“No!” I shake my head. “I’m not trying to. I promise.”
Mom holds my cheeks in her hands and looks me square in the eyes. Her voice is soft. “I know a lot of brides diet, but you’re perfect just as you are.”
I smile at her. “Thank you, Mom. But it’s not intentional. I mean it. I’m just so busy, I forget to eat lunch sometimes.” And breakfast. Sometimes dinner. Or all three.
It really isn’t on purpose, but I have noticed my jeans sagging on my hips and my tops hanging looser than usual. It’s just that my appetite isn’t really there, and my mind is constantly on the wedding preparations that sometimes I just…forget to eat.
In fact, I’m so busy with the wedding that I’m not even working on my book anymore. But it’s not important. All that matters is getting ready for the wedding.
Mom holds my gaze a moment longer before I see her decide to believe me. She pats my cheek and wraps an arm around my waist, facing the mirror again. “You’re going to be so beautiful. The perfect bride.” She turns to Julie, who’s been quiet throughout this whole exchange. “Don’t you think so?”
Julie sniffs behind us, and I turn to see her with tears in her eyes.
“Oh, Julie,” I say, stepping down from the pedestal. She gets up and wraps me in a hug, burying her face in my shoulder.
“No!” Olga screeches. “No hugs! You get makeup on dress!”
“I’m sorry,” I say, pulling away from Julie. “I won’t ruin it.”
“You need more alterations,” Olga says. “This supposed to be final fitting.”
“I know.” I grimace. “I’m so sorry. I won’t lose any more weight.”
She grunts and starts pinching and pinning all around me, and I stand still as she gets all the final pieces ready.
“There. Go take off dress now.” Olga pushes me toward the dressing room. Once we’re in there, she unzips the back of the dress, helps me out of it, and leaves me to get dressed alone.
I pull on my loose jeans and top and look at myself in the mirror. I can see the weight loss, even in my face. I’m not happy about it; I didn’t have any issues with my self-image before and didn’t really care to lose weight. But I can’t intentionally gain at this point, not without incurring the wrath of Olga.
Once the wedding is over, Zach and I will be able to relax on our honeymoon—not that we’re going anywhere too exciting, just San Diego, per Zach’s suggestion—and I’m sure I’ll gain it all back.
As I grab my purse, my phone buzzes with a call. I pull it out and see a contact I didn’t expect—my sister, Annie. I click the button to answer the call.
“Hey, Annie!”
“Claire!” Her cheery voice instantly warms my heart. “I’m so glad you picked up! What are you up to?”
“Just finished my final dress fitting. Well, not final anymore. I lost too much weight and Olga yelled at me.”
“Who’s Olga?”
“She’s the seamstress.”
“Pfft. Forget her!”
I snort a laugh. “Trust me, you don’t want to make Olga mad. It’s okay. How are you?” I sit on the bench in the dressing room, giving myself a moment of peace before going back out to the moms.
“I’m good. Really good. A fabric company just purchased one of my designs!”
“No way! That’s awesome.”
“Thanks!” She pauses, hesitating a moment. “So, how’s the wedding planning going? Just a few more weeks, right?”
“Yep.” I pop the P a little. “It’s going really well. Everything is falling right into place.”
“Good. I’m happy if you’re happy.”
I don’t say anything.
