This is for you, Pursuit of Wonder. Yes. Yes she can.
Chapter 2:
This was more than she had bargained for. Kyoko knew that now. Things moved at such a whirlwind pace that she hardly had time to make sense of the strangeness of it all. She was too busy between work, school, fitting wedding planning in wherever it would fit, and avoiding Ren at all costs so that he wouldn't find out what she was up to. But it still lingered in her mind that this was really happening, she was planning a wedding with her nemesis.
She expected to regret telling Sho that he could text her for anything wedding related, but he was astoundingly professional about it. He texted her infrequently, consisely, and only on things relating to the wedding
"Tell me a date and time that works for trying on dresses. My mother has to attend. It would be more convincing if you brought along a maid of honor. You don't have a budget, but try not to bankrupt me."
"Saturday afternoon?"
"Sure. Saturday at 1. I'll make the appointment"
"Does Saturday, August 26 work for the wedding? I think it's soon enough to not have to drag this out, but gives us enough time to plan with my parents enough to convince them we're serious"
"Okay."
It was adequately cold and distant for Kyoko's tastes, but it was still so off-putting to talk about things like "dress shopping with my mother" and having a maid of honor. Should she ask Kanae? She probably didn't want to get involved, but it couldn't hurt to ask. Kyoko had already updated Kanae on what had happened after she had left the restaurant. Kanae had told her, in no uncertain terms, that this was the stupidest thing she had ever done, and that it was obviously going to backfire spectacularly.
Kyoko had agreed, but challenged that Kanae would have accepted too for the amount of money Sho offered her, which Kanae had to concede.
Maybe a quick text so that Kanae couldn't yell at her in person? She typed out "maid-of-honor?" And hit send before she could change her mind, then threw her phone to the other side of the bed.
She only had to wait a few seconds for it to buzz in response. "Fine." Kanae had replied.
"Dress fitting Saturday at 1?" Kyoko texted back, cautiously optimistic.
"Is he going to be there?"
"No, I don't think the–" Kyoko's fingers hovered over the buttons. She was going to say either husband or groom, but the thought of calling Sho either one was going to give her an ulcer. She settled on "no, I don't think the guy is supposed to see the girl in the dress before the actual ceremony. His mother will be there though."
"Yikes, are you two even on good terms after you ran off with her son?"
"Please tell me you can come"
"I hope you know how lucky you are to have me"
Kyoko responded with a string of lovey, heart-filled emotes, which Kanae told her firmly to never do again.
Still, Kyoko was filled with a new found comfort knowing that she would at least not have to dress shop alone.
The dress shop was much larger than Kyoko ever would have imagined. She didn't fully understand why there would ever be a need for this many dresses in one place. This was just one of many dress shops in the city, and this one alone must have had more dresses than there were brides in Tokyo. It was overwhelming in a sense, and Kyoko was grateful that she didn't have the additional burden of worrying about the cost.
Sho's mother happily filtered through dresses and pulled any one she thought Kyoko might look good in. And this was the first and only time Kyoko was forced to realize that Sho's mother had terrible taste. It's okay Kyoko told herself It's not a real wedding, so it doesn't matter what I wear. Whatever makes her happy.
Kanae, however, must have known how unsatisfied Kyoko was in those creased, white, long sleeve, a-line gowns. And how sick she was of the way strange beading on the bodices rubbing against her arms every which way, because she abruptly took it upon herself to pull a few dresses herself to stuff Kyoko into.
Kanae's picks were nothing short of breathtaking. And much more to Kyoko's tastes. She had set her up with three dresses, 2 ball gown dresses, with conservative necklines and cap sleeves, and a trumpet dress with fine white lace over its entirety, including long lace sleeves.
Kyoko knew she was a fool for thinking such a thing for a fake wedding, but she meant it when she said, "they're beautiful, but they're not the dress"
She didn't know why she cares whether or not it was the right dress, maybe it was because she knew she'd be keeping it. A part of her thought it was because she had spent her entire childhood dreaming of hers and Sho's wedding, and she sort of wanted to see it through, close a chapter of her life that she thought she would never get closure on.
Out of the corner of her eye a soft shade of pink caught her eye. She walked to the dress and unracked it herself, awed by its beauty. She had to try it on.
It was everything she could've dreamed. It was that soft, subtle sort of blush pink that you wouldn't even notice was pink if you were looking right at it, only out of the corner of your eye would you really know it wasn't a white dress. It was a ball gown with a lightly laced bodice, chiffon cape sleeves, and a sweetheart neckline. It was the epitome of a princess dress. And as if it was a sign from the universe, it was the perfect size. No alterations needed, perfect for a wedding planned only 6 weeks in advance.
It was the dress.
If Sho's mother wanted something a bit more traditional, Kyoko never would have known. Kanae stepped in as soon as she was in the dress to assure her that it was the right choice, and to buy it before she talked herself out of it.
She stood in it for a moment and pictured herself getting married in it. She was so deeply enthralled with this fantasy, that she wasn't even aware that it wasn't Sho she was picturing herself marrying.