something else?" The consultant suggested. "We have plenty of time left." Just under an hour. "Elizabeth, I will help you out of the dress and you and your mother can wait in the changing room. Milo and I will pull a dress for you."
"Me?" Milo asked surprised.
"Yes you. Your advice has been spot on all morning. For some reason you seem to have a better handle on what the bride looks good in then either her or her mother." Venus had been surprised by that. Not because he was a man, lots of dads and brothers did great jobs. But because it was clear he was an employee of the family. A body guard. "So you are going to walk the store with me." Venus said getting her clients situated.
Venus and Milo did a complete circuit of the shop. The guard was picky about what he was going to choose and wanted to see everything. "The dress is back up front." He told the consultant. He had spotted it right away, but just wanted to be sure. When he pointed it out Venus just arched an eyebrow. "I know, the dress has three style elements Liz said she flat out didn't want in a wedding gown. Trust me this is the dress she needs to be in."
Venus grinned. "I'll take it back." Even though she didn't say it out loud, she had to agree with his assessment. Elizabeth was going to look stunning in this dress. "Okay mom." Venus said back in the changing room where the two women were sitting in an uncomfortable silence. "Step out and I'll help Elizabeth into the dress."
"This is what he picked?" Liz said looking at the garment.
"Yes." Venus just waited to see if her client was going to put it on.
"Why not." Elizabeth said taking off her robe. "Let's get it on me." This time she wanted to see herself first, so she turned and faced the mirror. "Oh." She said taking herself in. "It's lovely."
Venus smiled slowly. She had been waiting to hear that pitch all morning. "It really is."
"Not at all what I expected looking at it on the hanger." Elizabeth said smoothing her hands down the skirt and turning some. "I want to see it in the three way mirror." She said getting excited.
"I'm sure your mom is anxious too." Venus said holding open the door.
"Elizabeth." Diane said in a hushed tone as she stood up. She sniffed and Milo handed her a tissue. "You look beautiful."
"I feel like a bride." Liz said turning so she could see the back. The dress was elegant and perfect. It was in the ball gown family and she was loving the silhouette. In the mirror she took in the sweetheart neckline, the fitted bodice that had the thinnest spaghetti straps, and the full skirt. Not only did the top have a bit of embellishment, but so did the skirt. It wasn't heavy handed in the least and added some glamour to the gown. It was timeless while at the same time fresh and young. "I thought for sure that I would look like a cake topper in this style of dress."
"The skirt isn't stiff." Milo finally spoke up. "So you don't look fake. I know you said you didn't want anything strapless so I kept that in mind. I did ignore the part about a full skirt, and the no embellishments rule." He explained his choice. "But from what I saw all morning, those things really worked for you. It just was a matter of how the dress was designed."
"It's perfect." Elizabeth said loving the dress more with each minute. She turned again looking at herself from another angle. Then she remembered she wasn't really getting married. She didn't actually need this dress. Buying it would be wrong because out there somewhere was someone who did. "Maybe we should wait. I mean what if I get this and there is better dress out there?" Elizabeth said trying to find a way to leave the gown here.
"Nonsense." Diane said smiling. "Most brides would kill to find a dress on their first day of shopping. Now we just need to get everything else. How long will it take to do the fitting?"
"I can get the first set of measurements right now and we do alterations in house. It's our slow season, so two weeks tops." The island saw an increase in weddings in the winter months. Venus said getting out her measuring tape. She wrote down the numbers on the sales tag after removing it from the dress. Once it was rung up she would put the tag back on and take it downstairs to the seamstresses.
"Fantastic." Diane liked that time frame. "I'd like you to consider removing the straps, but even if you don't this gown is perfection. I'll take the tag up front and pay while my daughter gets changed." She told Venus.
"I can pay for it." Elizabeth announced even though she hadn't even looked at the price tag. She just wanted to stop Diane.
"Nonsense. Your father and I are paying for the wedding and that includes the gown." Diane said heading to the front of the store.
"Milo. Stop her." Elizabeth whispered before hurrying into the dressing room. She had to get out of this dress and stop Diane before she handed over her credit card.
"Did you stop her?" Elizabeth asked coming back out into the viewing area. She had the hardest time finding her sock.
"No." Milo told Liz. "Before we left the house Francis said to let Ms. M. buy whatever she wanted while we were out." He told her his instructions. "He said he would return it all later. The doctor said that we couldn't let Ms. M know her memories were wrong." He said shrugging. "So my orders are to play along."
"Milo they are going to alter the dress Francis won't be able to return it." Elizabeth explained the problem.
"You looked great in, keep it." Milo didn't see the big deal. "You are going to get married at some point."
He might have a great eye for fit, but he was totally missing the emotional connection a bride had to her dress. When Liz put it on and looked at herself she envisioned her wedding to Jason. She didn't want to marry anyone else in that dress, so she couldn't use it at a later date. Maybe she could donate it to charity. "I'll just pay Francis for it. How much was it?"
"Three thousand dollars before taxes." Milo told Liz.
"Three thousand dollars?" Elizabeth said wide eyed. She knew that gowns were expensive but she couldn't afford to just hand over three grand for a dress that wasn't going to be used.
"It was marked down fifty percent because it's from last season." Milo grinned like they were lucky to have caught such a great deal.
"Okay, the dress is all paid for. Since we have that squared away, we need to look at accessories. Shoes, jewelry, veil if you are wearing one." Diane said going down her mental list. "We need a venue for the wedding and the meal after. Both should be easy since you are doing something small."
"The boss owns a casino, none of those things will be an issue." Milo point out.
"That is true. Attendants." Diane said suddenly. "Who were you thinking? We need to get them dresses as well. I need something too so I need to leave time for that."
"Why don't we go back to the house for lunch and talk with Jason. It's his day too." Elizabeth wanted to get her friend home so she could rest for the rest of the afternoon. Also if she was going to suffer through this then her pretend groom was going to as well. There was enough planning to go around.
"Most grooms don't really have much of an opinion on wedding details. They tend to defer to their bride. When your father and I got married…" Diane said trailing off before frowning.
"What's wrong?" Elizabeth said looking the attorney over.
"I can't remember my wedding." Diane said frowning and rubbing her temple as a pounding started.
"Don't push yourself." Elizabeth said steering Diane to the car. "Remember what Patrick said before you got discharged. The memories will come when they are ready." Which was a lie, those memories couldn't return because they didn't exist. "We will go back to the house and you can lie down after lunch."
"We have too much to accomplish for me to take an afternoon off. We still need to shop for your trousseau." Diane said as Milo opened the car door.
"You and I can't do anything else until Jason and I talk." Elizabeth said reaching for a way to slow Diane down. "I'll sit him down this afternoon and get his opinion on all the important matters." She promised. "You will take a nap."
"Fine. I want to go over the list after dinner." Diane said leaning back in her seat.
Elizabeth just nodded. She was beginning to understand how Diane's opponents in court felt. When the attorney focused in on something she didn't stop until it happened. If she didn't get her memories back soon, they were going to find themselves throwing a real pretend wedding.
Thanks for the reviews!