Page 81 of The Wonder of You
I watch as everyone joins our celebrations with a permanent smile on my face. How nice it is to celebrate love and family. How nice it is to feel so normal.
Chapter 57
I feel anxious in anticipation as I wait for Lukas to finish tying Maudie’s shoe laces.
“You stay with Renée, okay? No walking away,” he says seriously. Maudie nods, but I can tell she is too excited about our outing to really take in what her dad is saying.
“You’ll be okay, go out and enjoy yourself. You deserve this,” Phoenix tells me as he kisses my head. I haven’t been out in town without Phoenix since being back in the immortal world, and I’m anxious about it. There is no lie about that. I bite my nails and pull on my pink checkered shirt cuffs.
I nod at him though; I do want to have a good time. I know the town is safe enough. I know I can do this and more importantly, it’s not all about me. I am looking after Maudie. Plus, Toni and Lola, one of the acrobats, is coming with us. I can’t feel fear when Toni is around. We say goodbye to everyone and walk away. Toni and Lola chat up front about anything and everything. I take hold of Maudie’s hand and glance back at Phoenix. He waves and gives me a smile that reminds that everythingwillbe okay.
“I want pink! I must have a pink dress!” Maudie tells me. She’s been speaking about her bridesmaid dress non-stop since the day Phoenix proposed. I’ve never seen her this excited. “You must have white and I must have pink!”
“Don’t think you should be wearing white, but I’ll let it slide.” Toni looks over her shoulder and winks at me. I try not to blush.
“What does that mean?” Maudie asks.
“Nothing, sweetheart,” Toni says as she continues to lead the way into the small town. The town here doesn’t look much different to those in the mortal world. It reminds me of the small stretch of shops back where I used to live, but there is something different in the atmosphere here. Any ounce of nerves I experienced before have gone; I feel another strong sense of belonging in this world. We’re welcomed into shops as if we’re royalty, the people here are just so much nicer. They don’t look irritated with us; they don’t look as if they want us to leave before we’ve even got through the door. What a nice environment to be in after twenty-nine years in the mortal world with the most miserable people around. It’s rather weird to reflect upon - you’d think people with a time-limit on their one and only life would be happier.
“What sort of dress would you like?” The lady in the shop beams at me. Her genuine, sweet smile helps my nerves slide away.
“I don’t really like wearing dresses, so I want something tea-length, white…” Maudie claps her hands as I say it. “Something that covers my boobs.”
“You shouldn’t hide yourself, honey,” Toni says reassuringly,
“I know, you’re stunning and look at me, I love it!” Lola grins and wiggles her chest. I blush instantly and put my head down as everyone else erupts into laughter.
“We have children around, you cheeky woman!” Toni gently slaps the side of Lola’s arm.
“Thank you, Lola, but it would make me more comfortable to be covered. I don’t know what it is, but it would make me feel better,” I say softly, but firmly.
“Sounds like a good enough answer, let’s try on some dresses!” The woman claps her hands and leads us to the back.
The afternoon progresses to me trying on dresses and then leaving the little room to show the ladies. Toni cries each time. Lola holds up a glass of wine and makes a handful of comments. “That’s a maybe!” or, “Nah, not sure about that one!”
Maudie excitedly dances around and tells me I look beautiful. I feel blessed to be here with them. I can’t wait until Phoenix sees me. For the first time, I do think I look pretty and I want to show myself off to him.
Eventually, I put on a dress that is just about perfect. It’s tea-length, white and covers my boobs. It is simple, but it does have a few sparkling gems around the chest area.
“I think this is the one!” I say shyly.
The women all squeal.
I step out from the curtain and Toni instantly grins, rubbing the tears away from her eyes.
“Thatisthe one!” she says confidently, and I believe she is saying it because she truly thinks it and not just to please me.
“I agree!” Lola raises what appears to be another glass of wine.
I look to Maudie who has been silent for a while too long now. She smiles as she meets my eyes, then she screams in excitement.
“Oh, my goodness, what is that noise?” the shop owner says light-heartedly. “Something tells me you’ve found the one!”
“I think so…actually, no, I know so!”
“Fantastic, and what are we looking to get for the pretty little bridesmaid here?” she asks.
“Pink! I must have pink!” Maudie squeals.
