Page 66 of Mia Amata

“No,” I whispered. “They are all early.” We greeted everyone, Jacob introduced me to Janet, who was a lot like her brothers but looked like Nora and her husband, Jack. Everyone had a drink already, so we all sat down at the table, except for Jacob.

“Thank you all for joining us tonight on such short notice.” All eyes were on him as he continued on. “All of you are aware that I asked Mia… Mattie to marry me. All of you also know that she is pregnant. I already feel that the little girl she is carrying is my daughter 100%.”

“Randy brought something to our attention, which I then spoke with a lawyer about. If we are married before the baby is born, then the baby is legally my child. So, with that in mind, we have set a wedding date of October 28th.”

The congratulations from around the table were thunderous and full of joy. Jacob took my hand, pulling me up. He motioned for them all to quiet down, then looked at me.

“Thank you, everyone,” I said. “I can’t tell you what it means to me to have you all accept me and the baby into your family like you have. Randy,” I turned toward her, “I was wondering if you would do me the honor of being my maid of honor?”

Randy had tears in her eyes. “It would be MY honor. Thank you.”

Jacob looked at Josh, “I need a best man, what do you say Josh?”

Josh stood up and gave Jacob a hug, “My pleasure, as long as you will be mine when we get married.”

“Of course,” Jacob said, pleased. We all sat down, Jacob and I told them the plans we had for the wedding.

Donald raised his glass, “A toast, to the happy couple. Here’s to a long happy life together!”

***

The next week went by in a flurry of activity. We both worked during the day and then worked on wedding plans at night. When the following Saturday came, I told Jacob I was going into town. “Want me to come along?” he asked.

“I have an appointment this morning to try on some wedding dresses. If you want to meet me for lunch afterward that would be nice. Then you can go with me to pick out some decorations for the wedding. I might need your help.”

“Sure, sounds good.” I gave him a kiss, then headed into town for my appointment.

I was the only one in the bridal shop when I got there. I was greeted warmly by a stately, older woman.

“You must be Mattie! My name is Karen. Is anybody joining you today?”

“No, it will be just me. I want my dress to be a surprise to everyone.”

“Wonderful! I do love the older traditions, nowadays a lot of times the groom comes with the bride. What did you have in mind, anything in particular?”

“Well, we are getting married in October. I do have a pretty good idea of what I want. The dress I have in mind is simple, yet elegant. I would like it to have half- or full-length sleeves, V-neck in front, maybe down the back, about knee-length in front, longer in the back.”

Karen listened closely. “I think we have a couple of dresses like that. What are you thinking about the waistline?”

I laughed, “Well, I don’t have much of a waist these days, so I was thinking of a higher waistline.” I ran my hands down my stomach.

“Oh, congratulations! I think I have just the dress for you! Have a seat, I will go grab it along with a couple of others just in case.” I sat down, looking around while I waited. She soon came back out with three dresses in plastic bags. She hung them on some hooks where I would be able to see them.

“I’m saving the best for last,” she said smiling at me. “This first one is not as flowy. It hangs straighter. It has beadwork all over—which you didn’t mention, so I don’t know if you want beadwork or not. It has cap sleeves with the V-neck down the front.”

I studied the dress but shook my head. “No, I don’t think so. I don’t think I want that much beadwork. Seems too fancy for our small wedding.”

“No problem,” she said. She moved the dress to a different hook, pulling a second one forward, taking the plastic off it. “This one is a little closer to what I think you are looking for. It is shorter in the front and longer train in the back. It is strapless though. It has a higher waist, covered in lace.”

“This one is pretty; I do like the lace. It is a contender though not what I really had in mind.” She moved it back in front of the other dress.

“If you would like to try it on you definitely can, but here is the one I think is perfect for you.” She pulled the third one out of the bag.

When I saw it, I caught my breath. It was almost exactly what I had in mind. Karen saw the look on my face and said, “I think we found your dress. Let’s go try it on.” She helped me try it on, then we went back out in front of the full-length mirrors. I looked at myself in the mirrors, the tears started flowing. Karen said quietly, “You are beautiful. Your fiancé will love to see you in this.”

The dress was simple, white with Bishop sleeves, an A-line silhouette, V-neck, made of Chiffon, so it had the flow I was looking for. “It’s perfect. Exactly what I was looking for. I’ll take it.”

We discussed some items to go with the dress, veils, and hair pieces. Then Karen helped me change out of the dress. We went to her office to discuss the details. I asked her for a final fitting the day before the wedding for any quick-fixed things that might need to be done, offering to pay her extra.

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