The Heartbreak Factor - Part Four

Sat on the plush sofa in the middle of the bridal shop, I looked around at all the wedding dresses that were hung up, lining the wall. Colours of every shade were organised in order, creating a huge rainbow of bridesmaid dresses on the opposite wall. I was meant to be looking at the bridesmaid dresses as Chloe got measured for her wedding dress, but I couldn’t help look at the bridal section in envy. 

“What about this one?” Elle grinned to me, holding up a red dress in my direction, waiting for my opinion. 

Chloe had left us with the strict instructions that the dresses must match her red and white theme, so the red dress that Elle was holding up fitted her criteria perfectly. I stood up, trying to look interested in everything that was going on, and walked towards her, looking at the dress. It had the halter-neck strap that Chloe wanted and was the right length. Chloe would love it.

“Looks okay to me,” I smiled. 

Just as we grabbed the dresses off the rack in our sizes, Chloe came back out of the fitting room, followed by the bridal shop owner. 

“They’re perfect!” she beamed, rushing over and taking hold of the dress in my arms to take a closer look. “They are so perfect! You’ve gotta try them on.”

I nodded after a few moments of hesitation. I shouldn’t have let my jealousy got in the way of Chloe’s excitement for her big day, but I couldn’t help it. 

*

Stood looking in the mirror as I had the bridesmaid dress on, I looked at my reflection as Elle walked into the room in a dress matching mine. 

“I love them,” Elle grinned, twirling around so the dress flowed behind her. “It’s perfect and the colour really compliments our skin tones.”

“They look amazing,” Chloe said.

“Why don’t you try your dress on so we can see what all three of you will look like?” the bridal shop owner suggested to Chloe. 

Without a reply, Chloe eagerly rushed back into the changing room and grabbed her dress that was hung up on the side of the room. I turned back to look in the mirror. They were right – the dresses were lovely but I didn’t feel right in them. I was wrapped up in jealousy and the guilt of not been excited for Chloe was eating away at me. 

*

I carried a tray of coffees over from the counter to the table where Elle and Chloe were sat, guarding the bridesmaid dress bags and Chloe’s wedding dress bag with their lives. Sitting down at the table, I couldn’t help but notice the grin across Chloe’s face. I’d never seen her so happy, ever. Slowly sipping on my coffee, I continued to watch Chloe grin away as she and Elle carried on discussing the wedding plans. 

“I’ll be doing this soon,” Elle beamed after a few minutes of discussing centre pieces. 

“What?” Chloe and I asked in complete unison.

 Elle didn’t reply; instead all she did was continue to grin. 

“Elle..”

“JJ asked me last night and I said yes,” she smiled casually. “We weren’t gonna say anything yet as we don’t wanna do it really soon but..”

I interrupted her. “You’re engaged?”

“Pretty much.”

My heart sunk as I saw Elle slip the ring from her bag onto the engagement finger and show it off to us. I was happy for them both. I was so happy for them both, but I couldn’t help feeling envious of them both at the same time. Elle and Chloe began to organise dates where they could go wedding planning together, leaving me sat on the opposite side of the table, sipping slowly on my coffee. 

Ten minutes slowly crawled by and I decided I’d had enough of wedding talk to last me a lifetime, let alone a day. Standing up, Elle and Chloe broke their wedding excitement and looked up at me. 

“Are you alright?” they asked.

“What? Me? I’m fine,” I lied with a fake smile complimenting the lie. “I just gotta go pick Katy up from my mum’s. Mum reckons she’s coming down with something and won’t stop crying for me.”

“Okay,” Chloe smiled, turning back to Elle to continue the wedding conversation.

Without saying anything else, I picked up my shopping bags from the chair beside the one where I was sat and grabbed hold of my coffee before making my way out of the coffee shop.