0•07•16•27

The beeping of my alarm goes off, shaking me from my sleep. For a split second I panic, thinking it’s coming from my arm. What’s going on? It’s not supposed to happen yet.

But as I peel my eyelids open and see my alarm clock flashing the painfully early time at me, I let myself sigh. I flip my arm over to see the number on my wrist and amusingly, it almost matches the time on the alarm. Only, the numbers on my alarm will go up as the numbers on my arm go down.

I flop my arm out from under the covers and hit the snooze button on top of the clock. It tingles from elbow to wrist, half numb. I guess I slept on it.

I roll over in an attempt to get in a few more minutes but I only have a second before I hear a knock at my door. I try to respond, but it comes out as more of a gurgle.

The door flies open with Mom and Kaitlyn behind it. Kaitlyn has a box of hair supplies—curling iron, comb, hairspray—while my mom holds a costume bag.

Mom pats my leg. “No time for sleeping in today. We have to get you ready.”

“I don’t want to dress up,” I say, managing to formulate words this time.

“Nonsense. Everyone dresses up. Now, hop in the shower. We don’t have a lot of time.”

I drag myself out of bed and into the shower, barely remembering to take my clothes off before hand. I’m not a morning person.

0•06•56•31

By the time I step out of the bathroom, my hair wrapped up in a towel and a robe covering my body, Kaitlyn has all the hair supplies laid out on my dresser while Mom stands with the bridesmaid dress in her hands.

It’s a simple dress with the fabric overlapping elegantly over the chest. A faded violet in color and a flowing skirt falls down from the torso. Fortunately, it’s not some shiny royal-blue, short skirt dress without straps like a lot of bridesmaids dresses are. With the right shoes and not overdoing it on makeup, it could be overlooked as a nice summer dress. This is the only reason I agree to wear it.

I take it from her and whisk myself back into the bathroom before she can insist on helping me. Off goes the robe, on goes the dress. It’s so comfortable it might as well be a fancy nightgown, so I’ll give them that.

When I step out of the bathroom, my mother gives me that look. I feel the blush rising on my cheeks again. “You look so pretty!” she says. Considering my hair is still wrapped in a towel on top of my head and that fact that I haven’t put any shoes on or added any makeup to the ensemble, I wonder what she’ll do when I’m all finished.

“Alright, Mom. I’ll take care of her hair.” Kaitlyn says, who’s ready and waiting for me at the dresser. “You wait down stairs, okay?”

She hesitantly nods and leaves the room, closing the door behind her.

“Have a seat.” She pats the ottoman delicately with her hand, the early morning light streaming through my window causing the diamond of her ring to sparkle.

I smile politely, toss the towel onto my bed and sit down. Kaitlyn begins by gently combing a brush through my hair. “I’m sorry about last night,” she says calmly. “I know they were overwhelming you. I should have done more to make them give you some breathing room.”

“That’s okay.”

“I just… I am so excited for you. It’s every big sisters dream to see their little sister be happy. I know how everyone is acting is overwhelming right now and it’s hard to understand when you haven’t experienced it for yourself.” Kaitlyn sighs and puts the brush down. She kneels down and looks up at me. For once I don’t feel like rolling my eyes or shutting out the person talking about this, because there’s so much care and sincerity in her voice that it makes everything feel different somehow. “It’s an amazing feeling when you see him for the first time. When you’re eyes meet with his. When you touch him for the first time. The touch of a stranger who you know will become this huge part of your life. Who you’re going to spend the rest of your life with.”

“When you put it that way, it sounds really nice,” I admit.

“Don’t let everyone get to you. Your life is what you want to do with it, Hailey. I know the looks you’re getting. I got those looks too. I felt a bit nervous and overwhelmed before I met Chris. Just like you’re feeling right now. And a large part of it was because of the looks and the pestering I got. So just try to ignore those people if they stress you out and see this experience the way you want to. You never know. It might end up being something great, if you let it.”

Just like I’m feeling right now. I sigh and give her a smile. I doubt she feels ‘just’ like I’m feeling, but it’s a little relieving to know that I’m not the only one bothered by the badgering.

Kaitlyn is the oldest of the four siblings. She’s twenty-five now and met Chris back when she was seventeen. They had a similar story to Sophie’s and also had a beautiful wedding, but Kaitlyn has always been more humble than Sophie somehow. She tells the story of how they met with a tone of love in her voice, but she’s known her soulmate for eight years now and has been married for five. She hasn’t had any kids and she didn’t get married the second she turned eighteen. She waited and did what she wanted to, when she wanted to, despite the pestering and talk from family and friends. She’s strong. Mom isn’t as close to Kaitlyn as she is Sophie, and I think that’s why. Because she hasn’t done the perfect cookie cutter life like Mom did. Almost, but not quite. She’s more independent. I’d like to be more independent.

“Thank you, Kaitlyn. That makes me feel a bit better.”

“Just remember to breathe and get out of this day what you want. Okay?”

“Okay.”

She smiles, a look of pride and sympathy, then stands up and continues with my hair.

It doesn’t take long for her to start on the curling, hair-spraying, blowdrying process. The whole time I sit as still as possible and stare at my reflection. Big brown eyes with slightly puffy bags underneath from a long nights sleep stare back at me. Thin lips, slightly crooked teeth from bad retainer habits in my younger years and long brunette hair that drapes down my back are the other things I see. It feels funny looking at myself for so long. I’m not one to ooh and ahh over my looks for twenty minutes in the morning like some girls do. Mostly because I don’t see anything worth staring at for that long.

0•06•32•12

Twenty minutes pass as Kaitlyn works her magic, starting from one side of my head and circling around to the other. I swear, she’s a born hairstylist. I’ve always thought she should go to school for it. If not a hairstylist, maybe a harp player or something that her nimble fingers would make her really good at. She runs a small business with her husband instead.

Once she finishes, my hair looks lovely. Loose, silky curls that flow down to the middle of my back.

I slip my feet into the white sandals Mom and Sophie talked about, then Kaitlyn adds the finishing touches; a bit of mascara and a touch of lip gloss.

“Okay, I think you're all done,” she decides. “Stand up. Let me see.”

I rise from the ottoman and take a few steps back so she can see me from head to toe. She looks me up and down with a small smile, nodding her head as she analyzes each aspect of my ensemble. “So… What do you think?” I ask hesitantly.

She raises her eyes to meet mine. “You look beautiful.”

I smile a little, feeling myself blush again. I’m not used to so much attention. I try to stay out of the spotlight, but lately, it’s been all on me. “Thanks.”

“You’re going to blow that lucky fella away.” She goes over to start packing up the hair supplies. “And not just because of your dress and your hair.”

I simply smile and grab my bag. Kaitlyn has managed to make me feel flattered and a bit calmer than I was before.

I open the door and make my way down the stairs. Mom and Sophie are waiting on the couch at the bottom and jump up as soon as they see me.

Comments and compliments, tips and suggestions, things I should do when I meet him and things I should remember pour out of their mouths in a rushed, excited blur.

You’re so pretty!

I’m going to cry!

Think about the ocean when you find yourself getting too excited to sit still in your classes. It will calm you down.

When you see him, look into his eyes right away.

If he looks hesitant, flip your hair and laugh. That’ll pull him in.

Nearly all of their suggestions are eye-roll worthy. So I simply ignore them and try to remember everything Kaitlyn said as I make my way to the front door. “Thanks guys, but I think I’ve got it covered.”

“Good luck!” Mom says. They both practically jump up and down for me. They remind me of chihuahuas. The kind that shake and wag their tails over every little thing. It’s ridiculous.

I notice that Dad is watching from the kitchen and Kaitlyn is standing at the top of the stairs, giving me a reassuring nod.

“I can’t wait to hear every detail,” Sophie tells me.

“Right. I’ll… see you guys later.” My hand finds the door handle just as Lineal pushes past Kaitlyn in a rush to get down the stairs. Late, as usual.

“Bye!” He flips his hand up in a quick wave, then returns it to the strap of his backpack. I turn the handle and open the door. He hurries through it and I follow close behind, closing the door as I go. Mom and Sophie rush more words of encouragement until the door comes to a complete close.

I collapse against the door for a moment and let out a long breath. I think I made it through the worst of it.

Lineal honks the car horn a couple times. “Come on, Hailey! We’re going to be late!”

I close my eyes for a second, knowing this will be the last moment I will get for the entire day. Then I push myself back into a standing position and hurry to the car. I throw my bag into the back seat and hop into the shotgun seat of Lineal’s convertible. I’m relieved he’s driving today, because I know he doesn’t care enough to interrogate me. He’s a little too cold sometimes.

As he pulls out of the driveway, the thought runs through my head again. I think I made it through the worst of it. At least, I hope I made it through the worst of it.