Precious Time

by W. J. May

  “Okay. So, we can start at Phillipa Lepley, then head over to Brown. London Bridal is in the same part of town. Or if you want, we can just head straight to Vera Wang.”

  Rae grabbed the map, staring at the color-coded routes dotted with little x’s along the way. “Molls, when did you even make this thing?” She turned it over with an incredulous frown to skim the index on the back. “It looks like some of it was done in crayon.”

  “In the third grade,” Molly answered promptly. “A boy named Marco Marconi asked me to marry him by the swings and I got planning the very next day. Can never hurt to be too prepared.”

  “…too prepared?” Rae unfolded the bottom crease to discover a glossary of terms.

  “For your wedding!” A hand shot out and Rae looked up in surprise to see Molly beaming back at her, a million happy tears sparkling in her sky-blue eyes. “Rae, you’re getting married!”

  A girlish grin swept up the sides of Rae’s face. The caffeine was kicking in, and Molly’s enthusiasm was catching. Before she knew what was happening the two of them were jumping up and down on the street, shrieking with high-pitched squeals before darting off down the street.

  The first boutique they went to didn’t take people without an appointment. The second boutique said the same thing, and Molly ‘accidentally’ set a plant on fire on the way out.

  But the third boutique…that one showed a lot of promise.

  “Oh, Molls…” Rae clasped her hands together, gazing in wonder down the endless rows of breathtaking gowns. Shimmering pearl satins, sleek ivory silks, tufts of alabaster tulle. Just standing in the middle of it made her feel like she had wandered onto some heavenly cloud. That kind that came with accessories and little flutes of Champagne. “This is perfect.”

  “Isn’t it, though?” Molly sighed, staring around with that same dreamy expression. The kind that came from watching two decades of romantic comedies. “It makes you almost sad that, in theory, we’re only supposed to wear it once.”

  A radiant smile danced across Rae’s face as she lifted her fingers to brush the edge of a veil. “That’s not necessarily true. You could always pull an Elizabeth Taylor. Break up with Luke every couple of years, just so the two of you can get married all over again.”

  Molly put down the tiara she’d been modelling, and whirled around with instant approval. “Rae Kerrigan, that’s probably the smartest thing you’ve ever said.” Her eyes lit up with a new realm of possibilities as she gazed further into the store. “It’s certainly the most practical…”

  “Well hello, ladies!” An eager looking saleswoman glided towards them on heels that had to be at least twelve inches tall. “Good morning!”

  “Morning!” Molly and Rae chanted back in unison.

  The woman looked them up and down, pursing her crimson lips in a playful frown. “So, who’s the lucky lady? Which one of you are we shopping for today?”

  Molly took a step away from the display table, and wrapped her arm around Rae’s waist.

  “My friend here just got engaged—”

  “Both of us,” Rae interrupted. She ignored the woman’s look of surprise, and wrapped her own arm firmly around Molly’s shoulders. “We’re actually both getting married.”

  The woman nodded swiftly and wrote something down on her clipboard as Molly shot Rae a sideways look from the corner of her eye. Her forehead puckered up with a little frown, but before she could say anything Rae beat her to the punch.

  “This is something we’re doing together. Do you hear me, Molly Skye? Devon proposed to me, and you proposed to Luke. That means we’re both getting married. End of story.”

  Molly shifted uneasily, glancing longingly down the aisles of gowns. “I’m not sure it works like that,” she murmured. “And at any rate, that last thing I want to do is steal anything away from your big day—”

  “Would you give it a rest already?” Rae plopped down on a velvet chair and folded her arms stubbornly across her chest. “I won’t try on a single dress unless you try one on with me.”

  The two girls stared each other down for a moment, and the saleswoman wisely melted back into a layer of chiffon.

  Finally, a little grin spread up the side of Molly’s face. “Are you sure?” she squeaked.

  “Of course, I’m sure!” Rae leapt back to her feet, excitedly grabbing her friend by the hands. “Allow me to quote a dear friend of mine: This is for your wedding. Molly…you’re getting married!”

  The two girls erupted into squeals once more, and the woman rolled her eyes with a little grin and scribbled something down on her clipboard. Millennials. They were so dramatic.

  Dramatic, maybe. But choosy.

  It wasn’t long before Molly had worked the woman into a frenzy. Sending her racing back and forth across the store for new options to try. Ten minutes in, she took off her towering heels just to be more aerodynamic. Ten minutes after that, you could barely see her beneath the pile of fabric in her arms. She was nothing more than a giant cotton ball on legs.

  Rae left them to it, wandering up and down the aisles with a dreamy smile on her face. Truth be told, she had never put much thought into her wedding. Probably because she had never been set on the idea of getting married. Not until she met Devon.

  Her fingers grazed the edges of the gowns as she floated along.

  Up until a few years ago, she’d had a very different idea of where her life was headed. Of how things were going to turn out. Maybe she was going to get into graphic design. Or maybe she’d pursue a degree in journalism. Get a studio apartment in New York, and fill it with ramen and a hypoallergenic cat. Forget about the fact that she’d been orphaned, and set her sights on the future.

  It wasn’t until she headed off to Guilder—a magical place where her future family was waiting—that everything had changed. That she’d realized it didn’t matter what you were, so much as who you decided to be. That she’d discovered the future wasn’t set in stone. That even though the fates dealt you a hand of cards, it was up to you to carve out your own destiny. To fill your life with people you loved. The people who loved you. To write your own story.

  She came to a sudden stop, gazing up into the light.

  A single dress hung on a curved hook by the window. It had been set slightly away from the others, draped lightly over the frosted glass. Even in stillness, it still seemed to shimmer. Catching every possible ray of light as it beckoned her ever closer.

  A soft gasp caught in her throat as she reached out to touch the hem.

  It was like nothing she’d ever seen. Like something a fairytale princess would have worn in one of the books her aunt and uncle had read to her as a child.

  The ivory lace looked almost too delicate to be real, dancing and swirling in exquisite clouds that covered just the edges of the shoulders, before vanishing entirely to expose the entire back. The bodice was tightly fitted, dusted with constellations of a thousand little crystals. Gems so small that you couldn’t even see them, only the incandescent sparkle they left in their wake. A softly shimmering waterfall of silk spilled all the way down to the floor, brushing just the tops of a pair of dazzling slippers that had been placed just beneath.

  “What do you think?” Rae whispered, placing a hand on her belly. “Is that the dress we should wear to marry your daddy?”

  A flutter of butterflies danced away in her chest as she pulled it off the hanger and disappeared into one of the fitting rooms. Molly and the saleswoman were lost in a deep discussion about handbags, and didn’t even notice when she came back out.

  For a split second, she couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t move. She froze perfectly still and stared into the floor-to-ceiling mirror, wondering at the girl staring back at her.

  Who was she?

  A mother? A wife?

  What was she?

  A hybrid? A president?

  The dress whispered against the floor as she swished it back and forth. There was a sudden fluttering in her stomach, and a br
eathless smile lit her eyes.

  I don’t know yet…but I fully intend to find out.

  “Molly?” She gathered up the folds of fabric in her hand, and made her way further into the changing area. “Are you still back here?”

  She had to be. With how many dresses she and the poor saleswoman had stacked up across the floor—it would be a miracle if they could ever get out. Rae heard the fast-clipped flutter of voices, and made her way towards them with a smile.

  In the last half hour, the two of them had developed a strange shorthand. One that didn’t seem to rely upon words so much as it did gut reactions.

  “—and what did you think of—”

  “—in certain lights, it comes off as a little too—”

  “—that’s just what I thought. If it was a little more like the—”

  “—yes! That would be perfect! Now if we could just find it in—”

  Molly trailed off with a quiet gasp, bringing her hands up to her mouth as a stream of tears slipped down her face. A few feet behind her, the saleswoman dropped the clipboard. But the best friends only had eyes for each other.

  “Oh, Rae…” Molly took a step forward. An impressive feat, considering that she was standing in the center of a virtual cupcake of chiffon. All the manic energy that had been propelling her forward melted suddenly as a tender smile gentled her lovely face. “Without a doubt…you are the most beautiful bride I have ever seen.”

  A breathless shiver ran across Rae’s skin as she glanced down at the dress. A wave of emotions lodging squarely in her throat. “You really think it’s okay? I know you’re supposed to try on a lot of different styles, but this one just—”

  “It’s perfect.” Molly had never looked so proud and so overwhelmed at the same time. The girl didn’t need Champagne. She was floating on a natural high. “It’s absolutely perfect.” Another pair of tears slipped down her face, and she wiped them away with a burst of delighted laughter. “And here I thought you were going to end up just conjuring a dress…” She trailed off as the saleswoman shot her a curious look. “…from that gigantic closet of yours,” she finished quickly, grinning at the look of pained amusement that flashed across Rae’s face. “But seriously, you have to get that dress.”

  “It’s the one?”

  “It’s the one.”

  Rae bit her lip as her stomach did somersaults, imagining the look on Devon’s face when he saw it. It was a good thing he wanted to get married so quickly. She could hardly wait!

  “Now what about you?” she asked quizzically, giving the gigantic pile of gowns a brief once-over before turning back to her friend standing in the middle. “Are you making any progress?”

  “Oh yes,” Molly beamed with smug satisfaction, turning back to the mirror. “I think this is going to make a great first outing.”

  First outing?

  They packed up their things. Rae purchased the dress. Right off the rack. Then, together, they headed outside.

  Rae glanced back as the glass doors closed, watching as the saleswoman fell onto the couch in sheer exhaustion.

  * * *

  “I still can’t believe you actually bought a dress,” Molly mused aloud, nibbling on the end of a chip in the corner booth of a diner. “Right off the rack! In one go! And it fit. And you found it all by yourself! I always figured I’d be the one to find you the perfect wedding dress. I figured it’d take months. So much work. So much shopping. Trying on. I don’t mean this in a bad way, but you have no style. No pizzazz.”

  Rae took a swig of soda, and flashed her a grin. “Knowing your track record, you’d have paired it with a beanie.”

  “Hey!” Molly giggled, tossing a sugar packet her way. “That’s only with spy-wear, thank you very much. I happen to recall dressing you for much more formal occasions as well.”

  “I wonder if that’ll ever happen again,” Rae said suddenly, stopping the playful back and forth in its tracks as both girls considered the answer.

  Molly had been inexplicably reluctant to go home, so the two of them had stopped for a long lunch. Followed by a few more hours of shopping. Followed by a shared batch of fish and chips from one of their favorite diners. The sun had begun to lower in the winter sky, but it felt too good to be out and about to even think of going home. Rae hadn’t realized how confined she’d felt until tasting the fresh air of the city. And how much she’d missed hanging out with her best friend.

  “I don’t know,” Molly said thoughtfully. “I always assumed that the lot of us would go back to work. You know, after the whole Cromfield thing died down. But then you were elected president. And then the two of us got pregnant…I don’t know where that leaves us now.”

  Rae fiddled with the edge of the placemat, staring off into space. “I don’t know either.”

  The truth was, she missed working for the Council. As an agent. Not as the president. She missed going out on missions with her best friends. Sparring with them in the Oratory. Gleefully ‘forgetting’ to complete her paperwork, knowing that her neurotic fiancé would always do it for her.

  She missed the adventure. The thrill. The feeling of working hard to develop a talent at something, and then putting those skills to good use. In a lot of ways, she was the last person in the world who should have been elected president. The all-powerful Rae Kerrigan? Sitting behind a desk instead of being out in the field? What a waste.

  “Maybe…maybe when the kids are a little older,” Molly said hopefully, glancing across the table for validation. “Maybe we can go back together, make the boys babysit at home.”

  Rae chuckled and raised her hand for the check. She couldn’t imagine any circumstance in which Devon would be content to stay home from a mission. But the chance to spend the evening playing with his kid? Yeah—that might just do the trick. “Maybe you can go back into the field.” Her smile faded suddenly as the two of them pushed to their feet and headed out the door. “The Council would never allow it for me. It was like pulling teeth just getting them to agree to let me go back out for the royal wedding. And after how that turned out, I don’t see them okaying it again anytime soon.”

  Molly stuffed a quilted hat on her head with a little humph. “Why is it even up to them? You’re the freaking president. Just do what you want.”

  The girls wandered leisurely down the street, heading in the general direction of the park between their homes.

  “It doesn’t work like that, I’m afraid.” Rae pushed her hair out of her face with a long-suffering sigh. “Every decision has to go through a committee process, and even I don’t have the authority to sway an entire vote. They’re depressingly democratic in that regard.”

  Molly snorted sarcastically. “Maybe you should just pull a Simon. Let’s call it a Kerrigan. Declare yourself supreme overlord. Then you can do whatever you want.” Her smile faded slightly at the look on Rae’s face. “What? Too soon?”

  Rae rolled her eyes, smiling in spite of herself. “Yeah…it’s a little too soon.”

  They headed all the way back to their part of the city, ambling along at a relaxed pace, until Molly looked down at her phone in sudden dismay. “Oh crap, is that the time?!”

  Rae glanced over curiously. “It’s about seven. Why? What’s wrong?”

  A look of mild panic washed over Molly’s face, but she forced it into a tight smile. The two of them were just coming up on the house, but instead of going in she pulled Rae to a sudden stop, holding her tightly by the wrists. “So, I know things have been crazy up in the air lately…but you bought a wedding dress today.” She stressed the word carefully. “That means we’re moving forward, too, right?”

  Rae stared at her warily, way too familiar with Molly’s crazy schemes to fail to recognize that something was up now. “Yeah…”

  Molly’s eyes flickered once to the house before returning with that same nervous smile. “So, that means you wouldn’t be opposed to a few basic traditions?” Her voice jumped up three octaves, trilling with excitement and nerves. “
A little friendly celebration of what’s to come?”

  Rae braced where she stood, literally angling her body back towards the street. “Molly…what did you do?”

  At that very moment, the door to the house flew open and a dozen people burst outside. “SURPRISE!”

  Rae froze in place, staring with wide eyes before turning back to Molly.

  The tight smile had been replaced with a look of absolute euphoria as the tiny redhead bounced up and down. “I’m throwing you and Devon an engagement party!”

  Chapter 10

  Only Molly would think she had found the perfect time to throw two of her best friends an engagement party. And only Molly would think it was a good idea to invite both sets of parents.

  Rae stared with wide eyes at the odd assortment of people slowly making their way down the walkway, unable to believe they were all in the same place at the same time. It was the clashing of so many worlds and generations, she truly didn’t know where to even start.

  Julian and Angel came out first, looking especially attractive in a fitted suit and dress, with their arms draped casually around each other. They paused on the top of the steps, sparing Julian from having to walk down, as Luke breezed past them with his father by his side. The commander flashed his soon-to-be daughter-in-law a warm smile before pausing to hold the door open for Beth. She made a bee-line for her daughter, giving Julian a maternal squeeze as she walked by. Simon, her estranged husband, was just a few steps behind. Followed closely by Tristan—his estranged best friend. Followed closely by Mary, his estranged wife.

  It was enough to make Rae’s head spin.

  Devon was the last one out. He paused at the top of the steps, looking slightly overwhelmed as he gazed out over the impromptu gathering. Then Julian gave him a little nudge, and he jogged briskly meet the girls.