VAPOR

CHAPTER 32 - Maids n Red

ZAYLEA

It was amusing to see Melody run around in the wedding reception with different color samples in her hands, day out and day in. Not until Sunday night — which was my last day in Hollywood — they finally came to an agreement; red was going to be the color of the wedding (which wasn't even one of the opinions). Once they had decided the color Melody's mood seemed to lighten a bit and early in the Sunday morning Melody herself, Alice, Eliza (Daniel's sister), Carol (Melody's cousin) and I were headed to a bridal shop downtown.

It was surprising that such a small shop could hold so many different dresses, they came in all shapes and designs and I feared that Melody would want us to wear something short. As the color of the wedding had been chosen, red was the color of the bride's maids dresses (which honestly wasn't too bad).

     A woman with grey strictly permed hair, yellowed teeth and a bright smile walked over to us with her arms wide open. I immediately recognized the lady — it was Catherine Stanley — the woman that owned the dress shop Bellezza in Florence, who had made Aaron and I The Perfect Couple 2015.

"Mrs Stanley!" I said in surprise. "What are you doing here?" I couldn't hide the smile that crept it's way to my lips and when she pulled me in for a tight hug, the smell of cigarettes was more obvious than ever.

"Miss Fierrë has been one of my most appreciating fans for so many years, I've received countless of letter from her..." It wasn't often Melody blushed but now her cheeks were burning red, matching the red dresses that surrounded us.

   "...helping her pick out her bride's maids dresses is the least I can do, it's a pity that she'd already chosen a dress for herself." Stanley looked rather offended at the though of someone picking out a wedding dress that wasn't designed by her, but was smiling brightly once again when she turned to face the bride. "I guess red is the color of your choosing?"

"Y-yes," Melody said in a stutter, looking at Mrs Stanley with eyes big like tennis balls.

"Great dear.  You can have a look at the dresses surrounding us before I get my dresses-"

"No, please." my best friend shook her head so virtuously that I was scared it would fall off. "It would be an honor to have your designs at my wedding." Stanley looked pleased with the answer and nodded curtly (and kind of proudly) before she went to the room in the back.

Melody, the rest of the bride's maids and I were left gawking at the dresses around us. It was hard not to take a closer look at them but a sign above the set of dresses clearly said: do not touch without permission. Which made us kind of restless while we waited for Mrs Stanley to come back, — Carol even looked bored — ten minutes later a clothing-cart in gold rolled in (it was filled to the brim with dresses) and behind it Mrs Stanley's head popped up.

"Sorry for the wait girls, it was harder than expected to push this up the hill." The shocked expression on our faces made her laugh. "Just kidding, my car is just outside. I got a call." The five of us burst down into laughter and while we looked through the different dresses I made sure to catch up with Mrs Stanley.

Apparently her dress store back in Florence had become even more popular after Aaron's and my visit and suddenly American's had been dying to come there. Mrs Stanley kept thanking me for being on her magazine's front page with Aaron and said more than once that it was thanks to us her brand suddenly had become so big. I didn't believe that at all and couldn't take the honor for her great work, her dresses were after all amazing.

    She' had  expanded her store but hadn't moved it, she'd grown fond of the place her career had started.

"This dress maybe?" Melody said — after what felt like hours of looking — as she held up an elegant red dress. It was floor-length without sleeves, with lace all the way to the neck and see-through material at the upper chest area, the color was so dark that it almost could count as maroon. It was lovely.