Friends with Benefits

Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Four

Things I own: my sanity (though, that's debatable at times), not enough time to write and incredible friends and family!!

Things I don't: Twilight, Edward and Bella (Damn. It.)

Chapter 124

BPOV

"Alice? Does Jasper's mom hold the same resentment toward you as Jeremiah?" I asked as we drove to the posh bridal salon.

"She's not sunshine and roses, that's for sure. She is a former debutante who never really worked a day in her life. Jasper's dad, John, works for one of the few large oil companies in Texas and they own a huge chunk of it. All of Jasper's family are comfortable and didn't understand why he wanted to go to school up here to become a teacher," she replied, spitting out the word 'teacher' as if it was a curse word. "They almost wrote him out of the will but Jasper's baby sister, Jessie, fought for him and explained that she was following in his footsteps, only to become a teacher in Texas. It's not a bad profession. Quite the opposite, it's honorable. You're teaching the future of the world."

"What's with all of the 'J' names?"

"John insisted on it," Alice snickered. "You have Jeremiah, Joshua, Jasper, Josie, Jason, and Jessie. I even think that Jeremiah, who has two kids, carried on the tradition, John Junior and Jayden."

"Are Jasper's sisters standing up for you?"

"I asked both of them but Josie declined because she has the same opinion as Jeremiah, but Jessie eagerly accepted," Alice replied, parking the car in front of Belle Vie Bridal Couture, next to Esme's Land Rover. I wrinkled my nose at the store. I felt wholly underdressed and sloppy. Alice still looked cute, wearing a pair of jeans but I just felt like a bum. Leading me inside, we immediately saw Esme, talking to a female version of Jasper. She was very elegant and pulled together with perfectly blonde curls and bright blue eyes.

"Alice! Bella!" Esme smiled, standing up to hug us both.

"Hi, Mom," Alice grinned. "How was the drive?"

"It was easy," Esme replied, turning to me and giving me a warm hug. "Have you lost weight, Bella?"

"Probably. I haven't been feeling well the past couple of days," I shrugged. "Taking care of you sick son has put a dent in my stellar immune system."

"Edward was sick?" Esme squeaked.

"Sinus infection and bronchitis. He's on the mend but he was miserable earlier in the week," I said, wrinkling my nose.

"Is it contagious?" asked Jasper's mom.

"No. He had a sinus infection and bronchitis," I answered. "Neither of which are contagious. I'm just worn down."

"Barb, you have six kids. They have probably gone through their own phases of illness," Esme chastised.

"That's why we have nannies," she scoffed. "If you're under the weather, Bertha, I'd kindly ask you to stay away."

"It's Bella," Alice barked. "And she's not sick. Just tired. Jeesh."

"My apologies, Bella," Barb said, looking me like I was dirty under her shoe. "Shall we?"

We went into the store and were greeted by a young girl who was going to help us with Alice's dress search. She was sweet and helpful. Barb had her running all over the damn store. I was in the fitting room with Alice, waiting for the salesgirl to come back. "Jasper's mom is a trip," I scoffed.

"I think all of the Botox has gone to her brain," Alice sneered, flipping through the dresses we immediately kiboshed. "She was somewhat nice when I last met her, but her behavior is downright rude. I think Jeremiah brainwashed her."

"Esme looked like she was going to put her heel through Barb's ear when she called me by the wrong name," I said, holding up a very poofy, unattractive dress. "Who chose this? You'd collapse under all of this lace, bling and crap."

"That was a Barb choice. Obviously money does not buy class," Alice giggled, hanging the white monstrosity back up. The salesgirl came back in with an armful of more dresses. Nearly half were given the thumbs down due to parts that were not attractive on the hanger. A large bow on your ass? Not a good look.

An hour at the Belle Vie Bridal Salon, we decided it was a bust. The only thing we were able to determine was the shape of dress that Alice wanted. She wanted a trumpet or mermaid shape. Barb hated that, saying that Alice should something reminiscent of Scarlet O'Hara with a hoop skirt and pounds of tulle. Alice was shorter than me and that type of dress would look ridiculous on her. Walking out of the salon, Alice grabbed my arm. "Will you help me hide the body of Jasper's mom?" she hissed.

"I'll take the fall for you, Ali. I know a great attorney," I quipped.

A/N: Pictures of Belle Vie and Barb on my tumblr and blog. We'll finish up our shopping trip and then switch to Edward. Things are about to get interesting, kids. Leave me some!