Surprise

Surprise
While Lauren was getting out of the dress, I hurried through the store to find Mason and Tyson. Thankfully I didn’t have to look far as they were in the main part of the lobby.

“Hey, Mason, real quick, I need to speak to you,” I told him before pressing my finger into Tyson’s nose. “Stay here for a moment, okay?”
“Okay, Auntie Mama.”
I quickly led Mason a few feet away before stepping into his arms and wrapping my arms around his neck. I stood on my tiptoes so that I could whisper into his ear. “Mason, Lauren found a dress, do you think we could buy it for her? It’s absolutely beautiful on her! It’s her dress! It makes her feel like mine made me feel.”

He nodded. “Of course, Little Bunny. I’ll let the staff know.”
I leaned back a little to kiss him softly. “Thank you, Mason. How did it go with you and Tyson? Did you find everything you needed for tomorrow?”
He nodded. “Yes. What else do you need to look for?”

“Bridesmaids dresses. That’s all. I found my dress fairly quickly,” I told him.

“Okay. Can we join you? I don’t like being away from you,” he admitted sheepishly.

I nodded as I took a step so I could take his hand. “I don’t either, but I appreciate you letting me pick my dress without you.”
He brought my hand to his mouth as we walked back to the couch to retrieve Tyson. “A groom is not supposed to see the dress until his beautiful bride is walking down the aisle to him.”

I sighed dreamily. “Okay, buster, you’re up to six babies!”

“Ma’am, you better be careful, or I’ll have you with child until you can’t anymore,” he teased quietly as he let my hand go so we could both take one of Tyson’s.

On the way back to the bridal side, we swung him between our bodies and I relished his little giggles of happiness. It was the simplest thing. A child’s enjoyment of life. I couldn’t wait until we could have moments like these with our own child. We waited by the couches where we had our first conversation about what I needed in a wedding dress for Lauren to come out. When she finally did, she immediately picked Tyson up to hug him tightly.

“Hey, buddy, did you find a tuxedo?” she asked him.

“Yes, Mommy. I’m going to look just like Uncle Mason,” Tyson announced proudly as he turned to look at the man in question.

Okay, this was definitely one of the sweetest moments ever. To see the way Mason had bonded so tightly with Tyson really made me feel a lot of things. Hope and excitement for our future being the main ones. He really was a great man and I knew without a doubt, he was going to be just as great a father as he was a partner for me.

“Laurel? Was there something else that you wanted to get while we were here?” my sister asked.
“Yes. I just needed bridesmaid dresses, your maid of honor dress, and Jane’s mother of the bride dress.” I smiled lovingly at Tyson. “Do you want to help me pick out a dress for your mommy?”

He eagerly nodded. “Yes, Auntie Mama.”

I held my hand out to him. “Okay, let’s go. Lauren, can you pick out some bridesmaids’ dresses options for me? We went with sky blue and a silverish color for our wedding.”
“You got it, sis! Since you’re taking my little man, I get to take your big one.” She paused to scrunch her face up as she looked at Mason. “You definitely got the better end of the deal, Laurel!”

“Hey!” Mason called out after her as she pivoted and hurried away. “Did you hear that, Tyson? I’m insulted!”

The little boy giggled at my side. “I think this is where you go and tickle her for hurting your feelings,” he told Mason, trying to keep a straight face.

“You know what? I think you’re right!” He met my eyes, silently asking me if I was okay with it, and when I nodded, he hurried off to find my sister while I started to lead Tyson toward a room that boasted of a lot of blue dresses.

Once we were inside, Lucy began to show us the dresses while explaining the pros of each dress in words that Tyson could understand as well. About half an hour later, Tyson had chosen two beautiful dresses for Lauren to try on. I knew that he was excited about his choices when he started to hop in place when Lauren and Mason came back into view. I giggled quietly when I saw that Mason had been relegated to a simple dress holder. When they finally made it back over to us, Lucy helped Anna take the dresses from Mason, who immediately looked relieved. I raised an eyebrow at Mason in question, and he winked at me to reassure me that he was okay, which was good, because if he hadn’t been, I would have knocked my sister’s head off.

“Okay, we have some dresses to try on. I figured since I was the only one here that–”

“Who said you were the only one here?” a familiar voice said from behind us, making me spin around excitedly.

“Maddie!” My eyes widened when I saw Jane, Ramira, Angel, and Jenna. “Oh my God, you’re all here.”

Maddie grinned at me as she put her arm over my shoulders. “How could we not come when our girl is getting married?! Picking the dresses is the most important part of a wedding.” She glanced at Mason. “No offense.”
“None taken! Since you ladies are here now, I’m going to go join your men over there! They look as uncomfortable as I feel. Tyson, do you want to come with us?” Mason asked softly, and none of us missed the way Lauren protectively moved closely to him.

“No, Uncle Mason, I want to stay with Auntie Mama, and see Mommy look like a fairy,” the little boy answered.

Mason affectionately ran his fingers through Tyson’s hair. “Alright, buddy. If you change your mind, Auntie Mama will help you find us, okay?”

“Okay, Uncle Mason.”

Mason kissed me softly before walking over to the duo of men, who all immediately began to pat him on his back. Maddie shook her head while simultaneously rolling her eyes before giving Lauren an apologetic look.

“You have to forgive them. The Morgan brothers have definitely worn off on Dale! He used to be sweet, but now he’s just as bad as the rest of them.” She gave Ramira a sly look. “Not that I think Ramira cares in the slightest.”

Ramira shrugged. “Who else is going to let me chase him around the house in a shark blanket while he’s in a turtle one and then… play sea animals with me?” Everyone except Lauren giggled, nodding in understanding as she glanced pointedly at Tyson before smiling at me and then Lauren warmly. “You must be Lauren. I’m Ramira, and this is our mother Jane. For those of you who don't know, this little hellion is Maddie.”

I smiled at her appreciatively before tugging Lauren forward. “This is my twin sister, Lauren.” I reached out to take Jenna and Angel’s hands. “These are my future sisters in law. This is Jenna and this is Angel.”

After everyone had greeted everyone else, I smiled at them all as I clapped my hands. “Okay. Now, let’s get started. I think the bridesmaids should try on dresses first. How many dresses did you find, Lauren?”

“5,” she said stiffly as she looked around at the other women anxiously.

Ramira gave her another pleasant smile as she knelt in front of Tyson. “Hey, little one, my name is Ramira. Do you mind if we steal your mama?”

Tyson gripped her tighter as he shook his head. “I want to stay with mama.”

Lauren shot me a very anxious look, that of course Ramira caught. “That’s okay, Tyson. How about we make a deal?” She pulled out a vacuum sealed bag out of her purse. “You let mama try on dresses with us, and Auntie Laurel can help you try something on too.”

His eyes immediately widened as he nodded eagerly. “Okay, deal!”

He took the package from her and she climbed back to her feet, grinning as she looked toward the assistants. “Come on, ladies. I believe there’s a dress for each of us except Mama Jane.”

Lauren gave me another nervous look, and in turn I gave her an encouraging nod. As they were walking toward the dressing rooms, I heard Ramira ask, “Hey, Lauren, I have a question. Who’s the most important person in your life?”