Divide and Conquer

Divide and Conquer
Mason took my hand as we sat outside of a large bridal store. When he called it a boutique, I thought it would be smaller, more personal, but no. The place was huge! So much so that I was already feeling overwhelmed. I had no doubt that once we made it inside that I was going to be even more overwhelmed. I sighed deeply as I turned to look at him.

“Mason, I am overwhelmed,” I admitted.

He sighed as he brought my hand to his mouth to press a kiss to the back of it. “I’m sorry, Little Bunny,” he murmured. “Do you want to leave? I can have a few samples brought out for you to see.”

I hesitated for a moment before turning my attention back to the store. While I was thinking about what I wanted, my phone rang. Needing the distraction more than anything, I quickly pulled it out of my purse.

“Hey, Lauren! Good–”

“OH MY GOD! YOU AND MASON ARE GETTING MARRIED? TOMORROW? OH MY GOD! I’M SO EXCITED FOR YOU TWO! I KNEW THAT YOU WOULD MAKE IT!” she screamed, cutting me off as I giggled.

“Lauren, calm down!” I laughed as I put the call on speaker phone.

“Good morning, Laurel,” she gushed. “How are you and Mason doing?”

“We’re doing great! We were about to go shopping and look at wedding dresses, but…”

“But what, Laurel? What’s wrong?” she asked worriedly.

“But I’m a little anxious,” I confided.

“Why?” Lauren pressed.

“Because it’s a big store,” I told her.

“Hmmm. Where are you?”

Before I could answer her, Mason gave her the requested information. I gave him a small smile of thanks, which he returned.

“Okay. Give me thirty minutes! I’ll be right there. Just let me pack Tyson up. The boys can shop while I help you, okay?” Lauren gushed.

“Lauren, you don’t have to–”

“Oh posh, sis! I want to come help you find a wedding dress! No one knows what looks better on you then I do!” she teased, making me giggle again.

“Alright, Lauren! I’ll see you in a bit. I love you.”
“I love you too, Laurel. Tell that man of yours that help is on the way.”

I hung up before leaning across the vehicle to kiss him softly. “I love you, Mason.”

“I love you too, Little Bunny.”

I turned back to look at the store, eyeing it warily. “I suppose we should just head inside and start looking around.” I paused for a moment before turning back to him. “Mason, would it bother you if I put Lauren in a wedding dress or two? She said something to me yesterday that made me think that she really wants to have what we have, and I think if we put her in situations where she can see that she can have this with someone, it might help her want to get the help she needs to overcome what happened to her.”
He shrugged. “This is your day, baby. Whatever you want to do. If you want her to try on some wedding dresses, then I’m okay with it. Whatever you want, it’s your day. We can wait until Lauren gets here if you want, or we can go inside. It’s up to you. The entire store is rented out until it closes. We are in no rush at all. We can handle this however you want, my love.”

I kissed him again before nodding my head toward the store. “We can go in.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

He hopped out of the SUV before running around the front of the vehicle to open my door and help me out. God I loved how he treated me. I giggled a little as he let me slide down the front of his body before pressing his lips against mine. He took my hand and led me inside, where we were immediately surrounded by multiple people. When I sucked in air, Mason took a step in front of me.

“Excuse me, ladies. My fiancee is not used to having so many people helping her. We would only like a maximum of two people assisting her. I appreciate your devotion to your clients, but Laurel has specific needs, and this is one of them. I hope you all understand,” he told them, keeping himself directly between us.

“Of course, sir. Miss Washington, please right this way. Anna and Lucille will be assisting you today,” a voice told us as most of the women dispersed.

I smiled appreciatively at Mason, who had turned around to take me in his arms. “Don’t be afraid to let them know whatever you need. Before we start, are you feeling okay?”

“I feel better now, thank you.”

“Great. After you, Little Bunny,” he said gesturing to the two women that were still standing there waiting for us.

They led me across the store to where thousands of beautiful dresses lay carefully hung. Once we were in a sitting area in the middle of the area, the two women smiled at me.

“Good afternoon, Miss Washington,” one of them told me.

“Please don’t call me Miss Washington. Please call me Laurel, and this is Mason,” I replied, smiling at them.

“Laurel,” the woman speaking repeated. “I’m Anna and this is Lucille, or Lucy for short. Before we start pulling dresses, we would like to ask you a few questions so we can pull the dresses that will be best for you. Can you tell us where your wedding will be held?”

“We’re having it in Mason’s sister’s backyard. It’s going to be small, mainly just family and a few friends,” I responded.

“Perfect. And when is it?” she asked.

“Tomorrow evening.”

They exchanged glances. “Okay. That’s fine. We can work with that. We will just have to pull something off the rack that we have in stock, but don’t worry about that, Laurel. We have 1,000 dresses that we can show you. Do you know what kind of gown you would be interested in?”

“She will look fabulous in a Queen Anne neckline, fit and flare skirt, with lace sleeves that go all the way down her arms,” Lauren said as she walked up with Tyson on her hip.

The moment she put him down, he ran around the couch Mason and I were sitting on to climb up on his lap and put his arms around both of our necks, hugging us tightly.

“Aunie Mama, Uncle Mason! Hi!” he squealed.

“Hey, buddy,” Mason greeted him, hugging him back. “Auntie Mama is going to look at dresses with your Mommy. Do you want to go with me to look at tuxes?”

When Ty immediately nodded, Mason stood up and began to walk to the other side of the store where the men’s clothing were, leaving me alone with Lauren and our helpers for the day. I looked up at my sister.
“That sounds extremely fancy, Lauren. I’m not sure if I want my dress to be so sophisticated,” I told her.

She waved her hand. “That’s fine, Laurel, we’re still going to find you the perfect dress, but will you at least promise me that you’ll try one on?”

“I’ll tell you what, if that’s what you want to see me in, I’ll let you pick one out and you can try it on. We are identical. Whatever looks good on you will look good on me. What do you say, Lauren? Will you try on wedding dresses with me?” I asked her.

She immediately shook her head. “I can’t, Laurel! It’s about you today! Not me!”

I scrunched my face up. “Come on, Lauren. Please! You know how much I hate shopping. If you try on dresses with me, then we can finish faster. Do me a solid, and play dress up with me.”

She hesitated as her eyes moved past me to the wedding dresses behind me, and emotions flickered in her eyes. “Alright.”

“Yes!” I cried as I jumped up before climbing on the couch, facing her to hug her. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

She awkwardly patted my back. “It’s no problem, Laurel. Let’s get started.”

I beamed at her as we both turned to Anna and Lucy. “One of you can help me, and the other one can help her pull her dresses. Whoever is willing to work harder should probably go with Lauren. She is a lot more decisive than I am. She’ll pull a lot more dresses than I will.” I clapped my hands together. “So, who’s going with who?”

Anna smiled pleasantly at me. “Lucy will go with you, Laurel. Miss Lauren, I will be helping you today. Let’s go our own ways for about an hour and then reconvene. How does that sound?”

I glanced at Lauren before nodding. “That sounds perfect.” I hugged my sister again, whispering in her ear. “Have fun, sis. Take your time and explore. Live out our childhood dream with me. Just like we always thought we would.”