“Where’s the other bridesmaids?” Mikki asked, applying her lip gloss with a hand mirror.
“Keema and Monae are outta town. She’s going through some shit with her baby’s father, so… yeah, they’ll miss the dress fittings but…”
“...but don’t you worry about that,” my mother cut in, glancing over at me. “Everything will work out just fine.”
“I know that’s right, Ma,” Sia responded. “So, you ready to cry, sis?”
“Ain’t nobody crying,” I said quickly.
Mikki cackled. “You aredefinitelycrying today.”
My phone buzzed in my lap.
I shook my head, smiling to myself before I texted him back.
When we arrived, the boutique looked like a movie set. Valet stood out front of the stone building with huge bay windows. Inside, we were led to a private suite with plush seats, mirrors everywhere, and trays of champagne and mocktails already poured.
Mikki picked up a glass of champagne immediately. “Oh yeah. This is the type of place I was talking about.”
Sia raised her glass. “To Ny, finally getting her happily ever after.”
We clinked glasses, and my mother dabbed at her eyes. “And it begins…” The boutique owner, Chasidy, introduced herself and walked us through the process, then asked what I was looking for.
“I want something elegant but also fire,” I said. “I wanna look like a baddie but still timeless.”
Mikki jumped in. “She wants rich bitch vibes but also first lady vibes.”
“And she gotta be able to breathe,” Sia added.
I laughed. “That part.”
Dress after dress came out, and some were beautiful while others were ridiculous. One dress was so damn tacky we laughed for ten minutes straight. Every time I stepped out, my mother had an opinion.
“That one’s too plain.”
“That one’s too much.”
“That one is showing too much skin, don’t you think?”
“That one’s beautiful but not the one.”
By the seventh dress, Mikki was tipsy, Sia was annoyed by my mother’s pickiness, and I was exhausted. On the eighth try, it felt different. I walked out; everyone’s mouths dropped and eyes watered, including Chasidy’s.
My mother stood up slowly, covering her mouth with her hands. “Oh.”
Mikki blinked, dabbing at her eyes. “Yeah… that’s it.”
Sia nodded once, sniffling. “That’s your dress, Ny.”
I looked at myself in the mirror, and my chest tightened. They were right. I could see myself walking toward Knuck in it, and he’d be biting his damn lip just waiting for me to get closer. My eyes burned with tears as the words got caught in my throat. “This is the one,” I said softly.
My mother hugged me, crying for real now. “You look beautiful.”
Mikki cleared her throat as Chasidy took my measurements for the dress. “So, have you decided on a theme for your bachelorette party yet?”
Sia laughed, knocking back another glass of champagne. “Here she goes.”
“What?” Mikki shrugged. “She needs one.”