When Leif had been planning to surprise Lynne with a visit from her granny during the wedding, he truly hadn't counted on how difficult it would be to score last minute tickets from New Orleans to New York in three short weeks.
All night last evening, he'd been up on the computer on orbitz, expedia, and other travel sites looking for tickets. He could barely find any tickets, and those tickets that he did find had astronomical costs, well over three to four times as much as tickets would cost him if the trip were three months away instead of three weeks away.
After he'd cleaned up the kitchen, he'd stayed up far later than he'd planned on staying up, searching out those tickets. He missed Lynne's warmth and the feeling of her breath close to his chest, but he looked at getting the tickets as business he had to take care of, private business that Lynne should never discover, no matter how much he would prefer to be sleeping close to her, making love to her, or tickling her feet with his own, disturbing her playfully as she tried to fall asleep. Were she to discover what he was cooking up it would ruin the surprise.
He hated for her to go to sleep on her own like that, and felt even guiltier when he pulled the covers back and the coolness in the room when she was wearing noting but panties startled her awake in the middle of the evening. She'd shifted her body and rolled closer to him, but Lynne's observant eyes noticed everything and he saw her look over at the clock, and through her glance in the moonlight, he could see even though she was sleepy, a quizzical expression. After she glanced at the clock frowned up her cute little face, because she could hardly make out the numbers of the clock with her poor eyesight without her glasses, but he knew she saw the time because she'd rubbed her eyes and blinked several times reading the red letters.
Sometimes he wished that little creature wasn't so damn smart! She'd been looking quizzically at the clock and even though she was half alseep, she knew he'd gotten to bed at three AM, and eventually, she would want some answers about why he was up so late. He was so angry he hadn't been able to find some fucking tickets at prices that were not cutthroat. Up all night, and still no closer to getting the tickets for his sweetie's grandma.
He knew he needed to wrap up his searching quick and close in on a ticket deal, lest Lynne grow overly suspicious. One thing about the little creature, she was inquisitive, curious and smart, and she asked a million questions when she wanted to know something. She could be a bit nosy at times, and usually he found it cute, but he wanted to find those tickets before she got a chance to query him.
***
The next morning, Lynne was so excited to be searching for her wedding gown with Janelle. She'd picked out several choices in modern bride. Her favorite was a white scoop necked dress with very intricate beading that stopped right under her knees, and a very long pretty flowing train was attached. The dress was form fitting, and it was tight, but not too tight, and would be a nice showcase for that pear shaped figure she had. The beading made the dress look elegant, the scooped neck a nice accent for her broad shoulders, yet small bust. The shorter length of the gown made it unique and gave it an airy elegance that was perfect for the opening part of the ceremony at the beach front, yet it was formal enough for the church, and practical enough for her to have a good time dancing with Leif at their reception.
Also, being t-length, the dress did not make her appear short, even though she was petite, Lynne felt that a floor length gown would dwarf her, as short as she was.
Janelle agreed that Lynne's desired dress was a nice choice.
They were looking for something similar to her modern bride magazine selection, at the bridal shop. Lynne didn't think they could get identical, since this gown was designed by Rachael Roy, a famous fashion designer. She would be happy with a similar knock off.
When they walked into the Bridal store, Lynne felt teary. It made her reflect on the deep love she felt in her heart for Leif, and how she'd loved him, almost from the second she saw him, and couldn't believe in three short weeks she would be his wife, and carry his last name.
But, seeing all the pretty white dresses, she felt a nagging glimmer of self-doubt, due to the old fashioned way she'd been raised by her parents, the old demons creeping back in slightly.
Lynne did a detour away from the pretty white gowns, and into a section with beautiful ivory colored gowns.
"Hey, I thought that Rachel Roy dress you wanted was white," said Janelle, running her fingers quizzically through her afro.
"Well it is," said Lynne.
"So, why the hell are we looking at these off white dresses?" said Janelle.
"Well...I...I want to see what it looks like in off white," said Lynne.
"I'm telling you, you want pure white, that's gonna look better. A private pre-ceremony at the beach. Ceremony at the church? Reception in Leif's parents back yard. Even though you two are hippies and are going to do some weird shit on the beach, it's a traditional wedding. And, people are gonna want to see you wearing a white dress. It's just more traditional than ivory or cream," said Janelle.
"And that's just it. It's a traditional wedding, and most of those people know that I have been living with Leif for six months. So they know I can't really wear a white gown. I probably should wear something beige," said Lynne.
"Excuse me, while I check the calendar on my iPhone. Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know the year was nineteen-fucking-forty five. Sis? What the hell is getting into you again," sighed Janelle.
"It's...It's nothing. I mean, I know it's old fashioned, but technically I'm not supposed to wear white, I mean the shit I'm doing with Leif already," said Lynne.
She wasn't frowning though, giggling and blushing. She remembered all the things her mother used to try to impress upon her about really keeping herself so she could truly wear a white gown, not just in show like so many other women.
"Do you know how many women go down the aisle six months pregnant and shit wearing a white gown?" said Janelle shaking her head.
"I mean, I know they might but it's-"
"Shut the hell up. You are being old fashioned and churchy and I'm not letting you ruin shit for yourself. You're hardly living in sin with Leif. You might not be married but you'll be married in a few short weeks. Hell you two have had the shortest courtship and engagement than I've ever seen. I think it's cute as hell, getting married six months after meeting each other. Now what color do you really want to wear," said Janelle.
"White...but I..."
"But nothing. What color gown do you think Leif expects you to wear? White? Or Beige. Most of these beige gowns look mature, and they are meant for women who have already been married before, that's why they are not so flashy. If your love for that boy is pure, consider yourself a virgin, and go ahead with the fucking white gown," said Janelle.
Lynne was a little stubborn, and she started looking through the beige gowns anyway, to see if she could find that Rachel Roy dress in beige.
"That's it. I'm getting vanilla Bob Marley prince charming on the Lynne to settle this shit," said Janelle.
