Milkshake Hearts

Chapter 100: Old, Blue

Shayne is out of the office for the latter part of their second Pit and Games filming weeks, busy instead with Goldbergs filming. Courtney is quietly glad for that when, on the Wednesday afternoon – the day after they'd filmed the journal video – she returns to her desk after a shoot to see a new text on her phone from the boutique where she had ordered her wedding dress informing her that it has arrived and is ready for her to come and actually try it on and do another fitting with the correct fabric, pattern and sleeves. She immediately screenshots the message, sending it straight to Kari before she types out her own text.

"Hey Kari. So... any chance you'd be free tomorrow afternoon to go to this with me? Kinda want to see it ASAP," Courtney admits.

"Oh absolutely, I'm free until like 7, what time you off work?" Kari's reply comes through only a couple of minutes later.

They end up arranging to meet at the boutique just on 4:30, letting them know in advance that they were coming, too. Courtney was meant to be on until 5 at work, but just as she'd expected, all she had to do was drop the phrase 'wedding dress' in front of Garret and Ian and they quickly swapped their final two shoots for the day so the one she was not in was up last.

"Hey, Courtney! How you feeling?" Kari greets her with a hug that she happily accepts, just out the front of the store.

"Hey Kari. Excited, I can't wait to see this," she laughs at her own inability to tone down her joy, following Kari's lead through the boutique's doors.

The staff are expecting them, of course, and they quickly greet them and offer if they'd like anything to drink. Courtney declines, although Kari accepts the offer of a coffee as she takes a seat on the plush bench just near the dressing rooms and trying on area at the salesperson's direction. Courtney remains standing, pacing nervously in front of Kari for a moment as the staff disappear to retrieve her dress. It's inside a dust cover when they first bring it out, but when they hang it up on the wall and pull the cover off, she can't help but gasp and step closer.

"Oh, wow, that's-" Courtney mumbles, and although the word 'gorgeous' follows in her head, she doesn't vocalise it.

"Oh indeed, it's come up so well," Kari agrees, standing and walking over beside Courtney to look at it. Courtney feels Kari's eyes on her, but she can't break her own eyes from the dress as she almost instinctively reaches out to touch the fabric. The fabric is a lace, but far from traditional, floral and scratchy, it's soft and delicate, with careful geometric patterns giving it a much more modern feel.

"So, would you like to try it on?" the salesperson asks, Courtney giving an immediate yes as the dress is carried, and she is directed, through into the large dressing room.

It takes a moment to get it on – it isn't a perfect fit, yet, and they have to clip and pin it in certain places until it sits neatly on her. She makes a point of facing away from the mirror as they do so, and although she can't stop herself glancing down and excitedly realising that yes, she is wearing her actual wedding dress, she saves looking at herself wearing it in full until she's told the pinning and clipping is done.

"You want to step out?" she's asked, and she nods. They hold the dressing room curtain open for her, and she steps out, eyes immediately locking on herself in the large mirror opposite as she steps out into the middle of the space.

She doesn't want to be that person, but she can't help it – she's finally seeing herself in her own wedding dress, and the rest of the room and the people around her fizzle out of her consciousness as her eyes move over herself in the mirror. It's not entirely unknown for Courtney to put on a certain outfit and really feel herself, but this time, it's even more. It sits perfectly, exactly how she never knew she'd imagined it. It hugs her curves exactly where she wants it to, but it flows delicately down at the bottom as she moves slightly to one side, and the pattern is so obviously wedding without being fussy or traditional.