Ace of Hearts - All We Are Series [NaNoWriMo 2014] [#JustWriteIt]

Chapter Twenty Three [Edited]

I picked up Dave from the hospital, but he didn’t really say much to me in the car, much to my frustration. He had some bags of some supplies, but I didn’t really get a good look at what it was. It wasn’t any of my business. As concerned as I was about him, if he didn’t want me to know, I couldn’t rightfully snoop to see what was wrong. I was technically his boss, but it didn’t feel right to pull that card on my friend. Plus it was probably illegal to ask for specific medical details, anyways.

Margaret and I surprised Shelly on her birthday, well on the following Saturday, with a shopping trip to the mall and dinner. We had a great gal pal day, and she was thoroughly excited, talking all about the wedding planning. It was about a month away now, and Shelly was in the thick of picking out dresses and cakes and all of that. Shelly and Jack were planning on a smaller wedding, just with their families and close friends, but she was still super excited. She asked me to be the maid of honor, which I accepted, of course.

Margaret and I had to go in for a dress fitting at one point. Shelly decided on purple bridesmaids’ dresses to match the tints on her wedding dress. Her wedding dress was a beautiful white dress, though with so many layers that I wondered how she didn’t completely sink under the weight of it. Regardless, she looked stunning in it. The purple trim framed it really well, and Sheila was just over the moon about it.

“Ahh, Margaret, you look gorgeous!” Shelly squealed.

“Thank god you’re not one of those crazy brides who makes her bridesmaids wear shitty dresses,” Margaret sighed in relief, twirling in front of the mirror.

“Shelly’s too nice for that,” I said as I stepped out of the dressing room.

“Oh. My. God! Any! That’s looks ah-ma-zing on you!” Shelly gushed as she attacked me in a hug.

“Whoa, Shelly, don’t kill me here,” I laughed.

“Come here!” Shelly gestured to Margaret, making us lean in close for a picture.

“Aren’t you supposed to wait until the wedding when our hair is done up nice and stuff to take pictures?” I questioned her.

“Shh, the bride gets what the bride wants,” Shelly winked, making Margaret and I roll our eyes.

I took off work for the wedding, to which I was really looking forward. I didn’t even have to plan a crazy bachelorette party: Margaret was doing it! Shelly thought it was a better idea than me planning, and I was so happy I didn’t have to worry about it that I didn’t even mind her insulting my party planning skills. To be fair, Margaret was planning something with crazy strippers, so I was happy to not deal with it.

I was helping Shelly with a lot of the wedding planning though, and I probably gained about five pounds from wedding cake and catering food sampling alone.

It was really shaping out to be Shelly’s beautiful wedding creation, though. She was one of those people who had been dreaming up their wedding ever since they were a little kid. Her dream was coming true, though with a few tweaks. For one, there was no unicorn, and Jack vetoed going in on a tractor.

“I know in Indian weddings they come in on a horse, Lia, but I’d really prefer not to be on a tractor,” Jack stated firmly. Shelly rolled her eyes at him but was happy to comply. They were so deep in love that it made everyone around them want to either get married or puke. Margaret was in the first; I was usually in the latter. Shelly was over the moon as she planned her wedding, though thankfully she wasn’t too much of a crazy bride. She was super excited, and we all could tell. It was more endearing than obnoxious.

Jack, on the other hand, seemed more relaxed about the wedding planning. He was letting his fiancé do a lot of the work, opting to watch from the sidelines and help whenever she needed his help with something. After Shelly chose the place, Jack checked it out and booked it. He spent time with the decorators making sure that what Shelly wanted could be created, from schematics to logistics. From what Shelly told me, he was spending more time planning the honeymoon and Shelly was spending more time planning the wedding.