328 Bachelorette

After what felt like endless planning and years worth of waiting, the wedding was finally drawing near. There were only two days until the big day and Zaria couldn’t be any more excited. The fact that her friends spent so much time with her made it all better.

By the time she woke up, Desmond had long left so the girls took this chance to steal her away.

“Finally, you can try out the gown without fearing that Desmond might come running in to see you in it before the wedding.” Ximena wiped imaginary sweat.

Everyone giggled in response. The gown had arrived a few days ago and since then, it had been their mission to keep Desmond away from it. The man was ready to do anything to see it, not believing a word of what they say about marriages having bad luck like the groom saw the bride in her gown before the wedding.

“I can’t believe he would make up such a thing as that only being a made-up tale from many years ago when the bride and many other women wore the same kind of dress and the groom was to identify his bride from the bevy, and they made up the belief to prevent the groom from using the color of the bride’s gown to identify her.” Elena laughed. Desmond was quite imaginative.

Ximena frowned. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but he does have a point. Only, it’s a myth I haven’t heard of.”

“Me either.” Natalie added. “I know this sounds old-fashioned but better safe than sorry. I don’t want to jinx the wedding in any way, so Des is not seeing that gown before Zaria walks down the aisle.”

historical

“Unless he convinces Zaria to show him.” Ximena raised an eyebrow at Zaria, who scoffed.

“Guys, you can relax. It’s just two more days. He will see it for the rest of his life.” She was planning to keep the wedding gown for years after. While it was old-fashioned, she wanted to keep it in case Rosaly were to want it for her own wedding many years later.

.....

She tried the wedding gown on and let out a sigh of relief. “I thought it wouldn’t fit. My bump is growing so fast.” She twirled. It felt more comfortable than she would ever expect.

Ximena circled her and tied the laces of her corset-style bodice—but not without stuffing a piece of fabric down Zaria’s back before tying it, to ensure it wasn’t too tight when she took out the piece of fabric.

Zaria smiled at her overprotectiveness. She had long given up telling Ximena she was overreacting—everyone supported her when she brought up her concern about the corset being too tight.

She spun around glancing at her bump through the mirror, surprised that she couldn’t see it at all. “This is magical. No one would even know I’m pregnant.”

“There’s a reason why Wan Jia is known to be the best wedding dress designer. Right, have you tried out your reception gown? It’s mesmerizing.” Ximena skipped over to a box and opened it, revealing a gown the same color as the wedding gown. “Come on, try it on. Wan Jia will drop over tomorrow in case there are any adjustments to be made.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. They were all made by the same person. If one fits, the others must fit too.” Zaria protested.

“She has a point.” Natalie agreed.

Zaria let out a sigh of relief. Changing in and out of clothes had become such a nightmare.

“So, about your bachelorette,” Elena started.

Zaria huffed. “You guys know I can’t drink. I’m Pregnant, remember?” She pointed at her growing bump.

“We know that. But who said you can’t have fun without alcohol?” Natalie teased.

“This will be the best party of your life.” Ximena cheered her on and added, “and the best part is..”

“Is what?” She asked, not sure she wanted anything that would tire her out.

“Lucy is coming! And so is Rosaly.” She winked.

Natalie grabbed Zaria’s arm. “Forget that. That’s not the best part. The best part is you’re allowed to sleep the entire time.”

“Really? What are we doing? Let’s get going!”

...

When they said they were throwing a bachelorette, the last thing on her mind was a picnic in Zeus’s garden. Though she had to admit having robots at their service as though they were actual humans really was amazing.

And Natalie was right. The girls had made a huge deal of perching her up against pillows. This time, she couldn’t complain. It was comfortable and she could fall asleep any time she wanted. She had been sleepier than usual lately and the mere thought of being in a place where she couldn’t nap when she felt like it was unbearable. It wasn’t that she slept like a log any second of the day, but being aware that she didn’t have such freedom made her anxious.

“How about a movie?” Natalie suggested. She had to admit, planning a pregnancy-friendly bachelorette party wasn’t nearly as easy as she had thought. There were so many things to keep in mind. But as soon as she mentioned the movie, she instantly knew they were doomed when she remembered Rosaly was with them. Now everyone had to watch Frozen because Rosaly didn’t think anything else was worth watching.

“Or we could watch Moana. Or Brave. The Boss Baby? Anything, really. Just not Frozen the seventieth time!” Elena whimpered. She had watched it so many times she could recite the whole script and she hadn’t even spent that much time with Rosaly.

“Speaking of Baby,” She continued, glancing over at Zaria. “Did you guys find out what you’re having?”

“Fingers crossed it’s a baby unicorn,” Lucy mumbled, making everyone burst into laughter. Elena was the most shocked. So her boss had a playful side as well.

Now that they had talked about movies, they had doomed themselves to an hour and a half of watching Frozen.

Natalie wished she could take back the suggestion. “I wonder what the guys are doing.”

______

Meanwhile, said guys were laughing their hearts out at Desmond, who had just fallen for yet another of their pranks.

“Guys, it’s not funny.” He pushed himself out of the swimming pool where he had fallen as a result of their silly pranks.

Of course, they proceeded to take pictures of him in a drenched suit.

Though, he couldn’t quite blame them. He had rejected their idea of a bachelor’s party so they had resorted to this childishness.

But who cared? He was getting married! He still couldn’t believe it was only two days away. He felt like he had waited all his life for this.

“Did you invite Alyssa?” Liam asked when he finally stopped laughing.

He shrugged. “My wife-to-be asked for it. How could I say no?”

Zaria had talked him into offering to start over with his mother and invite her to the wedding, even if it didn’t mean the past was forgotten. He had to admit, it was a relief that she was willing to put the past behind them. It would be great if Alyssa felt the same way. If she didn’t, it wouldn’t be their fault that the Fort family fell apart forever. They had tried to mend it, after all.

“What if she causes a scene?” Evan wondered aloud.

“No wedding goes entirely as planned. If she tries to ruin it, we give up on her.” He explained. Though he hoped that wouldn’t happen. It would be nice if they stayed peaceful even if they didn’t reconcile.