5. Selena

My wake-up call comes from the front desk promptly at eight-thirty a.m. Yeah, I know I'm cutting it close, but I don't fucking care. Going through my suitcase, I grab the lavender linen sundress I wadded up like yesterday"s newspaper last night, just to make a point. Mommy dearest didn't want wrinkles, so guess what she's getting. Serves her right for trying to fat shame me.

Dressing quickly, I snake my hands through my hair, pulling out all the tangles and gathering it up into a messy bun before applying a little mascara to my lashes and calling it a morning. We're just going for a dress fitting and a mani/pedi, so there's no need to be dressed to the nines.

Picking up my room key and purse from the nightstand, I head out the door. I have exactly four minutes until I'm late, and I can guarantee you she's already tapping her foot on the floor with a look of disdain on her face. How dare I keep Julia waiting! Stepping up to the elevator, I press the down button, and when the doors open, two blondes with fake boobs and tiny waists are giggling inside.

"Are you sure this was the floor?" bleach blonde one says to the second as they step off, blocking me from entering.

"Excuse you," bleach blonde two belts out as she turns her nose up. They move past me, the door shutting before I can get in.

Reaching out, I push the button again, catching the elevator before it leaves the floor, and the doors spring open for the second time. I step inside, but not before I hear them snickering and talking loudly about me.

"Did you see how fat she is? Glad she wasn't on the elevator with us. We could have plummeted to our death."

"Can you believe people let themselves go like that? Please kill me if I do." Bleach blonde two acts like she's gagging.

Unfortunately, they accomplished just what they wanted. They hit me with the one insecurity I try so hard to overcome; my weight. It's fluctuated all of my life and I'm actually at a low for once. But those comments and snide remarks from people still seep into my brain and cause anxiety. Now I get to listen to my mother criticize me about it. They've sucked all the joy from wearing the wrinkled dress out of me, and I just hope the poor unfortunate soul who they are looking for has better sense than to fall for those heinous vultures.

The elevator goes straight down to the first floor, not making any more stops. I step out into the lobby and true to form, Mom is standing there with a scowl, arms crossed over her chest, tapping her toes on the floor. Kill me now.

"Really, Selena, you were raised better than this. Did you not listen to anything I said last night? If it wouldn't make us late, I'd send you back to your room to change. Are you trying to embarrass me?" She turns quickly and rushes toward the hotel doors, still mumbling under her breath. I just drop in behind her and follow her out to the waiting cab, sliding into the back seat behind her.

"I didn't have time to iron it, Mom. But it's not that bad. It's the material and after the first time I sat down, it would wrinkle anyway." I try to placate her, but she doesn't acknowledge what I said.

"Now, I'm getting the last fitting on my dress. I just pray the sizes the sister shop sent over are correct. The last thing we need is to have to change the dress altogether." She stares at me harshly, her eyes perusing my body. "I swear you've gained at least twenty more pounds since I saw you last."

No, Mommy dearest, I haven't. In fact, I've lost thirty since the last time I saw you. But I don't correct her, it wouldn't do any good.

I close my eyes, take a deep breath, then open them to look out the window. It's not even worth my time to argue with her. She'll always be right and well, it is her day. Dad wouldn't want me to upset her. He was the buffer between the two of us, never allowing her to nitpick at me, and his death left me wide open for her criticism.

I zone out the rest of the way, mumbling, "Oh really," "Yes ma'am," and "You're the most beautiful bride," at random parts of the conversation when I was paying attention. I've learned that's the best way to deal with her bullshit.

Finally, we're pulling up in front of a fancy dress shop, one of those high couture ones you see movie stars at. The front of the building is an enormous window. As we step through the door, we are immediately greeted by a hostess handing us a flute of champagne. Guess nine-thirty in the morning isn't too early to start drinking.

"Mrs. Middleton, so lovely to see you again," a tall, slender, middle-aged woman with dark hair pulled back into a tight bun says as she makes her way over to Mom, giving her a kiss on each cheek.

"Yes, it is, Darla. Lovely to see you again. I was hoping you would be here for my last fitting, and please call me Julia."

"I wouldn't miss it for anything. Tomorrow is the big day and I can't wait to see you walk down the aisle. And who is… this?" She lets her eyes trail up and down the length of my body, disdain clear on her face.

"Oh yes, this is my daughter Selena. Please allow me to apologize in advance. I was not aware she had gained weight, and I just hope her dress fits." Go ahead Mom, you are really taking every chance you can to ridicule me. Wonder what she would think if I told her about the guy from the club and the plane. Apparently, I wasn't too big to get thoroughly fucked in the airplane bathroom.

"I'm sure we can handle it." The snobby bitch rolls her eyes. "Now let's get you fitted and Delores can handle Samantha." She gestures toward a woman just stepping out of the back, who"s wearing glasses and a measuring tape draped over her shoulders.

"It's Selena, and that sounds perfect. I don"t want to delay the rest of the day, and I would love the surprise of not seeing you in your dress until tomorrow." I know I may sound bitchy, especially with the glare my mother shoots my way, but she pissed me off.

"Wonderful, Julia, come along with me. Delores, can you help Selena?" She links her arm with my mother's, and they head off toward what I assume to be a private dressing area.

"Hi, Selena. Are you ready?" Now that she's closer, I can see how timid she is. Darla must nag on her as much as my mother does me.

"Yes. My dress should already be here. I had my measurements sent over and I'm hoping to only need a few alterations." I smile, trying to assure her I am most definitely not like my mother.

"Okay, I can take you back to the dressing room and get it. Then we can see where we stand with alterations." She gestures in the same direction as my mother, and my stomach cringes in pain.

"Are there any other changing areas, preferably as far away from my mother as we can get?" I ask, praying to whatever god is listening...

Delores' face changes drastically, her meek, scared face now replaced with one of relief. "Yes, we do." And just like that, we are heading in the completely opposite direction of my mother and the other bitch.

"Oh my gosh, it fits you like a glove!" Delores claps her hands together as she steps away and looks at me in my bridesmaid dress. "Okay, now, you can look, close your eyes, and turn around, so I can make sure it's perfect."

Doing as she says, I close them and turn. I can feel her moving around me as the breeze hits me. "You can open them now."

Taking a deep breath, I open my eyes, gasping when I see myself in the mirror. I look amazing. The dress hugs my curves perfectly, the side slit displaying my tan thighs. The teal dress has a sweetheart neckline with small shimmering jewels lining it. A thin strap over each shoulder holds the dress in place. "It's beautiful. You made me look amazing."

"Oh no, Selena. You made the dress look beautiful. It's as if they made it for you. The measurements were dead on. We don't need to make any alterations. We'll have it steamed, then delivered to your hotel by the end of the day."

My mother picks that moment to step inside. "Oh my god, Selena. Look how tight that is on you. I knew you gained weight. Delores, we will need to have it taken out. There's no way I can have her looking like a pig stuffed in a blanket."

All the joy I felt when I looked at myself in the mirror is now gone. My face no longer holds the smile it once had. Turning away from my mother, I look back to the mirror where Delores stands, as she mouths, "I'm sorry."

"Selena, get out of that dress so they can get to work on it. We need to hurry if we want to make our nail appointment." She turns and marches out of the room, the bitch hot on her heels.

"I'm not taking anything out. They're crazy. This dress fits you perfectly," Delores announces with a huff that has my smile returning. I like this woman, she has moxy.

She helps me out of the dress, letting me know she intends to let them think she's doing adjustments, but really isn't, and that the dress will be delivered by the end of the day. Thanking her, I hurriedly change and leave to meet my wonderful mother in the lobby.

"Selena, come along now," my mother calls out just as I step into the lobby. Not wanting to hear her bitch more than she already has, I follow. "Did they note the alterations that need to be made?"

"Yes, Mother, even said they would have it done by the end of the day and the dress delivered to the hotel."

"Very well then. Let"s go get our manicures and pedicures done, then grab some lunch. Please eat a salad today, Selena. We wouldn't want all the work the seamstress is doing today to be in vain." I wait for her to walk away before I roll my eyes. Lord, just give me the patience to get through this.

The nail salon was conveniently just two shops down from the dress store, and we made it there well before our appointment time. Something I didn't point out to my mother. She would have disagreed with whatever I said.

Mom goes to check us in and I use the moment of freedom to walk over to the case holding all the different colors of polishes, letting the tips of my fingers trail along the line of bottles until I land on the perfect shade of metallic gray that would go amazing with my beautiful teal dress.

"Selena, couldn't you go with a shade that"s a little more classy, like a nude, pink, or even a French manicure?" I yelp at my mother's words. Damn, I didn't even hear her come up behind me. "Selena, was that necessary? You are causing a scene."

"Forgive me, Mother, how juvenile of me to scream in fright. As far as the color, I love it and it's what I'm getting. Are they ready for us? Suddenly, I'm feeling tired and not hungry at all." I've had my quota for the day of mother-daughter time, and there's no way I can make it through this and lunch.

She huffs, but before she can say anything, we're called over to the chairs for our pedicure. I wait for my mother to say something, but she doesn't. Instead, she pulls out her phone and begins busily typing away.

"Mom…" She throws her hand up, halting me from saying anything else. Yep, I've pissed her off.

The rest of the appointment goes by in silence. Well, for me anyway. My mother, on the other hand, talks to everyone else whether they want to or not. When we're done, she heads straight for the counter to pay.

Taking a deep breath, I step up to her, knowing I need to fix this. As much as I hate how she speaks to me, especially about my weight, I know my father would disapprove of me purposely pissing her off. And that's what I set out to do today, beginning with wrinkling the dress. I don't want the weekend to be more miserable than it has to be, so I give her the one thing she loves most after money… a compliment.

"Your nails look beautiful. There will never be a bride who looks as beautiful as you."

"Thank you. Abel is meeting me here for lunch and should be here any minute. Then we're going for a carriage ride. You are free to do whatever it is you want to do today. Just remember, the dress rehearsal is at seven tonight. If everything goes well, it will only take about thirty minutes." She doesn't wait for me to respond. She signs the credit card receipt and heads for the door, where Abel appears out of nowhere.

Hailing a cab, I head back to the hotel. Angry at myself for letting my mother get to me. She has me so out of sorts that I don't even realize I've gotten on the elevator and off on my floor until I notice I'm headed in the wrong direction. Fuck, my room is the other way. Turning, I walk back, passing by the ice machine, when a deep husky voice speaks as he snakes his arm around my waist.

"There you are. Seems like this is my lucky day."

Looking over my shoulder, I recognize the unexpected face, just as he turns my body to face him, slamming his lips against mine in a toe-curling kiss.