by E K Woodcock
"No problem. We just got here a few minutes early, that's all," the organizer, Angie, chimes in. The crew unloads boxes full of decorations while I set up the treats I got from Starbucks.
They all look like the chill of the November morning has settled into their bones, so I make a beeline to the fireplace in the corner and turn that on.
"Thank you, Skylar, that's lovely. Now, we don't really need you for this part of the decorating. If you have any errands to run, go for it. I know you're planning a small get-together tonight here for close friends and family," Angie says.
"That's amazing news because I do need to finalize a few details before the party."
"Go for it." She smiles and adds, "This shouldn't take us any more than a couple of hours, and once we’re done decorating, we'll do a final sweep of everything and your store is yours again."
I smile, grateful for this woman. "Perfect. Angie, I'll see you all in a couple of hours. Oh, and please, help yourselves to the treats. Those are all for you."
The first order of business is to call Jen. I need her with me to get organized and pick out the wines and appetizers I'll be serving. I pull out my phone and dial her number.
She answers on the second ring. "Hello?"
"Hi, Jen. How are you?"
"Oh, good. What's up? Aren't you supposed to be busy with decorations?"
"Well, I guess they don't need me, just my keys. The organizers and the decorators are in the store now, doing their job. I have a few last-minute items to take care of and I need my best friend with me."
"Of course, you do." I can hear the smile in her voice. "Where are you at?"
"I'm just outside the store. How fast can you be here? It's cold outside." I shift from one foot to the other.
"I'm on my way. Be there in five minutes tops. I'm sure you walked. I'll bring my car so you won't freeze any more than necessary."
I nod enthusiastically at the idea even though she can’t see me. "Oh, thank the lord."
She laughs at my expression and hangs up.
Within minutes, my best friend pulls up next to me in her red Toyota Matrix, rolls down the window, and yells, "Get in before you turn into an icicle!"
She doesn't have to tell me twice. I'm half-frozen anyways. I don't waste any time before I jump in. She's already got the heat blaring and the seat warmers on. The perks of owning a new vehicle is that it warms up way faster than an older vehicle. Within minutes, I'm toasty and comfortable.
"So, where to Ms. Business Owner?" she asks.
I show her the last few invitations I have and tell her Carter's address. In all the craziness of getting ready for the opening day, I forgot to invite Anne and Bridget to the party. Once we get to Carter's house, I get out of the car and go knock on the door.
Bridget answers after the second knock. "Oh, hi, how are you? Carter’s at work at the moment if that's why you're here."
I smile at her confusion. "I'm actually here to see you and Anne. I'm not sure if Carter had mentioned that I’m throwing a party in my store tonight for close friends and family, and I know this is very short notice, but I would love it if you and Anne could make it. In all the craziness, I totally forgot to give your invitations to Carter, so here. I'm hand-delivering them on the day of the event." I struggle to catch my breath.
"Just breathe." She chuckles. "I don't believe we have anything planned for tonight so we should be good to attend." She gets a thoughtful expression on her face. "I think I need to go dress shopping if you don't want me to show up in my Army fatigues."
"Well, you know, my friend Jen and I are just running some last-minute errands. You’re more than welcome to join us. We like dress shopping." I smile and wink at her. "Girl time is always great," I add because I get the feeling she hasn't been out much since she came back.
She smiles. "All right, let me grab my purse and lock up. I'll be right there."
I head to the car and inform Jen that Bridget is going to join us. She’s immediately on board with the plan. "The more, the merrier. I do enjoy a good girls’ shopping spree and need a new dress myself."
We’re laughing at a joke on the radio when Bridget gets in the backseat. Jen immediately introduces herself because that's who she is. "Hi, Bridget! I'm Jen, the best friend extraordinaire." She smiles through the rear-view mirror.
"I'm Bridget, the sister…" She trails off with a questioning look to Skylar then adds, "Sister of the boyfriend?"
All of us laugh at the uncertainty in her voice, and I say, "Yes, boyfriend is right."
She takes a deep breath. "Oh, thank God you confirmed that. If not, I'm sure poor Carter would cry a thousand tears and drown the whole world," she says with laughter in her voice.
I smirk at the comment but don’t address it. "Well, before all the dress shopping happens, I need my wines picked out and appetizers organized so we need to hit the grocery and liquor store."
"What? You didn’t hire a caterer for this event?" Bridget asks, bewildered.
"Ummm, no. I didn’t even think about it actually. That would have made life so much easier." Why hadn’t I thought about it? That would have been a game-changer.
"No kidding." Jen rolls her eyes at me.
Bridget gives me a reassuring look. "Okay. No panicking. I know a personal chef. We can get what you need and I'll give him a call to see if he can arrange a few appetizers with those."
I beam. "Bridget to the rescue! That'll give us time to dress shop."
On the way to the grocery store, Bridget calls her friend who's a personal chef, and he instructs us to get some meat, different variety of cheeses, a package or two of cream cheese, vegetables, sliced bread, some crackers and a few packages of smoked salmon.
The three of us run into the grocery store and decide to handle this as a divide and conquer. Bridget runs to the crackers and bread isles with a basket in her arm. Jen runs to the cheeses and vegetables while I run to get all the meat needs. The way we’re all moving around the grocery store like mad women feels a lot like we’re in an episode of Guy's Grocery Games and are in the shopping spree part at the end. In a way, it's the same. We’re running against time and still have to get wine and go find some dresses. Tick tock, baby. There's no time to waste here.
Thank goodness, Trevor, Bridget's friend, said he'll meet us at the grocery store to grab our groceries and wine pairings and go to the store to prepare right away. All three of us make it to the register within seconds of each other, pay for everything, and head to the liquor store.
This here is all Jen, and by the things Trevor asked for, she's got a pretty good idea which wines to get. She runs to the American wines and grabs a few bottles of Riesling and a few bottles of Merlot and adds a couple of rose for the hell of it. Within minutes, we’re out of the liquor store and are meeting with Trevor.
He looks at the wine choices Jen picked and hums appreciatively. "Good choices, ladies."
Jen lifts an eyebrow and huffs, earning her a chuckle from the newcomer. We hand him all the bags, I give him the address and the name of my store, and we bid each other farewell.
Jen and her led foot take us to Calgary in no time at all. The fact that it's a weekday and everyone who's employed is at work helps with the traffic situation as well. We get to the mall, park, and get out of the car.
In our conversations, we already discovered our styles clash, and there’s only one store in the mall that's going to satisfy us all. We head straight to BCBG. There's no time to waste here since we’re on a time crunch. Jen, the dramatic person she is, heads straight to the rack with big, bold colors. Bridget, the straight-edged person she is, heads to the rack of little black dresses. I'm more of an impulsive person and love fun designs. So when Jen and Bridget lean toward more of a classic route, I head to the rack with all the fun, flirty, bright and off the shoulder dresses.
Each of us grabs a handful of hangers off the racks and get into our respective dressing rooms, where we start th
e process of trying on a million different dresses. The first one out is Bridget. "Heyo, I'm out. Poke your heads out and give me your opinions."
Jen and I do as instructed and get out in half-dressed states as well. Bridget's got on a short, black cocktail dress that highlights her amazingly fit body.
"Wow," Jen and I say in unison.
Jen adds, "Don't try any more dresses on. This is your dress."
"Are you sure? It doesn't make my butt look too big?" Bridget asks, uncertainty in her voice. At her uncharacteristic timidness, my mouth falls open, as if I've just been punched in the jaw.
Jen lifts an eyebrow. "Ummm, excuse me, Miss You-can-bounce-a-quarter-off-my-ass-it's-so-tight, where's this hesitation coming from?”
Bridget averts her eyes, as if she's hiding something and a light bulb goes off in my mind. "Oh, my God, you're trying to impress someone."
"Oh, now, now, now, my little grasshopper," Jen says and puts an arm around Bridget's shoulder. She’s still only half wearing the blood-red dress she was in the process of putting on. "I pity the fool that'll ever negatively comment on your body. You could probably strangle them with your tights." Then adds in an appreciative tone, "P.S., that dress looks amazing on you and whoever this fellow is, he’s going to want to rip it off you with his teeth."
"Hear, hear," I add.
Smiling, Bridget says, "Well, then it's settled. This shall be the dress." She goes back into the dressing room to get back into her jeans and sweater. "And now it's time to find a dress Carter will love you in." She pokes her head out and winks at me.
"And Jake's not going to know what hit him," I add, pointing at Jen.
To this, a now fully dressed Bridget says, "Oh, what a perfect match that'll be," and starts dancing on the balls of her feet.
Next up, Jen comes out, finally wearing the dress fully. Not very many people can pull off red, but Jen can. My jaw hits the floor. The dress is a floor-length and blood-red with a halter top and empress cut in the front. It has a low waist, so the dress goes in two pieces of fabric for the breasts and starts to fall off right at her waist in a flowy fashion. It accentuates her fantastic breasts.
"Oh, wait till you see the back of this thing," she says and turns around. There’s a gasp but I'm not sure if it comes out of me or Bridget or if it's a collective effort, but the dress looks even more fantastic from behind than it did from the front.
"Holy crap, girl, you can wear a dress,” accentuates an impressed Bridget. I still have no words. The dress has no back until the waist, so her entire back is on display.
"I'm guessing you ladies like?" Jen says
"I haven't found words since you turned around. I think it's a safe bet to say we love it."
"Well, I suppose I do look pretty great in it," she says not very modestly at all and we all laugh.
And now, it's my turn. I have a pink dress and a yellow dress I picked out. One is an off the shoulder knee-length cocktail dress, and the other is a floor-length mermaid cut. I wear the mermaid dress first and immediately get told to "go back in there and take that shit off."
Well, I guess that one is a no-go. I bid farewell to the yellow mermaid dress and put the pink dress on. This time when I come out, they don't send me back in the dressing room, but they praise the look.
"There we go! This dress fits your personality to a tee," Jen says. "It's fun, sexy, and flirty all in one small package." She laughs at her own joke.
"I agree. Carter is going to love you in this," Bridget adds.
To this, Jen and Bridget high five each other and send me back to change into my street clothes so we can head home to get ready. Finally, we all pay for our dresses. Everyone decides they have the necessary accessories at home, and we go out to the car.
Once in the car, Jen and I drill Bridget. "So, Bridget, who is the mystery man you’re trying to impress tonight?" I ask.
"Oh, nobody," she responds nonchalantly.
"Spill, now," Jen yells from behind the wheel.
"Fine. His name is Trevor. We’ve known each other since kindergarten, and I’m certain he’s had a thing for me since the day I drop-kicked him at recess," she reveals.
“Umm, you drop-kicked him at recess?” Jen asks, impressed.
“Well, he declared to everyone that he was going to marry me one day, and I wanted nothing to do with that.” Bridget shrugs at our laughter.
My matchmaking side can’t contain herself and I blurt out, "Oh, this is so exciting! Then I'll just have to make sure he stays the entire night and enjoys some of that food he's making as well."
My matchmaking senses are all tingling. First, I'm going to introduce Jake and Jen, and then I'm going to set these two love birds up. My night can't get any better.
"Skylar, whatever has you smiling like a lunatic, you better stop it now. You're going to scare our new friend here," Jen teases me.
"Oh, shush, you," I say to her gentle jab and we listen to the radio the rest of the way.
I pick Everly up from daycare early tonight. It's the night of the party, and everybody is very excited. This morning before I dropped her off at daycare, she said, "You need to come and get me early, Daddy. We need to wash my hair, dry it and make it pwetty for the pawty, and then I need to get into my dwess."
As instructed, we wash her pretty hair in the sink and blow-dry it. Her usually loose curls are extra bouncy by just being washed and dried. I’ve been researching ways to make curls tighter. This is what my life has been about since we got invited to Skylar’s party. Her hair is now extra shiny and curly, which makes her very happy. She gives me a couple of barrettes to put in her bangs, which makes me very happy. Once the hair is done, she runs to her room to get dressed and I take the opportunity to jump in the shower as well.
A quick shower and shave later, I'm ready to put my suit on. With a towel wrapped around my waist, I go to my bedroom. Ev's and my bedroom are next to each other, so I pass by her room and give it a quick look. What I see inside makes me stop in my steps. She's all dressed up in her blue puffy dress and looks exactly like a toddler version of a fairy tale princess.
Everly sees me looking through her mirror and turns around. "What do you think, Daddy? Will Skylaw like it?"
"Skylar is going to love it, sweetheart. You look like a real-life fairy tale princess." This earns me a smile and I add, "Never have I ever laid eyes on a more beautiful three-year-old."
"Aww, Daddy." She does the one foot behind the other shy dance and then gives me a big hug.
"All right, beautiful, it's now my turn to get dressed."
She follows me into my room. I quickly put my dress pants, white button-down, and suit jacket on. Put a comb through my hair, spray a bit of Polo Sport on, and we’re ready to rumble. Everly heads upstairs to tell the ladies we’re ready, and within minutes, she comes down with both Bridget and my mom dressed to the nines.
Bridget looks at me with disapproval. "That just won't do. I know what your beautiful girlfriend is wearing, and you don't match." She runs into my room, rummages through my closet, and brings a very light pink dress shirt out to me. "Change into this."
Everyone can hear the authority in her voice. "Sir, yes, sir," I say and mock salute her, which earns me a smile from both my mother and sister.
"Stop being a smartass and do as she says," my mother chimes in.
I hold my hands up in the air in resignation. "All right, all right… call off the firing squad. I'm getting changed."
Once again, I head back to my room accompanied by their satisfied smiles and nods and get changed. This time, when I come out, all three of them smile at me. "Now this is more like it. Do you have a tie at all?"
I knew this question was coming sooner or later. I pull out the tie that's been hiding in my suit jacket. It’s baby blue and will match my outfit perfectly. Bridget grabs it from my hand right away and gets to work putting on me. She makes quick work of the tie and we head out.
We stop
at the corner flower shop on our way. "Everyone, just wait here. I'll be right back."
I head into the store. There are rows and rows of roses, daisies, and lilies. I'm totally out of my element here. One of the salesgirls sees me struggling in between the rows of freshly cut, beautifully colored, perfumed flowers and comes to my rescue.
"Anything I can help you with, sir?"
I scratch my head, feeling lost. "Yes, you can. My girlfriend is having a store opening party tonight, and I want a flower or a plant that'll both say 'good luck’ and ‘I adore you' at the same time."
I'm at 'I adore you' now, but I'm very close to 'I love you' as well.
She points me in the direction of bamboo plants and picks one out that's sitting in a beautiful heart-shaped vase. "This should do the trick, sir."
I pick the plant up and read the write-up on the little card that's attached to the vase. "The Lucky Bamboo," it reads, perfect for new businesses and new relationships.
I have an aha moment and smile at the store clerk who helped me. She knew exactly what I needed and packaged it perfectly. I pay her and head out to the car. Once in the car, I hand the bamboo plant to Bridget, who's sitting on the passenger seat next to me. She lifts an eyebrow, shrugs, and shakes her head at me to imply how clueless she thinks I am. Driving around for a few more minutes, I finally find us a parking spot and we head outside.
I told Jake to meet us outside the store, and from the looks of it, he's been waiting here for a while now. It's a cold November evening, and he only has a leather jacket on. He has his hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched up, and is bouncing around to keep warm. When he finally sees us approaching, he takes his hand out of his pocket and motions for us to hurry up.
"Hurry the fuc—fudge up." He changes his wording at the last minute once he realizes both Everly and my mother are with me.
"Yeah, yeah, we’re coming. Don't you ever check the weather before you leave your house?”
"Shut it, lover boy. Let's go." Bridget and Ev giggle at his antics and I have nothing to do but shake my head.