Page 15 of Merrily Ever After
‘No,’ I said, realising that I should have given this some thought. I didn’t want to skimp, but on the other hand I wasn’t about to blow a fortune on a dress I’d only wear once.
Her eyes lit up. ‘Then you must look at our Signature collection, exclusive to us and designed in Paris.’
‘OK.’ I suppressed a tiny burp. Each shop we’d been in had offered us a complimentary glass of Prosecco. Nell had declined as she was driving. I hadn’t. I’d probably had enough now, however, or I might succumb to a dress from Paris, which sounded like it might be expensive.
Luckily, Nell intervened. ‘Maybe we could browse first, get a feel for what Merry likes?’
‘Absolutely.’ Abigail’s smile didn’t quite manage to hide her dismay. ‘Take as long as you need. Anything which catches your eye, hang on the empty rail and when you’ve made your selections, I’ll show you to the changing room.’
For the next twenty minutes, we had great fun pulling out dresses from the rack, swirling them around and holding them up to ourselves. We looked at everything, from glamourous, strapless, taffeta numbers to slinky satin bias-cut sheaths, to dresses fit for a Disney princess. We narrowed it down to six dresses and Abigail wheeled the rail to the changing room for me.
‘Here you are, ladies,’ she said, whisking a heavy damask curtain open on a large changing room with mirrors on three sides. ‘Do let me know if you need help. Can I get you a glass of fizz?’
We declined and she left us to it.
I glanced at the rail of dresses and sighed.
‘They’re all nice,’ I hissed to Nell, slipping off my jeans and hoodie, while she undid the buttons on a cream lace dress with a voluminous skirt. ‘But nothing has leapt out at me. I want something feminine but not too girly. I want a bit of glamour but not too blingy.’
‘And this is only for you, you’ve got the bridesmaids to sort out next.’ Nell held out the dress for me and I stepped gingerly into it.
My heart skipped at the prospect of taking Freya dress shopping; our first stepmum and daughter expedition. Perhaps I could persuade Harley to come along too to buy a new suit.
‘Just so you know, I’m not going to be a diva about what you wear,’ I promised, looking at her in the mirror as she fastened me up. ‘I want you to love it.’ I had a sudden thought and groaned. ‘I should have asked Hester to be a bridesmaid. Do you think she’ll be hurt that I didn’t?’
Cole’s sister had been an amazing friend. She was a presenter on a TV shopping channel and had secured me a regular slot onThe Retail Therapy Show. Without that national boost, the Merry and Bright brand of candles wouldn’t have grown as big or as quickly as it had, and I would probably still have been operating from the kitchen table. I owed her a lot, and I could have shown my thanks by giving her a part to play at the wedding. The time to have asked her was when we announced our engagement. The opportunity had gone.
Nell shrugged. ‘She’ll probably be relieved. Weddings are more enjoyable when you haven’t got a role to play. Not that I mind being your best woman, of course. Why didn’t you ask her?’
‘I’m keeping it small. There won’t be many of us at the ceremony and if I start adding loads of bridesmaids, there’llbe more people in the bridal party than the congregation. I’m inviting your parents and Max, of course, I hope that’s OK?’
Nell grinned. ‘Mum will be thrilled. Any excuse for a new hat. Unfortunately, Max won’t be around, much to Olek’s disappointment. He’ll be with his mum and her family for a week. He was with us last year, so it’s only fair, but Olek loves to see him open his presents. Christmas won’t be the same without him, but at least we’ll have your wedding to look forward to.’
‘You have a great relationship with Max,’ I said wistfully. ‘You make it look so easy. I’m constantly walking on eggshells, worried about saying the wrong thing.’
There were some white court shoes in the changing room, and she bent down to put them on for me.
‘Don’t stress about it, it takes time to build up trust with kids. Let them lead the way, try to be the adult that they need in their lives, maybe a role which isn’t covered already. Freya and Harley have got two parents, those roles are filled.’
I mulled that over. ‘But what about when you see them misbehave or do something they shouldn’t? Freya wrote “Harley is a poo” on their bedroom wall. When I told Cole, he just laughed and told me a similar story from when he was little.’
Nell snorted. ‘Not your job to sort. Nobody likes other people disciplining their kids. I just try to be a good friend to Max. Be a friend and you can’t go far wrong.’
I nodded. ‘Good advice.’
‘So, ladies, how are you getting on?’ Abigail pulled back the curtain to check on us. ‘Oh, now that one fits you perfectly.’
I stared at my back view in the mirror. ‘You think? I feel a bit exposed.’ Although it had long sleeves, and wasquite high at the neck, the back had a deep V and a lot of my pasty flesh was on show.
‘You’d have to think about some sort of backless bra,’ said Nell.
‘And a bit of fake tan perhaps?’ Abigail stepped closer and tugged at the skirt to display it to its full potential.
I had very pale skin and blonde hair. The idea of sporting an orangey glow was the very opposite of the look I was going for.
‘I don’t really get on with fake tan.’ I caught Nell’s eye and we both sniggered.
We’d once caught a train to London for a party and had used the journey to get ready. Hair and make-up had been no problem. Unfortunately, Nell had persuaded me to use fake tan wipes, which she promised were fool-proof. By the time we reached London St Pancras, we were sporting deep brown stripes down our arms and shins and no amount of scrubbing with make-up remover would shift it. We spent the party sweltering in cardigans, hiding behind chairs with our handbags dangling in front of our legs. I’d been cautious around fake tan ever since; the last thing I wanted at my wedding was to look like a satsuma in a dress.
