Page 23 of Independence Bae

“Umm, Arianna?” Raven asked, turning her shoulder towards me to hide her raised eyebrows from the view of the other two.

“I name my dresses,” Ivy explained. “It happens kind of organically. As I think about the woman who would wear the dress, who she is, what her wedding looks like. That whole process is such an intimate thing—that a name seems to always pop up at some point.”

I couldn’t believe on top of heading up a billion-dollar communications corporation that she also had time to create couture wedding dresses on the side.

“Ivy I appreciate the gesture so much. I really do. But I honestly would feel so guilty wearing something so—well expensive—especially when it would be seemingly tied into Raven and Bear’s contract. Or you know icing to get them to sign on the dotted line.”

I wondered if Ted was aware the pair were here. Was it just the two of them? I’d love to meet Ivy’s husband at some point. She appeared to be such a force of nature, that I’d been totally intrigued by who she married.

“Raven, maybe you should explainpromotional considerationto Marley,” Hillary suggested, seemingly invested in getting me to accept the dress.

“Marley, in radio, businesses approach people like me and Ted all the time to wear their clothes, drive their cars, drink their protein shakes, in exchange for us promoting them.”

“Sort of like influencers on Instagram.”

“Yes!” Ivy clapped, pointing at me in excitement. “Exactly like social media influencers. Bear and Raven are celebrities. Your wedding will more than likely make the trades, and if we play our cards right, and time the press release announcing their syndication—get you featured in the celebrity magazines as well.”

“Wait,” I stifled a laugh at the sheer audacity of what they were saying. “Bear and Raven aren’t famous.”

Raven and Hillary shared a look that broadcast how ill-informed I was. They were famous? How did I miss that?

“Ted shops at Wal-Mart.”

I blame the surprise for that statement. Not like not shopping at Wal-Mart signifies any level of notoriety, but it was such an average person thing to do. He even liked to grab movies at the Redbox. Like of all the streaming platforms, and the ten thousand ways you could watch and have access to shows—nothing made him more excited than seeing a movie he wanted to see available at the town Redbox.

“Marley, how often do you leave North Pole? Or the Lake Placid region, let’s say.” Hillary asked. Her voice was totally friendly, no judgement in it whatsoever but for some reason I felt judged.

“I went to Dartmouth.”

“Okay so similar small-town feel. Have you traveled outside of The Snowbelt with Ted? Like walked the streets of New York, or what about when you were in Chicago?”

I reflected back on the time we’d been together. Most of it was spent in North Pole, save a few times we went to Syracuse or Lake Placid to shop or ski. No one had ever treated him special or even seemed to care about what we did.

“Our time in Chicago was really limited ladies.” Raven clarified, “And honestly the community in North Pole or even the Snowbelt Region is very close knit. Fame and celebrity aren’t really attributes that people place value on.”

“Just wait until you get to Chicago!” Hillary whispered to me, “you are in for quite a surprise when he starts getting recognized as you’re shopping at the grocery store.”

“Look—I don’t want to freak her out. And this is her wedding day so let’s table this conversation. I think it’s fantastic that the pair of you could just be normal people without having to deal with the notoriety of being so well known for the last few years. It gave the two of you time to focus on just existing. Which is probably why your show rocketed from fantastic to not-to-miss.”

Ivy practically skipped to the bar set up in the suite, collecting the champagne glasses and the bottle the hotel had provided. “Marley, I would be so thrilled if you would wear Arianna today. For no other reason than the whole store knows how much you loved that dress. From what I was told, it’s absolutely perfect in every way, and I really want to see it on you!”

While Ivy entreated to get me in her dress, Hillary made quick work of popping the champagne and dispensing the glasses. Given that no one other than Raven and Penn knew about mysituation, I reached for the glass intending to pretend to sip it. Thanks to Raven’s big fucking mouth, my cover was blown in an instant.

“She’s not drinking,” Raven told the group, taking my glass for me.

“Ivy…” Hillary and Ivy shared some kind of conversation through a shake of a head and raised eyebrows.

“Not our business, Hillary.”

“Oh my god. You’re pregnant, aren’t you?” Hillary gushed. “I can’t believe it. I swear Ivy is the queen of gowns for the secretly pregnant. First our friend, then me, and now you! It’s like the world calls on Ivy whenever a girl gets engaged and celebrates the engagement a littletoointensely.”

“Hillary, you don’t know their situation.” Ivy half chided through a laugh, “Tiffany got pregnant first, then came the proposal. Just because you celebrated your engagement so hard you forgot a condom doesn’t mean everyone else did.”

Having the two of them here, with their familiar banter, almost made me excited to be going to Chicago. Almost. At least I’d know a few people when we did leave. They appeared to be friendly enough that maybe they’d invite me out once in a while until I got my bearings.

“Are you going to try on the dress?” Raven asked, taking it from where it hung and carrying it to the dressing room.

Ninety eight percent of me desperately wanted to put it on. It was quintessentially bridal. Candlelight lace, intricate flowers and pearls hand sewn into the fabric. It was too beautiful to only wear once. I’d start a trend, and wear it out running errands and shit, just so people could appreciate it. Especially since it was valued at forty something thousand dollars. That alone had the two percent of my dissenting conscience screaming at me to say no and stick to my thrift store roots.

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