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Happy Thanksgiving!
Chapter 8
The ladies, along with Milo, ended up back at the same bridal shop where they got the gown. "Hello again." Venus was waiting for them.
"Hello." Diane said taking charge. "Today we are going to be looking for bridesmaids' gowns and something for me to wear."
"Let's start with you mom." Venus figured if Diane got something she wanted first, she might be less rigid with the attendants' gowns. This mother of the bride was very opinionated when it came to fashion. "What were you looking to wear?"
"I don't want to appear matronly. I may be the mother of the bride, but I'm still fabulous in my own right." Diane told Venus. "At the same time I cannot upstage the bride." She said smiling at Elizabeth.
"Is the ceremony going to be formal?" Venus wanted to know. That would dictate the length of garment they were looking at. While a short dress could be worn to a formal event, a long gown would be out of place at a more relaxed gathering.
"Yes." Diane said smiling.
"No." Elizabeth said at the same time. She wasn't going to ask the men to wear tuxedos. The two women looked at one another. "I was envisioning an afternoon affair."
"This is a society wedding so it will be an evening event, which means formal." Diane had been giving this some thought. "I'm sure that is what the Quartermaine's are expecting. You and Jason can take pictures with the setting sun in the background." Since it was summer sunset was later which would work well. Diane had it all planned out. "I'm also sure that is what Jason's business associates are expecting. You shouldn't live your life worrying about what they think of you, at the same time we will occasionally have to put their opinions above our own." Diane explained how it worked.
Elizabeth had been ready to argue, right up until that last statement. This morning when she and Jason made the guest list he had asked if it was okay to invite some guys from work. Of course she said yes, because the day was about him too. There weren't many business associates coming. Just the ones Jason considered friends and he knew he could trust. So Elizabeth needed to take into consideration what they would think, even though Jason would say it wasn't important if asked. "It's going to be formal."
"What colors are the attendants wearing so that we can avoid that hue?" Venus asked her bride.
"Blue, if possible." Elizabeth replied.
"We have quite a few blue gowns in stock, various shades and styles. So I'm confident we can find something you like." Venus said leading them to the back of the store to look at outfits for Diane.
"I like this one." Elizabeth said pointing to a stunning floor length gown in burgundy with a modest keyhole front. It was fitted through the thighs and then flared at the knees which would show off Diane's enviable figure. The jewel halter top added a bit of sparkle and the color would warm the attorney's skin.
"That is lovely." Diane said coming over to see what Elizabeth had selected. "Generally redheads shy from the red family, but I don't follow rules well." She said with a wicked grin. "I worry this is too sexy."
Elizabeth just looked at her friend. "Too sexy? For you?" She asked laughing.
"For your wedding." Diane corrected. "Smartass."
Elizabeth just laughed. "Try it on." She insisted.
"What would it hurt?" Diane really did love this dress. She could always wear it to another formal event.
"It's a couture original." Venus explained as they moved into the fitting room with several gowns. Liz's choice was the third dress Diane tried on. "What do you think?" The consultant asked when the lawyer was back out front.
"I think it's perfect." Elizabeth said smiling.
"Francis will swallow his tongue." Diane said looking at herself in the mirror. She looked amazing, and not too over the top. "Milo?" The attorney wanted to know.
"It's a winner." Milo agreed with Liz.
"Okay, that's me. I will call Monica and let her know what I'm wearing so she picks a different color. Now let's look at dresses for the bridal party." Diane said stepping down from the pedestal.
"What do you think of this?" Diane held up a lovely gown in midnight blue with ¾ length sleeves made of lace.
"That's nice." Elizabeth wasn't overly excited by the dress. It looked somewhat matronly to her. "Both Georgie and Maggie would look wonderful in it."
"Nice." Diane said putting the dress back. "The kiss of death in fashion."
"How about this?" Venus pulled down a lovely strapless chiffon gown with a sweetheart neckline.
"I like that." Elizabeth said smiling.
"That won't work." Diane didn't want to burst Liz's bubble, but that dress was unsuitable. "You need to put your party in a different neckline than the one on your dress. Since you are having the straps removed from your gown, then they should at the very least have gowns with straps. Here is the same gown with a one shoulder silhouette." She said taking it down from the display area and holding it next to the first gown.
"I don't like that one as much. The Grecian goddess feel isn't working for me." Elizabeth said looking between the two styles. Diane's choice looked like a long toga. "I want my party to be strapless. It gives us a uniform look." The gown Venus was holding was a beautiful azure blue, "Do you have it in a darker shade as well. I was thinking the pale blue on Georgie and the darker blue on Maggie."
"Two colors." Diane said pursing her lips.
"Yes. Since Georgie is my maid, I mean matron, of honor." Elizabeth said catching herself. "I want her in a different shade."
"Don't you think a rainbow party is a bit last millennium?" Diane wanted to know. "The current trend is one style and one color."
"I got half that right." Elizabeth said not caring what the current trend was.
"If you insist on two colors, then I'm going to have to insist on straps or sleeves." Diane told the stubborn younger woman.
"Considering I'm the bride I get the last say." Elizabeth said digging her heels in.
"Elizabeth." Diane said smiling. "Hot pink prom dress. I think I'm more qualified to make this judgment call than you. We will take this." She said holding up the single shoulder dress.
"No, we won't." Elizabeth said getting angry. She and Diane had clashed over fashion choices before. And honestly Liz backed down a good portion of the time because Diane really did know fashion better. However this was her wedding, and she was going to have the final say.
"Milo?" Diane turned to the guard for another opinion.
"I'm staying out of this one." Milo didn't see it ending well, so he wasn't choosing sides.
"Coward." Diane said turning back Liz to make her point. "Trust me on this, when you look through your wedding album you will be much happier if you don't look like your bridesmaids. These." Diane held up her dress.
"When I look through my wedding album, I want to see my bridal party in the dresses I picked." Elizabeth said standing her ground.
Both women were standing there almost glaring at one another.
"You really do need to face the fact that I happen to know more in this situation than you do." Diane wasn't going to back down.
It was on the tip of Liz's tongue to say that Diane wasn't her mother, and that she was overstepping. Instead she counted to ten. "We are leaving. I'm done shopping with you for the day. I will come back tomorrow, by myself, and pick out the gowns for my attendants."
"I still need to pay for my gown." Diane replied in a clipped tone.
"I'll be in the car." Elizabeth said before turning on her heel and walking out of the boutique.
"Put these aside." Diane told Venus handing her the gown she had selected. "Tomorrow when Elizabeth is finally ready to listen she will want them."
"We can hold the gowns for one week." Venus said marking them. "I can ring you up and since your gown fit you can take it with you today."
"I'm going to wait in the car." Milo said heading for the door. He would send Jason and Francis a text. That way they were ready for the feuding ladies.
Both men were waiting in the foyer when Milo opened the door. After getting the text Jason told Francis that he would be handling whatever the issue was. The older man simply nodded. Jason wasn't going to hurt Dee, but the enforcer was about to put his foot down so this didn't happen again. With two weeks to plan everything, they didn't want the two ladies not speaking to one another. Francis was pretty sure it was Diane being pushy, and he would find time to talk to her as well. She really did love Liz, and wanted the best for her. His girlfriend needed to remember this wasn't her wedding.
Elizabeth walked in first and Jason held out his hand to her. He could see she was angry and thought she was hot. Hell, who was he kidding he always thought she was hot. Placing a kiss on her temple he whispered. "I will handle this."
"I don't need you to fight this battle for me Jason." Elizabeth said quietly resisting the urge to cuddle close. She didn't need comforting, but being pressed up against him was really nice.
"There isn't going to be a battle." He said dropping her a wink as Diane walked in. "Elizabeth and I are paying for the wedding. So from this point on we will be making all the decisions. If we need another opinion we will ask for it." He stated point blank.
"This isn't a work issue Jason, you don't get to dictate to me about happens at this wedding." Diane said not backing down.
"No, he doesn't." Francis agreed with his girlfriend. He looked at Jason and grinned. A full on fight was brewing and that benefited no one. "But I do. Let's go take a walk." He told her. If he was going to be a pretend dad then he would use those pretend dad powers for good.
"You are going to side with Elizabeth." Diane said arching a brow. Francis had a hard time saying no to either of them. He liked for Liz to be happy. The way he protected, and yes spoiled, them both just melted Diane's heart. Francis was not a man who hid his emotions.
He just grinned. "Come on." Over lunch they would try to get the two ladies to talk to one another. "We are paying for the wedding dress." He told the young couple. That was non-negotiable.
"Fine." Jason wasn't going to waste his breath arguing. "Milo where is the car?"
"Out front." The young guard figured they were heading back to the shop.
"Where are you going?" Diane suspected she knew.
"To get the dresses Elizabeth wants for her attendants. We can pick up something for Kristina too." Jason said backing up his earlier statement. "We will be back for lunch." He figured while they were out they could stop in at the bakery the catering director at the casino recommended.
"Have fun." Francis said trying not to laugh. Jason hated to shop, but he was going to do it for Liz.
Jason just shook his head as he escorted Elizabeth out of the house. Milo got behind the wheel, as Jason held the door open. He got in the back with his fiancée even though he detested riding in the rear of a car. "How bad was it?"
"Not that bad. I walked away before the two of us could really get going." Liz said before starting to grin. "If she really was my mom we would have had some epic fights when I was a teenager. Both of us are extremely stubborn."
"So did you have a lot of fights with your mother?" Jason didn't know much about the Webbers, just that neither Elizabeth nor Steven had any contact with their parents if they could avoid it.
"No, you didn't argue with Carolyn." Elizabeth told Jason. "It was pointless. She would just grind you into dust. My mother would have made a terrifying attorney. Find my client innocent or else. She has this glare that would freeze us in our tracks. It makes yours look downright friendly." Liz said laughing.
"That sounds awful." Jason said frowning.
"It wasn't that bad, she was rarely home. My dad either, they worked a lot. Which made us kids really happy." Elizabeth said shrugging.
"Are you inviting Sarah?" Jason wanted to know.
"Steven is going to call her. I'm guessing he is going to tell Sarah about the wedding and then ask her to act as a decoy." Elizabeth would miss having Sarah at the ceremony, but honestly her sister's schedule as a resident was brutal. There was a good chance that with such short notice she wouldn't be able to get away.
"Decoy?" Jason didn't follow.
"If Sarah tries to come to the wedding it will alert my mother who will also try to come. In time to change every design choice I've made." Elizabeth began explaining.
"She won't let Diane think she's your mother, will she?" Jason saw what the real problem was.
"No, despite this being something a world renowned doctor said we should do. Carolyn will set Diane straight within thirty minutes of landing." Elizabeth wasn't risking her friend's health. "Sarah will understand, she'll probably cheer me on because I am having a wedding without our mother breathing down my neck."
"Okay. When the announcement is made after we are married will that be an issue?" Jason would set a plan in motion if that was the case.
"Short of me getting a call where my mother says I'm disappointed in you Elizabeth." Carolyn would mean that her daughter married an alleged criminal. "It should be fine. If not I'll sic Gram on my mother. Carolyn is no match for Gram." The two women had a frosty relationship, and had never been close. Audrey had been welcoming after the engagement was announced, but Carolyn made it clear she already had a mother of her own. Things got colder from that point on.
"Good to know." Jason had Audrey's approval to date her granddaughter. He knew because of several conversations they had where the older woman had alluded to he and Elizabeth dating, and that Audrey would approve. They were going into this marriage with a lot of support. That made him feel good. "Where would you like to register?"
"Can we get away without doing it?" She asked grinning. "Honestly I don't think we need much more than what we are both bringing to the marriage." They each had fully furnished apartments. Since they both favored neutral colors and clean lines it wouldn't be hard to mesh their belongings. "What we do need we can afford to get ourselves."
"We have to register. When I called Sonny back to accept his offer of using the compound for the wedding, he said even if we ask for charitable donations we still need to register." Jason had no interests in running around zapping barcodes for silverware. He could think of a lot of ways that an afternoon could be better spent.
"Wyndham's will be fine. I think I can set it up online. If I can't I'm sure Stan will be able to help me." Elizabeth decided. "Would you like me to do that on my own?"
"No, I'll help." Jason had pretty simple tastes. "We can do that tonight if you like. Francis said he could take Diane out to give you guys some space."
"It wasn't that bad." Elizabeth told him once more. "But I am all for them going out."
"I'm not sure that's a good idea." Jason said his voice dropping to a whisper. They arrived in front of the boutique and Milo got out so Jason kept going. "I'm not sure I can keep from begging you to let me have you." He said his eyes on hers.
She swallowed hard and flushed. "Wow."
"I know." Jason said laughing. "We need to get out of the car." Even now she was chipping away at his control. "Dresses." He said to get himself moving. Tonight he saw a cold shower in his future.
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