When I called her the day after Davis proposed, she was excited and told me she would pick out some options she thought I would like and design a dress for me as well. So today we would look at those. I didn’t need a shop with a million dresses, just a seamstress that knew me well enough to give me three to four amazing options.
Calliope skipped along the sidewalk as we walked from the subway station. She enjoys taking the subway more than my car, so I've become a more frequent subway traveler now. This would be the first time she was meeting Mom, Liv, and Lucas.
Lucas would only stay to meet Calliope. Then he was leaving. They've been dying to meet her, but I was worried about introducing her to the family too soon. Everything was going so smoothly here lately that I feel now was the perfect time.
"Are you ready to meet my family?"
"Yes! I've never had an uncle or aunt or grandma before. Or a cousin!" She skipped merrily as she spoke, sounding excited about the whole thing.
"Well, you do now. They are going to love you. Also, Lucas may have tattoos, but don't let it fool you. He's a softie." I winked at her as I opened the door to a hidden gem of a shop. It wasn't large, but it wasn't miniscule either. It was the perfect size for her and her dresses.
"Lisa!" Avery greeted me with a smile and a kiss on the cheek. "I am so excited for you! I just finished putting the dress I designed for you together with all the choices for you to try. But I won't tell you which one I designed. I don't want you to feel influenced to choose it. Your family is waiting for you back there."
"Thank you, Avery."
"Oh, and who is this?" She asked, placing her hands on her legs and leaning forward to be more on Calliope’s level.
"This is my daughter, Calliope."
It was the first time I had uttered that sentence and it made me so completely happy. The joy I felt was unlike any other.She was my daughter.
"Your daughter?" She questioned.
"We're adopting her."
"That's so wonderful! Congratulations to you two on more than one occasion."
We headed to the back with the largest smiles on our faces. Mom was sitting on the couch, holding Abi, making faces at her, trying to make her laugh. Liv was sitting on the other end, watching them with a smile, while Lucas sat on the arm of the couch beside her with his hand on her small baby bump. He looked tired, and I was sure it was his worry for her health that was keeping him up at night.
"I see my niece is still getting all the attention." I alerted them all to my presence.
"I'll dote on my new niece the way you dote on our Abi," Liv assured me.
"Everyone, meet Calliope, my daughter."
I really like saying that.
"Hi, Calliope, I'm Liv. I was crazy enough to marry into this family." She spoke first, smiling sweetly at my girl. "You're so beautiful, and look, we both have curly hair!"
"I like your hair. It's a pretty color," Calliope complemented her, being kind as usual.
"I'm sure she's told you lots of things about me, probably all untrue, by the way. I'm Lucas, her brother, your now uncle." He smiled at her, slightly bowing his head. "I'll be the one you annoy and prank people with. Don't worry, I will make sure you have a wild and powerful spirit like my girls."
He winked at Liv with that, making her smile and roll her eyes as usual.
"I'm your grandmother, Sarah. It's so nice to finally meet you, Calliope. I have been dying for time with my granddaughter. It's not fair, your mother had been hogging you this whole time. Don't worry, we'll fix that." Mom said with her dazzling smile, one you couldn’t help but reciprocate.
Calliope got shy as they all spoke to her. There were a lot of people, but when the focus shifted back to dress shopping, she relaxed again. Lucas left, taking Abi with a promise of stealing Calliope for a playdate soon. I didn’t think he meant with Abi either. I could just picture the shenanigans that he was going to get into with her. She would love every minute, I was sure.
Avery had laid out four dresses for me. Two were A-line dresses and the other two were mermaid dresses. She knew I hated poof-y and frilly. They were all a silky white material with variations in style and embroidery, all beautiful. I knew it was going to be hard to choose.
I tried on one of the mermaid gowns first. It had a court tulle train that flared out at the bottom. There was a V-neck. It wasn't too deep that it was deemed slutty. It was elegant and had long lace, and sheer sleeves. It fit me so perfectly, like it was made for me. Was this the one she designed with me in mind?
"It's lovely," Mom gushed. She had been misty eyed the entire time. "My only daughter is getting married!"
Next were the A-line dresses. This one was interesting as it had a court train, but then it also had this almost cape, I would call it. It was attached at the off shoulder sleeves, falling down over the dress as a second train, almost. Both the sleeves and the bodice were lace. The only remarkable thing about it was the cape like thing.
"Which one, this one or the one before? I kind of like this one more," I said, running my hands along the material over me.
