If I could have taken the dress off right there in the dressing room, I would have. But the barrage of questions I was sure to get from my friends made me do as they wanted. And what they wanted was to see me in a wedding dress.

It's possible this will be their only chance, so I might as well let them have their moment.

The consultant helps me attach a veil and a headpiece, picking up the back of the dress for me as we walk. When I round the last corner and emerge onto the store floor, I do a little twirl for the sake of Carla and Lorena, only stumbling over my feet once. "So, what do you think?"

Neither of them says anything, so I turn to face them and slam my hands onto my hips. "Excuse me. I'm doing this for you and I expect an appropriate response."

Lorena is brave enough to pick her jaw up off the floor and answer me. "I think it was made for you. You have to get it."

"Get it for what, Lorena?"

"I don't know. We can do a photoshoot or something. You can save it for your next wedding."

Next wedding? I wasn't even planning on having the first one.

"Or take some real wedding photos with your husband."

"Carla!" Lorena and I chastise in unison.

"What? I snuck in a look at your photos. He's hot."

"Hot isn't everything, Carla. I need more than that."

"Okay, fine. But I'm just saying it's not a bad start."

"I'm not getting the dress, Carla. I have nowhere to wear it, anyway."

"Right, because you're a married woman." Lorena crosses her arms and pouts. "But I think if you asked him he'd do another wedding. If he needs some convincing we can send him a picture of you in that dress."

"You have no idea if he's even a decent person," I try to get things back on track as the girls fawn over my dress and hold up jewellery to my neck to see how it would look.

"Even drunk, I'm confident you could never marry someone awful. So I'll reserve my judgement of your husband until I meet him for real."

"Which might never happen."

"We'll see, won't we?"

Lorena interrupts us with a finger over our lips and a shush. "You need to go," she says to me, eyes wide as the bell on the door dings.

"Go where?" Carla's doe eyed innocence blocks her from witnessing what the rest of us can clearly see. My asshole ex-boyfriend has just waltzed his way into the dress shop, supermodel finacée Emiko on his arm.

"Why does this always happen to me?"

A frantic attempt to rush back into the change rooms is foiled by the bubbly enthusiasm of Emiko. "Oh, my God, Bianca, is that you? You are gorgeous!" she shouts, bounding over to wrap me in a hug. "I haven't seen you in so long but look at you. More stunning than ever."

I want to hate her. I really really want to hate her. But I also want to hear her gush about how beautiful I am for at least the next ten minutes.

She waves over at my ex. "Tyrone, come here. Doesn't Bianca look gorgeous? I didn't know you were getting married, too. You look amazing. I'll never measure up to this."

"If you want a dress as gorgeous as you are, you came to the right place. I'm sure it will be amazing. Congratulations, by the way." Trying to keep a straight face and not flip my ex off is taking every ounce of my politeness, so I'm sure my smile falters. But Emiko doesn't deserve that.

"You're too sweet, Bianca. Too sweet." And then something catches her eye and she grabs my hand, pulling me over to the large ottoman in the center of the room and sliding her sunglasses up onto her head. "Oh my gosh, I love your ring. You have to tell me the whole story. I haven't talked to you in forever."

And there's a reason for that. I take a moment to pause for a breath. "The whole story? What story?"

She laughs like I've made the best joke at the comedy club. "The story of how he proposed. It must have been so magical. I mean, look at that. He cares about you."

"Oh, yeah." There's no way I can make up a story believable enough for my acquaintance and the only way I can think to pivot is to ask her for her story. But the thought of hearing how Tyrone proposed to her is more unpleasant than pulling my insides to the outside.

The room is full of sparkling dresses I could try to use to distract her. I almost ask her what kind of dress she's looking for. But my whole brain goes blank when I notice the slack jawed look Tyrone is giving me, eyes drifting between my veiled hair and my exposed shoulders.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't appreciate the attention. But I shouldn't appreciate the attention. He's getting married. A small voice adds, and you already are, but I push it aside. My being married is a problem that can be fixed.

"You're getting married?" His whisper carries across the shop. "And you didn't tell me?"

Carla interrupts to spare me the trouble. "You didn't tell her either."

"And anyway she's already married." Lorena doesn't look up from the gem she's trying to adhere to her nail.

"Girls! I need you for dresses!" Divya calls from the other room. She rounds the corner just in time to see the mess we've gotten ourselves into. "Oh, hello Emiko. Sorry to tear them away from you but I must get my bridesmaids attired for the big day. You know how it is."

"Of course! Of course. We'll have plenty of time to chat later." She kisses my cheek and turns her attention to Tyrone, twittering on about this or that as Lorena drags me into the next room.

Only then do I realize I'm hyperventilating and unable to fully breathe.

"I think this dress is too tight," I squeeze out, falling onto the chaise in the corner of the room.

"Can we get Bianca some water, please," Lorena calls out to the man near the door. "And I think she needs to get out of this dress so we can try on bridesmaids dresses."

She doesn't even wait for the man to arrive before she's unbuttoning the back of my dress and loosening the fabric around my ribcage.

Finally, I can breathe.

"Sorry," Divya whispers, resting her hand on my shoulder. "I had no idea they would be here of all places."

Something about her phrasing makes me ask, "But you knew they'd be in Vegas?"

Her heavy sigh fills the room. "I knew."

Heat rises into my face. "And you didn't warn me?"

"Don't you think you've been going through enough? I thought we'd be safe in the bridal store and I'd tell you over supper or something, okay?" She sounds irritated but doesn't say anything else, turning to the room and changing the subject. "So, I'm thinking we should go for lime green."

"I think I might be busy this weekend," Carla says, bluntly.

Lorena nods sagely, arms folded across her chest. "I'm sorry, Divya. We love you. But not that much."

"Am I the only one who would wear lime green for her?" My strength is returning now that I can breathe. "Or are you two being dramatic again?"

"Drama," Carla says at the same time as Lorena replies, "No, I'm dead serious."

Laughter fills the room and Divya pulls a flowy floor-length gown in oranges and reds. "It looks just like the sunset," I say, not thinking about what I'm saying. "It'll look so beautiful."

"My thoughts exactly," she smiles. "And it has some red for my mom. It's perfect. When you see the venue, you'll understand why we couldn't go with my original lime green vision."

More laughter floats around the room and I've almost forgotten my sparkly-ring predicament. And then my phone lights up on the bench. Hello. Umm, Bianca? I think we really need to talk. 

♤ ♥ ♤
I

come bearing another (N)ONC entry! This time by JJJ000YYY .

Two authors decide to swap genres when they both get into writer's block one day. There's one issue, neither has any idea how to write the genre they were assigned.