13. Nice To Be Included

13

NICE TO BE INCLUDED

" I 'm so excited," Ivy said the next day. "This is a dream come true and I get to spend it with my sisters."

Raine loved that she was lumped into that statement along with Jasmine and Dahlia.

"Are you going to start crying?" Dahlia said. "We haven't even walked into the bridal store yet."

"No," Ivy said. "Not until the first dress comes on. I asked Brooks what he wanted and he said he didn't care. I'm not sure how I feel about that."

"I'm sure Brooks is going to be in awe of anything you get," Raine said. "I know my brother. Maybe not as well as you do now, but I think he'd want this to be your choice."

"That is what he said," Ivy said. "He told me I'll be beautiful in anything. That he'd never tell me a style because I'd feel forced to find it when it might not work."

Raine expected that of Brooks for sure. "There you go. So tell us what you are looking for," Jasmine said. "I know you're going to want to try something sexy."

"I thought I would too," Ivy said. "But I want something more like a princess dress."

"I called it," Dahlia said, doing a fist pump.

"Were you two taking bets?" Ivy asked with a cute pout on her lips. They walked into the door and stopped at the front desk.

"Who is the bride?" the woman at the front desk said.

"Not my two sisters who have babies in their bellies," Ivy said, giggling. "Though one will be a bride once she picks a date."

"It's about you today," Dahlia said. "She's the bride. Ivy Greene."

"Yes," the woman said. "I've got you here meeting with Abigail."

Ivy was all but jumping in place with excitement. "You've done this before," Ivy said to Raine. "Right? With Emma?"

"We did shop with Emma. Mom and I," she said.

"I wanted your mom to come," Ivy said. "Why didn't she?"

Her mother would have loved to, but she felt that it should be a girls' day. "She thought we'd have more fun with just the four of us. She suggested you try to call your mother and father when you find the one."

"I'm going to do that," Ivy said. "It was a nice thought. I just love including her. I know I have parents, but they aren't around. But I do have my sisters." Ivy wrapped her two sisters up in her arms. "And a sister-in-law."

It was nice to be included like that.

"This is going to be so much fun," Raine said. "And you're going to look beautiful in whatever you decide."

Abigail came out and introduced herself and the four of them were brought into a big room to get comfortable on the couches. There were mirrors in places and dresses off to the side out of the way. She knew there were more in the back.

"What are we looking for today?" Abigail said. "Do you have a style or pictures?"

"I've looked at a ton of pictures," Ivy said and pulled her phone out. "Something like this. Fitted on the top, maybe the illusion top with sparkle. The bottom is bigger but not so heavy I can't walk or it's wearing me rather than me wearing it."

"We've got a lot to try on, but the most important question is the budget, then the timeline. When are you getting married? Most dresses need four to six months to order unless you can buy one off the floor."

"I don't mind getting one off the floor," Ivy said. "I'm not tied to having the most recent gown. My budget is two thousand because I'm paying for it, so I know I'm most likely going to have to get something on clearance in terms of that style."

"I'll see what we've got," Abigail said. "Why don't you come with me to the dressing room and I'll pull some dresses for you to try on before we come out to show your party."

They watched Ivy pretty much skip away.

"She's so excited," Raine said. "She's going to be beautiful in anything."

"She will be," Jasmine said. The two sisters were looking at each other and Dahlia got up and walked away.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"You'll find out. We are going to pay for her gown. We want her to have what she wants. Dahlia is going to let Abigail know to pull things based on Ivy's price range, but if nothing works out, then we'll take care of it and go from there."

"That's so sweet," she said.

She knew that Ivy's father was paying for the reception and that Brooks had mentioned that they were keeping it under seventy-five people. Mona was giving them a good deal as Jasmine's mother-in-law, but she wasn't going to lose money on it either.

Flowers were going to be a minimal cost on top of it, thanks to Blossoms.

She worried when her time came that her parents might not be able to afford much and she didn't want them to even think about it.

Not many fathers were paying for weddings anymore. Things just cost too much.

She'd like to say she could pay for it herself, but the truth was, she barely could support herself at times. She paid her bills and had a savings account but wasn't killing it there by any means.

"So," Jasmine said. "Do we get to find out about you and Aster?"

"Don't you dare talk about that without me," Ivy shouted. They turned and saw her come out in her first dress.

"Guess we'll wait until you are all done picking your gown," Raine said. She expected this might happen and was actually looking forward to it herself. She didn't often get to talk about her love life. She never had much of one.

"What do you think?" Ivy asked.

"It's pretty," Dahlia said.

Ivy frowned. "It is. It didn't make me cry. I want to be wowed and cry. Is it horrible to feel that way?"

"No," Raine said. "This is your day. You'll know when you find the one."

"It's not it," Jasmine said. "You know it too."

"I do like it, and if I don't find anything else, I could settle for this."

It broke her heart to hear anyone settle in life, but she knew that was what she did a lot too.

She wasn't going to do that anymore though.

"Nope," Jasmine said. "Next."

It went like that for four more dresses. All of them looked lovely on Ivy, but something was missing. It just wasn't sparkling enough or didn't make Ivy sparkle.

Jasmine stood up and walked to a section of more pricey gowns. "What do you guys think?" Jasmine asked, pulling one off the rack.

"I think that has Ivy written all over it," Raine said.

"Me too," Dahlia said, moving over to look at the price. The wince told her what she needed to know, but she also knew that Jasmine wasn't hurting for money and Dahlia most likely wasn't either. Even though the girls were raised to be frugal, she'd bet they'd splurge for their sister.

Jasmine picked the gown up and brought it to where Ivy was and then they waited.

They heard the sniffling before they saw Ivy. "I don't know who picked this and I'm afraid to look at the price tag, but this is my favorite so far."

Ivy appeared in front of them. Dahlia got a soft look in her eyes and they were almost moist. Jasmine let a tear drop and Raine felt one coming down too.

"That's the one," Jasmine said. "I picked it out."

When Ivy went to look for the tag, Dahlia stopped her. "Do you love it?"

"Yes, but it doesn't do me any good if I can't afford it. I mean I can go up a little but don't want to blow so much on one dress I'll never wear again. That'd be silly."

"Brooks wouldn't care," she said, playing along with the sisters.

"I know," she said. "But I'm paying for this, not him. This is money I've saved for years."

"Should we finish it off with a headpiece?" Abigail asked.

"Please," Jasmine said. "Let's see it all before we call Mom."

"I look like a mess. I can't stop crying. I feel like a ballerina too with all this tulle and it's got crystals in it. I think I'm sparkling."

"You are in that dress," Raine said.

Once Ivy's hair was up and the veil on, there was nothing that could top it.

"This is it," Ivy said. "Oh God, how much is it?"

"It doesn't matter," Jasmine said. "Dahlia and I are paying for it."

"What?" Ivy asked. "You can't do that."

"Yes, we can," Dahlia said. "We are. Of the three of us, you're the one who has dreamed of this day. You're the one giving Mom and Dad the big wedding and they are so looking forward to it. We want this for you . Maybe I want to live through you because you know how much I hate being the center of attention."

Raine knew it was the last words that sold Ivy who rushed her sisters to hug them. "Thank you both so much. I want to argue, but I never win. I mean never win. And I don't want to win with this either, but I feel selfish accepting it."

"Stop," Dahlia said. "We are doing this. End of story. Time to show Mom."

"I don't want Dad to see. Make sure you tell her that."

"Dad is sleeping," Jasmine said. "I've been talking to Mom. You know it's the middle of the night there. She knew we were doing this and didn't want to miss it."

Raine sat there and let the sisters and their mother have their moment and then wondered if she'd ever get hers.

It was crazy to think of it now after only a few weeks dating Aster, but boy, her mind was on a drag race too.

When the dress shopping was done, the four girls went to a restaurant, with Ivy announcing it was her treat and no one was to argue with her.

"Now we get to find out about Raine and Aster," Ivy said. "Talk."

She laughed. "What is it you want to know?"

"Did you get down and dirty yet?"

"Ivy," Jasmine asked, laughing.

"I've learned there is no stopping her from asking those things," Dahlia said.

"I know. It's what I love about her. Yes, we did. Yesterday."

"Woohoo, Raine got lucky," Ivy said quietly.

"I did. In more than the bedroom."

"Aww," Ivy said. "He seems like a great guy."

"He's wonderful," she said. "He's not someone that opens up or talks much, but he does with me. He's got a little sense of humor in there and it's coming out." She wanted to say something about his accident but realized that many probably didn't know since he seemed shocked she wasn't aware.

"There seems to be this mystery around him," Ivy said. "Maybe it's part of the men that serve. Heather said Luke was like that too, but he's not anymore."

"I'd like to think Aster won't be like that much more either," she said.

"You're the one sparkling right now," Jasmine said, grinning.

"Am I?" she asked. "I feel it."

"Good for you," Ivy said, clapping her hands silently. "We need that double date. Or a triple date with River. Maybe all of us."

"Now you're talking about a party," Dahlia said. "Go a little easy there and slow your roll."

"I get it," Ivy said. "But I know Brooks and River want to meet him."

"My parents do too," Raine said. "We'll figure it out soon."

"Then I've got to say it's been a successful weekend all around for everyone," Ivy said. "Here is to finding our men!"

She raised her glass because it felt like the thing to do and hoped it was true in the future for her too.