'I'm leaving it until the last minute, in time for the honeymoon,' I protested.
'What beautician do you go to?' giggled Charlie. 'It doesn't have to be long enough to plait between waxes.'
'Stop, stop,' gasped Georgie. 'My sides are hurting, I can't take any more!'
'You can't?!' I cried, feeling on the verge of tears of utter despair. 'I'm getting married in a week and this is the dress! There are no alternatives, I've tried on everything in the shop and hated them all, and this has been altered to fit me already.'
'Abbie Carter, that has not been altered to fit,' Daphne stated as she rested her linked hands on her tummy and gave me a prudish look. 'If it had been, your breasts wouldn't be heaving out of the top like two giant watermelons, and the only man who should be able to see the bride's knickers on the day is the groom.'
I looked down at it again and groaned. Seriously, what had I been thinking? It was a thin-strapped affair, with a see-through lace bodice that had a sweetheart neckline which plunged at the front down to my belly button. At the hips were rows and rows of shiny white satin ruffles that cascaded into a long train at the back, but it scooped up at the front, showing the top of my thighs, and apparently my vagina, while showcasing my legs. They were right. It was hideous, crass, and … slutty!
'I wanted to look sexy for Miller, to make sure he remembered how I looked on our special day,' I moaned, my shoulders slumping in defeat at my epic fail.
'I think everyone's going to remember how you looked,' Charlie chortled. 'Intimately. They'll need to have paramedics on standby.'
'Miller loves you for being you, Abbie. I haven't known you as long as these other ladies, but this isn't you, and honestly, I think he'd be horrified if you turned up on Saturday in this.'
'I'm horrified. Even that hussy barmaid Rowena would have more class than to wear this monstrosity on her wedding day,' Daphne added.
'So what do I do?' I begged. 'I'm all out of options. Georgie, for God's sake, stop laughing! You saw it, you saw it and you said it was unique and unforgettable.'
'Well, it is,' she agreed, sitting up and grabbing a tissue from the box, which were meant for everyone to wipe away tears of pride and happiness, not hysterical laughter. 'Just not in a good way.'
'And you let me buy it? As best friend and chief bridesmaid, it was your duty to be honest with me, to stop me from making a fool of myself. Some best friend you are!' I grated, my stress levels rising.
'She has a valid point, Georgie,' agreed Charlie. 'If you were my best friend, I'd sack you from the position.'
'Very valid,' added Daphne, flashing her a glare. 'And I'd never speak to you again.'
'Poor Abbie, what are we going to do? She can't wear this and the wedding's on Saturday,' Quinn reminded us all.
'Ok, ok, enough with the Georgie bashing,' she replied, wiping her eyes and sitting up straight. 'I was distracted on the day we saw it, then woke up in a cold sweat the week after, realising it was awful and that it wasn't the right one for Abbie, so I rang Maggie. But she told me it was too late, that the alterations to fit Abbie had already been started.'
'Still not winning any "best friend of the year" trophies, Georgie,' Daphne scolded.
'Well, I should,' Georgie said firmly, 'as I didn't just accept that. I'm sorry, ok, I thought it would be a good giggle to let you all see this dress, as there was nothing we could do about it anyway. I didn't mean to upset you, Abbie, I thought you'd see the funny side.'
'Not funny, Georgie, I'm close to tears! And what do you mean, "this dress?" There is no other dress. I'm totally screwed.'
'I think the title of "bestest and most awesome friend" will be bestowed back on me in about five minutes,' she said with a gentle smile at me. 'Maggie, is it ready?'
'It is,' Maggie nodded.
'Well, don't just stand there, go and get it to show Abbie!'
'What's going on?' I demanded, forcing myself to stand up as Maggie trotted out of the room.
'Wait a minute and you'll find out,' Georgie told me. 'But if I know you at all, and I think I do, no matter what these naysayers may say after I made one mistake on an off day,' she added with a scathing look at the other three, 'I think you're going to love what I've had done. At least I hope so. I hope you're not going to be mad with me for not getting your approval first.'
'Approval for what, Georgie?' Daphne demanded, taking the words right out of my mouth. 'Stop talking in riddles and put us, and poor Abbie, out of our misery.'
'Look,' Georgie smiled, flicking her head behind me to the door. There was a gasp as everyone did as they were told. Charlie and Quinn both raised their hands to their mouths, and Daphne snatched a tissue out of the box as her eyes filled with tears.
I slowly turned around, my heart stopping for a second, as I saw Maggie standing there with the most stunning white vintage lace wedding gown I'd ever seen. It had a Bardot neckline, off the shoulder, with three-quarter sleeves. The bodice and skirt had a soft white satin lining, so unlike this current dress, no hint of nipple or vagina was going to be seen. It nipped in at the waist, where there was a thin white satin belt adorned with a gorgeous crystal embellishment, then the lace skirt fell to the floor at the front and flowed out into a small train at the back. I swallowed a lump of emotion in my throat. It was perfect. If I could have sketched my perfect dress, I was looking at it right now. Something about it seemed so familiar, but I just couldn't put my finger on what it was as I stared at it.
'Do you like it, Abbie? I had it altered to fit you, based on your measurements for your current dress. I wanted it to be a surprise,' Georgie said behind me.
'I … I … I love it, it's stunning,' I whimpered, realising that I had tears of sheer relief and happiness rolling down my cheeks. 'Why does it seem so familiar? There's no way I would have overlooked this when I tried on all the dresses in the shop.'
'You don't recognise it?' Georgie asked in a surprised tone.
'I … feel like I know it, but I just can't place it,' I replied as I turned to face her. She grabbed a tissue from the box Daphne was hogging and walked over to me.
'The picture in your lounge, on your bookcase. The one next to the picture of where you and Miller first met, when you fell into his arms at The Abbey,' she said with a smile as she dabbed away my tears with a tissue. I gasped, my hands flying to cover my heart as I twigged immediately.
'It's my mum's wedding dress,' I whispered, a slew of positive emotions warming me up from the inside out and making a fresh batch of tears start to flow.
'I remembered seeing it up in your attic months ago when I helped put away hideous bridesmaid dress nine after Miller returned it to you, so I snuck in while you were busy with clients the other week, got it down, had it dry cleaned, and asked Maggie if she could do a quick turnaround on adjusting it. I hope you're not mad with me?'
'I'm mad you put me through this torture this morning,' I told her in a mock scold. I flung my arms around her neck, hugging her tightly to let her know she was forgiven. 'Of course I'm not mad. I'm over the moon. It's the perfect idea, I can't believe I didn't think of it myself. My mum and dad may not be here, but it's like I'll have a little bit of them with me on my special day.' I sobbed as Georgie started crying too and hugged me back.
'Careful, you're going to get mascara on this dress,' she warned.
'So? I already paid for it, or rather Miller did.'
'Please tell me we can have a burning party for it,' Daphne called. 'I've never seen anything so hideous in my life.'
'No,' I said firmly, straightening up and wiping my cheeks. 'As it happens, I know just the person to send it to.'
'No, you wouldn't,' gasped Georgie. Fi-Fi had turned down the offer to come on my hen weekend in Malta, so she'd missed out on Miller's offer to get her a designer dress as compensation for not being a bridesmaid at our wedding. Turns out Dave had come home and caught her cheating on him, so he'd thrown her out and cut off her monthly financial allowance. Last I heard, she was hanging out in all the hot spots in Cheshire, trying to snag herself a Premier League footballer.
'Please, a slutty dress for a slut, it's perfect for her,' I beamed. 'This way she gets an expensive dress and I don't have to hear her moan how she got me one and I didn't return the favour.'
'I have no idea who you're talking about,' called Quinn, 'but can we please see you in the new dress, Abbie?'
'Yes, please go and change,' agreed Daphne.
'Quickly,' Charlie giggled, holding up her champagne glass for a refill as Maggie's assistant brought in another bottle.
'Go,' Georgie nodded, taking both of my hands in hers. 'I can't wait to see what it looks like on you. Am I forgiven?'
'I'll tell you in five minutes,' I teased, kissing her on the cheek.
After I'd put on the dress I stood outside the door again, but this time there was no need for a deep breath. This was the one. The fact that it had been Mum's made it even more special. I hadn't realised that Mum's figure had been just like mine. Somehow the dress minimised my bust and hips, but left me with a sexy hourglass shape without being exaggerated to the point of looking like a cartoon character. I just knew Miller was going to love it. I walked in, my smile virtually lighting up the room as I lifted the skirt and climbed up onto the podium. This time I was met with the sound of gasps, then the sound of multiple tissues being ripped from the box, as all four of them starting nodding and crying in unison.