Rebecca admired herself in the mirror. In a week she would become Mrs. Richard Peña in the wedding she had always dreamed of, but for now she could have a sneak preview of herself as a vision in white.
The dress was perfect. The patterned lace clung to her upper body and enveloped her arms, leaving her shoulders bare to the touch. The layers of material covering her legs made her laugh, but rustled pleasingly as she practiced walking down the aisle. And when she put on the tiara, she did indeed feel like a princess.
“No fucking way!” screamed Jenny as she stormed into the room.
Rebecca giggled at her maid of honor. “What’s the problem?”
Jenny slapped at her bridesmaid dress. “This is a nightmare! No fucking way am I going to wear this!”
By now Sara and Beth wandered in, matching Jenny’s outfit but not as angry – just resigned.
“Honestly, Jenny,” chimed in Sara. “This shade of blue could be making a comeback…”
“Bullshit!” she growled back. “This color was buried with lots of other toxic waste and laws were specifically passed against it.”
Beth pointed to the bunched-up material near her shoulder. “The flower-thing may have been going too far.”
Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Geeze, guys! It’s only for a day. Besides, everyone’s going to be looking at me, anyway!” she winked.
Jenny crossed her arms. “That’s it. We’re going on strike. We’re not being shown the proper respect with these dresses.”
Rebecca gasped. “Hey!”
“No. You brought this on yourself,” Jenny insisted. “I knew that bridesmaid gowns where supposed to be ugly, but you crossed the line, Becky.”
Rebecca narrowed her eyes. “You know, you can be replaced.” She turned to Sara. “You’re my new maid of honor, Lefty!”
Sara smiled broadly and clapped her hands for joy. Beth gave her a congratulatory hug and kiss on the cheek.
Jenny caved.
“O.K.,” grumbled the original maid of honor. “I won’t strike. But you’ve got a lot of making up to do for this.”
Rebecca hugged her friend. “I’d kiss your feet if it would make you feel better.”
Jenny smiled slyly and nudged Rebecca to the floor. “Actually Becky, it would.”
(more…)