"What time do you want to start getting ready?" Mindy asks between bites.
"What time is it now?" I ask, searching for my phone but not seeing it.
"Eleven," Bristol says.
"Now. We have two hours before the ceremony starts," I say, feeling a twinge of panic rising in my chest.
"Okay," Mindy says, getting up and stuffing her plate in the trash. She heads toward the bathroom and I follow along, leaving the rest of the women to sit and mingle. I sit down on the small stool that I had tucked into the bottom of the closet and Mindy stands in front of me.
"What colors are we thinking on the eyes?" she asks, looking at my face as if there's some answer lying just on the surface.
"Reds, pinks, purples. One of those color schemes," I say, closing my eyes.
Mindy makes a humming noise and then moves my face from side to side, investigating her canvas. "I think that's a good choice," she finally says.
Opening the make-up case that she left her yesterday, she digs through it until she finds what she's looking for. She begins applying makeup to my face when Carrie pops her head in the door.
"You're going to be such a beautiful bride, my friend." Carrie says the words so endearingly that it makes me want to cry.
"Thank you," I say, somehow managing to keep my emotions under control.
Mindy finishes my makeup and moves on to begin curling my hair. We're down to one hour and ten minutes before the ceremony begins and I'm getting more anxious with every minute that passes.
"Hey," Mindy says, drawing my attention to her eyes in the mirror.
My eyes dart to hers. "Everything's going to be okay. Just breathe."
A nervous laugh escapes me, and I take a deep breath, exhaling and making my body relax.
"I know," I say, trying to reassure myself more-so than her. Buddy has tried to come in here at least five times but there's no room. He's settled for laying just inside the doorway with his big ol' head as much in this tiny room as he can get it.
I reach out to pat his nose with my foot and almost take a curling wand to the ear.
"Hey, sit still," Mindy complains. I wince and put my feet back where they go, tucking my hands beneath my thighs.
"Sorry," I say softly, refocusing my attention to the mirror.
I sit quietly while Mindy puts the finishing touches on my hair. Curled, it still nearly grazes the top of my butt. The last piece of my wedding day look comes together as Mindy lays a tiara on top of my perfect curls. I feel like a princess. It's everything and more than I thought it would be. The final piece of the puzzle is slipping into my dress. Before I put it on, Mindy gets the others attention and presents me like I'm her masterpiece at an art show.
I walk out and do a small spin, letting my hair flow in the gust of air created by my twirl.
"Lilly, you look fucking hot!" Raven says.
The room resounds with 'yeahs' and 'hell yeahs', making me grin and blush simultaneously.
"Okay. One last thing to do then I can go get married," I tell them. I slip into the bedroom and dig my dress out of the very back of the closet where it has been hidden for weeks now. I step into it, shimmying the white fabric around my hips and slipping my arms into the lace sleeves.
I open the white shoe box at the bottom of the closet and open it. The bedazzled silver tennis shoes I picked out to go with my dress are even more beautiful than I remember. I slip my bare feet into them and look at myself in the mirror. I turn my foot side to side, admiring the glittery appearance it has.
"Okay, I'm ready!" I yell, taking one last look at myself in the mirror before walking out.
Mindy has tears welled up in her eyes but a smile on her face. "Lilly, it's perfect. And those shoes!"
I stick my foot out and turn it for them in the same manner I'd done in the mirror a moment ago so they can get the full effect of the shimmer.
"They're so sparkly!" Carrie says.
Bristol takes her phone out of her pocket. "One last picture before you get married," she says with a soft smile on her face.
