Don't mess with the Grey.

Chapter 47

"No, that just won't do," Meredith shook her head with a grimace as she threw a wedding gown catalogue on the little table.

"Don't exaggerate," replied Addison, engrossed in her own copy. "These are some wonderful gowns. They're beautiful."

Meredith squinted at her harshly. "You better not try to persuade me to wear one that stands all on its own. Remember I have the power to make you look like a giant purple mushroom?"

"Okay," nodded quickly the redhead, abruptly closing the folder. "They're ugly, hideous really!"

"Thought you'd share my views."

"Have you found anything eye-catching yet, Meredith?" asked a young slightly plump woman that joined them in the back room lined with tall mirrors.

"Not really," she sighed. "They... are not at all like me."

"Don't worry," reassured her Lucy, the dressmaker. "I just showed it to you to get to know more about you. We'll find a perfect dress for you. Can you stand up here, please? I need to measure you up."

Meredith moved to the middle of the room facing herself in one of the mirrors.

"Lift your arms," asked Lucy, "and tell me something about you."

Meredith took a deep breath. Say something about her? It was difficult to gather her thoughts in all the excitement and anxiety. The butterflies in her stomach made her restless.

"Oh, she's a bitch," piped Addison ignoring her best friend's stormy looks. "But she's warm and fuzzy inside. And she's completely besotted with Derek, her fiancé."

"So what if I'm a bitch? A bitch has a right to get married too," hissed Meredith defensibly but didn't deny a word of Addie's.

"You've got a perfect figure," praised Lucy rolling her measuring tape. "That certainly won't be a problem."

"And designing the dress will be?" frowned Meredith.

"I don't think so," laughed the dressmaker, grabbing a crayon and a block of paper from the desk by the wall. "In fact, I've got an idea. Can you sit down for a couple of minutes? I need to transform it onto paper."

"You're energetic," she murmured tracing the crayon on the blank page, "passionate, determined. A bit harsh, tough, unyielding. But at the same time... delicate and exquisite. Like a diamond."

Meredith and Addison exchanged puzzled glances but kept silent letting Lucy work on her project. Some fifteen minutes later the woman said enthusiastically, backing her head to examine the drawing from a distance, "There! I think I've got it. It's bit rough now. I'll figure out more details later on. If you approve of it, that is."

She moved to show them the black and white project. "So, a strapless bodice with a bold deep cleavage. Matches your character well, I think. However, it's going to have... a magical, mysterious side... I'm thinking about a scintillating lace... delicately embroidered with stones, maybe jets and crystals... Because you do have a powerful romantic side," she continued. "Whereas, the dress will be simpler, wider, lighter in colour... since you're firm and uncompromising. If you have any reservations I can work it up until the end of the week, so you can see the finished project in colour..."

"I think it's... it's great," breathed out Meredith. "That's it!"

"Yeah?" Lucy smiled satisfactorily. "It's elegant yet seductive, will make your fiancé want to rip it off you," she joked.

"I don't think that was ever a problem," remarked Addie innocently.

"Whatever, I like the dress," shrugged Meredith watching every line of the project.