“I know, right? I thought so, too.” They look as if they were made especially for her, with her fiery red hair and small frame. As she stands in front of me in the white dress with the open back, a pleased smile is playing on her lips. She spins around twice and stops next to the mirror.
“You look beautiful,” I tell her, and wipe a happy tear from my face. She’s going to be a stunning bride. Smiling, Sophie puts a hand on my shoulder. “Hey, what’s up with the tears? I wonder how you’re going to make it through the wedding then.”
I shake my head. “I can’t believe you’re getting married. I’m so happy for you guys.” Smiling, I wave my hands in front of my face.
“Stop crying or I’m gonna start, too. Let’s get back to trying on the dresses.” I nod; she disappears into the changing room, and changes into the red and black one. It looks good on her, but we both love the first one more. Sophie tries on some more dresses just in case, but she’s almost decided she wants the one with the open back. As she’s standing in front of the mirror in her tenth dress of the day, I find another one. When I pull it off the rack, I’m brought to a standstill. It’s a short white strapless dress. It has a corset with a beautiful neckline, and silver crystals down the middle, making the dress special. A silk chiffon skirt layers down to the knees, and from the waist, little white flowers are falling down on almost invisible strings. Elegant, yet bold, and very beautiful.
“Oh, wow,” Sophie exclaims, snapping me out of my thoughts. I only nod, and hand it to her.
“I think you definitely need to try this one on,” I say. Sophie holds the dress up to her body, gives me a soft smile, and nods. As she steps out of the changing room, her eyes are bright with joy. She closes them for a second. She must be imagining her wedding day, and how Matt is going to be undressing her with his eyes as she’s going to be walking down the aisle toward him.
“Sophie, you look absolutely gorgeous. You take my breath away. I think you found the one.” She nods, and sprints toward me. She hugs me so hard I’m afraid she’s going to crack my ribs.
“Thanks for helping me. Matt’s going to be thrilled.”
After Sophie pays for the dress, we decide to go get coffee. We deserve it after the tiring day of searching for, and trying on, wedding dresses. I put on my sunglasses as we exit the shop, Sophie right behind me.
“Ella,” we hear a man’s voice, and we turn around. As soon as I recognize the man, I grab Sophie’s hand, and we quickly start walking away from him. She’s still looking behind her, and I’m practically dragging her behind me.
“What’s wrong, Ella? Don’t pull my arms so hard,” she says. The man catches up to us, and stops right in front of me.
“Out of my way,” I say sharply. Sophie looks at me, then at him, and back at me, a million questions in her eyes.
“Ohh, the kitty has claws,” he mocks, a not so friendly glint in his eyes.
“I don’t have anything to say to you. Get out of my way or I’m calling the cops.” I push him aside, still holding Sophie by the wrist, and we quickly rush past him. He doesn’t follow us this time.
“Who was that?” Sophie’s voice is laced with concern.
“Ugh, I hate him,” I say, and she keeps looking at me with eyes wide open, waiting for me to continue. “Do you remember the article about Jake and I when we first started dating?” She nods. “Well, this guy pretended to be someone from Jake’s team. He knew so many things about him that I didn’t suspect for a second that he might not be his friend. We talked, he was really nice, and I told him quite a few of personal things. And then it turned out he was a reporter, prepared to go to any lengths to get a good story. He coerced things about me and about us out of me, and everybody knew these things the next day. It was a good lesson that taught me not to trust anyone. At least when it comes to Jake. You won’t believe what people are willing to do to get their fifteen minutes of fame,” I shake my head, furious.
“So, when is the sexy Jake Burns coming back into town?” Sophie asks playfully as she’s sipping her latte. We are sitting outside a small café, basking in the sun. It’s the beginning of April, and there is nothing better to do in this warm spring afternoon than sit in the sun, hanging out with my best friend.
“He says Wednesday, but he’s not sure yet. His plans change daily, so I have no clue. I miss him so much. I never thought it was going to be this difficult.” Sophie places her hand on top of mine that’s on the table.