Page 11 of Merry Mix-Up

The crisp sheen of the red taffeta dress caught the light as I stood in front of the mirror next to Jill and Sara. It was scratchy and uncomfortable to me no matter what the others said about it. And Amber and I weren't exactly the same size, so I had to cram my size four body into a size three dress to make sure it would fit her. There would still be last-minute alterations when she got home on the twentieth, but this was the best way to get closer to her size.

"It's so pretty!" Naomi clapped her hands and sighed. "You guys are so gorgeous. The red dresses will look amazing with the guys in their green cummerbunds and bowties." The whole Christmas theme was taking things a little far for my taste, but Naomi loved it. She'd surely go nuts over the design I had for her dress, too. She and Jared would look like Mr. and Mrs. Claus on Christmas morning as they walked down the aisle as man and wife.

"This is so uncomfortable," I grumbled, but Naomi couldn't hear me. Jill, on the other hand, heard me loud and clear and rolled her eyes at me.

I just wasn't the type of girl to conform to societal norms. My wedding would probably be different, no wedding party or crazy traditions. I wanted something simple and sweet, maybe a summer ceremony outdoors to honor Mother Nature. But I had to be Amber. I had to pretend to love this shit because it was exactly the way my sister would act. She and Naomi should have been the twins.

"You can have them do alterations, duh." Jill and Amber never got along anyway, so I didn't feel bad annoying her. It was one small relief in this mess my twin had cooked up for me.

"I'll do them myself." I spat but realized my mistake immediately. "I mean, I'll have Jade do them."

Jill again rolled her eyes and turned to Naomi, who was fussing over Sara's dress. It was a bit large for her hips, but she needed the extra size in the bust. They were talking about alterations which I wasn't even going to think about volunteering "Jade" for. I had enough to deal with in designing and creating Naomi's gown.

"Oh, it's just not perfect, and we need it perfect." Naomi frowned and the saleslady nodded at her.

"We'll have a seamstress right up here to get measurements for you ladies. I'll be right back." She rushed off with her phone in hand, and I stepped off the pedestal they'd forced me to stand on. I hate getting so much attention over this. I just wanted to go hide like a hermit.

"So, Nomie, how's the dress coming?" Jill asked, and I tensed. She was going to call Amber, who would then call me, and I was standing right here. I told Amber something stupid like this would happen, but she insisted.

Naomi turned to me and said, "Well, Mav? Does Jade have a design yet? Can I see it?"

I felt like a small animal on the road as a semi bore down on me. My throat constricted as I turned toward the messenger bagAmber loaned me. She said I had to be convincing, and since she never put her phone in her pocket, I was learning a new habit. At least around the friend group. Around Newt I could be myself, except for my name.

"Uh, let me ask her." I pulled my phone out and faked sending a text message to "Jade" by sending one to Amber with a 9-1-1 incoming and the situation I was stuck in. The girls talked about how Jill's dress fit her and how much she needed a tan to pull off that color, but I was sweating bullets.

When Amber didn't respond, I almost panicked. I had images on the phone that I'd taken of the dress, but I meant to forward them to Amber so she could forward them to Naomi later when I wasn't around. I knew they talked daily, but I didn't know how much Naomi was going to push this. The "morning debrief" from my twin when I woke up said nothing about her getting pushy or nosy about my design yet.

"Just call her," Naomi whined. "Get her on the phone so I can hear myself that she's working on it. You know how Jade procrastinates things."

It annoyed me that my own sister talked negatively about me behind my back with her best friend. It was obvious she did or Naomi would never have felt comfortable saying something so rude right to my face.

"Uh, I'll try." I dialed Amber's number and turned away to hide my frustration. The phone rang through to her voicemail and I ended the call and turned back around. "She's busy or something. No answer."

The dressing room area of the store suddenly became stiflingly hot. My cheeks flushed and I fanned my face. I didn't want to be here anymore. I had the urge to run out into the crisp December air and suck in a breath, but my feet stayed planted. I couldn’t move.

"Mav," Naomi whined again, doing that thing with her shoulders where her arms dangled and shook and she looked like a toddler throwing a tantrum. I hated that. I didn't see how Amber put up with it at all. It was so immature, and they called me the immature one because I chose a profession that was artistic instead of "serious."

"I'll try," I breathed, and my fingers went to work on the keyboard of my phone. I sent her a message and shot all the pictures to her, but I added my phone number to the texts too. Then I turned my ringer up and waited. As my phone dinged over and over with the images I'd taken of the design and fabric, Naomi's eyes lit up.

"Yay!" she celebrated, and she clapped several times as she rushed over to me.

I opened the message and then the images, and she peeked over my shoulder as I swiped through them. Of course there was no color on the sketches yet, but the sheen of the white satin and red ribbons and fluff I intended to use on the dress showed a little of the sass, and Naomi squealed in happiness. She gripped my head and smacked a kiss onto my cheek loudly.

"Oh, my God, your sister is a genius! I love it! Oh, my God, when can I go try it on?" She was too excited. Maybe she missed how the dress was still a folded pile of fabric, not yet assembled or even cut yet.

"Uh…" I laughed. "You'll probably have to wait until she has the thing at least pinned together. She's busy, you know." I almost scoffed at her because I was so annoyed that she enjoyed it so much. That was the point, right? So why was I so frustrated? My negativity should have been aimed at Amber, not her best friend. I was a good person. I was better than this.

"Yeah, but you'll make her do it fast. She does everything you ask her." Naomi and Jill high-fived, and I was so angry I couldhave stomped and screamed at them, but I snickered and rolled my eyes in true Amber fashion.

"Yeah, you're right… Uh, I have to go do some shopping with Mom this afternoon. Are we done here?" My blood was boiling, but there was nothing I could do about it. It was pointless for me to go out of my way to make sure Naomi's special day was special for her and the dress was perfect and then ruin it by blowing the secret. I could tell Amber off later.

"Yeah, I think we're done. Go on," she said, flipping her wrist.

The saleslady was approaching with another woman who wore a seamstress tape around her neck like a scarf, and I slipped back into the dressing room to put on my warmer clothes. When I was buttoning my jeans in place, my phone dinged again. I expected it to be Amber replying to my chaos, but the notification was just a random number, which meant I didn't have them programmed into my phone yet. I looked at the green box and didn’t recognize the number either, so I picked my phone up and swiped to open the messaging app.

Newt 2:17 PM: Hey, Amber. It's Newt. I was hoping you'd join me for dinner. I can pick you up at five?

I smiled at the sweet message and most of my frustration toward Amber melted. She insisted that dating him was off limits and that I couldn't be seen with him. But we were the maid of honor and the best man, and our job was to take care of the bride and groom. If I was seen dining with him somewhere, I'd just tell them we were talking about wedding stuff. So long as we didn't get handsy or overly public with any displays of "affection", I'd be fine.

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