Bridesmaids' Club

by Cathy Hopkins

  ‘So down market,’ said Demi with a disapproving sniff as we surveyed one stall that sparkled with eye-dazzling bling. I nodded in agreement with her but I didn’t even mind the tack. I felt so happy. This was my world. I loved every minute of it and could never understand why everyone else didn’t feel the same.

  Next was a stall with men’s aftershaves and we had a sniff of a few. Some smelt too strong, like pot pourri with a slice of lemon. Yuck! I prefer the subtler scents, the classics, like Chanel or Armani. I remembered that Marcie had said that Sam smelt like the sea – sand dunes and salty air. She said that it was one of the things she liked so much about him – his natural scent. Pff! That wouldn’t have been right for a wedding. Eau de Sand Dune. I am sure that Geoff will wear Armani on the day if we tell him to because he does everything Marcie asks.

  ‘So what do you think so far?’ asked Demi when we reached Aisle H, where I could see that Chantelle had been right, there did appear to be some new faces.

  ‘Hmm,’ I said. ‘I’ve seen a few things I think Marcie might like. I think that as she’s getting married in June, we should go for the classic summer look. An ivory sheath of silk. Marcie’s got the perfect slim figure for that kind of dress.’

  Demi sighed. ‘She’s going to look so beautiful.’

  ‘I know,’ I agreed. And so am I, I thought. I’d seen a number of bridesmaids’ dresses that would look great on me. It depended on what colours Marcie wanted and if she wanted just me as her bridesmaid or if she wanted Demi and Maryam too. It was going to be fun deciding everything. Usually having to make choices is my worst nightmare because I can never make up my mind but when it came to planning a wedding, the millions of choices to make made it all the more enjoyable.

  We began to walk down Aisle H, where there were a few new stalls to look at, all with the same logo on a banner behind the stall. It said ‘Celestial Weddings’ and had stars and planets whizzing around the words. That sounds good, I thought as we took a closer look. One stall had samples of wedding invites, all tasteful and elegant. For future reference, I made a note of the name of the designer on the back: Hermie at Mercury Communications, part of Celestial Weddings. Another stall had a fabulous array of wedding foods, behind which was a jolly-looking man, who introduced himself as Joe Jupiter, then offered us a sample of cake. I took a piece and bit into it. It was light and melted in your mouth with a burst of white chocolate

  ‘Wow!’ I said. ‘This is divine.’

  He beamed back at me and gave me his card. ‘Europa Catering for Celestial Weddings’, it said, ‘Food Fit for the Gods’.

  Demi stopped at a stall that appeared to have no one manning it. ‘Be a goddess for a day,’ said a poster underneath the logo behind the stall. On the table at the front there was a large white book with silver edging. I flicked it open to see a portfolio of dresses.

  ‘Fabulous,’ said Maryam as I looked at the first. It was my favourite kind of wedding dress – a simple sheath cut on the bias, elegant and classic.

  ‘And that model is stunning,’ said Demi.

  I took a closer look. Demi was right. The model was amazing looking. ‘Wow! She’s a good advertisement, isn’t she? She actually looks like a goddess.’ We turned page after page of the most fabulous dresses, all modelled by the same woman. Each dress was beautifully cut with extras of lace and mother-of-pearl sewn in here and there, just enough to make them different from others on show but not so much that they stood out as over the top.

  ‘She’s not a model I’ve ever seen before,’ said Maryam. ‘Maybe she’s new to the business?’

  I looked on the book for her name. ‘Designs by Nessa and modelled by Nessa’, it said at the bottom of the page. How cool, one name – like she didn’t need a surname.

  ‘These are the best designs I have ever seen in all our years of coming to the show,’ I said as I looked around. ‘So graceful.’

  Demi and Maryam nodded in agreement. ‘And look,’ said Demi as she picked up a leaflet from the table, ‘she does makeovers too. “Hair and make-up by Nessa.”’

  ‘I wonder who she is and if she’s here at the show,’ I said.

  Maryam suddenly tugged on my arm. ‘Hey, look at this,’ she said and she pulled me towards the next stall.

  ‘Horoscopes!’ said Demi and she began to read the board at the right of the table. ‘“Plan your perfect day by the stars.”’

  ‘Wow, astrology! I’ve never seen a stall advertising that here before, have you—’

  ‘I know. I’m the first. Ridiculous, isn’t it?’ said a male voice.

  We turned to see a tall slim man standing to our right. He was dressed in a white sparkly jumpsuit with his silver-white hair spiked up, and was beautiful in an elfin prince kind of way. He looked like he belonged in a sci-fi or fantasy film. He certainly didn’t look like any of the other stallholders, who were dressed in traditional wedding outfits or in ordinary clothes. This man looked like he’d landed from a distant planet.

  ‘I’d say that it’s very important to make sure that you’re getting married on a day when the stars are lined up favourably, wouldn’t you?’ he continued.

  ‘Yes. Course. Yes,’ I said. ‘I’d never thought of that.’ I didn’t know a lot about astrology apart from a few things about Librans but I did know that some days were supposed to be good and some not so good according to where the Sun or Moon was.

  ‘I mean, can you imagine if you’d set the day and say Saturn and Mars were square to each other or even worse, Saturn and Venus in opposition – that might be a disaster. Venus is the planet of love and harmony, you know. It’s very important that’s in the right place on someone’s special day.’

  I felt slightly in awe of him, but had to agree he was talking sense. I had read once in Mum’s newspaper that one of the Presidents of America consulted an astrologer regularly and if he had done it over important things like running a country then it was probably a good idea to consult one over planning a wedding.

  ‘How can we get a horoscope done?’ I asked.

  ‘Here,’ said the man. ‘My name’s Uri and I can do it for you.’ He indicated a computer on the stall. ‘All I need from you is the date and place and time of birth of the bride and groom.’

  ‘The bride’s my sister. I know she was born on August 9th, not far from here, but I don’t know what time and I don’t know the wedding date yet – she only just got engaged and they haven’t set the day yet although I think it will be June. And um, Geoff’s birthday is . . . let me think, November 30th . . . oh no, that’s Sam’s, um, he was her ex. Geoff . . . Geoff’s birthday? March. Yeah. March 7th, that’s it, and he was born in Bristol and lived there all of his life with his mum until she died last year.’

  Demi sighed. ‘Lucky he met Marcie so soon after, poor thing,’ she said.

  ‘Yeah. He might have been really lonely otherwise,’ I agreed.

  Uri beamed. ‘OK. So the bride is a Leo. They are compatible with other fire signs usually – Aries and Sagittarius. Did you say that the groom’s birthday was November 30th? That’s good. That would make him a Sagittarius. Leos and Sagittarians are a great match.’

  ‘No. No. November was Sam’s birthday. Geoff is March 7th.’

  Uri frowned. ‘He’ll be a Pisces then.’

  ‘Is that a good match?’ asked Demi.

  ‘Um . . . I need the exact time to do it properly.’

  ‘Why?’ asked Demi.

  ‘You can only find out what your sun sign is from your date of birth. You see, your sun sign changes every month, but your moon sign changes every two days and your rising sign changes every two hours. All the different factors are what make each chart totally unique.’

  ‘Whoa! Information overload. Sun sign? Moon sign? Rising sign? I thought there were only twelve signs of the Zodiac,’ said Demi.

  ‘True,’ said Uri. ‘Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Th
ey all have ten planets that affect them, not just the sun – if that was all there was to it, everyone born under the sign of Capricorn would be exactly the same, wouldn’t they? Astrology is more of a science, which is why I need date of birth, time and place. The place is important because someone born in Scotland and another born in America at the same time on the same day will also have different characteristics because the stars will all be at different angles to the earth. Right?’

  ‘I guess,’ said Demi. ‘I never thought of that.’

  ‘Can you do our horoscopes too?’ asked Maryam.

  Uri nodded. ‘Sure,’ he said. He looked at me. ‘You’re a Libran, yes?’

  I nodded.

  ‘Do you know much about your sign?’ he asked.

  ‘A bit,’ I replied. ‘Like we’re supposed to be romantic and like beautiful things.’

  Uri nodded. ‘Indeed. Librans are a nice sign. Charming is another trait.’

  I gave him what I hoped was my most winning smile and he laughed.

  ‘Charming, easy-going, sociable, lovers of beauty,’ he continued. ‘They love to dress up, like the good things in life, and have a great eye for quality and true style.’ I curtseyed to the others. It felt good having such complimentary things said about me. ‘On the other hand, every sign has a dark side and for Librans, it’s that they can be indecisive and changeable.’

  ‘That’s true,’ I said. ‘I can never make up my mind about anything.’

  ‘They can also be easily influenced, they don’t like being rushed, they can be self-indulgent, shallow—’

  ‘Hey,’ I said. ‘Shallow?’

  ‘Shallow and self-indulgent,’ he said.

  ‘That’s not very kind,’ I said.

  ‘And they don’t like to be criticized either,’ said Uri. ‘Oh no. They can be bossy too as they like their own way.’

  Demi and Maryam giggled and nodded.

  ‘Generally, they are a lovely sign though,’ said Uri. ‘Easy-going and good company.’

  ‘Huh!’ I said. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I certainly wasn’t feeling very easy-going after having been told that I was shallow and self-indulgent. Luckily Uri shifted his focus and looked at Demi. ‘Gemini?’ She nodded. He looked at Maryam. ‘Sagittarius.’ She nodded. While they chatted to Uri, I got out my mobile and tried Marcie’s number. It went straight on to voice mail. ‘I’ll call home,’ I said. ‘Mum’ll think I’m barmy though. In fact, all my family would laugh if they knew I was doing horoscopes.’

  The three of us found a quiet spot in the tent and each of us phoned home. As I had expected, Mum gave me the usual inquisition. ‘Why do you need your time of birth? You’re not to give personal details to a stranger because they could be used for identity fraud.’

  ‘Oh Mum, I know that. But even if someone did steal my identity, what are they going to steal from me? I haven’t exactly got millions in a bank.’

  ‘Then tell me what it’s for.’

  ‘I want to get my horoscope done—’

  ‘Horoscope! That nonsense. Oh, for heaven’s sake, Chloe.’

  ‘It’s not nonsense. Actually, if you gave it a chance, you’d realize that it’s, um . . . scientific. And I want to do Marcie’s too. Oh, come on, Mum, let me have the time of birth. Uri can’t do it without.’

  ‘Uri. Uri! Who’s Uri?’

  ‘He’s the astrologer.’

  ‘Good Lord, Chloe. Where are you?’

  ‘The wedding show. I told you.’

  As Mum launched into a lecture against astrology, I could see that Demi and Maryam were writing down their details, having clearly got them from their parents. Demi went over to Uri and I watched as he punched numbers into his computer and seconds later crisp sheets of paper were printed out and handed to her. He then took Maryam’s and she got her horoscope too.

  ‘Demi and Maryam’s mums have given their details,’ I said as soon as Mum paused to draw breath.

  ‘Then they are very foolish.’

  ‘Please, Mum. I’ll wash up for a year.’

  ‘Bargaining won’t get you anywhere.’

  ‘Two years.’

  The phone went quiet for a few moments then I heard Mum laugh. ‘Deal,’ she said. ‘You were born at 6 p.m. in the hospital just outside Bristol.’ I knew she’d give in. She hated washing up. I realized back when I was about seven that I could use it as a bargaining tool.

  ‘Thanks, Mum. You’re a star. Oh, and can you give me Marcie’s as well? I’ll do the washing up forever.’

  ‘Forever. You do realize that I will hold you to that, don’t you? Now, Marcie? Ooh, let me think. She took a long time arriving, let me remember, yes, August 9th, about . . . about . . . 5.30 a.m.-ish. I can’t quite remember.’

  After the call, I clicked my phone shut and wrote down the details on the back of one of the leaflets I had picked up. When I got back to Uri, he was busy with a very loud family who were demanding their charts and giggling and generally making a big fuss.

  He took Marcie’s details, glanced at them, then shook his head. ‘Hmm. And her fiancé is the Pisces?’

  ‘Yes. Is there anything wrong with that?’

  ‘I’ll get back to you,’ he said as the man from the loud family called him.

  I felt so disappointed as I walked away. There was less than half an hour to go before the show finished and the family that was crowding around Uri looked like they could be there for at least that time. Demi and Maryam were studying their charts and looked well pleased with them. They wanted to go and sit down and get a drink while they looked at them properly. I went with them and we bought mango smoothies and sat down to read. Demi was Gemini with Libra rising.

  ‘Maybe that’s why we get on,’ she said to me.

  ‘And I am Sagittarius with Gemini rising,’ Maryam said. ‘Maybe that’s why we get on, Demi.’

  Demi nodded. ‘The rest of it reads like gobbledegook, doesn’t it?’

  ‘Yeah,’ said Maryam, and she folded her pages and put them in her bag. ‘Way complicated.’

  At the front of the hall, we could hear various prize-winners being called up on to the stage. We pulled our raffle tickets out from our pockets.

  ‘There goes my silver limo,’ said Maryam and she tossed her tickets into the bin when the winner was announced to be number 202, Margaret Beesley.

  ‘There goes my holiday in St Lucia,’ said Demi and she tossed her tickets aside as another winner was announced.

  Another few names were called and soon all our raffle tickets were in the bin.

  Demi and Maryam sighed. ‘Ah well, there’s always next year,’ I said.

  ‘And now . . .’ There was a burst of trumpets. ‘Will Chloe Bradbury come to the stage area, please,’ said a female voice over the loudspeakers.

  ‘Ohmigod!’ we chorused in unison.

  I felt a rush of adrenalin. ‘Maybe I’ve won something!’ I looked in my purse to check for a stray ticket but they’d all gone. ‘Oh no, I might have lost the ticket! I haven’t got any left.’

  ‘Chloe Bradbury, please come to the stage,’ said the announcement again.

  I was about to dive into the bin to retrieve the tickets we’d chucked away but Maryam and Demi hauled me out and towards the stage.

  ‘Come on! Someone just called your name again. Let’s go and see what you’ve got before they give your prize to someone else,’ said Demi and she linked arms and pulled me towards the stage area.

  Uri was standing mid-stage waiting for me. ‘Come on,’ he beckoned to me.

  I’d grabbed Demi and Maryam’s hands and pulled them up the steps with me but they pushed me forward to take my prize on my own.

  ‘What have I won?’ I whispered to Uri when I reached him.

  He tapped the side of his nose and winked. As he did, the lights in the hall went down, bathing everyone in a soft pink glow. Soft spacey music began to play, a harp and tinkling bells. And then laser lights blasted on, swirling around the stage and the hall, and the space mu
sic grew more upbeat. Uri announced to the hall, ‘Chloe Bradbury, YOU are this month’s ZODIAC girl!’

  From somewhere up high, white balloons were released. At that moment, the blonde woman who was the model in the goddess book stepped out from the left on to the stage. I recognized her straightaway. Nessa. I gasped. She really did look like a goddess and was even more beautiful in the flesh than in her photos. She was tall, with milky white skin, the most perfect heart-shaped face and sky-blue eyes, and she was dressed in one of her wedding dresses, a white off-the-shoulder sheath with one strap of tiny diamanté and the same lining the seams. The audience cheered and she waved back at them, every inch a celebrity. She came over and placed a tiara on my head then put a white sash over my shoulders with the words ZODIAC GIRL written in silver sequins.

  ‘Congratulations,’ she said in a distinct Cockney accent and she handed me two blue boxes tied with silver ribbon.

  I felt as if I was in a dream. On cloud nine. I could hardly breathe for excitement. In front of the stage, a sea of happy faces beamed back at me.

  ‘Zodiac Girl? What does that mean?’ I asked.

  ‘Open your presents,’ she said. ‘You’ll see.’

  I untied the ribbon on the first box. Inside was a silver chain with a tiny charm with the symbol of the scales which I knew from my Girl in the City magazine represented Libra. Nessa took it from the box and put it around my neck while people cheered again. I opened the second box. Inside was the dinkiest mobile phone I had ever seen. It was turquoise with a beautiful opal stone above the dialling pad. To my right, Demi and Maryam gave me the thumbs up.