Chapter 29
Avidya
Shopping with Julia wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It was actually quite enjoyable. I had figured that being dragged to a number of bridal stores would have been tiresome. It ended up being the complete opposite. Even with Jonas trailing behind every step of the way.
We only ended up going to two bridal stores. One for the bridal dress styles, which Julia said she’d figured out the perfect design based on a few that I picked out that I thought everyone would like.
Julia was insistent on Violet being the one and only bridesmaid in the wedding. Mostly because her husband, Melio, would be the best man. Since I had no friends or family that would be remotely interested in being in the wedding, let alone come to it, I didn’t put up much of a fight.
I had yet to meet Melio. I had seen him in passing at the church off and on, but that was about it. I couldn’t tell anyone what he looked like, as I never really paid attention.
It didn’t take too long for Julia to write down a few notes on the style of dress that she thought would fit Violet and match the theme that she was going for. Zachariah had told her to just pick a theme and get it set up to how she saw fit, which I was more than fine with.
At the next bridal store, it was apparent that an appointment had been made, and that Julia was well known at the small, but very stuffed full bridal shop. Racks upon racks of white dresses were stuffed by size into every possible place.
A lady was quick to show us to the rack size that I was in, which Julia was able to answer without a thought.
Towards the back of the store where an arc mirror area set up with an oversized blue chair and a couple of dressing rooms.
“Let me know if you need any help,” the sales receptionist stated before leaving us.
“Have a look,” Julia said with a small smile and nod of her head towards the row of dresses. “If you don’t find what you like, I’m sure I can get something made to your style.”
Of course, she could. I laid out the ones that I liked over the back of one of the two chairs that were sat up.
“How has Zachariah treated you so far?” Julia asked out as I laid out yet another dress.
“Fine,” I answered, not sure how to answer otherwise as I sorted through the dresses. A few of them I just didn’t like for one reason or another.
“He will hardly tell me anything,” Julia pointed out as she stood next to me, looking over each dress also.
“There really isn’t much to tell,” I summed up. There wasn’t. Zachariah said I was could speak freely to his mother, but there wasn’t anything to say about any of this.
“Did he want your . . . mark to be covered?” she pressed.
“He said he didn’t care,” I answered. “One less thing for me to worry about right now.”
“That makes picking the right dress a bit easier,” she laughed, sounding relieved. “You know, no one in our family has ever had this branding on them before. Ever. You are the first.”
I simply gave her an unsure smile, not sure how to take that. Was I supposed to feel honored by that statement?
“I have Carlos’s name tattooed on me,” she whispered. “Just don’t let Zack know that.”
“Why would he care?” I asked, generally curious.
“He probably wouldn’t. But he’d tease me for the rest of my life. Along with his father,” she laughed.
For the next hour, I looked at each dress, picking out a handful that I halfway liked. Some were just too skinny or lacked something. The dresses I picked out, I ended up trying on and ended up falling in love with the dress. A dress that I had never thought I would like, truthfully.
Julia was patient, giving hints here and there and helping me with shoes and hair pieces that would match afterward. She treated me as a daughter that she had always had.
Why hadn’t I been allowed to talk to her before? Julia was much nicer of a person than I ever thought she would be. Cody always made her and her family seem stuck up because they had money when it was actually Cody himself that was the stuck-up person.
After dress shopping, Julia had Jonas drive us to a little restaurant that wasn’t too popular, thankfully. She was well known by the staff, but the other customers hardly paid her any mind as she easily led the way into the place.
The Dive was more like a small brunching area that many people didn’t seem to know about. The light hardwood floors and log like walls felt homey and welcoming. The booths and chairs around square tables were all matching in color with pre-lit lantern like candles set in the middle of each.
Jonas took a seat at the bar, facing the door, as Julia and I took seats farther towards the back and out of sight from the frosted covered windows.
