Sabine turned the sign on the door to say we were closed and locked the door, all of us heading to the small back office.
“I was looking at the racks today, and if this doesn’t work, then there’s…”
“Shut up woman! Do you not trust your friends? Now strip!”
“What, here?” I was a little shocked, even though I should have been used to Sabine by now.
“No, out on Main Street! Of course, here! We’re all women.” Sabine hung the bags she was carrying on one of the railings in the office.
“I didn’t tell you before, but the bra is front closing, so you don’t need a gazillion hooks on the back.” Marnie produced the most beautiful silk bra in the same cerise colour as the dress. There was a small amount of lace detail on the edge of the cups. “Sabs has also put some extra boning in the dress to give some shape, but not too much.”
Lowering the zip on the dress I had worn to work that day, I tried to remind myself that these two women were my best of the best friends. They had my back and would never give me things to wear that they did not believe would suit me.
“Right, bra off.” Marnie reached behind me to unclasp the standard bra I wore to work. “And I am also going to get you into some bras other than these. They’re really not that stylish, you know?”
“Yeah, but they’re expensive, and I take care of them, and it’s not like anyone else is seeing them anyway.”
Despite my olive complexion, my cheeks had turned a deep shade of red. I could not believe I was standing in front of my friends with my tits out, wearing only some full briefs. Marnie reached behind me and passed the cups of the bra to me. The back panelling felt soft against my skin, and I appreciated there would be no hooks digging in.
The clasp was easy enough to manage, and I had to admit that not only did the bra feel nice, but it looked okay too. I stood staring into the mirror in the corner of the room, wondering if I had ever worn a bra that wasn’t beige, white, or black.
“Imagine that as a bikini top.” Sabine offered as she unzipped one of the garment bags.
“I don’t do bikinis!” I shuddered as I thought of all that skin on display.
“Old Davina wouldn’t, but I think this Davina would.” Marnie had her hands on my upper arms as she placed a kiss on my shoulder.
I could talk to my mother and try to not listen to the judgemental sentiments she constantly offered, but I still had trouble saying the same things to myself when I was the judgemental one. Baby steps, as my therapist would say.
Sabine produced the most gorgeous dress I had ever seen. Gathers of chiffon swept from one shoulder down to an empire waist that then flowed into an asymmetrical hem. As she helped me get into it, I felt like a princess for the first time in my life.
“It’s gorgeous, Sabs. Thank you so much.” I had tears in my eyes as I looked at myself in the mirror.
“You’re gorgeous, Davina.” Sabine enveloped me in one of her huge hugs. “Now you’re wearing gold shoes and accessories still? How about your hair?”
Our conversation continued after I had changed back into my work dress, and we had adjourned to a nearby bar for a cheeky midweek drink. I was glad to have found my tribe and recognised that having girlfriends was lovely, but I still missed sex. I’m not sure what about it I missed either as Dickface, as we referred to my ex, had never been that good a lover. Perhaps I missed the feelings of being special to someone else, so special that their face lit up when I entered a room, and they texted me to let me know they were thinking of me.
Perhaps after the wedding, I could look into online dating again, not that it had ever gone anywhere before.
~*~*~*~*~
Scott
No matter how hard I tried, my past was always there to remind me where I’d come from. Scott Badenoch, the ungrateful son who had refused to follow his father into real estate.
“University?” I could still hear my mother screeching, “What do you need with university? No one in our family has ever needed a degree in anything before. Your father is ready to show you everything. All we’ve worked for will be yours.”
I didn’t want all that they had worked for. As much as I hated the all-boys school my parents had sent me to, I appreciated the careers advisor who suggested architecture to me when I told him of my love of buildings and art. I had hoped that it might fit in with the dreams of my parents, but I should never have hoped as much.
After uni, in an attempt to distance myself further from my parents, who still insisted I was going through a “phase,” I travelled. I worked in London and Minneapolis before heading home and joining a firm in the city. I lived in an apartment in the city with Ivan, my ragdoll cat.
I’d always had a weird relationship with my parents, and understanding all they’d been through to have me, I could see why they were as they were, but I was not them, and I was never going to be them.
When I went to uni, I thought I had cut ties with most of my childhood friends and was surprised to take a call from my childhood best friend, Daniel de Duchy, soon after I returned to the city.
“Scotty! Long time, no speak! Your mum was telling mine you’re back in town, and it’s just the best timing. How’ve you been?” Daniel obviously hadn’t changed and still loved the sound of his own voice. “Listen, the reason I’m calling, apart from wanting to see if we can partner on some developments I’ve got planned, is I’m getting hitched and need a best man. What do you say?”
What could I say? I should have said no way, but part of me felt sorry for Daniel. He’d done what I hadn’t and been the dutiful son and followed his father into the family business. I suspected my father was going to sell his company to the de Duchy’s when the time was right.
The thing that bothered me was I wasn’t the same teenager who had followed Daniel at school. Sure, I’d chosen to smoke weed at his family holiday house on his eighteenth birthday, and I never said no to any of the women he found for me to sleep with, but I was no longer that douche. At least, I hoped not.
“Dan, look, I’m honoured–”
“Knew you would be! It’s, well, it’s hard to keep friends in this industry. No idea how our dads have done it all these years. We should do drinks sometime. You need to meet Debbie. She’s fucking hot as sin, mate! And she loves it up the back door if you know what I mean!”
Daniel had not changed. Debbie seemed pleasant enough when I met her. She worked for Dan’s family company, though I’m still not sure in what capacity. The sad thing was, he was still the idiot he had been in high school. He talked about himself most of the time and loved boasting about close scrapes he’d had with building inspectors and the like.
At least with my agreeing to be part of his wedding, mother had stopped hassling me. I’m sure she thought that Daniel or his father would be able to convince me to start over in the wonderful world of real estate. Not likely.
After a run around the gardens near my apartment, I set off for the winery on the peninsula where the wedding was being held. I had picked up Daniel’s suit as instructed and started the drive to the venue. It was a small bridal party of just one attendant each, no doubt because Daniel couldn’t find anyone else to stand up next to him.