Wedding Barbie

We spent another hour with Leigh, talking through some of our options and some of the things we knew we wanted.  Since we only had about three months, and this place was not in town, we decided to take advantage of being here and work out a few of the details we were sure of.

When we finally walked out, almost three hours after we'd arrived, Brody slid his arm around my shoulders and asked, "Well, how are you feeling about all this?"

"I'm really excited," I replied sincerely.  "I was a little worried we'd get pressured into doing something bigger, and I'm happy that we booked something because it means we're going to do it the way we want to."

Brody chuckled as we reached his SUV.  He walked over to the passenger side with me and pulled open my door.  "I'm just relieved you don't want a huge wedding," he admitted.  "Don't get me wrong--if you wanted it, we'd do it, but that just doesn't sound like fun to me."

"Don't worry, it doesn't sound fun to me either," I assured him, climbing in and settling into the passenger seat.   Brody walked around and got in the driver's seat and we headed back.  We had asked his mom if she wanted to have dinner with us but we already had plans, so we headed straight back to Denver.

When we got back to town, we ran a few errands, including picking up some things for a light dinner.  We'd eaten so much early this afternoon that we didn't need a full meal, but I knew I'd be hungry eventually.  The rest of the evening was low key.  We went for a walk in our neighborhood to fight the hours we'd spent in the car, and ate our dinner on the couch with a couple glasses of wine.

The short week went quickly, and on Thursday morning I waited impatiently for Brody to finish packing so we could head to the airport.  "Brody, come on!" I called upstairs.

"I'm almost done!" he yelled back, his voice muffled.  He had the worst habit of insisting upon packing the morning we were traveling, instead of the day before like a normal person.  But, to be fair, he didn't get home from work until 10 last night.  I guess I wouldn't have wanted to pack either.  I took a deep breath and told myself to be patient.  We really should have left 10 minutes ago, but we'd make it.

My commitment to being patient lasted about 5 minutes.  "Seriously, Brody, we need to go!" I snapped, walking upstairs and into the bedroom.  He was always on time for everything else, why he couldn't get out of the house in time to catch a plane with more than 5 minutes to spare was beyond me.

"I know, Liv," he replied, emerging from his closet, a frown on his handsome face.  "I can't find my black shoes though."

"These black shoes?" I asked, impatiently kicking at one of the shoes that was half under his dresser.

"Yes, those black shoes," he answered.  Despite my grumpiness, he smiled and kissed me on the cheek when he came over to grab them.  "Thanks."

"You're welcome," I grumbled before I turned and walked back downstairs.  Once there, I took another deep breath.  I walked to the kitchen and made some coffee, filling two travel mugs.  Caffeine might help.

Luckily, Brody came down the stairs just seconds later, carrying his small carryon suitcase.  "Ready?" he asked me.  He laughed when I gave him a dirty look.  "Sorry," he apologized.  "Let's go."  He grabbed my suitcase and headed towards the door.  I trailed behind him, wrestling my crossbody purse strap over my head while carrying both mugs of coffee.

When we were both settled in the car, I handed him a mug of coffee.  "Thank you," he said cheerfully. "You must not be too mad at me."

I glared at him and took a sip of my coffee.  "Ask me after my coffee is gone," I advised him.

He chuckled, and ignoring my advice, said, "You're anxious about something."

I frowned.  "No I'm not."

"You are," he insisted.  "You always get crabby when you're anxious."

I snorted.  "I also always get crabby when it takes 20 minutes longer to leave than it should."

He sighed, finally getting frustrated with my attitude.  "I'm sorry, Liv.  I really was going to pack last night, but I was exhausted by the time I got home.  You were there, you know I went almost straight to bed.  It's not like I was up dicking around and not doing it just to piss you off today."

That was true, and I was being a brat.  He was also right about me being anxious.  "I'm sorry," I apologized sincerely.  "And you're right.  My mom has been so weird about this whole thing and I'm nervous about what she's going to say or do.  I'm worried she's more upset than she's letting on about us not wanting a big wedding.  And I think she truly does think I'm pregnant!"

Brody reached over the center console and found my hand, twisting his fingers through mine.  "Will it bother you if she's upset by it?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, kind of," I admitted.  "But mostly because I know she won't let me forget it."

I changed the subject, not wanting to worry about it too much now.  We chatted idly for the rest of the drive to the airport.  By the time we made it through security, they were boarding the final zone of our flight, but I bit back the "I told you so" and was thankful that we had made it on time.  We settled into our seats and I pulled out my Kindle.

The flight was quick and comfortable, and we navigated the tiny Madison airport quickly.  We picked up our rental car and I directed Brody to my parents' house.  He hardly needed my directions though, and I was impressed at his memory of the route.

It was midafternoon by the time we made it to my parents' house and they were both still at work. "When will your parents get home?" Brody asked me as I collapsed onto my bed.

I looked at the clock and shrugged.  "Probably not for at least an hour."

"Oh really?" he asked, climbing onto the bed next to me.  He scooted over and knelt above me, looking down at me.  "I feel like we should take advantage of that, since you're morally opposed to having sex while they're here."

"I don't understand how you're not opposed to it!" I replied indignantly, but I laughed as he leaned down, planted his hands on either side of my head, and kissed me.

"Don't tell me you've never had sex in this house," he challenged, moving his lips away from mine.  He trailed them across my jaw and onto my neck, sucking gently before making me gasp with a quick nip at my throat.

"I haven't," I answered truthfully.  "This is a wholesome, unsullied bed you're having the privilege of kissing me on."

"Not for long," he growled, gently biting my earlobe.  I exhaled and slid my hands under his shirt and around to his back, pressing my fingertips into the taut muscles there.  He leaned away slightly and looked at me, raising an eyebrow in question, silently asking if it was okay to continue.  In response, I moved my hands to his shoulders and tugged him back down so I could kiss him.

We had just gotten ourselves dressed and wandered out to the kitchen when I heard a key in the lock.  The door swung open and I heard my mom call "Olivia?" before she realized we were right there on the other side of the door.  "Hi, sweetheart!" she exclaimed.  Brody grabbed the grocery bags out of her hands and set them on the counter while my mom dropped her purse and hugged me tightly.  She turned to Brody next and hugged him.

"I'm so glad you guys made it here safely," she said, turning to the groceries and starting to put them away.  She shooed Brody away, turning down his offer of help, but immediately plopped a watermelon into my hands.  She motioned towards the other side of the counter and said, "Cut this up, would you?"  Brody took it from me and set it carefully on the counter while I got out a cutting board, knife, and large bowl.

"I can do it," Brody insisted, taking the knife from me.  He busied himself cutting up the watermelon while I helped my mom put away the rest of the groceries.  My dad arrived not long after and after he changed, he went outside the light his trusty old Weber charcoal grill.

"I keep trying to get him to upgrade, but he loves that stupid old thing," my mom said as we chopped veggies for a salad.  Once we finished that, she, Brody, and I took a bottle of wine and 4 glasses out to the patio and relaxed with my dad while the grill heated up.  "So, October 3rd," she said, as we sat there.

"October 3rd," I confirmed nervously.

"We should go dress shopping while you're here then," my mom said, matter-of-factly.

"I don't know, Mom," I replied hesitantly.  I had actually been planning on going dress shopping by myself, or maybe with Brody.  My mom never would have gone for that idea (nor would anyone else in the entire world, probably), but there were very few traditions I was interested in sticking to.

"Oh, humor me here, Olivia, you're my only daughter.  I don't care if we don't get one but I want to see you try on some dresses.  And who knows, maybe you'll find something."  Under her flippant words, I detected how important this was to her.

"I'm actually your only child, unless I have more siblings I don't know about," I pointed out.  My mom sighed, and I quickly said, "We can go, but I'm not trying on anything with tulle."  My mom smiled.  "And no veils!"

Her smile faltered a little, but then she nodded.  "Fair compromise.  Call Lynn, I bet she'd love to come.  Amy too?  Go on, dinner will probably be ready soon."

I went to my room to call, and Brody trailed after me.  Much to my chagrin, both of them were thrilled to come.  I hung up the phone and frowned at Brody before I flopped backwards on the bed.  "You don't have to if you don't want to," he said softly, rubbing my arm.

I grimaced.  "I know, but I already feel like I'm robbing her of seeing her only child get married in a big, traditional wedding.  I'll get less grief about everything else if I let her spend a couple of hours pretending I'm Wedding Barbie."

He laughed and picked up a strand of my long, blonde hair.  "You've got the hair right, but you're a little short to be Barbie," he teased me.

My dad's voice, yelling that dinner was ready, saved him from my response.  The rest of the evening was nice.  My parents didn't say anything negative about our wedding, our short engagement, or anything else.  I did notice my mom raise an eyebrow when I went for a third glass of wine.  "Not pregnant," I said, purposely filling the glass generously and taking a long drink.  Other than that, though, it was a pleasant evening and my parents seemed excited about wedding plans.

The next morning, my mom took me out to breakfast before we met Amy and Lynn at the bridal shop we were going to in Madison.  Brody was going to go kayaking with my dad, and I was not sorry that they were doing it without me.  I was really happy that Brody seemed perfectly comfortable hanging out with my dad by himself though.  Though my parents never said a negative word about John, he avoided seeing them as much as possible and I always got the vibe that they weren't his biggest fans.

After an obnoxious reunion on the sidewalk outside the bridal shop, my mom, Amy, Lynn, and I walked in.  I browsed the racks and told the sales associate what I didn't want.  I wasn't sure what to say when she asked what I did want, because I was pretty sure what I wanted couldn't be found here.  I shrugged helplessly as Amy made a few suggestions.

At least 20 awful dresses and 3 or 4 barely decent dresses later, I was seriously regretting letting them talk me into this.  I was hot, tired, and hungry.  And I hadn't found a single thing I liked.  Everything was too big and it was hard to imagine how it would actually fit when the dress was 3 sizes too big and clipped and pulled tight.

I shook my head when the sales person held up a frilly ballgown.  "No, I think I'm done," I said.  I turned and headed to the dressing room to get changed back into my own clothes.

"Olivia, what about this one?" my mom asked.  I turned, ready to say no, but the look on her face when she said, "It's even in your size," was enough to get me to agree.

"Okay, but this is the last one," I said.  She nodded and held the dress out to me.  I took it without looking at it and headed to the changing room.  I stood still while the sales associate unclipped the dress I was wearing and helped me step out of it.  She had given up on chatting with me 7 dresses ago, so I wasn't surprised when she silently twisted her finger in the air to prompt me to turn around.  I did, and then I raised my arms for her to settle the dress over my head.

As soon as it was on, I knew it was different than the rest of the dresses I'd been trying on.  For one thing, it probably weighed about 15 pounds less than most of them.  And it did actually fit.  "Oh," the sales person said as I turned back around after she finished fastening me into it.  She smiled.  "I think you're going to like this one."  There was no mirror in the dressing room so I had no choice but to follow her out to the mirrors in the middle of the store.  My mom and Amy had their backs to me, but Lynn's eyes got wide.  She poked my mom in the arm and motioned to me.

When my mom turned around, the look on her face was enough to make actually eager to see this dress on me.  When I looked in the mirror, I was stunned.  There was not a hint of tulle, poof, or lace on this dress.  In fact, it was the opposite of everything I hated about all the dresses I'd been pressured to try on today.  All I could do was stare at my reflection.

"Olivia," my mom breathed.  She was definitely having one of those mother of the bride moments.  "What do you think?"  I didn't answer.  I was too busy staring at myself.  "Olivia?"

"It's perfect," I said simply.  I turned and craned my head to look at the back of the dress in the mirror.  "I love it."

My mom smiled and I could see the tears shining in her eyes even in the mirror.  "Oh, don't do that," I said, feeling my own tears prickling my eyes.  I heard a muffled sniffle next to me and turned to see Amy quickly wipe at her cheek.  "Oh god, not you too!" I exclaimed, furiously blinking back tears.  "Get me out of this thing before we all lose it," I said, turning back to the sales person.  She was beaming at me.

My mom stepped over to me and lightly fingered the crystals on the strap of the dress.  "Are we buying you a wedding dress today, Liv?"  She looked up at me hopefully.

"Yeah," I replied, looking down at her and smiling broadly.  "I guess we're buying me a wedding dress today."