br>Part 3

"Well, I assume I'll have to strip most of the way down to get into the gown in a changing room and then come out so they can mark adjustments. Shelly said to expect that, when she was measuring me a few weeks ago."

"That's right as far as it goes, I'd assumed there was a private changing room," I felt, more than actually saw, Carol stiffen up a bit at that. "but, when I called on Monday, I found out we're expected to change in the same room."

I sighed. My instructors HAD prepared me for this, but I'd hoped to not really have to. Well, I guess I'll have to deal with it. "I think I can manage that. How far down do we have to strip? I mean, do I get to wear my own unders?"

"Well," began Stacy.

"Let me guess, we're all going to end up with matching sets or something."

"How did you guess?"

"It's a little detail. Carol likes to get things organized down to the littlest detail." Turning to my friend. "The bras will be fitted in private, won't they?"

She nodded. "Okay, then, as long as the fitter is professional, I don't think we have anything to worry about. She'll have seen breast forms before, and I shouldn't have to explain anything about the hows and whys. I assume that the rest doesn't require special fitting?"

"Nooo. Just a size should be enough."

I smiled, "Don't worry Stacy. I've been fitted for a bra before. It was part of the school your sister arranged for me to attend. I'll admit to being more than a little nervous the first time, but the fitters comment was on the quality of the forms, and hoped that I was recovering well."

"Recovering?"

I nodded. "I think she assumed I'd had a double mastectomy."

I could see light dawning in both of their faces.

"That would make sense, and if someone were to ask, we could just say..."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Stacy."

Carol gave a little snicker.

"What?" her sister asked.

"Stevie can't lie to save her life, Stace," then to me, "You'd tell them the truth wouldn't you?"

"If asked," I said quietly.

"Okay then, let's see if we can avoid the question. But, if it does come up, we'll deal with any consequences.

We chatted for another hour or so, and Stacy became more and more comfortable as the time went on. Carol also visibly relaxed.

As they were leaving, Carol gave me a big hug. "I'm soooo glad you're finally here now, Stevie."

"I know, and thanks, Carol."

About an hour later, I got a call from Stacy.

"Stevie, I know you've done far more than anyone could have asked for Carol, and I really want to thank you. I'd really not realized how tense she'd been the past months, until our ride home, and she was sooo relaxed. I'm not sure how or why, but she's acting as if she's not got a care in the world."

"I'm glad. She should be happy now, not stressing."

"Thank you, Stevie. I just had to call and tell you that I appreciate all you've done."

"I've done what anyone would do for a friend." I paused briefly. "Okay, maybe a bit more, but, nothing I really wasn't happy to do."

"Whatever it is, I'm glad. Now, since I'm sure you're exhausted, I'll let you go. We'll stop by to pick you and the others up, before we head off shoe shopping."

"Let me guess, shoes to match the gowns."

"Yeah, I forgot to mention that was part of the fitting. We need you all to have your shoes, so the lengths will be right."

"No problem, Stacy. I'd wondered how that was going to be managed. I'll see you in the morning."

"Thanks again." She hung up.

I spent a little time hanging things up, and getting ready for bed. I suddenly thought to check the pillows, and was relieved to see that my preferred foam pillows were there and I'd not have to push off the feather pillows. The times I'd forgotten to check, I'd not lasted the night. Allergies ARE a big pain. After cleaning up, I got in my nightgown, and was asleep almost as quickly as my head hit my pillow.

At breakfast, I tried to guess who the other bridesmaids might be. Then, realizing I was silly, I gave up and enjoyed a light breakfast of yogurt and fruit instead. I pulled out my crackberry to check the time and saw I had enough to go back up and make sure all was ready. If I'm going to be doing this much, I need a watch. I sighed. What am I thinking? Once the wedding is over, I'll have to revert to being Steve.

I shook myself, and decided to make the best of things.

In the lobby, I found Carol waiting with two other ladies.

"Hi, Stevie. This is Karen and Samantha."

I greeted them both as Carol explained that they were the two that had shared an apartment with her while at Wharton.

"I recall your time in Philly. She used to tell tales about you two."

"Stevie."

"No, seriously, she said nothing but nice things."

"You're the person she was talking to all the time?"

"I dunno, you'd have to ask her."

They both looked at Carol and she shrugged. "Probably."

They both laughed, and Karen said, "Sam, how many times you figure Carol called her?"

"Oh, at least once a week. You know, at first, I thought you were her boyfriend. Until she went out with that guy, what was his name Karen?"

"You mean the blond in our class, or was it the artist?"

"Oh, I forgot about the artist. I meant the blond though."

I could see Carol starting to get nervous, so I decided to intervene. "Are we meeting Stacy and the others here? Or, should we get going?"

I could see the gratitude in Carol's eyes; "No, we're supposed to meet them at the shop, and Louise will be a little late, so if we don't get a move on, the whole day will be delayed."

I could see they didn't mind stopping the teasing too much. We went and got into Carol's BMW, and settled down for the ride.

"Where are you two from?"

"We're in The City at Goldman Sachs. You?"

"Believe it or not, Jersey."

We had about fifteen minutes to chat about things we'd seen or done in the area. It seemed they had similar tastes in Broadway shows, and had seen some of the same ones.

We had gotten so engrossed in talking about The City, that we almost didn't notice when Carol pulled into a parking lot.

As we got out, she said, "Looks like Stacy's not here yet. She was picking up Mary and Alice. Let's go on in and get started." She looked at her watch, and looked around again.

"Come on, Carol. Stacy'll be here. Don't worry."

"Thanks, Stevie. I know, I just want..."

I interrupted. "Yes, you want everything to run smoothly, and it will."

She took a deep breath, while looking at me, "I know." She said as she let it out. "Thanks."

We went on into the store to see what Carol had planned for our feet.

When we saw the shoes, Sam and Karen were happy with the style, but I was a bit concerned. "I'm tall enough already, and you want me to wear heels like that?"

"Oh, you won't be the tallest, Stevie. Wait until you meet Louise."

I wondered how tall she was. At 5' 9", I was no shrimp. I did try on the shoes, and found them very comfortable. I was glad my feet, while a bit on the large side, were not huge. I smiled a little.

"What's so funny, Stevie?"

"Oh, I was just thinking that it was a little funny that my feet are a half size smaller than Shelly's."

She smiled as well. "Oh, there's Stacy pulling in."

I looked out, and saw a blue Honda pulling in. "You stay here with them and I'll let Stacy know we're already here.

"Hi Stacy, you're late, Carol's been looking out the window for the past five minutes."

"I'd planned on being here first, but Alice's husband's out of town, and her sitter had just gotten there."

I saw one of them looking a little tired. "You must be Alice. I'm Stevie and I understand how it can be. Luckily my oldest is approaching the point where she can be left at home in charge of her younger siblings."

"That'll be a nice time, but my twins are only seven."

I nodded understanding. "We'd best go in Stacy."

"Yes, we don't need Carol to have a conniption. By the way, as she introduced herself, this is Stevie, Carol's oldest friend. And you figured out who Alice was, and this is Mary."

I could see that Mary appeared to be a shy person. "Did you have to use the old word?" That got a laugh out of them all, and we went in.

"Stacy, you got here. Now, if only Louise could get here too."

I went over to Carol, and put an arm on her shoulder. She'll get here too. You said she'd be later than the rest of us."

I could feel her tenseness easing out. "I know, Stevie, but..."

"No buts, Carol. We're having fun, and you will too. I know you don't let anybody tell you what to do, but since I'm nobody..."

That produced a snort from Stacy, which got the attention of the others.

"It's a long story that Stacy heard yesterday, so it's still fresh in her mind. If there's time later, and Carol misbehaves, maybe I'll share it." I looked at Carol meaningfully.

"I'll be good, Stevie."

The other girls all laughed at that.

"How do you do that? I've NEVER seen Carol back down." Samantha said as she joined us.

"Blackmail," I said, as if I were serious. "I know where she buried the bodies."

They laughed more at that.

"No, seriously, I'm sure that it's just because I've known her since our freshman year in college. It gives me a small advantage."

The shoe fitting went well, and we all got our shoes. I was a bit surprised that the same style seemed to fit us all so well. At that point, a very tall lady walked in and Carol jumped up. I reached out and took her hand. "Louise?"

She nodded, and dragged me over. "Louise, I'm glad you got here. I was afraid you'd have to meet us at the dress shop."

"I got off work a little earlier than I'd feared, so I'm here. I do hope you have some flats for me to wear?"

"I'm afraid not. She has us all on stilts." I said with a straight face.

"You must be one of the out-of-town girls."

"Yes, call me Stevie, and the two over there are Sam and Karen."

"She waved and turned to Carol. What's this about stilts?"

"They're only little heels. Stevie's exaggerating."

"Unless she's letting you get off easy, they're two inches."

Louise gave a martyred sigh. "What I do for you, Carol."

Stacy came up and snickered. "Stevie was about as happy with them, Louise."

"Yes, but, she's almost a shrimp like the rest of you."

I suspected the complaints were mostly an act, but wasn't sure, so I decided to lay off a bit.

"Why don't you go try them on? You may be pleasantly surprised at their comfort. I know I was."

She was, though they must have made her well over six feet tall. She could have been a model, but she had the same large bones I did, but a better figure to go with it. I wondered what she did for a living that she was on night shift.

We stopped at a lingerie store next. We'd all get more or less matching bras. The gowns would preclude the use of a standard one, as the straps would show. I know I was a little concerned, but the others didn't seem in too worried.

As it turned out, I needn't have worried. The fitter recognized my forms, for what they were, and was very professional about the whole thing. She did once say something about hoping I was better, but besides that, I was fitted and had a new bra, just like the other girls. I guess the private fittings did help avoid questions too, for which I was thankful.

We went on to the bridal shop, with our bags of shoes, for our fitting. I learned then that we'd have a final small adjustment the day before the wedding.

I must say, the gowns were lovely, and seemed to be good for most of us. I also understood the need for the bras that had been selected. I'd been a little concerned, but needn't have been. Alice complained that they would be hot, but the rest of us were happy. Upon discovering they were full length, I understood why we'd stopped for the shoes first. While the gowns seemed to make me feel even taller, I thought it would also be good for hiding the breast forms. The fabric was Bella Satin, in two colors with an empire waist. The top was a wonderful burgundy, while the remainder was a pale rose cream that matched the shoes perfectly. The neck was beaded with what looked like garnets, but, I couldn't believe that.

There weren't any private changing areas, but, as I'd come prepared, nothing happened. I think I caught a look of surprise at one point from Stacy and Carol, but just smiled and kept going.

Louise and Karen were very stunning, and the rest all looked very nice as well. I was surprised I even looked okay in mine. They said my light tan and hair were perfect for the gown.

I thought mine fitted well when I tried it on, but the seamstress found several points to adjust.

"Stacy, would you mind taking a shot? I'd like to show Shelly what it looks like. I'm sure my description wouldn't do it justice."

"I'm not sure if we're supposed to, but I think it'd be okay in this case."

She took my camera, and took a picture. At the flash, the director of the studio came over.

"Please, no pictures now. After the wedding."

"André, Stevie wanted to show her spouse what it looked like, to allow for some coordination."

"I give a swatch of the fabric. No show this to anyone else, please."

"Of course not. I want most people to be surprised as much as the next. Do we get to see Carol's gown too?"

"Of course, she's being fitted now. You all must see this work of art."

He seemed proud of his work, and I was looking forward to seeing what he'd done for Carol. She didn't have an ounce of fat on her body, the way she burned it off with her constant motion. She'd been rushing from one to the other of us until just a few minutes ago.

I reluctantly changed out of the gown, and back into my skirt outfit.

I was just putting my shoes back on, when André came out; "Would the one of you called Stevie please come back."

I wondered what had happened, but as soon as I got there, I realized what it was; she couldn't hold still long enough for adjustments to be made.

"Make her settle down." André ordered.

I walked over and held out my hand. "Carol."

"I'm sorry, Stevie. I'm worried about what might go wrong."

"I'm here, Carol, and nothing will go wrong. We're all here to help you. Just stand still, and let the nice man do his job."

She giggled, but did settle down. A few minutes later, he was done, and we escorted Carol out so the others could see her. I was able to let go of her hand finally, and step back. The gown was beautiful, and she looked absolutely fabulous, as every bride should.

--- Continued