The Mobster's Girl

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

The morning after witnessing O'Leary kill a man, Stella, Kate, and Hazel shopped for bridesmaid dresses, despite being mentally and physically exhausted from the day before. The girls had wanted to stay in bed and do nothing up until rehearsal, and were going to, but Kate had convinced them to leave, insisting that they all could use some retail therapy.

They shopped in a high-end boutique, with an 'unlimited budget,' according to Peter. After speaking to Kate, he had gone immediately to Jack, and demanded that the girls be pulled from the operation, and Jack agreed, but insisted that the girls wouldn't hear it, which was true. They wanted to help bring about O'Leary's downfall as much as Jack wanted to, and they wouldn't stop until it was done. As Kate said, it would never be over, unless O'Leary, or, god forbid, Jack, was dead.

So, Peter, and Jack, who were helpless in the situation, begrudgingly agreed to let the women continue on with the mission, and would be helping later in the evening, when they confiscated O'Leary's shipment.

The girls were spread out in the store, all of them searching for the perfect bridesmaid dress. Kate had already been fitted for a wedding dress, which was getting designed by local designer, who had drawn out exactly what Kate described to her. She had wanted a Chanel gown, but wanted to keep her wedding budget somewhat reasonable, despite her expensive tastes, which seemed out of character for Kate.

Hazel excitedly held up a pink, frilly gown, and Kate , who had a look of disgust on her face, immediately turned her down.

"No pink," she said firmly.

Hazel turned to Stella, a pout on her face, as if she was expecting Stella to stick up for the hideous dress. But, Stella hated pink as well, and was happy that she wouldn't have to wear the dress. Of course, if Kate had decided that she wanted pink, Stella wouldn't have protested, seeing as it wasn't her wedding. Whatever Kate wanted, Kate would get.

After examining nearly every dress in the store, and nearly all of them waiting for them in their dressing rooms, the girls made their way to the back of the store, and began trying on dresses.

Kate critiqued everything, considering she already had a picture in her head of what she wanted. It had to look good with her wedding dress, which Stella and Hazel had never seen, and needed to be as fashionable as possible. It also needed to flatter both Stella and Hazel.

But, as the girls tried on dresses, Kate seemed to find flaws in every dress. The red dresses that they tried on were too gaudy, and too bold of a color for a wedding. The pale gold they tried on were too close to the color of her wedding dress, while the pale blue dresses they tried on washed out Hazel, according to Kate.

It continued on like this for the remainder of the dresses, until they only had a couple left to try on.

It felt as though they had tried on nearly a million dresses, and both Stella and Hazel were beginning to get tired of it, while Kate seemed to be enjoying every moment. She sat in a chair in front of the dressing rooms, her legs crossed, her elbow perched on a knee, her chin in her hand. Her other hand held a flute of sparkling cider, which Kate kept saying she wished was champagne instead, while the store clerk continuously apologized, and reminded her about Prohibition.

Finally, as the girls were on the last dress, Kate frowned at it, and insisted that the girls not try it on.

"You picked it out," Hazel pointed out. "You said that you adored it, and insisted that we try it. We're trying it on." She nodded at Stella to return to her dressing room, and they both came out moments later with the dress on.

It was pale silver, with ruffled layers on the skirt, and was sleeveless. It was the latest fashion, and both Hazel and Stella felt amazing in it. It flattered them in all the right places, and wasn't some hideous color. And, to their surprise, Kate was silent as she stared at them in the dresses, her expression unreadable.