Wedding Bell Blues

by Jill Santopolo

Aly started loosely braiding and twisting Brooke’s hair, holding it in place to show the girls how it would look.

  Suzy scrunched her nose. “I don’t know if I like it,” she said. “It’s very . . . up. Besides, you shouldn’t have picked anything without me. I should have had a say.”

  Aly wasn’t sure what the problem was with “up.” In the pictures online, lots of flower girls wore their hair up. But she did see Suzy’s other point. “We weren’t planning on choosing a style without you . . . it just happened when we were looking online.”

  Then Heather, who had been sitting quietly, playing with the seams of the beanbag chair, piped up. “I want to wear my hair loose for Uncle Isaac’s wedding. With a headband. Headbands are my favorite.”

  Now it was Brooke’s turn to scrunch her nose. “Headbands are hard for me because of my glasses,” she said. “See?” She turned to show Heather how the earpieces of her glasses tucked right behind her ears. “That’s where a headband would go too. So the backs of my ears get sore when I try to wear one for long.”

  Aly tried to think of a compromise. “How about if we make a braid that looks like a headband, and then the hair hangs loose in the back?”

  Suzy crossed her arms. “The whole point of a headband is that it’s sparkly and pretty on top of your head. A braid isn’t sparkly or pretty.”

  “We can weave beads or ribbons into the braid?” Aly suggested.

  Brooke was glaring at Aly, trying to send her a Secret Sister Eye Message, but Aly was looking at Suzy instead. Finally, Brooke blurted out, “But I want my hair up!”

  Now Heather glared at Brooke. “And I want my hair down.”

  “You don’t get to choose,” Suzy said to her sister—and to Brooke, too. “Aly and I choose because we’re the stylists.”

  Aly didn’t like where this was going. She was pretty sure that part of being a stylist was making your clients happy with how they looked.

  “You know,” Aly began, “maybe Brooke and Heather can each have their own hairdo. They don’t necessarily have to match.”

  Brooke’s eyes lit up. “It’s true!” she said. “We’re just flower girls together. Not identical twins. Heather doesn’t wear glasses, so we wouldn’t look exactly the same anyway.”

  “Right, you won’t look exactly the same, so you don’t have to have the exact same hairstyle,” Aly continued. “Wearing the same dress will be enough.”

  “I want to wear my gold sandals from the gala,” Brooke told Aly. “Mom said I could, no matter what my dress looked like.”

  “And I have sparkly sandals that I wore when I was Cinderella for a fancy Halloween party,” Heather said. “Remember, Suzy? I want to wear those.”

  Suzy was sitting on her bed quietly. Aly thought that could only mean trouble.

  Brooke stood up. “Okay. No matching hair. No matching shoes. Time to talk about makeup.”

  Aly loved how her sister could go from upset to excited in seconds.

  She stood up now too. “I think Brooke’s right. Let’s look at makeup. That’s your specialty, right, Suzy? If we’re done with hair, you can show us your ideas.”

  Suzy didn’t say anything for a second. Then she slid off her bed and started walking across her room. “Yep, we’re done with hair. So let’s move this along.”

  For special occasions Suzy ran a business she had named Suzy’s Spectacular Makeup. Even though Aly and Brooke weren’t fans of the idea at first, they ended up liking it a lot. Suzy had even worked with them at the school carnival to make the Sparkle Spa booth extra successful.

  “Would you like to see my special makeup case?” Suzy asked, walking over to a vanity in the corner of her bedroom. “You can’t touch it, though.”

  She held up her beautiful makeup case decorated with glittery stickers. Suzy was written in script with shimmering Go for the Gold nail polish.

  As she slowly opened the case, the girls could see all kinds of sparkly products inside: glittery eye shadow in silver and gold, fairy dust powder for cheeks, lip gloss in six different colors.

  “Let’s get to testing,” she said. “But I’m the only one who gets to use the makeup.”

  Aly rolled her eyes, but agreed. Heather went first.

  Suzy must have practiced on her sister before, because Heather didn’t blink an eye when Suzy brushed silver eye shadow on her lids and applied hot-pink shimmer gloss to her lips.

  When it was Brooke’s turn, she was much more squirmy and ticklish.

  “Stop moving around so much,” Suzy ordered, “or I’ll poke you in the eye.”

  Suzy chose gold eye shadow and a light pink gloss for Brooke—quite different from Heather’s look.

  In the end, everyone agreed that not matching was a better plan.

  Heather and Brooke couldn’t stop looking at themselves in the vanity mirror.

  “We look gorgeous, don’t we?” Heather squealed.

  Aly had to agree—Suzy had done a good job. “What about their nails?” she asked now.

  Brooke replied, “It’s better to choose polishes at the Sparkle Spa.”

  “And not until after we know exactly what color the dresses are,” Suzy said.

  “When are we finding that out?” Aly asked. “Has Isaac told you yet?”

  “Saturday,” Heather said as the girls started walking downstairs. “We’re all supposed to go back to the dress store on Saturday to see if our dresses fit. That’s when we’ll get to see the surprise color.”

  That gave Aly an idea. “How about if I bring a case of nail polishes to the bridal store? We can pick out a color right there.”

  “Great idea,” Heather said.

  “Yes,” Suzy added. By this time, they were near the front door. “That’s actually a good one.”

  Wow, Aly thought. Almost a compliment from Suzy! “Okay then,” she said. “It’s a plan.”

  Waiting outside for their mom to come, Aly breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, the afternoon had ended up much better than it had started.

  Aly had been so pleased with how Brooke and Heather looked, she’d forgotten for a moment that she wasn’t going to be wearing makeup and walking down the aisle.

  But now . . . now she was more determined than ever to figure out a way to make that happen. Just not in a frilly, poofy dress.

  seven

  Pretty in Pink

  On Saturday morning the Tanner women headed back to Something New. They left the house as quietly as they could so they wouldn’t wake Dad—he had come home late Friday night and had told Mom that he was looking forward to sleeping in today and seeing the girls after their dress shopping.

  As the Tanner women walked to the car, Mom filled them in on where things stood: Yes, the flower girl dresses had come in, and Brooke and Heather would be able to try them on today to make sure they fit. If they didn’t fit, the bridal shop could make alterations. Mom’s matron of honor dress had come in too. Joan had picked the colors last weekend, but since she wanted to surprise everyone, she’d kept them a secret.

  Aly’s rolling suitcase was filled with every single nail polish color the Sparkle Spa had in stock. She’d be prepared no matter what colors Joan had chosen!

  “I can’t wait, I can’t wait, I can’t wait!” Brooke chanted as they loaded the suitcase into the car. “Mom, did Joan really not tell you the color of my dress? Not even a hint?”

  “Not even a hint,” Mom said, laughing. This conversation had been going on for days, and Mom’s answer was always the same. Aly figured either she really didn’t know or she was a fantastic pretender.

  Walking into the bridal shop was just as magical as it had been the first time they’d been there. It even smelled liked a wedding.

  Ralph from Rock & Wrap It Up was there talking to Joan. “Thanks, Joan,” he was saying. “That sounds like a plan.”

  Brooke flew across the room to Joan. “What are the colors? Where are the dresses?”

  Joan dropped a kiss on the top of Brooke’s head. “I need one mo
re minute with Ralph, sweetie, and then I’ll show you.”

  Brooke tugged on her braid and stayed right next to Joan while she finished talking to Ralph. Aly, on the other hand, parked her suitcase of polish next to a See Coral–colored chair and wandered around the store looking at all the beautiful dresses. Some were extra special with beads woven into the fabric and flowers embroidered on the skirt. Aly sighed and wished she could wear one of them.

  When Aly had asked Mom last week if she could get a new dress for Joan’s wedding, Mom had said no. She could wear the dress she wore for the Businesswomen Unite gala. It was a beautiful dress and Aly loved it, but it wasn’t quite as nice as these. Aly was certain that if she were walking down the aisle, she’d get a new dress.

  Aly was carefully touching the See You Jader–­colored beads on one of the dresses when a door next to her opened. Aly turned to see Joelle Hoffman walking out of a dressing room in a purple one-shouldered dress.

  “Joelle!” Aly said. “What are you doing here?”

  Joelle was one of the Auden Angels—the girls’ soccer team at Aly’s school—meaning she was one of the first Sparkle Spa customers. In fact, the Sparkle Spa had started because of the captain of the Angels, Jenica Posner. After Aly had given Jenica a rainbow sparkle pedicure, she’d played so well during her next soccer game that the whole team wanted the exact same pedicure. Now the Angels were some of the Sparkle Spa’s most loyal customers.

  “My stepsister’s getting married,” Joelle said. “And I’m a junior bridesmaid.”

  A junior bridesmaid—Aly had never head of that before. “What’s a junior bridesmaid?”

  “It’s like a regular bridesmaid at a wedding,” Joelle said, “but it’s for someone who’s not a grown-up. I’m wearing the same color as the adult bridesmaids, but a different dress. Theirs have no straps and mine has one. See?” Joelle turned so Aly could get a close-up view of the one shoulder strap. “Isn’t it a cool dress?”

  It was. There were two layers—the bottom was a shiny purple, and the top was a see-through purple. There was a beaded belt around the waist and beads dotting the back of the skirt.

  A junior bridesmaid, Aly repeated to herself. Did Joan know what that was and would she possibly let Aly be one?

  “My stepsister Carina chose it,” Joelle went on. “She picked out three options for me, and then I got to choose the dress I liked best.”

  “It looks fantastic,” Aly told her. “Just the color of Give Me a Grape.” Purple happened to be Aly’s favorite color, along with green.

  “Thanks,” Joelle said. “Maybe I could get my fingers and toes done at the Sparkle Spa before the wedding.”

  “Of course,” Aly said. “Just let me know when, and we’ll make an appointment.”

  A tall girl with a purple streak in her hair came over to Joelle. “Let me see, Jo,” she said.

  Joelle spun around. “This is my friend Aly,” she said. “Aly, this is Carina.”

  “Congratulations on your wedding,” Aly said. “I like your hair.”

  “Thanks, Aly,” Carina said. Then she turned to Joelle. “The dress looks perfect.”

  “I think so too,” Aly said. “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

  Joelle nodded.

  “Are you walking down the aisle at Carina’s wedding?”

  “She sure is!” Carina answered. “And she’ll even carry a bouquet of flowers.”

  “A purple bouquet,” Joelle added.

  “That sounds awesome,” Aly said. One day she might like a purple-themed wedding of her own.

  All this talk about Carina’s wedding was nice, but Aly saw Ralph leave the store. She needed to get back to Joan, so Aly said good-bye to Joelle and hurried across the shop. “Joan, have you ever heard of . . . ,” she started to say just as Isaac walked over with Suzy and Heather.

  “Oh, there you are,” Suzy said. “I was about to go looking for you. I thought maybe you got stuck under one of those poofy skirts or something. Ha!”

  Aly smiled. “Not stuck,” she said.

  “Okay,” Joan said, looking at everyone. “Now that you’re all here, are you ready to find out the colors you’ll be wearing?”

  “I am!” Brooke squealed, bouncing on her toes.

  “My flower girls,” Joan said, “will be wearing pink with a turquoise sash.”

  “Pink!” Brooke said. “I was wishing for pink!”

  “Me too!” cheered Heather.

  “What shade of pink?” Aly asked.

  Joan thought for a moment. “Like Pretty in Pink polish.”

  Brooke and Heather both clapped.

  “And my bridesmaids—including my matron of honor—will be wearing turquoise.”

  Aly looked at her mom. Her mom was smiling.

  “I knew you’d like that, Karen,” Joan said.

  At that moment one of the Something New saleswomen brought over the dresses.

  “Joanie Baloney, these are the most scrumptious dresses ever. Aren’t they, Heather?” Brooke said.

  “I can’t wait to try mine on,” Heather exclaimed, grinning.

  Aly was happy Brooke and Heather liked their dresses, even though they still looked too babyish to her. But Mom’s turquoise dress was magnificent, with beads and flowers and a train trailing down the back of the gown. That decided it.

  Even if it meant making Joan a little bit mad, Aly just had to have a beautiful turquoise dress like Mom’s and walk down the aisle at Joan and Isaac’s wedding. Aly swallowed hard. Was she really brave enough to ask?

  eight

  Turquoise Delight

  Aly knew if she waited one more second, all her courage would disappear. She closed her eyes and blurted, “Joan, I really, really want to be a part of your wedding and walk down the aisle and wear a new dress. I just learned there’s a job called ‘junior bridesmaid.’ May I please be one? I’m sorry if it causes ­trouble . . . but . . . but I just really want to be one. For you.”

  Suzy looked from Aly to Joan. Her eyes opened wide. “Me too!” she said. “If Aly gets to be one, I want to be one too.”

  Joan took a while to respond. Aly’s stomach felt squishy and nervous.

  “I don’t know,” Joan finally answered. “There aren’t any junior groomsmen, so the numbers would be off. We’re trying to keep things even on both sides. That’s why I asked you two to be flower girls.”

  Aly looked down at the floor, trying not to cry. She thought she’d come up with the perfect plan. “It was just an idea,” she squeaked out.

  “Wait!” Suzy said. “I have another idea.” She smiled at her uncle. “What if I’m a groomsgirl?”

  “A groomsgirl?” he repeated, pulling his baseball cap off to scratch his head.

  “What would that mean?” Joan asked.

  Suzy cleared her throat. “Well, I’d wear the same exact dress as Aly, but I’d wear it in black so that I’d match all the groomsmen in their tuxedos! Then she and I could walk down the aisle together. Aly could stand with the bridesmaids, and I’d stand with the groomsmen. And then it would be balanced.”

  Isaac turned to Joan. “She did take care of the numbers issue,” he said.

  “Please?” Suzy said.

  “Please?” Aly echoed.

  Joan closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  Oh no, Aly worried. Now I’ve ruined Joan’s most special day ever. I’ve made her feel terrible.

  At last Joan opened her eyes. “Okay,” she said. “You can be a junior bridesmaid and a groomsgirl.”

  Aly and Suzy looked at each other and smiled.

  “Yes!” Suzy yelped.

  Aly hugged Joan tightly. “Thank you so much,” she whispered. “I really wanted to be in your wedding. I didn’t really want to be a stylist.”

  “I know,” Joan whispered back. Then she beckoned Suzy over. “You know, girls,” she said, “Isaac and I were a little bit hurt when we invited you to be in our wedding and you said no.”

  Aly stared at her shoes again. She tra
ced the path her sneaker laces made as they snaked in and out of the holes. “I’m sorry,” she said.

  Suzy didn’t say anything.

  “Suzy,” Aly whispered.

  “Fine,” Suzy said. “I’m sorry too. It’s just that we were too old—”

  Aly cut her off. “She’s sorry, Joan. We’re both very sorry we made you and Isaac feel bad.”

  “Thank you,” Joan said. “It takes someone very grown up and responsible to apologize.”

  Aly could hear Suzy huff next to her.

  “So how about we find you two some beautiful grown-up dresses to wear?” Joan continued.

  Aly wiped away the tears that were still lingering on her eyelashes. “Sounds good to me.”

  Six dresses later, Aly was wearing a dress the color of Turquoise Delight—the exact shade as her ­mother’s. The dress had a scooped neck and straps that crisscrossed in the back. A sash of turquoise flowers trailed down the back of the dress to the floor.

  “What do you think?” Aly asked Suzy.

  “Hmm,” Suzy said. “I was hoping for a little bit of sparkle.”

  So far, the other five dresses had been rejected because:

  1. Suzy didn’t like dresses with short sleeves.

  2. Aly didn’t like dresses with long sleeves.

  3. Mom didn’t think the girls were old enough to go strapless.

  4. Joan didn’t want the girls in dresses made of shiny fabric.

  5. Both Suzy and Aly refused to wear dresses with bows.

  But Mom, Joan, and Aly all liked this dress. And Suzy seemed to like it too, except for the lack of sparkles.

  “What if we do sparkly nails?” Aly offered. “With sparkly makeup. And maybe we could even get sparkly headbands. Or hair clips.”

  Suzy’s eyes lit up. “If we get all of those things, then I think this dress is perfect.”

  Aly’s smile stretched across her face.

  “I agree!” Brooke was touching the flowers. “It’s the same color as my sash! We’re all going to match so perfectly!”

  “I think it’s a beautiful choice,” Joan said. “And now that you’re officially part of the ceremony, that means you get some responsibilities at the wedding.”