Danger Signs // Demi Lovato // 4

54. Converse With My Dress

It was now April and Maia wanted to get her wedding dress before Demi came home from tour. From what I understood, Demi wasn't planning on looking for dresses until she came back, but she was keeping her eyes open in case she found one somewhere else.

Maia and I drove over to pick up Jay, who of course had to make a comment about April Fools Day, questioning if there was some prank planned. I rolled my eyes, adjusting the AC vents so they weren't pointed right at me. It was pretty warm, but I didn't need the air blowing directly into my face.

Nobody said anything so I decided to make conversation by asking Maia what kind of dress she wanted.

She described her dream dress that she'd wanted since she was old enough to know what a wedding was. She had wanted something long with beading dripping down the skirt and completely covering the bodice. She took her hands off the wheel to show the sweetheart neckline that had been everything her heart desired as a preteen.

I swatted at her arm and she gripped the wheel again.

"Then I turned emo and I wanted a black dress," she continued, all of us chuckling. "But now, I don't want anything too crazy, but I do want it to have some sparkle. I have to have some contrast to Demi's ball gown."

Jay made a choking sound in the backseat. "I thought she didn't have a dress yet?"

"She doesn't, I just think she'll get something really over-the-top since we didn't do anything like this when we got married."

Soon after, we arrived at the dress shop. I stared around at the mannequins displaying various types of dresses. Some were fitted and others reminded me of the kind of dress Maia suspected Demi would get.

We met with the consultant, Holly, and showed us around, deciding where to go based on what Maia said. Fitted, but not too tight, and some sparkle.

Holly told me and Jay to look around and see if we could find some options for Maia to try on. I found one with long sleeves and an open back that had the kind of skirt Maia wanted. Jay found one with more beading than mine, and it had preteen-Maia's dream neckline, so we took those and found Maia and Holly looking at some dresses with more flared out skirts. Maia had three picked out, two fitted and one A-line for diversity, and she and Holly took the five dresses into a fitting room while Jay and I waited on a small couch.

"I can't believe we get to do this again with Demi," Jay said, smiling and looking around.

"The perks of having two moms who are both pretty girly," I said. "It is weird to think that Maia had black hair at one point."

Jay's eyes widened. I guessed she didn't know the extent of Maia's emo years.

I nodded and a few moments later, Maia emerged with Holly. I grinned seeing the dress I had picked out. It was a little too big around the waist, so Holly had put some clips on the back so we could see the full effect from the front.

"It's so pretty," I said, which didn't surprise anyone since I had picked out the dress. Of course I would think it's pretty. "What do you think?" I asked Maia who was looking in the mirror and turning slightly to see her back.

"It's nothing like what I would have pictured myself wearing, honestly, but I really like the open back," she said, turning to face me and Jay. "It could use more... shiny," Maia added, her face scrunching as she tried to think of the word she wanted.

I laughed and Holly said she could find some belts for Maia to try on, but Maia wanted to try on the other dresses to see what she liked.

After they left, Jay leaned over to me. "Watch her pick my dress over yours." She grinned and I felt my competitiveness rising up.

I quickly pushed it down and reminded Jay that Maia had picked three other dresses, so she probably would pick one of those.

"Mhmm," Jay hummed with a smirk. She was confident that Maia wouldn't be able to resist the sweetheart neckline.

After trying on the two fitted dresses she'd picked out, Maia clearly loved both of them, but wanted to see what the last one she'd picked would look like. She returned, walking quickly to the mirror and examining the flared skirt and capped sleeves. I noticed that when she turned, the skirt sparkled and there were clusters of different sized pearls near the waist creating a a few flowers.

"This is the one I thought I would like the least, but I think it's my favorite," Maia told us, turning so we could see the front properly. "It just feels right, you know?"

Jay sat up straighter. "Ya know what else might feel right? The dress I picked out." She gave Maia a little nod and had her finger pointed at her. Maia laughed and looked at herself one last time before going to change into the last dress.

I shook my head at Jay for being so impatient but she ignored me. "This is it, Rosie."

"Why do you want her to pick your dress so badly?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I think it would be cool to say I picked out her wedding dress, you know, the most important dress of a woman's life."

I placed my hand over hers on her knee. "So dramatic. Have you ever considered acting?"

Jay rolled her eyes and laughed, watching for Maia. "I never thought I'd be good at it, but have you brought up singing to them?"

"Not yet, but I'm going to when Demi comes back."

She nodded, then her eyes took on a faraway look. "Could you imagine if I picked out both of their dresses?"

I just shook my head, but smiled at her enthusiasm over wedding dress shopping.

Soon, Maia and Holly returned, Jay perking up at seeing her dress on Maia. And Maia was smiling so wide and her cheeks were more pink than they had been before. Jay nudged me with her elbow and I bumped her back with my shoulder.

"Perfection," Jay said.

I watched the sparkles catch the light, reflecting the colors of the rainbow as Maia turned from side to side. Like the dress I'd chosen, it was a little big, so some of those bulky clips had been added to the back, but even with them there, the dress was beautiful and Maia looked stunning and so happy.

"It really is," Maia said, agreeing with Jay's simple statement. "It's not too much," she started explaining, running her fingers over the beading, "but it's perfect. And the neckline brings back so many memories of looking at dresses online."

I glanced at Jay who was already staring at me with her eyebrows raised and her head tilted.

"Guys... I found my dress."

Jay was grinning and I had to assume her cheeks were hurting, but she was too happy to care. And while I was a bit annoyed that she'd been right, I was too happy for Maia to even think about it.