The Reluctant Bridesmaid©By: Annette MacGregor

This story is based on a dream I've had off and on for a LONG time. To the best of my knowledge, the characters and events depicted in this story are fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental.

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Part 4

Once we had all expressed our delight at the exquisite gown, Carol changed back into her suit and rejoined us. André came out, and provided each of us with swatches of fabric in the two colors of our gowns. "As this lovely lady reminded me, you may all want to coordinate to some extent with your escorts for the evening. Though, of course the men in the party will have cummerbunds that match the dress." I was intrigued that his English had improved so suddenly, now that the fitting was over, but figured the earlier bit was affected. There was still a bit of an accent, but it was minor.

While we returned to the hotel for a late luncheon, followed by the shower, I asked Carol, "What's for lunch?"

"I don't know, Stevie. Stacy wouldn't tell me."

"You mean you didn't plan this one?"

"Hey, I'm driving. Don't make me laugh!"

"You sure you didn't tell her to have it at exactly 12:47?" chimed in Samantha.

"All right, you guys. I didn't plan this event. It's all Stacy's doing. For all I know, this is in one of your rooms."

"It had better be Stevie's then, ours is a mess."

I looked over my shoulder from the front seat, and could see Karen nodding agreement. Okay, they're sharing a room. That makes sense, since they know each other. I'm glad there wasn't a fourth girl from out of town. She might have asked to share with me, and that might have been awkward.

We were NOT the first to arrive at the hotel. Somehow, Louise had arrived before us.

"Still can't get around, can you?"

"Hey, I'm not cruising around this town all day on a daily basis."

"But, you've lived here long enough."

I figured this was a long running bit, but figured I should interrupt before Carol started climbing the walls. I'd noticed how tense she'd been when she said Stacy had organized this event, and afterward in the car. "You spend a lot of time driving around town? What do you do, Louise?"

"I'm a cop, and on night shift right now. That's why I was running a little late getting to the shoe shop."

"Ahhh, and since you probably know every street like the back of your hand, you also know all the shortcuts."

She smiled, "Astute of you, but that's basically it, that and my ragging Carol that my little car can get places faster than she can in that thing she had to take out a mortgage to buy."

I laughed. "Right, mortgage? Who are we talking about here?"

"Hey, I'm here, and I'll have you know–"

I reached out and touched her elbow; luckily, Stacy and the others were just coming in. "Stacy and the others are here."

Carol immediately settled down, and led us towards Stacy.

"Hi, I think I hit every stop light between the bridal shop and here."

"That's for sure," Mary chimed in.

"We've got the Luxor room for the afternoon. It's up on the mezzanine level," Stacy said. "Do any of you need to get anything from your rooms?"

Both Karen and I indicated that we did.

"Okay, when you come back down on the elevator, you'll get off on the mezzanine and follow the signs to find the rest of us.

Karen and I headed off to the elevators, while the rest followed Stacy up the stairs.

As I was on a lower floor than Karen, "I'll wait for you on the mezzanine, if you want."

"Thanks. I hate having to enter rooms by myself." she responded quietly.

"Same here, that's why I offered. See you in a few."

I went down to my room, and left my coat while I picked up the gift I'd brought for Carol.

I wasn't long waiting for the elevator with Karen to arrive.

"Well, we're off to see the wizard," I quipped.

"I guess that's not a bad description of Carol at times."

I thought a minute. "You know, I'd not thought about it, but you're right."

We found the room with no problems, and could hear a murmur of voices coming from inside. As we entered, we saw a table with a few other wrapped items, so we added our packages to the collection.

They'd set up the room with a buffet along one wall, and a series of chairs and settees arranged in a circle with end tables between, to hold plates and beverages. The other girls were already taking advantage of the buffet; we joined them.

"I see you didn't get lost," Louise chimed in. "Carol assured me that we wouldn't have to send out a search party."

That generated a laugh all around.

We spent much of the next few hours snacking and chatting and generally either catching up, or getting to know each other. They were all really nice. Once they settled down and relaxed, I discovered that Karen and Alice both had quick minds. There was one point where they seemed to be adlibbing some sort of story. I guess they must be shy around strangers.

"Okay, time for us to embarrass Sis with our gifts."

I wondered at the embarrass bit, but the others all laughed, so I joined in.

"Stevie, you and Louise can bring the table over, since you're our amazons."

I got up, as did Louise. "No rest for the weary," she said.

"You shouldn't have grown so tall then, Louise," Stacy retorted.

I smiled at the banter. It did make sense for two of us to move it. When we got there, we discovered that she was joking with us, as it rolled quite easily after we flipped the stops.

"You could have moved it yourself, Stacy."

"I know, but it was more fun getting you two up."

I shook my head.

"Now, you all remembered to not put tags on the gifts, didn't you?" As we all nodded, she continued. "Good, now Carol has to try to guess who gave her each gift while she shows them to us."

"No."

"Oh, yes, big sister of mine. You should know your friends well enough to guess."

Luckily I had not sat back down as yet, so I joined her on a settee which seemed to settle her down.

"Here's one, Carol."

I saw that Stacy had picked mine. I hoped she picked it intentionally, and I hoped that Carol recalled that night back in college.

Carol took it hesitantly.

"Oh, don't worry, sis, it's all in fun. You do get to see the gift before guessing."

I reached out, and put a hand on her shoulder, and felt her relax a little. She carefully opened the paper, making an effort to not rip it anywhere. When she finally got the paper off, I guess I'd used more tape than was really needed, she opened the lid.

"Oh, STEVIE." She squealed, as she turned to me and hugged me tightly.

"How could you possibly have remembered?"

"It was a memorable evening."

"Are you going to show the rest of us?"

Carol turned red at this.

"Go ahead. It's okay," I said, as I gave her shoulder a squeeze.

She pulled out this bright cobalt blue baby doll. I'd thought it would bring out the color in her eyes, and was glad to see it really did.

Several of the others exclaimed at how the gown, what little there was of it, would look so good on her.

"So, how long ago did she tell you she wanted this, Stevie?" queried Louise.

I thought back. "That was what, sophomore year, Carol?"

She nodded in agreement.

"That's some memory you must have."

"She doesn't forget much. Make sure you NEVER make a mistake around her... She'll remember ALL of them, and trot them out when you least expect it." Carol rejoined.

I tried to look innocent, and I guess I mostly made it.

"Okay, Stevie, you're not that bad." she told me, then continued, "But, she does remember things." She turned back to me. "I remember things too, Stevie."

I think I must have turned bright red. I could feel myself flushing. What could she be referring to?

Carol laughed; "The stones in the collars of your gowns are her birthstones." I sighed, realizing it was innocent, and she laughed and seemed much more relaxed. I guess a little embarrassment on my part was worth it if she could settle down.

The rest of the gifts were similarly themed, and she guessed one wrong, before getting another right. Then, she guessed the last three correctly. I guess it was easier when there were fewer of us to pick.

After that we chatted a little longer. I excused myself to use the facilities, and Stacy got up to join me. When we got there, "Stevie, you are still a guy in there, aren't you?"

I looked at her. "I'm afraid so, more or less."

"Less? You didn't..." her voice trailed off.

"I'm not sure I understand."

"When we were fitting the underwear, and then the gowns later, nothing showed."

"It's just well hidden, that's all, Stacy. Now, if you don't mind, I DO need to use the facilities."

"Sorry, I just couldn't help the question."

We went into adjoining stalls, and took care of business. When she came out, she found me touching up my minimal makeup.

"Good Idea. I still can't get over how good you are."

"Thanks, but someone could walk in any time, Stacy. Please, can we talk later? I'd be glad to answer anything you need to know."

She agreed, and as we were leaving three of the others had decided that an afternoon of drinking needed to be relieved as well. I guess it doesn't matter what you're drinking, water, soda or even alcohol, it's liquid in and liquid needs out. The more you take in, the sooner you have to let it out, and this is true for guys or girls.

Things started wrapping up; Louise was yawning and apologizing at the same time, and Carol said, "Before you all go, I have something for each of you. Now, I don't want you to open it until you get home." She pulled out six small boxes from her oversized bag and handed one to each of us. "I think you'll understand the gift when you open it, but I want to extend the weekend just a little. I can hardly wait until we can get together again in a few weeks.

Things broke down at that time. Stacy took Mary and Alice home, and Louise left.

We helped Carol get her stuff to her car, and wished her goodbye.

"You seeing Jim tonight?" asked Samantha?

"Ummm. Yes."

"Well, get going girl. You don't want to keep him waiting. He might look for someone else."

"No, you..."

"Carol. She was just joking with you." I could see her looking a bit concerned still. "A guy that would make the call he made to me a few months ago, isn't one you'll scare away too easily. And, he certainly didn't sound like he would wander off."

"Oh, I know, but."

"Carol. This one will work. I'm sure."

She hugged me. "Oh, thank you Stevie, for everything!"

I hugged her in return. I was reminded again how much of a sister she was to me.

When she left, Samantha turned to me.

"I keep forgetting how nervous she is about her boyfriends. Thanks for defusing things there."

I really wasn't sure how to react to that. "Defuse? She'd have been fine in a few minutes."

"Maybe, or maybe she'd have worked herself up into a fit. There are times I should keep my mouth shut I guess."

"No, Sam, you just need to learn Stevie's lion tamer trick to fix things."

"Maybe, can you teach it?"

"I don't think so. 'cause I really don't do anything–really. As I've said before, I think it's just that I've known her so long."

"No, it's also as if she trusts you with everything," responded Mary. "I think she trusts your judgment more than she does her own, when it's something personal."

I wasn't sure what to say to that. We'd reached the elevators by then. "Do you want to join us for dinner in an hour or so?"

As I had no other plans, I readily accepted.

We went back to our rooms. I put the package out to pack before going to bed that night, and sat down to a quick call to Shelly and the kids.

Luckily, Shelly answered the phone first. She reminded me to be Steve for the call. I guess being Stevie all day, I'd forgotten. I hoped things would be okay when I got home tomorrow. I was supposed to get there a few hours before the kids got home from their after-school programs.

It WAS good talking to my family. And, I sat thinking about things for a few minutes before realizing I needed to get ready to go see Karen and Samantha.

Dinner was fun as we got to know each other better. Early on, we talked more of our memories of Carol when they'd all lived together in that apartment. Later, we talked more about ourselves. They both expressed their surprise that the kids wouldn't be coming out for the wedding as well and I explained they'd be home with one of the grandmothers. Once I explained that we were going to be spending the entire week here, they understood not pulling them all out of school. Samantha suggested that they might come out a few days early themselves, and suggested we get together. We ended up saying we'd play it by ear. One thing we all thought was amazing was that Carol had found such a lovely gown that looked good on all of us. I recalled how hard Shelly had worked at that very thing. She invited her bridesmaids to shop with her, and they'd wanted VERY different styles. The end result was very nice, but listening to Shelly and my mother-in-law, who'd gone with them, had made me glad I'd not been there. Though, it'd probably have been even more painful for me, not getting to try on the gowns, and just stand there looking appreciative. Today had been a LOT of fun.

I had a short night, since my wakeup was so early, but, the cab was there to take me to the airport. Stacy had offered to drop me off, but I'd refused.

Security wasn't much of an issue, with the letter I'd gotten from the supervisor at the beginning of the weekend, and I made it to the gate with time to spare. Auto check-in is such a nice feature. I got on the standby list early, and was lucky. We were off the ground on time, which surprised me. Most of the time when I fly the plane usually spends a quarter to half an hour sitting on the ground after it pulls back from the gate.

The flight itself was uneventful, and I went back to sleep. I woke up, when the flight attendant was asking me to bring my seat back upright. I pulled out my watch and looked at it. Ahh, just a little late. Still plenty of time to get home. I was feeling pretty good about the trip, when the pilot came on and announced we'd be landing at JFK instead of Newark, and that vouchers would be available to those needing to get to Newark. I asked a neighbor about this, and he responded that we'd been in a holding pattern for the last hour, and that an earlier announcement had said that a minor accident had temporarily closed Newark, and that they expected it to be opened up again within an hour or so.

I guess the change meant that Newark wouldn't be opening back up any time soon. Now, getting home in time would be a challenge. I worked things through; get to Penn Station, take the Air Train to Newark, pick up the car, drive home. Even with perfect connections I didn’t see how I’d make it before at least one of the kids got home. I thought about alternatives, like a taxi home directly, and that didn't solve the problem either. I worried about what would happen, and how to get around it. I finally came up with an idea that MIGHT work, if Shelly went for it, and didn't already have other plans.

After we hit the ground at JFK and were taxiing in, I gave Shelly a call. "I've got a problem, dear, we diverted to JFK."

--- Continued

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Author's Note: I want to thank all my alpha and beta readers for their thoughts and encouragement. I espacially want to thank my three editors/proofers whithout who's help, this would be a much worse story. Any problems remaining are mine. The story is complete, and will be posted in ten parts.