by KJ Swann
“Ivy,” her mother warned.
“No, Mom. I’m sorry. I feel like I’m being left out of something.”
Vivian placed a comforting hand on Ivy’s shoulder, gazed into Ivy’s eyes, and in a firm but soft voice said, “Later. Now is not the time.”
Behind them, someone cleared their throat. “Sorry to interrupt. Are you the Mercer family?”
“Yes, we are,” Michael said.
“Hi, everyone. My name is Kelsey, and I’m going to be your sales agent for your appointment. My associate will be here shortly to take you guys to the other side to deal with your tuxes. But for now, I’m going to whisk away the girls so we can get started on finding your ballgowns. So, what are we looking for today?”
“We’re searching for some ballgowns. We’ll be attending a New Year’s Eve ball, so whatever we find, we’ll buy today as long as you have it in our sizes,” Vivian explained.
“Okay, not a problem. Are there any colors you prefer?”
Tessa spoke up first. “I would like a dress that has red, orange, pink, and purple. Somewhat like my hair.”
“Okay, I think I have something in mind for you,” replied Kelsey and she turned to Ivy. “What about you?”
“I’m looking for a dress with some shades of purple and blue in it.”
Kelsey nodded and tapped her finger to her chin, then turned to Vivian. “Now what about you? Will you want to match your daughters? Or do you want to try things on and see what you like?”
“I’ll let you pick for me and we can take it from there.”
Ivy and Tessa twisted in their seats and gawked at their mom. Ivy was the first to speak up.
“Mom, are you feeling all right?”
Vivian laughed. “Yes, I am. Never felt better in my life.”
Kelsey gazed around at everyone. “Okay, I’ll pull a few dresses, probably one or two for each of you to try, and then we’ll go from there. Go ahead and change out of your clothes and into the robes that are hanging on the hooks, and I’ll be back shortly.”
After Kelsey left the room, Tessa gawked at her mom and Ivy. “Eww, I have to change in front of you guys.”
Vivian lightly slapped Tessa on her arm. “Remember, young one, I gave birth to you.”
Ivy closed her eyes. “So not an image I want in my head right now, Mom.”
They each walked over and grabbed their own robes. They were changed and ready for Kelsey when she got back.
Across the salon, Derrick and Jace waited with Michael and not much was said until the person helping them came to get them.
“Hi, I’m Neveah and this is Dominic. We’ll both be helping you with the tuxes. Do you have any idea what you guys would like?”
“My wife said something about wanting us to get a black tux and a vest and tie, but not to pick the colors until they have their dresses. They want our vests and ties to match closely to their dresses,” said Michael.
“Well that’s a neat idea. Okay, follow us and we can show you some tuxes you can do that with and when they have their dresses picked, we can go through the color selection book and go in the back and find your vests and ties.”
“Will you have those in stock? We’ll want to buy them and take them with us today,” asked Michael.
“Most common colors we keep in stock, but the unusual colors will be harder,” Dominic responded.
Michael nodded as they followed them toward a room full of tuxes. Jace groaned.
“If you’d get yourself a real job, you’d be used to wearing suits, at least,” Michael commented.
Jace glared at Michael. “Ah, there’s the real Michael. I do have a real job. Just so you know, I do have a suit I have to wear at times. You’ve seen it. Just because I don’t wear a suit on a daily basis doesn’t mean I don’t have a real job. I save people’s lives; that’s good enough for me.”
Behind Jace, Derrick chimed in. “I’m sure it’s not easy what you do.”
“No, it’s not. Going into burning buildings and risking your own life, let alone others’ of your company, takes a lot of training and trusting your fellow fighters not to make a mistake. But I love what I do.”
Derrick slapped Jace on the back and smiled. “You’re a good man to take that kind of job. It takes a special kind of person.”
Examining a couple of the tuxes with Derrick, Jace nodded.
Back in the dressing room, Kelsey returned, with a helper carrying some dresses.
“Well, I brought two for each of you to start off with, and if none of them work, then we can go back and find more. First off, let’s work with Mom, as I feel she isn’t going to be that hard to find a dress for,” Kelsey joked.
The first dress Kelsey brought out for Vivian was a dark-blue strapless A-line, embroidered with peacock feathers over the top half. Once Vivian had it on and was standing in front of the mirror studying herself, she turned to her daughters.
“What do you girls think?”
“It makes you look old,” Tessa replied.
“Gee, thanks, Tessa.” Vivian grinned.
“I want to see the other one on you. I think that would be your dress, Mom. But I agree with Tessa, that one doesn’t seem to be the one for you.”
Kelsey helped Vivian out of the dress and placed it back on the hanger.
“I think the girls are right. I believe this will be your dress, but if it isn’t, then we’ll go back to the stockroom and do more shopping,” Kelsey said.
Kelsey brought forward a sapphire-blue dress with a sheer mesh bodice and a jewel neckline that dipped into a razor back. It was embellished with clear stones and sequins. Vivian’s jaw dropped when it came closer.
“This is a modified A-line. The skirt is made of flowing chiffon.”
“This is absolutely beautiful, Kelsey,” Vivian stated.
Kelsey helped Vivian on with the dress. While Kelsey was zipping Vivian into the dress, Vivian couldn’t take her eyes off herself in the mirror.
“My goodness, this dress….” Vivian couldn’t finish.
“Mom, that’s the dress. It fits you perfectly, and you look absolutely stunning,” Ivy exclaimed.
“Yes, Ivy. I do believe you are right. I’m taking this one,” Vivian said to Kelsey.
“You’re positive?”
“Yep. My heart and my girls tell me so,” Vivian replied.
“Okay then. I’ll help you out of the dress and the girls can decide who goes next.”
Vivian noticed the devilish grins looks on both girls’ faces. “Oh no, we aren’t having that here. I’ll be doing the picking if you girls are going to be like that.”
“But, Mom,” Tessa whined.
“Listen. You take the longest because you are the fussiest person we know when it comes to the colors. I bet we’ll go through five if not ten dresses before you find the one you want. I can almost bet you won’t try any of those first few on when you see them.”
Tessa grumbled under her breath.
“What was that, Tessa?”
“I said, as usual you’re right. But I can’t help it if I like to find the right dress.”
Vivian nodded. She put on her robe and motioned for Ivy to stand up. “Then it’s decided. Ivy will go first, and I’m sure she’ll make quick work of things.”
Kelsey held out a bluish-green dress with a sweetheart neckline. It had sparkles all the way throughout it. Ivy immediately shook her head.
“Not it?” Kelsey asked.
“No. It’s more green than blue, and there’s no purple in it. I have a specific dress in mind. But I want both those colors in it.”
Kelsey picked up the other dress. “Well I’ll take both out, and I think I have an idea of the dress you are searching for, but let me go see if it’s in the back. I’ll return shortly.”
Tessa looked over at her mom. “You thought I was bad.”
Ivy rolled her eyes and chuckled.
“Finally, we’re done. Can we go now?” Jace asked.
Derrick chuckled. �
��Yeah you can. But we have to wait until the girls are done to get the vests and ties, or did you forget?”
Jace slouched in his chair. He was tired of trying on things and being asked questions. He wanted to get on the road. At least their part was a little bit easier than the girls’. Guys just had to be measured and then figure out what tux they wanted. Jace simply didn’t want to go to the damn New Year’s Eve ball. He would rather be sitting back at home in their apartment with Ivy relaxing. Beside him, Derrick was waving his hand in front of Jace’s face. Jace reached out and pushed it away.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I asked you a question and you never responded. You zoned out, man.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“You thinking what I’m thinking?”
Jace eyed Derrick questioningly.
Derrick grinned, then looked up to see if Michael was anywhere around. “I’m tired of being around the old man. I would love to just get back home and take Tessa with me. But for sure Michael won’t go for that one.”
Jace chuckled. “Yeah. The ball is the last place I would want to be this weekend. He’s the reason why I don’t spend time with the family during the holidays.”
Derrick nodded. “At work, he likes to run a tight ship. There is no leeway. But I’ve never seen him like this.”
Jace shook his head and saw Michael walking toward them.
“Well, the tuxes are dealt with. Now we wait for the ladies to get their dresses picked and let us know the main color so we can deal with the vests and ties,” Michael said.
“So what do we do until then?” Derrick inquired.
“We sit and wait.”
“Oh God. That could take hours,” Jace complained.
Michael chuckled. “Yes. It very well could with those three.”
After about fifteen minutes, Kelsey walked back into the room with three more dresses. Ivy saw one in the mix that immediately called to her, and she zeroed in on it.
“Okay. I have some more we can try. This one is almost like your mother’s, but it’s purple.”
“As much as I love my mother, I don’t want to be her mini-me at the ball.”
“Nor do I want to look like my daughters. We each want to have our own unique style,” Vivian piped up.
“Okay then,” Kelsey said.
“That one dress there you have on the hook that has both purple and blue. That’s the one.” Ivy pointed it out.
Tessa and Vivian both ohhed and ahhed behind Ivy.
“This is a beautiful dress in its own right. It’s a classic A-line. Strapless. It has a ruched bust and a beaded empire waist. Of course, it has shades of purple and blue. But before we try on that one, let’s try on this other one first just to make sure.”
Ivy nodded. She understood why Kelsey was doing it. But Ivy couldn’t take her eyes off the dress that hung on the hook.
“Ivy, what do you think?” her mother asked bringing her out of her whatever land she was in.
“Huh?”
“You’re not paying attention, are you?”
“No, sorry. I love that other dress. I can’t take my eyes off it.”
“Well then I guess I have no choice but to get you out of this dress and into that one.”
Kelsey helped Ivy put it on, and Ivy’s eyes were glued to the mirror once the dress was zipped up. This was the one she had in her mind.
“This is it. This is the one I want,” Ivy affirmed.
Vivian got up and stood by Ivy. “You look absolutely stunning in it, my dear. If this is the one you want, then we’ll get it.”
Ivy nodded. “Yes, this is it.”
“Okay, then.” Vivian turned to Tessa. “You’re turn. Now try not to take all day.”
“Moi?” replied Tessa.
“Yes, you,” Vivian said.
Once Ivy was out of the dress, Kelsey moved toward Vivian and Ivy. “Now you have your gowns picked out, you can go ahead and get changed while I go and put these other dresses away, since I have a feeling Tessa is going to be a tough act.”
Vivian and Ivy nodded as Kelsey strode out of the room with a handful of gowns.
“Hey, that was rude,” Tessa complained after Kelsey left.
Vivian rolled her eyes. “No, it wasn’t. We warned her what you’d be like. You’re already giving the first two up on the hook an evil eye. I’m sure she will bring more when she comes back.”
Tessa crossed her arms and sat back in her chair. Ivy laughed at her sister’s pout.
“What’s so damn funny?” Tessa asked.
“You are. Sitting there like that.”
Tessa muttered something as the door opened and Kelsey walked back in the room with more dresses in her arms.
“Hopefully, between the ones hanging and these, some will work. If not, there are some others yet in the back.” Kelsey clipped them onto the hooks.
Tessa got up and walked over to where the dresses hung. The first two dresses that had been in the room from the beginning she vetoed right off the bat. Then Tessa moved to the next hook, and her eyes grew wide when she saw the next two dresses. She shook her head at them as well.
“We’ll start with these. It’s not totally what I want. But I like the color,” Tessa said.
Kelsey nodded, easing the dress off the hanger. “This dress has a sweetheart neckline and has a natural waistline—”
“Ya ya ya… I don’t care about the dress. I just want to see what I look like in it.”
Kelsey’s eyes widened, but she kept quiet and put the dress on Tessa so she could see herself in the mirror.
“Nope not it. Next.”
“Be nice, Tessa,” Vivian warned.
“I will be, Mother,” sniped Tessa.
“We’re going to go tell the guys the colors of our dresses so they can order the colors for their vests and ties.”
Tessa nodded curtly, trying on another dress and quickly dismissing it.
Vivian shook her head and walked out of the room.
“I feel sorry for Kelsey,” Ivy remarked.
“You and me both. She’ll be wanting to pull out her hair by the end of this appointment.”
“When will they ever get done?” Jace asked.
“Man, you sure are an impatient one, aren’t you?” Derrick replied.
Behind them, someone placed their hands on Jace’s shoulders. “What the fuck?” Jace screeched.
Ivy laughed. “Hmm. Seems to me I caught someone off guard.”
“Whatever. You ready to go?” asked Jace hopefully.
“No not yet. Tessa is trying on dresses now.”
“We’ll never leave, then,” complained Jace.
Ivy slapped him on the back of the head. “Anyway. Mom and I have our colors, so you and Dad can get your vest and ties ordered.”
Jace perked up. “Oh? What color do I get?”
“A light purple.”
“I can work with that.”
Vivian turned to Michael. “Your color is sapphire blue.”
“What a beautiful color. Okay, Jace. Let’s go see about these colors and as soon as Tessa is done torturing the poor girl and picking her dress, we can get Derrick’s color,” Michael decreed.
Tessa came running over to them. “I found my dress.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful, darling. I’m glad you didn’t take all day long. Is Kelsey getting all our dresses taken care of?”
“Yes. She’s going to have them ready to go. Derrick, you need a maroon vest and tie.”
Derrick nodded and headed in the direction Michael and Jace had gone.
Once Derrick was out of earshot, Tessa turned to her mom and sister. “Here’s a picture of my dress.” She held out her phone to show them.
“Oh my, that is so you, Tessa. It matches your hair!” exclaimed Ivy.
“You did a wonderful job. I guess being picky about things suits you. You ended up finding the right dress after all,” stated Vivian.
“I tried a couple that were on the
hooks, but I didn’t like the way they looked on me. Then Kelsey thought about this one, and she ran in the back and grabbed it. When she brought it in the room, I knew it was the dress.”
“I’m proud you found one on your own without me having to step in,” Vivian said. “Now we need to head over to make sure the guys get the right shades of the colors we told them for the vests. Then we can get out of here and make our way back to Shaftsbury.”
“Sounds like a great plan to me. It was nice at the casino and all, but being on the road as much as I’ve been, I’m so over that already. I just want to sit and relax, maybe read a little bit or even explore more into some schools.”
“Oh, you did some research while you were gone?”
Ivy nodded. “Yeah I did. But I’ll tell you more later after I figure out what I want to do.”
Vivian put her arm around Ivy’s shoulders. “Whatever you do, you have my support. The same goes for you, Tessa. I’m proud of both you girls.”
As Vivian and the girls walked up behind the guys, Neveah was showing them the swatches for the vests.
“Ah, just in time,” Vivian observed.
Michael turned around when he heard his wife. “In time for what?”
“I want to make sure you guys get the right colors for your vests and ties. I don’t want them to be the wrong shades and have everything off.”
“Oh, so you don’t trust us to get the right matches?” Michael asked.
“It’s not that, dear. But we know exactly what our dresses look like and would be able to tell if it would coordinate.”
Michael shook his head and smiled. “Always have to be in charge of things.”
“When it comes to this type of stuff, yes. You know that.”
Neveah showed the books to Vivian. “The guys said you have a sapphire blue, a light purple, and maroon. Is that correct?”
“Yes, that is correct.” Vivian flipped through the different samples. “Ah-ha. Here are the colors that match my and Ivy’s dresses.”
Neveah wrote down the numbers of the swatches while Vivian and Tess searched for the right color for Derrick’s vest. There were a couple of shades Vivian thought would work, but Tessa vetoed them. Finally, flipping through the different pages, Tessa came across the color she wanted.