For All Eternity

Why Are You All Sweaty?

Joe studied his girlfriend's face, through the mirror, from his place on her dressing table chair, as she put the finishing touches on her outfit. She looked incredible, hair perfectly coiffed, her dress falling nicely over her curves. The YouTuber had witnessed the preparation she had undergone to get it looking such a way, including but not limited to; shaving her legs in the shower he was having that morning to taping a strapless sticky contraption to stop her boobs making an unwanted appearance but allow her back to be open and free. She looked beautiful to him, but he could see a thought growing in her eyes that made him wonder if she didn't feel the same way. It was deep in there but inherently obvious to Joe, who was expertly tuned into everything she was and every thought she had.

Dianne chose this moment to sigh and flatten her dress over her midriff again. If Joe blinked for longer than necessary, he might have been transported back to a moment with Louise. He didn't though, instead he stood and placed a hand on her waist and enquiring, with a soft, even, caring tone, "everything okay my love?"

"Not really. I'm just," another heavy sigh and a fiddle with her dress, "I don't know, I'm just I'm not sure. Is it too, I don't know, like glitterball? Or will I be underdressed. I've never attended and I picked myself I didn't have a stylist or Gordana making it."

"Hey." He stopped the cataclysmic spiral, by turning her away from the mirror and sandwiching his hands in hers, "I think you look fine. Amazing actually, I don't know why I said fine because you look supreme. Stunning. I think it's the perfect dress, it shows off all the effort you've put in without being obvious. You've done really well with no dress code to find this and judging by what Marisha and Laura have put on their stories and Tara, David's wife, I think you're dressed perfectly. I feel really lucky you know," Joe pressed a kiss to her temple, "because I know for sure I'm going to be showing off the most beautiful person in the room."

"Still, and I'm bloated a bit from something and what if there's rumours. I can't cope with people saying we are when we're trying but we're not."

Joe turned her into his chest, they could do damage control later, and hushed her, his fingertips rubbing her back, "shh, shh, it's okay, just have a little cry, get all of that horrible out and then we can talk."

"And my skin," she kept on going.

"Honestly honey, it looks great, you've done an amazing job and we all get bad skin days. Just cry it all out, try and stop thinking let go of it all."

"Joseph," a quiet voice said from the door, "someone called James called up to say your car's ten minutes away."

"Thanks Mum, we'll only be a couple of minutes," Joe said, keeping Dianne, who was now only sniffing every few moments, close.

"Tracey," Dianne said, lifting her head from Joe's chest.

"Yes my dear?"

"Could I have a hug?" She asked quietly, "and can you help me?"

"Of course, go on Joseph, Connie wants to say goodbye," Joe kissed Dianne's forehead, grabbed a makeup wipe for his turtleneck, which had some tan powder on it and walked downstairs.

"Come on then," Tracey sat down on the bed and patted next to her, arms wide. Dianne slumped into her shoulder and closed her eyes, imagining it was her own Mum's arms wrapping around her, "just have a crisis of confidence lovie?"

Dianne nodded letting out another sigh, she hated that it was now her brain decided to go all self-loathing on her. "My skin's been so bad, I mean you just have noticed earlier. And I've just randomly bloated in the last half an hour and that's scary with the press. And I feel a bit daft. I just..."