Page 44 of Be More Lucy

‘Ah yes, here we are,’ Julie’s attitude thawed, clearly pleased they weren’t dropping in for a casual browse. ‘Which of you is the blushing bride?’

Lucy pointed to Em.

Julie looked Em up and down. ‘Yes, we do have lots of dresses that would suit. When are you getting married?’

‘We’re still finalising the date but we’re aiming for May,’ said Em.

‘May 2021?’ Julie asked.

‘No, May 2020.’ Em replied.

Julie looked flabbergasted. ‘Next May?’

‘Yes. Next May.’

‘But that’s only eight months away.’

‘Is that a problem?’ Em asked. Clearly, it was, but Em was at a loss as to why.

Julie proceeded to talk to Em as if she were about seven years old. ‘Most of our dresses are on a 20-week lead time, and then we have to book you in with our seamstress to get it properly fitted. That often takes several visits as brides have an annoying habit of losing weight between fittings. We normally have customers who are organised enough to buy their dresses at least a year in advance.’ Her frostiness had returned. ‘However, we do have a few in stock for emergency weddings. I’ll check with my colleague. Wait here.’

She went upstairs.

Em looked at Lucy. ‘How is planning a wedding eight months in advance an emergency? Honestly, why does every wedding professional I deal with behave as if we’re asking the impossible?’

Julie returned before Lucy had a chance to answer.

‘Karen is going to see what we can do for you. She’ll be five minutes if you’d like to go upstairs.’

‘That’s very kind,’ said Em. ‘I didn’t realise I was asking so much.’

The upstairs showroom was light and airy. Another bride-to-be was standing on a box in the middle of the room, wearing a complex long-sleeved lace dress and being admired by two women, one of whom was Karen. The other woman, presumably the bride’s mother, was sharing her opinion of the frock.

‘Darling. It looks lovely, but what about Toby? I can imagine him getting caught in the lace. He’s so excitable.’

Em and Lucy exchanged a look.

‘Would that be at the altar or afterwards?’ Lucy whispered to Em as they sat down on a chaise longue at the far end of the room.

‘Toby is perfectly well-behaved, Mum.’

‘Is he? He wasn’t at your sister’s wedding last year. He couldn’t keep away from that bitch at the ceremony.’

Em was trying to visualise Toby. He didn’t sound like the perfect groom.

The bride turned to look at them. ‘Toby’s my Jack Russell terrier.’

‘Oh,’ Lucy looked relieved.

‘Though my groom is quite excitable too,’ the bride laughed.

‘And he was busy sniffing around the other bitch at the wedding,’ her mother said disapprovingly.

‘Mum! That’s no way to talk about Ellie. George was helping her fix a problem with her bridesmaid’s dress.’

‘Hmm. I know he said he was trying to do up her zip, but it looked the opposite to me. Are you sure you’re doing the right thing marrying him?‘

‘Your dress looks amazing,’ Em said encouragingly before the conversation got any worse.

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