Completely & Stupidly: Forever and Ever

Chapter 9. Charity

 Charity had been both looking forward to and dreading Monday morning. It was already the worst day of the week but this Monday in particular was going to be hectic, stressful and exciting all at once. With only six days left until they were to walk down the aisle, both brides had their final dress fitting, along with their bridesmaids, the best man and ring bearers. Vanessa had set an alarm that had woken them up earlier than needed and so they found themselves ready ahead of schedule, leaving them with around half an hour to kill before their taxis were due to arrive to pick them all up. Tracey had arrived at Jacob's Fold first, extremely excited and bright eyed, which Charity found far too overbearing to be around at nine o'clock in the morning. So, whilst she squeaked to Vanessa about how much she couldn't wait to see her in her dress again, Charity headed outside to wait for Chas. "Hi Gran" Sarah breathed as she sat beside her granddaughter, who was watching her phone more intently than the little ones that she was supposed to be keeping an eye on in the garden. Charity and Vanessa had decided to give all four of their kids the day off school to attend the fitting, in the hopes that they'd agree to go for the rest of the week, because Charity had sussed out that Sarah had a plan over the weekend. She kept offering to help out with waiting at home for packages or nipping into Hotton to pick things up and as much as it would be a big help to have someone do all of that for them, she needed to be in school. "Hey" Charity replied as she smiled, watching Moses pushing Johnny on the swing. "Are you okay?" Sarah asked, sensing that Charity was a little on the quiet side. "Yeah, I think so. I'm just a bit nervous" She spoke, with a slight wobble in her words. "Well don't be, your dress is amazing, and Vanessa's is dead nice too" Sarah told. Charity looked up with a smirk. "What's it like? Vanessa's dress" Charity asked in a whisper. "I'm not telling you," Sarah laughed. "But she looks so nice in it, you're going to be blown away when you see her", "I always am" Charity mumbled, mostly to herself. "Aww, isn't that nice" A sarcastic, sweet voice sounded from the back door. "Shut up" Charity scoffed, rolling her eyes as her cousin laughed, leaning against the door frame. "It would appear that I arrived just on time for once, the taxis are here" Chas motioned, pointing her thumb over her shoulder. "Oh God, right. Boys, come on it's time to go" Charity called out across the garden. Inside, it seemed that Rhona had arrived too and was holding the front door open for them to all usher out through it before she'd even had the chance to step foot inside. Noah bounded down the stairs last and met Charity in the kitchen. "Do me a favour, lock that door" Charity asked as she paraded the two little ones straight through the house and out to the cars on the pavement, where Vanessa was waiting with the coats that they should have already been wearing. "Jump in there with Mummy" She said, with the slightest bit of stress in her tone. "Hey, calm down" Vanessa hushed, taking Charity by the arm. "Calm down? Me? I don't need to calm down, I'm as cool as a cucumber me" Charity babbled. Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "Stop stressing, it's going to be fine, see you there" she winked, then kissed Charity on the cheek before climbing into the taxi with the boys, Tracey and Rhona. "Come on, Mum" Noah shouted from the other taxi, after already locking up and fastening his seatbelt beside Sarah and Chas. Charity nodded and gave herself a quick pep talk. She knew she was worrying over nothing and that her nerves had only piped up overnight because there was so much left to do in so little time, and she was really hoping not to need any adjustments made to her dress after gouging on multiple fast-food meals over the weekend. Vanessa's taxi pulled off with a head start before Charity climbed into her own unnecessary minibus. Once strapped in, the engine turned over. "Follow that car" Chas shouted as the driver chuckled and pulled off. "I've always wanted to say that," she added with a smile, but soon let it drop as she found three sets of embarrassed eyes boring into her.
 The first bridal shop appointment of the day found everyone squeezing into a small room surrounded by white and ivory dresses hung on silver rails, billowing out from against the walls. "Vanessa, welcome back" A friendly face chatted as the kids waved to her from the door. "Hello again" Vanessa smiled, while everyone else took a seat upon two white leather sofas. The lady, whose name Charity couldn't remember, had gushed about Vanessa being her first ever bride marrying another bride, and ever since they first met, she had been overly infatuated by their relationship. Their original dresser had gone off on her maternity leave, leaving this other lady who Charity had yet to meet in person. So now that she was there in the flesh and wasn't just speaking over the phone, she was all over Charity like a rash. "Charity, lovely to finally meet you, you're just as beautiful as I imagined you to be" she shrieked and pulled her into a bear hug. "Help" Charity mouthed to Vanessa over her shoulder, but she looked away pretending not to see her cry for help. "Right, shall we dive straight in?" She asked, gushing at the two of them. "I have the little lads suits right here, so it would be best in my experience to sort them out first so they don't get bored waiting until last. Plenty of toys in the corner to keep them entertained afterwards" She enthused, reaching up to take down two white bags from the nearest hanger. "Which Mummy is going to do the honour of dressing these little Prince's?" She asked. Charity looked away to play Vanessa at her own game. "That'll be me, I guess" Vanessa replied, and so she followed her into the changing room. When the curtain closed, Charity whispered into Chas' ear. "What's a good enough excuse to get me the hell out of here?" she asked. Chas scoffed. "You're not going anywhere, besides she's lovely, Helen" Tracey insisted. "Of course, her name would have the word Hell in it" Charity mumbled. This time both Chas and Rhona laughed. A few minutes later, Helen squeezed herself out of the changing room and announced that Johnny and Moses were ready to show off their suits, and so she counted back from three and whipped open the curtain to a chorus of 'aww's'. After complaining the whole time she'd been there, Charity finally smiled as she saw hers and Vanessa's boys looking so grown up and handsome in their grey suits. "Wow, look at you two" She grinned, as the boys awkwardly twirled and spun around on the spot. "Don't they look lovely" Helen beamed. "I don't think we need to make any alterations for these two, so if you're happy, that's your little ring bearers all sorted" She added after pulling at their waistcoats and blazers to double check the give and take of the material. "Great" Charity nodded. Vanessa joined them at the sofa for a better look now that she wasn't crammed in the corner of the little room and began to fill up as she saw the boys properly. "Ah, there it is, the first tear of the day. Time to get the champers out" Helen bubbled excitedly, and dashed off to fetch a bottle of champagne on ice. "Bit early for this isn't it?" Charity suggested, as she took a glass from the red-faced lady at five to ten in the morning. "It's never too early when you're celebrating love, after all, how many times do we get married?" Helen chuckled, taking a sip. "Four times, apparently" Chas muttered into her flute. Helen almost choked as she swallowed and then almost gave Charity a disappointed look while the others struggled to hide their sniggers. "Well, that's men for you" She shrugged. Charity smiled awkwardly but loosened up a little when she noticed that Vanessa was laughing along. "Quick change for these young men and then we will move on to the best man" Helen squealed, changing the conversation. Charity grabbed Noah with one hand and pulled him in close. Normally he would push her off him, embarrassed, but he allowed his mother one hug because it was a special occasion, of sorts. Identical in style if not in size, Noah's suit fit like a glove and was hung back up on the rail with Johnny and Moses' and zipped into a protective covering, meaning the bridesmaids were up next. As the youngest bridesmaid, Sarah's dress differed slightly from the others to be more age appropriate and to fit her more comfortably. She had also taken the longest out of the four of them to choose her dress, finally opting for the same A-line style but with added spaghetti straps. "You ready?" Tracey called from behind the curtain, now that the four of them were fastened in. Charity and Vanessa sat together on the sofa, Charity's arm around Vanessa's waist as they waited to see their bridesmaids in their dresses, together, for the first time. "Ready" Vanessa nodded, as Charity rubbed her thumb against her side. Once again, Helen counted backwards from three and whipped open the curtain. One by one, the women stepped out into the shop and lined up beside one another for all to see. "Wow" Vanessa mouthed, filling up with warm tears again as she grinned at her sister and friends. "You look amazing," She added. "Yeah, you look good" Charity agreed, bobbing her head with a straight-lined smile. Sarah and Tracey's dresses were a pale pink, complimenting of their fair skin, while Chas and Rhona wore a purple that wasn't quite lilac. Other than that, the dresses were practically identical. Tight around the torso in a chiffon material that floated down to their ankles in length. "Just one or two alterations for these ladies, a nip here and a tuck there" Helen waffled on. Vanessa smiled again as she kept glancing at the ladies up and down, then leaned her head on Charity's shoulder. Looking down at her little finance, Charity rested her chin on Vanessa's head and gave her a squeeze, much to Helen's delight. "Oh, you two may just be my favourite brides ever" She gushed, tilting her head to the side with puppy dog eyes. Not needing any alterations, Chas nipped back behind the curtain and changed back into her regular clothes. "Now, speaking of brides" Helen added, widening those eyes and becoming like a whole other person as she snapped out of her airy-fairy personality and clapped her hands together. "Time for me to go," Charity said, and she did a little dance that jiggled Vanessa beside her. "See you at home. You're going to look utterly gorgeous and I can't wait to see it for myself on Saturday" Charity whispered into Vanessa's ear. Then she kissed her passionately on the lips and headed out of the store with Chas in tow. "We've got an hour to kill" Chas announced, glancing at her watch. "Pub?" She asked, "Yes" Charity agreed, prolonging the 's' sound, then together they walked arm in arm down the road to find somewhere to drink.
 "How do you feel?" Chas asked when they finally headed to the bridal store for Charity's own dress fitting. "Bricking it" Charity admitted sheepishly. A loud bell rang above their heads as she pushed open the door. "Good Afternoon" two young girls chirped as one from behind a reception desk. "How you doing, Charity?" The brunette one asked from behind bright white teeth. "She's a bit on the nervy side" Chas answered for her, as Charity gawped at a discreet section of lingerie in the far corner of the room. "Ah, don't be. It's going to be fab" The blonde spoke up, putting her phone away to give their client her full attention. "Shall we go on through to the back?" She smiled, holding her arm out for Charity and Chas to step through to another room while the brunette girl dashed off to retrieve Charity's dress from storage. "Glass of champagne while we wait?" the blonde asked, already having poured four champagne glasses and reached to hand them over before they could answer. "Ooh, cheers" Chas nodded, grabbing hers with both hands. "I don't think I will" Charity declined, she'd already had one at the other store and two gin and tonics at the pub. "More for us then" The girl giggled, clinking glasses with Chas, who was in her elements sprawled out across a chaise lounge. "Here we are" The other girl announced as she reappeared with Charity's dress, half visible through the bag as it hung on a silk hanger. "Good luck" Chas chirped as Charity stepped into a changing room that was no more than a wooden box with a lockable door. Charity timidly took off her clothes and stepped into her dress as the young girl swept aside its small train from under their feet. "Pop your arms through" The girl spoke, her voice now soft and gentle as she sensed Charity's nerves. "So, tell me about your lucky bride" She spoke, as she began to fasten up the many buttons on the back of the dress, starting at her hips. "She's amazing" Charity began. "I don't know what I did to deserve her. I've always been the type of person who messes everything up or settles, too afraid to chase after the people I really want. You know, this'll be my sixth wedding, third marriage" She spoke, too embarrassed to look her dresser in the eye. "But this is the first time I'm marrying for love. The rest of them weren't love, not proper love, and not because they were men either, but because they weren't Vanessa. She brings out the best in me, she makes me feel happy and whole and warm. I'm so lucky to have her", "Sounds like a lot more than luck if you ask me" The girl told, smiling warmly at Charity. "Yeah?" Charity asked, collecting herself as the last buttoned fastened at the nape of her neck. "Yeah, sounds like true love to me, and that you had to wait this long because the timing wasn't right. Now that you're clearly ready to love, properly, you found your soulmate", "Soulmate?" Charity breathed, "I never believed in that, but I think you might be right" She grinned, feeling small butterflies begin to flutter in her stomach. "I'm always right" The girl bragged, and then stepped back for Charity to take her first look at herself in the mirror. "Oh my God" She whispered as she saw herself as a bride for the first time, and not just Charity Dingle in a wedding dress. "You make a beautiful bride Charity, but I have a strong feeling that this will be your last and best wedding", "Don't make me blub" Charity laughed as she looked herself up and down and envisioned herself standing up at Butlers farm, as Vanessa's wife. "What's your name?" She asked the girl, realising that she'd not taken the time to ask before even though she had been so nice to her. "Lauren" the girl chirped. "Lauren, thank you" Charity smiled. "Are you ready to step out and show Chas?" she asked with a smile of her own, "As ready as I'll ever be" Charity nodded. Not knowing that Chas and the other girl had heard every word that She and Lauren had spoken in the changing room, Charity stepped out to find her cousin sitting quietly with a tear already in her eye. "What?" Charity asked worried as Chas' intense eye contact began to freak her out. "Nothing, you look so beautiful. Come here" She sniffled, pulling her in for a hug. Charity hugged her back for a moment, but soon stiffened again. "Chas, you get mascara on this dress, I'll kill you" Charity warned, with a playfulness in her words. "Sorry" Chas chuckled, pulling herself back up right. "So, I look alright then?", "You look perfect" Chas agreed. "Right, well I reckon we're done here then" Charity turned to Lauren who gave a thumbs up and reopened the changing room door to help her back out of her dress. Once the dress was bagged up, they were free to leave as it was all already paid for and finally able to come home from the store, which felt like a big weight lifted off Charity's shoulders. Charity and Chas said their goodbyes to the two girls and left the store. Though once outside, Charity hesitated to leave and a very visible light bulb moment reflected in her eyes. "What?" Chas asked, a little afraid of what was happening. "Nothing, go call us a taxi. I forgot something" Charity innocently lied, and nipped back into the store to buy one last thing that had caught her eye.