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Ninety Five

"We've had some good contenders," Charley commented, looking around the pile of dresses. "I don't think we've found quite the one yet though."

Charley, Emma and her mom were in yet another dress store looking at mountains of wedding dresses. She knew she wanted something simple, but everything she tried on just didn't hit that 'wow' factor. She was starting to lose hope, thinking she might just have to settle when the woman helping them brought her a couple more dresses.

"You said you wanted simple, but I thought why not try a more fitted shape with a few embellishments?" The woman commented as she hung up the dresses.

"Oh, I'm not sure... I'm not one for overly glittery, princess like dresses..." Charley responded, a bit uneasy. The first dress the woman had in the stack was covered in sequins and lace and quite the opposite of Charley's taste.

"I always have brides who are having trouble with picking a dress try on something that is the exact opposite of what they think they like. Come, try it on, love."

Hesitantly, Charley slid the dress on, avoiding looking at herself in the mirror. She'd been waiting to see herself for the first time until she was out in the main room with her mom and best friend. She felt a bit silly in all the sequins, anyway. Walking out of the dressing room door, she caught Emma's eye and was a bit taken back, as her best friend's expression wasn't quite what she was expecting.

"Oh, Charlotte..." her mother gasped.

"Charley... that might be it," Emma said.

"Really? You don't think it's too much with the sequins?" Charley responded, walking up to the mirrors.

Finally looking at herself in the mirror, she let out a soft gasp. She wasn't sure she liked all of the sequins, but she did love the lace on the dress, and how it fit on her. Standing there, she took it all in, looking at herself from every angle. She felt good in this dress.

"What do you think, love?" The woman spoke up after a minute.

"I don't love all the sequins but I do love this lace... is there something maybe in the middle? With this lace but a little less shimmer and sparkle?" Charley asked, not taking her eyes off herself in the dress.

"I'm sure we can find something. What do you think of the shape? It's a bit more form fitting than the other dresses but I think this one really accentuates your curves and beauty, if you don't mind me saying," she told Charley.

"Charlotte that is absolutely the style you need to go with. Michael won't know what hit him when he sees you!" Her mother commented.

Emma agreed, "You're a smoke show!"

After a few minutes, the woman led Charley back to her dressing room and excused herself as she went to find a dress matching Charley's request. Looking at herself in the mirror for another moment before undressing, she pictured herself walking down the aisle in that dress, sequins and all. It was the closest she had gotten to feeling like she found 'the dress'. A knock on the dressing room door caught her attention and the woman slid in holding a dress and a few things slung over her arm.

"Oh my gosh," Charley gasped as the woman showed her the dress she picked out.

It was a full lace dress with a v neck and plunging back line that stopped right at her lower back. It had thin straps and was a mermaid style, just like the previous dress that hugged her curves and made her feel breathtaking.

As the woman helped Charley into the dress, she commented, "Now there's no sequins like you had asked about, but I do have a couple of belts that would bring some shimmer and sparkle to the dress."

As the woman stepped back to grab some of the belts, Charley snuck a look in the mirror and gasped. This was it. This was the dress. She could immediately picture herself walking down the aisle to Michael in this dress. The woman helping her draped a bejeweled belt around her waist, but Charley shook her head.

"I thought I might like a little bit of sparkle but honestly, I don't think this dress needs it. This is just..." she turned to the side and looked at her reflection again. "This dress is just perfect."

"Let's go show your mum and friend then, aye?" The woman smiled.

As soon as Charley stepped out the dressing room, Emma and her mom gasped.

"That's it babes! That's the one!" Emma smiled, unable to hold back her excitement.

"Oh Charlotte, absolutely!" Her mother said softly, tears brimming her eyes.

"I think this is the one," Charley beamed as she walked over to the mirrors. "Do you think it needs any sparkles though? There's a couple of belts we could add, but I'm not sure," she added, twirling around in the mirror.

The attendant disappeared briefly before returning with some of the belts. As she slid one around Charley's waist, her mother shook her head.

"No, it takes away from the beauty," she commented, wiping her eyes.

"Nah, yeah, I don't think it works. It's perfect as is. Mick's gonna loose his mind!" Emma added.

After watching Charley admire herself for another moment, the woman asked, "Would you like to see it with a veil?"

She didn't even have time to respond before Emma and her mom shouted 'yes'. As the woman slipped a long veil on Charley's head, her breath caught in her throat. With the addition of the gorgeous lace-trimmed long veil, her mind was set. This was absolutely her dress.

"What do you think?" She asked Charley, smiling.

After a minute of admiring herself again, Charley looked at her mom and Emma before answering, "I think this is the dress!"

***

After dropping Emma off, Charley and her mom drove back home.

"Honey, I'm home!" Charley laughed as they walked through the front door.

There was laughter coming from the back patio and upon inspection, the two women found Whippet and Troy had joined Michael and her dad.

"Hey!" Michael grinned as she jumped up to greet them before giving Charley a quick kiss. "How'd it go?"

"Oh Michael, you are one lucky man," her mom responded, eyes getting misty once again.

"I found the dress," Charley smiled before turning her attention to their guests. "Hey Whip, Troy. Nice to see you two."

"Got any pictures?" Troy teased.

"Not for you three, but for John possibly," Charley's mom responded.

Sitting down between Michael and her dad, Charley smiled. It was nice to see her dad and her fiancé getting along. "What's for dinner?" She asked, her stomach rumbling.

"Troy brought over some burgers, figured we could cook out," Michael replied.

"Charley, you've got a good man here," her dad chuckled. He had always been a fan of cookouts, burgers and hot dogs especially. He loved that Michael enjoyed cooking out as well.

Laughing, Charley replied, "Did Mick ever tell you the story about when we tried to cook out back on Bronte when I first got here? He and Whippet nearly burned down the park!"

Michael, Whippet and Troy burst into laughter while Whippet tried to defend himself.

"Now hold on, it wasn't as bad as you make it sound!" He said, shaking his hand in defense.

While Whippet and Michael dove into their story, Charley and her mom slipped away to the kitchen to start getting ready for dinner.