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~* The Wedding Planner: Pt. 1 *~ Margie grinned, passing the sketchpad to me to give to Jane. I couldn’t help noticing that it felt crisp and new. Rather than taking it, she pulled it open for me to see. I heard Moira stop behind me as I glanced down. A rough approximation of a black-haired girl in a pencil-shaded Bridesmaid’s gown smiled back at me. Mom laid her hand on my shoulder. “I never dreamed I would be asking you this, but I never dreamed I would be getting married again. Robin, honey, would you do me the honor of being one of my bridesmaids?”

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Both Mom and Carol were waiting at the school when we arrived back in Alpine Springs. Rather than stopping off in New Haven, Moira stuck with us the last leg of our journey home, which I thought a little odd, but I figured she made plans to meet Regina here or something.

After gathering our things, Jennifer, Allison, Nicole and I ganged up on the two mothers present with a big group hug for the both of them.

“How was your trip?” my mom asked as she returned the gesture, giving Nicole and me a kiss on our foreheads each. Nicole giggled.

“It was awesome! Robin’s a speed demon on the snow!”

“Yeah,” I giggled, “Speed’s easy. Stopping is the hard part,” I joked. “We had fun though, and we kind of bonded as a troop too.” Moira stepped up behind us with her simple duffle bag slung over her shoulder. She rested her free hand on my shoulder as she smiled at Mom and Carol.

“These girls are amazing. When they thought I was in trouble they went out of their way to look for me. I’m really proud of them. Oh, I’m Moira,” she offered quickly, sticking her hand out.

Carol chuckled politely, “Ah, so this is the infamous Moira? It’s such a pleasure to meet you. Allison’s told me a lot about you.”

Allison smiled sheepishly, “Sorry Moira. I couldn’t lie to my Mom about you, but she’s the only one I’ve told, I swear.”

Moira offered a reassuring smile. “Hey, it’s fine. Like I said before, I don’t mind a handful of people knowing. Oh, Linda, I’m hoping Jane came through on…”

Mom quickly nodded, her grin broadening. “Yes, she called to say she would be running a bit late, but she should be back at the house by now if you want to go with us?”

“That would be wonderful. Thank you,” she replied politely, though I missed the rest of the conversation as the girls and I were already carrying our things to our respective cars. After I set my things in the trunk of Mom’s car, I helped the others get theirs into Carol’s SUV. As Carol, Mom, and our former chaperones approached, Nicole and I exchanged a brief kiss and a hug.

“I’ll come over later,” she whispered in my ear as we embraced. I smiled, planting a light kiss on her cheek in response.

“I’ll have dinner waiting,” I replied. Jennifer and Allison, smiling innocently, both giggled when I turned to look at them, and after a brief, much more platonic hug, I sat down in the back seat of Mom’s car while Mom and Margie sat upfront, and Moira climbed in on the other side. As we pulled away from the school, I had to ask.

“So what was that about Aunt Jane?”

Mom and Margie glanced at each other and giggled, Margie adding, “You’ll see.”

I turned to Moira, who held her hands up disarmingly. “Don’t look at me. I’m just gettin’ a ride home with her.”

~oOo~

A white Lexus sat parked in the street in front of our house when we arrived home; it had to be Jane’s! Mom had barely shut off the engine when I hopped out of the car, waiting impatiently for her to pop the trunk so I could get my things.

Rather than just running off into the house though, I waited for Moira and Margie, handing them their respective duffle bag and suitcase.

Moira smiled as she accepted her bag. “Thanks. Hey, Robin, can I ask you something?”

I suddenly wondered if she was just distracting me, as Mom and Margie went on inside, but I rolled my shoulders and smiled. “Sure. What is it?”

“Well I’ve been thinking about this whole ‘band’ thing, specifically about my image. The costume everyone knows Shadowfang by actually started as a joke that we all just ran with after awhile.” She turned, to start inside.

“I think it looks great, for what it’s worth.”

She smiled at that. “Thanks. I’ve been thinking about something different though. Jane was the inspiration, but I’m worried about changing things too much. Remember when we first met, how we had you girls on edge?”

I had to giggle at being reminded. “Yes. That was so much fun. I mean, we knew you were just playing, but the whole ‘outside your comfort zone’ thing was like being part of a haunted house or something. I loved it.”

“See, that’s what I’m talkin’ about,” she answered, stopping and turning to face me. “Now, let me ask you this. Would that have had the same impact if I had been wearing a different costume?”

I didn’t even have to think to answer her question. “Absolutely. Moira you’re an incredible actress. You really get into the role of Shadowfang, and that’s what I, and I think a lot of fans of your music, like about your live shows. I know that’s what Nikki’s told me as well. What did you have in mind?”

Her lips curled into a broad, mischievous grin as she continued inside, though she paused just inside to wait for me before elaborating. “Well, like I said it was Jane that inspired me. I’m going to talk to her about something more … ‘Victorian’.”

“Victorian?” I asked.

“Yeah. We’ll see what happens, but I would love to do something like a ragged Victorian bride theme, like those “Lady in White” ghost stories you sometimes hear, to go with Jessica and Kris’ red temptress and leather themes respectively. Of course,” she mused, “Lucia’s in a class all by herself with that haunted dolly thing though.”

“Jessica… Oh, wait, she’s Scarlet right?” It suddenly dawned on me, though now it seemed painfully obvious. Hindsight’s 20/20 as they say.

Moira set her bag down by the front door as she tipped her head forward in a single nod. “That’s right. You probably already guessed that she’s had professional lessons in opera. Kind of ironic that Lucia and Kris were both in a punk band before we joined forces,” she added with a lilted giggle.

I set my suitcase by the stairs, heading into the kitchen with Moira figuratively in tow. I could see from the door that a number of large sheets of drafting paper had been laid out across the dining table and cabinets, as well as a thick sketchpad resting on one of the chairs.

Mom and Jane stood studying one of them, while Margie was admiring another. Mom glanced over and smiled, causing Jane to look up as well.

“Robin, there you are dear. Come over here and let me know what you think?”

Mom stepped slightly to the side, affording me a better view as I stepped closer. Every single sheet of drafting paper bore a rough approximation of my mother’s image in pencil, wearing various styles of wedding gowns, each as lovely as the last, and each vastly different from the last.

“They’re beautiful!” I gasped. Jane chuckled quietly.

“These are just the rough sketches of ideas that I’ve been working on. In several of these, like the off-the-shoulder style on this one, I’ve been playing with the light, airy Spring motif. Margie, could you hand me my sketchpad dear?” she asked.

Margie grinned, passing the sketchpad to me to give to Jane. I couldn’t help noticing that it felt crisp and new. Rather than taking it, she pulled it open for me to see. I heard Moira stop behind me as I glanced down. A rough approximation of a black-haired girl in a pencil-shaded Bridesmaid’s gown smiled back at me.

Mom laid her hand on my shoulder. “I never dreamed I would be asking you this, but I never dreamed I would be getting married again. Robin, honey, would you do me the honor of being one of my bridesmaids?”

I could feel the tears welling up as I turned back to her. As I set the sketchpad down, my hands shook, my cheeks burned, and the corners of my mouth ached from the broad grin that cut its course across my lips; I hugged her tightly. “Yes,” I managed to choke out as I buried my face in her shoulder.

I knew the question was coming, but hearing it still meant the world and more to me! I felt her embrace me, her gentle kiss getting lost in my hair as we stood there, and I sobbed happily into her shoulder.

“Thank you,” I finally managed. “I’m sorry, it’s just…”

“It’s okay sweetheart,” Mom cooed. When I looked up I could see the tears in her eyes as well. I smiled, turning back to look at the sketchpad.

“So does this mean you want me to help pick out the bridesmaid dresses?”

“I was hoping I could get your opinion on my wedding gown as well,” she answered. Before returning her attention to Aunt Jane’s sketches, she smiled brightly back at me, kissing my forehead again.

I leaned in to give her another hug, carefully picking up the sketchpad. I smiled fondly at the beautiful bridesmaid smiling back at me from the open pad, carefully closing it for the moment.

We discussed everything from the cut of the bodice to whether to use beads or pearls to accent the gown, where, and how many. Jane diligently jotted everything down on a small notepad, ending in breaking out a cloth tape measure and taking down Mom’s measurements.

Then it was my turn. Apparently being the first to be asked to be a bridesmaid meant I would be modeling the dress for whomever else Mom asked.

“What about maroon and gold?” Moira teased. Jane laughed outright.

“It wouldn’t be the first time I had to talk someone out of something similar. A certain well-meaning but colorblind Brazilian model’s mother tried to convince me that maroon and orange would look fabulous together.”

Moira’s jaw dropped as she giggled. “Orange. Well now I was just giving Robin a hard time, but that’s,” she paused to giggle, shaking her head, “That’s a new one!”

“What about lavender?” Mom asked. “I don’t know how it would look on the others, but I think it would really bring out Robin’s eyes.”

“Hmm. Perhaps with a darker violet on the accents,” Jane added as she opened the sketchpad, flipping through a couple of pages. She stopped at a dress design with an overlapping bodice and lace cap sleeves.

“Ooh, that’s pretty,” I mused. “But the skirt is a little short.”

Jane smiled as she nodded. “It’s just a concept design I lifted from an earlier work, but never got a chance to use. The bride wanted a wedding in Hawaii, and her bridesmaids were older so I could get away with a shorter hem.”

Moira peeked over, nodding approvingly. “Oh yeah. I think if you lengthened the skirt, say, just below the knee that would look fantastic.”

“What about accents?” Jane asked, sizing me up as she broke out the tape measure again.

Mom grinned. “Something like a ruffle in the midriff, but nothing too overdone would look adorable”

Jane halted her approach, setting the tape measure aside. She had a twinkle in her eye as she picked up the sketchpad. She flipped through a few pages, to another dress design, returning to the first one and sketching something in.

In addition to the faux criss-cross ruffle design she added and shaded in a thin asymmetrical bow tied on one side with a band of cloth.

“That’s perfect! Mom, what do you think?” I practically gushed.

“Oh, Jane, that looks fantastic!”

Jane smiled proudly as she picked up the measuring tape again. “You two are, by far, the easiest to please bride and bridesmaid that I have ever met. Now, what do you want to do for your Maid of Honor?” Mom froze. Jane gave her a skeptical stare. “Oh, Linda. Don’t tell me you haven’t even asked someone yet?”

She shook her head as she exhaled. “Everything happened so fast, I guess it just slipped my mind.”

“What about Margie?” I offered, grinning at my sister. Mom spun right around to face her, grinning as well.

“That’s a fantastic idea. Margie, you’ve always been there for me. I owe you so much for taking Robin in after my accident. I’d be honored if you would be my Maid of Honor.”

Margie slowly stepped around, scrutinizing the rough sketch Jane had drawn of the prototype bridesmaid’s dress. After a moment, she looked up again. “Well, it IS a very pretty dress,” she teased, giving Mom a warm, caring smile as she pulled her into a hug. “Linda, you don’t know how much this means to me. Thank you.”

After another round of tears (to which Moira had the good sense to hunt down a box of Kleenex this time!), we helped Aunt Jane gather up her sketches, and after another few minutes wrapping up discussion of wedding plans and when to expect the first prototypes of our dresses to be ready, Jane and Moira left, leaving me standing in the kitchen with Mom and Margie.

Mom smiled softly at me as she pulled me into a hug. I instinctively nuzzled into her shoulder, squeezing her close. I couldn’t help it. I started to cry again. I gave Mom a bright smile, leaning up to kiss her cheek.

“I’d better get my stuff unpacked. I promised Nikki I’d make something for dinner when she comes over this evening.”

“Before you go, dear,” Mom began. I turned back, waiting for her to continue. “I’ve been thinking. Traditionally bridesmaids are close friends of the bride, but considering that this is my second wedding, and that I have a beautiful, wonderful, caring daughter with equally wonderful friends to share it with,” she paused. I smiled.

“Mom, do you want to ask the girls to be in your wedding party?”

She nodded, smiling proudly. “Like Margie, they took you in, and they befriended you when you needed it the most. They’re like your sisters, and I can think of no one I would rather share this with more.”

“Do I get to tell them?” I asked, practically bubbling. She smiled as she nodded. I squealed a giggle as I hugged her. “Oh, Nikki is going to die when she sees her dress! I can’t wait to see your gown too. Aunt Jane does amazing work.”

Mom actually giggled, still smiling as she hugged me. “I can’t believe how much she’s putting into this, but she insisted, so who am I to argue?”

Margie smiled fondly. “Like you, she and Dad had a small ceremony. I think that’s part of why she does this, and why she wants to help you so badly. She never had her ‘dream wedding’.” I suddenly wondered how she would take the news about Margie and Kelly dating, if she hadn’t heard already.

Was planning Mom’s wedding overcompensation for that too? To me, a wedding is a wedding regardless of the couple, so long as they love each other, but Aunt Jane was less accommodating when I first met her. I wondered, as I went up to my room to put away my things, if things would continue to progress so smoothly. I put it out of my mind for now though, as I turned on my laptop.

“Thirty two emails,” I groaned, quickly closing it again. “They can wait,” I mused as I tossed my things on the bed and set about unpacking from the ski trip. Hopefully by this weekend I’d be modeling a new gown for my friends. I just hoped they’d like the design as much as I did!

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