"Ms. Blevin, can we bring you any more champagne?"
The same pixie addressed the woman who stepped out of the curtain area beside Lurielle, dark hair spilling down her back.
"Oh, one more for the road, I suppose." She turned to Lurielle once the pixie had scampered off. "Jokes on them, I just come here for the free champagne."
She choked out a laugh as the woman stepped into the mirror, her nose nearly touching the glass, examining her eye. Lurielle turned to her own mirror, inspecting the elf who stared uncertainly back.
Somewhat unruly blonde hair, her ability to style it just as lacking as it had been when she'd first moved to Cambric Creek. But, she had to admit, the dark honey lowlights she hadagreed to at her most recent salon appointment added depth and dimension, and the new cut fell into place a bit more easily, without as much work needed from her. It had been a good move, trying the new salon, and she would be going back to the troll who'd given her the new cut and color.
Her hands were small and chubby, and while her fingers resembled little sausage links, they looked nicer with a fresh manicure. She wouldn't have gone into Skreeva's on Main Street on her own, but Silva had recommended her nail technician to Dynah, and she and Lurielle had gone together.
She had begun to see her pug-like nose as an adorable button, taking her cue from Khash's affirmations, and while the body under her clothes was still rounded and soft, it was strong enough to have marched her into this hoity-toity dress salon. Her long A-line skirt and denim shirt were a bit casual, but she liked the way they looked with her fall boots. She felt put together and pretty, and it didn't matter if the woman in the changing area beside her was slender and petite with toned legs and a curtain of silky hair.You're just as worthy of being here as she is.
She didn't know if any of her friends talked to themselves in the mirror as often as she did, but she couldn't pretend that it didn't help. Better Khash's voice than her ex; better her own voice than her mother.
You are brave. You don't need to have someone here holding your hand. You go to Zumba and therapy and drink eight glasses of water a day. You are not going to start crying in the middle of this dress shop.
"You need to come into places like this with an army at your back or a list of dresses you've already found online." The dark-haired woman was addressing her, she realized. Lurielle shook herself out of her panic as the woman smiled kindly. "Either that or you need to be pushier than them, and that's no smalltask. Don't get in the way of a bridal salesperson and her commission."
Lurielle laughed weakly. "Oh yeah, I'm no match for them. I already know that. If I was smart I would've looked online before I came in, but just thought since I was here, I'd just pop in and browse. Obviously that was not a well-thought-out plan."
The other woman laughed, accepting the flute of champagne the young pixie carried in. "I'm not sure if you asked my friend here if she was having any."
The girl stammered, wings flitting, racing away, and Lurielle flushed.
"I'm Vanessa, by the way. We've never formally met, but you live in the Templeton too, right?"
Her head jerked up. She didn't recognize the woman at all.You need to start being more observant. She could be a neighbor!Lurielle rationalized to herself that humans tended to be a bit of a blur. There weresomany of them in Bridgeton, and besides — they very rarely paid attention to anyone but their own kind. The humans in Cambric Creek were different —thosewere neighbors. The humans in Bridgeton, by contrast, flooded the streets, crowding the sidewalks, commandeering every inch of every space for their own.But this one seems nice, at least.
"Um, my fiancé does. At least, for now. I live in Cambric Creek, and he's going to be moving in once his lease is up. Oh, and I’m Lurielle. It’s nice to meet you."
The pixie returned with her flute of champagne. She didn't usually drink during the day, not unless happy hour with the girls started early, and she almost never drank champagne. Events at the club growing up had always had rivers of bubbly flowing through it, but then once she was off to university, the stuff served at holidays and celebrations was acrid and overly dry.This, on the other hand . . . Lurielle closed her eyes at theslightly sweet effervescence, feeling the bubbles pop the back of her tongue.Thisshe could get used to.
"We have the exact same situation. Well, except for the leaving part. My fiancé is from Cambric Creek. He has a house there, but we keep the apartment in the city for work. I never fancied myself a suburbanite, but I have to say, it is a lovely little town."
"It really is! I’m an engineer with Stratos Automation,” Lurielle heard herself disclosing, as if to explain why she, too, wasn’t a resident of the tony highrise.You don’t need to prove yourself to strangers, you’re allowed to take up space.“I moved to the area a few years ago, and I've loved it."
“Oh, I have clients who do business with Stratos!”
Vanessa smiled broadly, and the glint on her sharp canines made Lurielle realize she wasn’t actually human at all. Now that she was close enough to see it, the silvery-white sheen of the other woman’s eyes when she turned clinched it.A shifter?
"Are you just starting your wedding planning?"
Lurielle laughed uncomfortably. "Planningis, uh . . . a very generous way to say it. I don't even know where to start and I'm completely out of my depth. I’m counting on one of my friends to jump in and save me as a strategy."
The other woman, Vanessa, laughed again. "Oh, I completely understand. The whole over-the-top planning is not really my thing either. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m excited! But some days I think I’d rather just fly somewhere that’s meaningful to us with a few friends and family and be done with it . . .”
Her voice trailed off for a moment, and Lurielle felt buoyed by her words.Conventionally beautiful, seemingly successful, and still beaten down by all the planning to be done. See?! It’s not just you!
. . .Before she straightened up, re-affixing her bright, white smile as she tossed her curtain of shiny dark hair back. “But we can’t do that. I know exactly what I’m signing up for, so on withthe circus. But you know, if you really don't want to get your hands dirty, I would just hire a wedding planner. Let them worry about it, right?"
"Is that what you're doing?"
Vanessa smiled grimly, draining her champagne flute. "Wedohave a wedding planner. But, unfortunately for her, we also have my fiancé, who has apparently decided that because he dislikes his job, planning our wedding is now going to be his entire personality. He didn't have a great personality to start with, so this is not exactly an improvement."
The honk of laughter that came out of her was completely unladylike and thoroughly inappropriate for the surroundings, but Lurielle was unable to hold it in.
Their conversation was interrupted when two attendants returned, one with an armload of sleek black cocktail dresses for the dark-haired woman, the other armed with a tape measure and a clipboard. Lurielle tipped her head back, draining the remainder of her own champagne, wishing she had more of the liquid courage.You can do this. Just go to your happy place.
