Wedding Bells

Chapter 5

"Erin! We are so glad you are back. Did you have a good time on your trip?" Clara’s words were the first thing to greet me as I walked through the front door of the shop. The largest coffee I could manage to find in my hand. I hadn’t slept. Carter was so angry last night he ended up sleeping on the couch. I tried my best to shake the feelings out of my body this morning but they seemed to take over me. He was still asleep when I left, obviously not holding up his promise to come in with me this morning.

I didn’t  blame him though. The things I had said weren’t fair. They weren't nice, and I don’t even think they were true. I didn’t remember much from last night. It was also unfair of him to ask me such questions like that when him and I were both so sleep deprived. There was no way my brain would be functioning well enough to answer a question like that.

What even was the question again?

“Yes we had so much fun,” I muttered, my eyes burning from the harshness of the bright white lights. Clara folded her arms, glancing over my face as she places another dress on a hanger.

“That’s all I get? Are you feeling okay?” She pauses for a moment finally putting the dress on the rack. Walking over to my side she places her freezing hands on my face, searching every tired inch of it. “I told you… you guys should have came home earlier,” She smirked patting my face lightly, pulling away from me.

“Yeah, our flight got in so late last night and then we had to get back to the house,” I paused… I didn’t want to mention the fight we had last night. I needed to change the conversation before anyone asked why Carter wasn’t with me this morning.

“Well where is Carter?” My mother asks, her voice like music to  my ears, my brain throbbing behind my skull.

“He wasn’t feeling good when he woke up this morning, so I told him to sleep a little longer and come in late,” I tried my best to smile, my hand flying towards my temples as I try to rub the pain away. Both physically and emotionally. I wish Carter would have understood what I meant.

“The wedding is getting so close,” Clara popped off, pointing in the directions of another rack as she quickly gives instructions to another employee named Kylie. Kylie rushes  away to fulfill whatever task she was told to do. I shook my head realizing how foggy my mind actually was.

“I know, I don’t even want to think about it right now,” Another fake smile, another slight chuckle, and another awkward comment to try and hide my true feelings. How long could I keep this up before they noticed?

I glanced at the watch on my wrist. I was impressed I even remembered to put it back on, considering I was wearing the same clothes I fell asleep in the night before. My hair was a mess, my makeup non existent, and the bags under my eyes could probably store more things than my very own. This day couldn’t go by quicker, but yet it was ticking along like it was slower than the worlds worst internet.

The doors were going to be opening soon, and the room would be flooded with girls asking questions that I was sure would frustrate me more than I could manage. If only today was one of those days I could just go hide in my office and pretend like people didn’t exist.

I took another drink of the coffee in my hand, gulping as much of it as I could manage without burning myself. The warm liquid shook me back to a somewhat manageable state before it settled into my stomach.

“What else do we have to get done before we can let people in?” I question turning to look at the line that was starting to form outside the front doors. This happened every year. Girls would go insane on the first day especially. They would push and try to force their way to the front of the line, pressing their faces against the glass to try and peek at all the amazing deals.

“We still have to get these dresses unboxed or bagged, and placed on shelves and then the shop organized so that people aren’t tripping. Actually we still have a lot to do in such a short amount of time,” Clara looked around the room before turning back to me. I could sense the small amount of fear in her eyes as she begin to panic.

“If this wasn’t a tradition my father had started I would have stopped this years ago. This week is such madness it’s amazing we always seem to make it through,” I paused for a moment, taking a deep breath, and after letting it out slowly I placed the coffee on the table. Second guessing myself I grabbed the cup quickly and begin gulping more of the liquid. “Let’s get to work,”

Clara and I attacked the box that hadn’t been unpacked yet. My mind racing as I tried to figure out where there was still so much to do. They had a week to get all of these boxes taken care of.

“How was the shop while I was gone?” I question, my fingers meticulously adding the tags to the dresses before throwing them on the racks. Once a rack was filled Kylie would rush over grab it and take it out onto the floor. I watch carefully as the girls outside the glass doors were multiplying. Each bringing their friends with them to help hoard and hide anything they might like. I shook my head, thankful that I’ve always known what I wanted for my wedding dress.

“It was good, it was busy the whole time. There were lots of brides in here for holiday weddings this year, but all of our shipments were late due to a boating issue,” Clara pointed towards the boxes as if she was answering my thoughts. “That’s why these weren’t done, you know if they would have been here I would have stayed late to make sure this was taken care of,” She shrugged her shoulders before opening another box very carefully.

“They are like zombies out there,” My mother froze for a moment, watching the girls outside. I rolled my eyes chuckling slightly. She was correct.

“Don’t say that, my mind is so sleep deprived it might actually start seeing them like that, and if I accidentally call one of those girls a zombie today we are going to have problems,” I chuckled pinning another tag on. Clara couldn’t hold back the laughter as she threw her head back letting the cackles echo from her lips.

“Yeah we should probably hide you from everyone, they are going to ask you how much a dress costs and you are going to answer them with something random like the word chicken or something,” I rolled my eyes yet again. Now they were being a little dramatic, but I couldn’t deny I was tired enough it was a possibility.

“Oh shush,” I pulled the last dress out of the box before checking my watch one more time. The time was getting closer for us to open the doors. I felt the fear rise in my chest as the thought of the mess tormented me. Today wasn’t going to be a short day. Hopefully Carter will get enough rest and come in to help out.

The pain entered my chest again. How could he treat me like this? Especially this close to our wedding. We hadn’t had a single problem, until last night when things had gotten so bad so fast. My heart begins to race as I check my phone for a text message, only to stop when there was on one my phone. Carter’s name was dancing across the screen. My eyes trying to focus on the letters.

I opened the message to read it.

‘Do you still want me to come in today?’

I nodded my head, only to start shaking it once I realized how dumb I must look. My fingers flew across the keyboard typing out my very own response.

‘Yes please, I love you very much.’

My heart sank as I typed it. I did love him more than anything on this entire planet, but maybe he wouldn’t want to hear it right now. Maybe he was still furious with me. But if that was the case would he still come in to help me out at the shop?

“Erin are you alright?” My mother questions placing her hands on my shoulders. I nod my head, this time feeling much better about the answer.

“Yes, are we ready to open the doors?” I turn to look at her, before glancing at the girls outside who were starting to get way too restless. Crashing into each other they were screaming for our attention. My ears ringing as I tried my best to ignore them. She nods her head looking over the shop.

“Yes, as long as you are ready to see this place destroyed for the next week,” She smiles before turning and heading towards the door. I grabbed her arm.

“I want to make an announcement before we let them in,” I smiled my best, trying to figure out what I was going to say. I had no clue why I had stopped her, but the nostalgia of the entire day made me want to treat it just like my father had. He would always stand outside and thank them for coming before allowing them to destroy the shop. I was going to do the same.

My mother froze, as if she too was shocked at my sudden audacity to speak to the public. I always hated it, always wished it wasn’t a thing in high school, yet here I was pushing myself to do it on my own. I nod my head before shuffling for the front door.

This was it Erin, you can do it.

I did my best to slip through the door without letting any of the girls in. They were fighting, shoving, and all pushing to break through the crowd. Clara and my mother held the doors shut behind me, leaving me in the mess of people all by myself.

They were everywhere, as far as the eye could see on either side. That didn’t really mean much though since I was shorter than most of them, but the group of girls did flood into the street. This was the one sale a year that they could get a bridal dress that was once in the thousands, back down into the hundreds.

“How are all of you doing this morning?” I question, mostly to judge how angry the crowd was. A few girls hollered, sending shouts through the sky so loud that I felt bad for everyone standing next to them. I smiled, doing my best to remind myself that I wasn’t going to die when I opened these doors.

“Well I would like to welcome you all to our annual sale, known as Hell Week. We like to thank you all for coming, and shopping here with us at Little White Dress Bridal. My father started this sale years ago, before he passed away, because he wanted everyone to have a chance to have their perfect wedding dress and we have decided to keep it going for the girls of our generation. So without further to do, if you guys will just give me one moment to get back into the shop, we will be opening the doors very shortly.” I did the best I could to project my voice, but I wasn’t sure everyone would be able to hear me.

I grabbed the door handle, searching my mother and Clara’s faces. We all weren’t too dumb to realize these girls weren't going to wait a second. This was like the Black Friday of wedding dresses. I managed to squeeze through the doors once more, hands were reaching for the handle trying their best to grab it before it shut once again.

“That was scary,” I mouthed, before heading to grab my coffee off the counter. I took another quick drink of it, feeling like a germ under a microscope. There was nothing else we could do, we had to let the girls in.

“It’s time,” I heard Kylie shout from across the door, as she rushed to put the very last shelf into its place. I was amazed with how much work we had gotten done in such a short amount of time. My mother grabbed one side of the door, while Clara took the other and as quickly as they could they both pulled them open.

A large gust of air circles through the shop as the girls come bulldozing in ready to tear everything apart. The workers were ready, waiting for the mess as each one stood on a pedestal to help zip dresses up and move them along if they were taking too long. A few clients were here on appointments, knowing full well what we it was. They would get seen first.

I stood carefully behind the counter, watching as the girls ripped at the racks, screaming to their friends to guard the dresses they were holding. I shook my head. This would work out so much better if these girls would just focus, and show up with a better plan than just grab grab grab.

My head was already starting to spin as the girls  begin to fight over things, my employee’s jumping in to save the dress and break up the argument. They didn’t get paid hazard pay, but every time we hosted this sale I think they should.

Clara dove right into the mess, helping the first person she could see was somewhat close to needing attention. The cheapest dresses were in the back, hoping that everyone would purchase a more expensive on first. The best we could hide those from people the better the sale would do.

Last year our numbers were phenomenal, and this year we had more dresses and more advertisement for it.

I glanced at my phone, checking the time. It was five minutes past eight. Carter should have been here before the madness all started. Especially if we wanted a moment to talk before it happened. I shook my head, trying to get the thoughts like that out of my mind.

I quickly gulped the last little bit of my coffee. I couldn’t just stand around here all day looking like a chicken with my head cut off. I needed to get out there and help the other girls. I shook my head trying to get all of the nerves out of my body. I couldn’t believe we still did this, especially with how big it has gotten. I also can’t believe more girls don’t get hurt every year.

I threw the cup away before taking a few steps into the mess. My mother was standing behind the cashier, where she always was stationed and as quickly as her fingers could fly she was typing in purchase orders. My heart warmed at the sight. She always was so beautiful standing tall above the rest of us.

“Do you have this is a size eight!” A brunette haired girl rushes up, shaking a dress in my face as she screams in a panic. I froze for a moment looking at her carefully. Before shaking my head.

“We don’t have all dresses in multiple sizes, if there wasn’t one on the rack next to it in the size you are looking for then we don’t have it,” I managed to get out, my heart racing just as fast as hers Im sure. She shook the dress as me again.

“Well…” She stomps her foot on the ground, “I need a size eight!” She shouts again before turning around to run back towards the rack. I glanced at the girl for a moment, watching carefully as she begins to tear through the section once again.

“You actually need a size of a new personality,” I growled below my  breath, hoping no one heard me.

“Erin, this is worse than last year,” Clara runs up to me holding my shoulders as the panic fills her eyes. I nod my head for a moment, looking around the room before turning back to her.

“Chicken,” I muttered waiting for the word to connect with her earlier comment. She shook her head nearly bursting into tears as she begin laughing.

“I don’t have time for this,” She turned on her heel and rushed away, heading to the same lady that asked me about the sizes. I reached to grab her but my fingers missed as she scurried out of my grip.

“You are on your own,” I whispered, yet again hoping nobody would hear me. Turning on my heel I did my best to search the room for a bride that looked like they needed help. There were a few arguing over a veil, another was searching furiously through the rack behind her. The shelves on the wall housed shoes that were getting knocked off by people bumping into them.

I brought my attention back to the door, it was constantly open as the girls just kept flooding in. We would need to shut them soon for a moment. Allow the girls in here to shop and once they left we would allow more people in.

I hated how they had to make it so difficult every single year.

I took a few steps towards the door, doing my  best to avoid all of the chaos. My mother now had a line and soon someone would need to jump up and help her. If only Carter would get here. Once I reached the door a smaller group of girls looked at me like I was the devil himself, worried that they weren’t going to make it in for the sale.

But lucky for them, Carter was jogging down the sidewalk to make it into the store on time.