Chapter Twenty-Four

"I think you should go with something on the tighter side. Show some curves, girl," Biana exclaimed, giddy as she sat down on the small couch. Sophie all but laughed at what her best friend stated, knowing full well she would never wear that in her everyday life nevermind on her wedding day. 

"Okay, but could you imagine Keefe's reaction?" Marella joined in. "He'd probably faint." 

"I don't want to make him faint," Sophie replied, a small frown on her face. "And I definitely don't want to wear anything tight. I'd definitely not be able to walk and I'd just trip down the aisle, which is something we're avoiding." 

Sophie looked at the seven females in her life that she trusted the most, trusted so much she invited them to make sure she looked amazing on her wedding day. Sadly, she forgot just how different each person was. 

Biana was adamant that Sophie look sexy, something she was sure she would never be able to pull off. Marella was just excited to be there, and basically agreed with anything Biana stated. Linh kept pointing out different mermaid styled dresses, which Sophie immediately ruled out when she first started her search. 

Della, like her daughter, was definitely focused on trying to find what made Sophie look best, despite Sophie stating she would be happier wearing what made her most comfortable, and Edaline was no help simply stating that 'whatever Sophie chose, she would look beautiful in it.' Oralie decided to follow in Edaline's footsteps, saying only positive things about everything Sophie tried on. 

The only help Sophie seemed to actually be getting was from Syden, who she was weary on inviting in the first place. She knew from the start of wedding planning that she wanted Tam's girlfriend to be involved, despite the fact that she wasn't very close with Syden. She added Syden on as a bridesmaid, making it easier for when pairing everyone up for the walk down the aisle, and after inviting her three other bridesmaids she felt it best if she invited Syden to the dress shopping as well. 

And thank the lucky stars she did, because while everyone had always told her that Syden was basically a female Keefe, she didn't truly appreciate the comment until that moment. 

"Well, obviously you should first look for what you what. Keefe has always loved you no matter what you looked like. The guy has definitely seen you at your worse, there's only uphill from there. Obviously you want to look nice, but I doubt you want to remember your wedding day as awful because your dress made you feel either self-conscience or was itchy or just not you. Being you is the most important part, since that's what he's getting anyways." 

"What do you want to wear, Sophie?" Edaline cut in, quieting everyone else up. 

She thought about it for a moment. "I want to find a dress that's loose, nothing too easy for me to trip in considering that's what I do best, and I want to feel beautiful."

"I can help find that!" Keva, the woman who owned the store, quickly ran to go through the dresses. When Sophie first arrived, Keva immediately focused all her attention on the future bride and all but kicked out any other client. Being it a small family business, she put her daughters in charge of working with all her other customers and decided she alone would help Sophie. 

While Sophie was glad for the help, she also wished the help was more... help. But, Sophie appreciated all the effort and Edaline was correct in saying Keva made the most beautiful dresses. Apparently she had made both Edaline and Della's dresses for their weddings, so both pushed Sophie to have hers made by the same. 

Sophie had almost forgotten how fancy her adopted mother and almost-adopted mother were. 

"Ooh! And we have got to find the best cape to go with it!"

"Cape?" Sophie eyes widened. "I have to wear a cape at my wedding, too?"

"It's only for the ceremony," Biana told her. "It's a formal occasion, and you're nobility."

"Can't I just say 'hey, I'm the bride, please no capes'?"

"I mean you could," Marella stated. "But... It's not really worth it, you know?"

Sophie let out a breath. "You know what? Capes are the least of my worries." Just as she was about to say more, Keva returned with a few dresses in hand. 

"If anything doesn't suit you, it costs nothing more for me to design a dress specifically for you." 

"I thought about that, but I always imagined buying a dress. Like that moment where I step into a dress and cry because it's just so right for me. I don't think I'd have that moment if it was made for me." The moment Sophie got engaged she knew she couldn't go without the magical moment of picking out the perfect dress. 

"I never thought about it like that," linh responded after Sophie's confession. "That's actually kind of important to me, I think, too."

"When Dex and I get married I think I want to try on dresses but eventually I figure I'm going to find something that keeps every dress from being perfect and I'm going to just end up getting it designed for me. There's something about knowing something was made just for you and only you." Biana grinned. 

"When you and Dex get married?" Della looked at her daughter. "Not if?"

"I'm comfortable in my relationship," Biana replied before turning back to Sophie. "Go try all that on, we want to see!"

Sophie picked out the first dress, and immediately knew it wasn't the right one. Especially after she put it on her body. It had long sleeves, which definitely wouldn't work with their getting married in a warm environment, and was too long. It was an a-line dress, a type of dress Sophie was interested in, but it seemed to flow out too early, and despite her small figure it somehow made her look like she had a baby bump with the area it puffed out in. She didn't have any skin there, but for some reason the way the dress was shaped made it pop out right from under the chest. 

"This is a no," Sophie said immediately, walking out for her family and friends to see. 

"When's the baby due?" Marella joked, immediately noticing what Sophie was complaining about in her head. 

"Haha," Sophie mocked sarcastically. "I can already say no voting, it's a big no from me."

"I hear you on that, sister," Biana immediately shooed her away to try on the next dress. 

Eventually they had eliminated all the dresses and Sophie stared at the only one left nervously. It's always the place you look last. The saying kept floating through her head as she looked at the last one. 

Here goes nothing, she thought to herself. 

As she slipped the dress on with shaking hands she immediately noticed how soft the material was, and felt as if she could float in it forever. Keva was inside to help secure the dress on her, and as Sophie stared into the mirror it was as if she just knew. 

This is it. 

"Oh my!" Keva gasped, standing back and looking over Sophie, who turned to her with tear stained eyes. "This is your dress."

"I know." Sophie moved her arms to her sides and stood straight, simply staring at herself in the mirror. She wished she could go see her younger, human self. The Sophie who skipped through school and was a twelve year old senior. She wished she could show that Sophie this moment. She wished she could show her the happiness. 

She stepped out for everyone to see and made sure to memorize all the looks on their faces. "You look like an angel!" Biana squealed. 

"A model, actually," Marella continued. 

"A princess to add on," Ling said, grinning. 

Sophie tried to hide her wide smile. "Thanks, guys."

"That was the last one?" Edaline asked, looking her over. 

"I for one thing even if it wasn't supposed to be the last one, it should be the last one," Oralie commented. "You look stunning, Miss. Foster."

"I definitely love it," Sophie stated, grinning at everyone in front of her. She bounced on her heels in excitement. "I think I'm going to get it."

"You think?" 

"Okay, I'm getting it," Sophie finished and everyone erupted into cheers and claps, making Sophie's face go slightly red but the smile never left. 

Eventually the day came to an end and Sophie arrived back at her apartment after having dinner with her parents. "Hey," she greeted, walking through the doors to see Keefe sitting on the couch playing with a technology game Dex created a few years back for an ability session assignment. 

"How'd shopping and dinner go?" He asked, not looking away from the game as he was not far from beating his high score. 

"I found a dress that made me cry due to how perfect it was, and dinner went really well. I also got to spend a little time with some of the animals there as well. You should come with me the next time I go see them."

"I offered to come with you this time," he pointed out, grinning at the game in his hands. "Yes! Sencen scores again!" He finally put the game down and focused all his attention on her. 

She laughed at his victory dance and stated, "You're not allowed to see me in my dress before the wedding. It's bad luck."

"You're thinking like a human," Keefe teased as she moved to sit next to him on the couch and once she reached over there she gave him a kiss on the cheek. 

"Well, I still think it's bad luck and I want no bad mojo around my wedding." She sighed as she leaned back into the couch. "But that's at least one thing we have done for this thing."

"What else do we need done?" Keefe questioned. 

"Picking a place and time would be nice," she replied, grinning. "That way we can actually send out the invitations since we already created the invite list."

"Do you think we should hire a wedding planner?" Keefe asked, frowning. 

Sophie thought about it. "I feel like this is something I don't want to put into the hands of someone else but I also feel like I don't want to keep it in my own," she confessed. "Maybe a close family member?"

"What about Della?" Keefe questioned. "She doesn't have a job and she would jump for it, most likely."

"She's a bit... extravagant." Sophie cringed. "I love her like a mother, but she would definitely go overboard." Different names raced through Sophie's brain until it registered on someone close, but not so close, who had definitely the same taste. "I'm going to go make a call," she excused herself and walked into a random room. 

"Hey Sophie, is there anything you need?"

"If I offered to pay you to plan my wedding would you accept?" She asked, itching to pull out an eyelash with the nerves but it was a habit she tried very long to rid of. 

"You don't need to pay me. I'm okay to just plan your wedding. I'm pretty free all the time anyways."

"Really?" Sophie grinned. 

"Yeah, is there a time you want to meet so I can get an idea of what you need me to do and what you want to happen?"

"Both Keefe and I are free Friday afternoon if you are," Sophie stated, making a mental note to tell Keefe if she said yes. 

"That sounds okay to me. I'll be there, definitely. See you Friday, goodnight!"

Sophie stated her goodbyes before hanging up and looking around the room she had slipped in, which turned out to be the room she shared with Keefe. She took a moment to look around the room since she had been so busy with wedding planning and her job she barely had time to appreciate it. With just one brief glance it was obvious the room belonged to Keefe, but Sophie frowned when she realized that there was nothing signalling she moved in. Despite the fact that all of her stuff had been moved over, Sophie hadn't made any impact on the decoration. Mostly she brought over things to put in her office. The only thing in the room that made it known she lived there was the stuffed elephant sitting on top of the bed. Sophie was now able to sleep without the elephant, but she kept Ella around for when she eventually had kids. When they weren't sleeping Ella was kept on the bed, otherwise Sophie would simply put her on the bedside table. 

She tried to think of ways that she could add her own touch, but couldn't think of anything that would scream her. 

"You know, you have way less girlie stuff than other girls. Actually, you just have less stuff. I see maybe ten things in this room that say 'Sophie lives here.' What's up with that?" 

"I don't know," she said, surprised to realize he was right. "I guess I haven't bought much since I moved here. I've been a little busy with school and friends and--"

Sophie frowned at the memory from the first time Keefe came over to her house and went into her room. She remembered when she came from her human home and how she only grabbed a backpack full of stuff. "That's all?" Fitz had asked her before running upstairs to fetch Ella. 

That's all? She found she was asking herself. She cringed as she though of the small tree growing from when she was kidnapped and everyone thought she had died. How simple the tree was, especially next to Dex's bright and colorful tree. 

Immediately she knew that it was time for a change and she stomped back into the living room. 

"That was a long call," Keefe stated when she came in. "Wait--whoa, Foster, I'm getting some serious emotions right now. What's up?"

"Well, one, I got us a wedding planner."

"Who--"

"And two, I want to decorate this place." She held a determination, and her confidence slightly shrunk when Keefe started to laugh. "What?" 

"It's just--" He cut himself off with a laugh. "Nevermind. You said you want to decorate?" She stared at him as he slightly calmed down his laughter and grabbed her hand. "Let's go, I bet we can make it before all the shops close down."

---

rereading the series has got me inSPIRED. this chapter is 2x longer than all my other ones recently and idk i feel like the writing is just better in this chapter because rereading helped me connect with the characters more i believe. 

alSO your homegirl got herself a job. i had an interview yesterday and literally cried when i got home thinking it went terribly but i got an email today saying that i actually got hired and so i'm just :) 

chapter questions:

1. who do you think is the wedding planner?

2. what do you think Sophie could decorate the room with to make it more hers?

3. what do you imagine Sophie's dress to look like? i didn't describe its look only its feeling because idk i wanted to hear what you think she should wear before i actually write out the description. 

have a GREAT day my friends.