Bearing Down

Bearing Down: To make an all-out effort; 100% effort

Chapter One

The sound of a woman wailing comes from the back of the dress shop.

Adelaide had listened to this woman for the last two hours and was officially done. You would think after twenty different dresses this woman would find something she liked, but everytime she tried one on she would come out in tears claiming that it wasn't working. Adelaide had given her every style and variation she could think of. It was always "It wasn't the right size", there was "too much lace", "the sleeves were too long", or the most annoying "it wasn't the right shade of white". She even found the exact dress the woman had showed her on Pinterest yet it still wasn't "perfect". Between the crying in the background and the sound of every cheesy 2000s soft love song playing, Addy was not far from losing her mind. 
To get a moment of peace, Addy quickly ran behind the front desk, narrowly missing her coworker, put her back against the wall, and slowly slid down it. Her coworker looked down at her in worry. The fluorescents felt too bright, and the room was too small. She started to feel dizzy. As she slipped her black Doc Marten sandals off and braided her frizzing hair, she was thankful she wore her spaghetti strap backless dress as it was stiflingly hot inside and outside the store. With her palms flat against her eyes, Addy sighed aloud and wished she could clock out and never return. Hearing the chime of the front door, Addy's eyes started watering. "Someone take me out of my misery," she thought to herself.

"Addy!" A familiar sing-song voice came through the door. "Adelaide, my sweet baby angel girl!" Addy felt her heart lurch in her chest as her hero had just walked in the door.

The crying woman came from the dressing room, standing at an angle that she could see the surprise guest but couldn't see the overloaded girl. Addy's coworker turned to look at the lady in fear. "Where is she?" she wept. "I need her. None of this fits!" Her mascara has clearly run down her face, leaving her pale, red face stained down to the neck. Her hair was untamed on the top of her head, and she wore the complimentary robe the bridal shop offered during fittings.

Olivia, Adelaide's best friend, approaches the front desk, her shoes squeaking against the linoleum. In true Olivia style, she's wearing a lavender vest over a cropped white shirt with a short, cloud gray skirt. Her long, wavy brown hair falls perfectly on her back, it being very similar to Addy's natural hair but less defined. Chunky silver jewelry lines her ears that match her rings and necklaces, minus the one gold ring on her pinky that matches Addy's silver counterpart. With a quick glance down, she sees Addy on the verge of tears but doesn't give her hiding spot away as she looks back up.

"I think she's out right now..." Olivia says, throwing Adelaide a quick glance. Addy gives her an adoring look. Olivia gives the woman an indifferent look, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Instead of a response, the woman wails louder and trails back into the dressing room. Her coworker sighs and shrugs, giving Addy the break she needs to go help the lady. With her disappearance, Addy lets out a huge sigh of relief and crawls towards Liv, ushering her behind the desk. Trying not to laugh, Liv slides down next to her, her usual cherry and cashmere scent filling Addy's nose.

"Y'know if you secretly recorded interactions like that you wouldn't have to work in this shithole," she snickers. "We could both be rich based on YouTube views. I'd even allow rights to major platforms to make compilations." Her blue eyes sparkle at Addy mischievously.

"So I do all the suffering and somehow... we get rich?" Addy scoffs and knits her eyebrows. "That doesn't sound like you're doing much to contribute except getting money and watching me go insane."

"Sounds like something I already do to my parents," Liv giggles, covering her mouth. Addy reluctantly nods in agreement. There's a beat of silence. She momentarily stares at her best friend and removes her hand to reveal a small smirk. Addy can tell she's up to something and considers turning her down before she says a word.