Page 98 of Maximum
“Yes, it’s better for the environment that way. There’s no need to buy an expensive dress that I’ll only wear once. This way I won’t add any waste, except for the cleaning.”
River wrinkled her nose. “You plan to wear second-hand clothes on the biggest day of your life?”
Fleur and I laughed. “Don’t look so offended about the idea,” I said. “Fleur isn’t into fashion like you are. And besides, she could wear a sack and I’d still think she was the most beautiful bride in the world. I’ve offered to pay for the dress of her dreams, but she prefers for the environmental footprint to be as small as possible.”
Noah poured another glass of wine and shrugged. “In that case this family has enough wedding dresses to borrow. I’m sure Liv, Lumi, Serena, and Jolene all still have their dresses in their closets. I know River does.”
“Yes, that’s brilliant.” River lit up and put her hand on Fleur’s shoulder. “You said you loved my dress and we’re about the same size.”
“I did, but your dress was a creation made for a fairytale wedding. I’m looking for something much simpler.”
Tapping her lip, River thought about it. “Lumi’s dress was gorgeous but minimalist. Here, let me find a picture for you to see.”
Soon the two women were scrolling through pictures from Lumi’s and Damian’s wedding while Noah and I set the table.
“See, isn’t it pretty? Let me see if I can find a picture where you can see the low cut in the back. It was sophisticated and sexy in such a classy way.”
“Oh wow.” Fleur was leaning forward to see better. “It’s exquisite.”
“I know, right?”
“You think she would let me borrow it?” Fleur asked.
River spoke fast and was clearly excited about being involved in our wedding plans. “Lumi would give you a kidney if you asked her. I know she seems reserved and it takes a while to get close to her but trust me, she’ll do anything for the people she loves.”
“Do you want me to ask her for you?” I offered, but River waved a dismissive hand.
“I’ve got this.”
When River picked up her phone and told it to call Lumi, she put it on speaker; the phone at the other end started ringing.
“What are you doing? You can’t ask about the dress when we haven’t even told her that we’re getting married,” I pointed out.
“Oh, shoot,” River exclaimed just as Lumi picked up.
“Hi, River.”
“Ehh, hi, Sis.” River’s eyes were wide like she was trying to think of something to say.
With a sigh I took her phone. “Lumi, it’s me, Maximum.”
“What’s going on? Is River alright? She sounded strange.”
“River is always strange, you know that.”
“Stranger than usual then,” Lumi joked.
“Fleur and I are visiting Noah and River and we had some good news to share that led to this call.”
“Are you moving back to Dublin?”
“No, I’m afraid not. We’re happy out west, but I proposed to Fleur and she said yes.”
Lumi’s outburst of happiness made us all grin as we could hear Lumi call for Damian and share the happy news with him.
“Lumi, are you there?”
“Yes, yes, I’m just so happy for you. How did you ask her?”
