Chapter 162 - The Middleman
Keeley's bridesmaid dress for Lydia's wedding arrived in the mail and she stared at it in abject horror. Her wedding colors were lavender and mint green and the bridesmaid dresses had been custom-made to include both.
It was a silk nightmare.
Most of the dress was lavender, such as the spaghetti straps and the wraparound skirt. But the awkwardly large band that only took up the top half of the chest area and the gigantic bow with the false jewel in the middle were mint green.
'Lydia…how could you do this to your friends…' she thought with a groan. This thing was getting thrown away the moment the wedding was over.
Keeley texted her friend to let her know the dress arrived and Lydia asked what she thought about it. She lied and said it looked great. Dealing with Jennica's nonsense had proven to her that brides-to-be shouldn't be messed with.
Thinking of Jennica…she was supposed to go dress shopping with her later. With any luck her bridesmaid dresses wouldn't be nearly so horrible but Keeley wasn't optimistic.
The worst part of this was that Jennica's mother had flown out specifically to help her daughter pick out her wedding dress. Keeley would have to be the middleman in person now and she dreaded it.
Midterms had taken a lot out of her; she really didn't have time or energy to spare. At least there was no chance of running into Aaron at the bridal salon. Not even Cameron was allowed in that hallowed ground for brides.
The one good thing about this trip was that Valentina was coming too. She loved girly things like shopping and would probably be a lot more helpful fashion-wise than Keeley could ever be.
The group set out on a crisp but sunny Saturday morning and headed into an exclusive bridal salon in the shopping district Keeley frequented in her past life. Cameron insisted that Jennica should feel like a princess on their wedding day and he was footing the bill so she happily accepted the exorbitance.
Keeley felt distinctly uncomfortable. She had never been inside this store before but she had been into ones on the same street.
It brought back memories she would rather forget of shopping trips with people barely disguising their disdain for her. She had spent far too much time dealing with those snobs.
A salon attendant ushered them in professionally despite obviously noticing the cheap, casual attire that didn't match their usual clientele. "Which one of you here today is the bride?"
"That would be me!" Jennica beamed. "These lovely ladies are my mother and two of my bridesmaids."
The attendant led them to a private sitting area outside of a dressing room that had a raised platform in front of it surrounded by mirrors for the bride to admire dresses from all angles.
"Can you tell me what kind of dress you are looking for?"
"Something huge and frilly," Anna Stevens cut in without consulting her daughter.
Jennica scowled. "Mom, that's not what I want."
"You only get married once! Why not look like a princess?"
"You can look like a princess without drowning in material," she said stubbornly. "What about mermaid gowns? I like those."
"We have a wide selection of that style," the attendant said smoothly.
It was clear to see where Jennica got her stubbornness from. Her mother wouldn't back down. "That style is so tacky; there's no way you could pull it off."
"Alison wore one when she and Brian got married!"
"Yes, and it was tacky!"
They continued squabbling and Valentina looked to Keeley in alarm. She whispered, "Have they been like this the whole time they've been planning the wedding?"
"Yeah. They might actually be the death of me."
To appease them, the salon attendant expertly suggested bringing out some of both types and a few styles that were a bit in between. She then asked for color preferences.
Keeley had no idea there were so many different shades of white. Stark white, ivory, alabaster, light gold, diamond white, champagne… Based on Jennica's skin tone, the attendant recommended alabaster or light gold. Of course her mother, ever the traditionalist, wanted stark white.
This was where Keeley came in. She put on her sweetest smile and waved the attendant to go fetch things in the shades she thought were best before tackling her foe.
"Mrs. Stevens, the attendant is a professional and knows how to make your daughter look her best. You wouldn't want her to seem washed out in the wedding pictures, would you?"
Anna was horrified at the thought. "Oh no, the pictures are the most important part!"
She stopped fussing about the shade of white after that and Jennica shot her friend a grateful look. Keeley smiled a bit smugly. She almost had this down to a science now.
The attendant came back with six dress options to start with.The first one was the biggest ball gown Keeley had ever seen—even bigger than her own had been. It didn't look like Jennica's style at all but her mother's eyes lit up at the sight. Someone was clearly reliving their own fantasies through their child.
Jennica was pushed into the dressing room reluctantly and had to ask for help with the hooks in the back partway through.
"I have never felt so ridiculous in my life," she said flatly as she emerged.
The top half of the dress was a beaded corset but the bottom half… She was literally drowning in ruffles. The skirt had a three foot radius surrounding Jennica's actual body and the train was even worse.
Anna cooed and clapped her hands together in delight. "You look gorgeous!"
"How would you even sit down?" Valentina wondered aloud, a small frown on her usually smiling face.
"Jen…can you walk?" Keeley asked.
It looked terribly uncomfortable. If she were the one wearing it she surely would have tripped and fallen to her death.
She attempted to take a few steps but kept stepping on the ruffled hem. She blew out a frustrated breath.
"No. There's absolutely no way I'm wearing this one. I can't even get off the pedestal."
"But—"
"I'm not wearing it, Mom!"
Jennica stomped back into the dressing room and angrily demanded the next dress. The attendant wisely handed her a mermaid style gown this time to placate her.
She came out of the dressing room much happier in a lace covered mermaid dress with a sweetheart neckline. Valentina liked it but Anna began arguing against it immediately. Keeley sighed. They still had four more dresses to go.