Page 39 of Beauty and the Nerd

Emma smiled seeing her Mom coming through the front door of the salon.

Her flight this morning had been delayed, and she hadn’t known if she’d even make it today.

Not that there was really any rush now in her mind.

Not when she’d overheard the rudeness of the stylists while waiting for her appointment time.

“Oh, I’m so glad I made it,” her mom gushed, giving her a huge hug that soothed the irritation rushing through her.

“Me too, Mom,” she said, smiling more seeing the slight sheen of tears in her mom’s eyes already. “I haven’t even tried a dress on yet, you can’t cry already.”

“I just can’t help it. I still can’t believe my little girl is getting married…at twenty,” her mom added making her laugh a bit.

“It’s just a few weeks before I’m twenty-one,” she said with a little shrug.

They’d gotten dozens of questions as to why they were already picking a date, let alone one that was barely nine months out as it’d been when they announced it to everyone at New Year’s.

They’d chosen September thirteenth, the day they’d first kissed, first truly started dating so it could be their official anniversary without anyone asking questions on it, and to celebrate the full circle they’d made since then of going from just friends, to knowing they’d always be friends on top of being lovers.

“I know, but I was twenty-five before I got married so you’re about five years ahead of when I was picturing this day. It seems so fast,” her mom teased making her laugh a bit.

“You met Dad when you were twenty-three and got married at twenty-five. I ‘met’ Ben at seventeen going on eighteen and now we’re getting married at twenty going on twenty-one which is a three year wait, so we’re actually behind you all,” she countered, resting her head against her mom’s for a moment at the shock on her face.

“But unlike the two of you, we don’t plan to have a baby in the next two years…

or probably four or five after that. We want to get settled in our lives after college, which yes, we both fully plan on finishing. ”

“Good, and you know we love Ben, how he treats you. It’s just trying to reconcile that you’re going to be married so much sooner than we imagined, let alone that you’ll be living here in New York and not near us.

Add in that you’re paying for most of it yourself and we’re also just feeling a bit left out,” her mom stated surprising her entirely.

“You’re still paying for the apartment though, and that’s just as much for a year as what we’re looking to spend on the wedding. We don’t want to take advantage of what you and Dad worked so hard to earn,” Emma told her, earning another hug and smile from her mom.

“We worked so we could see that you had every possibility option available to you honey. Your scholarship is covering more than we are so there’s no reason to argue over the costs of things.

Between what was already in your college fund and the stipend, it more than covers the apartment, and since neither of you have argued having your dad staying the week moving forward still, there’s no impact to us.

The money in that fund was always for your use, and we intended to help pay for your wedding whenever it happened,” she argued, and Emma gave her a hug as Emerson arrived a bit out of breath.

“I’m so sorry, I got caught up with the samples for the next line and completely forgot the time,” she told them, giving her a hug as well.

“It’s alright, it seems they’re running behind here although those two have just been sitting there this entire time, speaking poorly of their potential clients,” Emma added, raising her voice so the two that’d been catty and rude since she’d given her name and appointment time could hear.

“So actually, I don’t think we’ll be shopping here because if I’m going to spend my money on a dress, I certainly don’t want any reminders of rude, stuck up snobs on my wedding day. ”

“Is there a problem here?” a woman asked hurrying over to them as Megan gave her a proud look for finally saying something she was sure.

“Yes, I was supposed to have a ten-thirty appointment with Andrea, arrived at ten-fifteen with my friend, but it’s now ten-forty-five and no one’s begun to speak directly to me, although the lady there who is wearing a nametag with Andrea on it and was there when I notified them of my arrival, has had plenty to say about me, my outfit, and my engagement ring,” Emma said drawing a furious look from Emerson on her behalf.

“Just because I’m not wearing thousands of dollars of designer wear to my appointment, does not mean I can’t afford to spend more than a thousand dollars on my wedding dress.

And just because an engagement ring is simple does not mean it’s cheap or that I’ll be divorced within two years because of the ring or my age, because for your information, I adore my engagement ring.

It’s exactly what I would have described to my fiancée if he’d needed help to decide what to buy me.

No, it’s not cubic zirconia, it’s a lab-created diamond which I preferred to a real one, but even if it were one, it’s none of your business.

You’re supposed to help a bride find their dress, not make jokes about them, or be nasty claiming I must be marrying a geriatric in hopes of getting a payout because only some old man would want to put up with someone like me…

whatever that’s supposed to mean after barely speaking two words to me when I came up to the desk. ”

“I sincerely apologize for any delay or disrespect from the staff, I assure you it will be addressed. I’d be more than happy to put you with another stylist,” the older woman said but she shook her head no, stopping her short.

“As I said, I don’t want any reminders of this on my wedding day, to my fiancée who happens to be about eight weeks younger than I am,” Emma tacked on with a smirk at the two behind the desk.

“If I’m going to spend thousands on a dress, I want to know the help in finding it are fully on my side, the way my mom, my maid-of-honor, and my matron-of-honor all are. ”

“And just so you know, I will happily tell Jacqueline that her staff lost her one of my model’s business and that if this is how people are treated, I’ll have to rethink allowing having Satin Touch’s bridal lingerie line to be sold here,” Emerson added, linking her arm through Emma’s walking them out the door as Megan let out muffled chuckles as she and her mom followed them quickly.

“Sorry,” Emma told her mom when they were outside.

“No, you did the right thing. We’ll find somewhere that will not only welcome you but also support you from the first moment you walk in the door, I promise,” her mom stated, giving her a hug as Emerson pulled out her phone, calling for her driver.

“Since we’re not going to look there, I think I know the perfect place to go,” Emerson said when they were all in the large SUV.

Emma didn’t mind as long as it wasn’t back at that salon, and she grinned when they pulled up in front of a seemingly plain building.

It was the complete opposite of the salon but in the city that didn’t mean the inside was completely opposite.

Some places simply didn’t display outwardly what they were, what they had inside—a bit like her.

Emerson rang the bell and a few moments later, it opened, and a late twenty-something showed them inside the space, greeting Emerson by name.

“This is Lucy, she worked for me for a bit after she finished school, but she preferred dresses to lingerie,” Emerson said introducing all of them. “And this is Emma, our beautiful bride and one of my favorite models.”

“I would recognize your face anywhere because while I may not work for Satin Touch anymore, I still shop there religiously,” Lucy stated leading them into a room and Emma’s breath caught in her chest at the stunning array of dresses seen in the open space.

Some were displayed on mannequins, but most were on racks, and she felt excitement rush straight through her at the thought of browsing through everything.

“Emerson, what are you doing here?” an older woman said coming over to their group. “Don’t tell me you and Lyle are having a vow renewal ceremony and came to me for a dress, because I might just cry with joy.”

“No, Alice, not until our ten-year anniversary at least,” Emerson said before motioning towards her.

“This is Emma, I talked her into modeling for me last year after I saw them at the shop. She and her fiancée set a date for this September and she’s looking for her dress.

We had an appointment at Jacqueline’s for this morning, but her staff ruined the opportunity to dress her by being rude, so I texted Lucy to see if she had time to show us around the salon. ”

“And since I don’t have any appointments today, of course I said yes.

After seeing Emma in person, I know we’re going to have so many option that will look stunning on you, so unless you already have something in mind, I think we should get started because this could take a bit,” Lucy stated, and she laughed softly at the hype.

After earlier it was much needed and felt good, how she wanted to feel while trying on dresses.

“Nothing definitive, I just know I’m not really looking for anything that’s like a sheath or full mermaid style. Maybe a fit and flare or A-line instead,” she suggested as they moved further into the space.

“We can definitely start there, with your figure you can pull off any of our dresses, but we want you to find the one that makes you feel your absolute best. Are you drawn to any particular fabrics or colors? If you’d prefer something in lace versus satin or something in blush versus white, just let me know and I can help steer us towards those,” Lucy added as they slipped into a side space with some beautiful fit and flare gowns.