Wife Arrangement

Chapter 1

Aaliyah

“Brandee, you’ve tried on every single dress in the store today. You need to either pick one, or we can go to a different store.”

“You don’t understand. This has to be perfect. This is the only time in my life I’ll get to wear a wedding dress, and I want it to be the absolute perfect wedding dress.”

“I do understand. I also understand that if you don’t pick one soon, you’ll be going to your own wedding naked. They have to have time to make any alterations.”

Rachel looks over at the very harassed clerk. After pulling out almost every dress in stock, her hair is messed up, her eyes are glossed over, and she looks as though she is about to strangle herself with the measuring tape.

She takes a deep breath and looks at her watch. “It is time to meet Mom and Dad for lunch anyway. We’ll come back after lunch, and I’ll decide then.”

The clerk looks absolutely horrified at the thought of us returning, as Rachel heads back to the changing room. 

I feel really sorry for her. I hope she earns a good commission from this sale. 

Mom and Dad are waiting for us at Panera’s, my favorite place for lunch.

I sigh heavily as I sink into the chair after ordering potato soup, bread, and iced tea.

“How did it go?” Mom asked, almost sarcastically, as though she had an idea. Rachel has always been indecisive, especially when it came to big decisions.

“I’m pretty sure the clerk is going to commit harikari before we get back, just so she doesn’t have to deal with Rachel.”

“I wasn’t that bad. Besides, this has to be perfect.”

I look at Mom and Dad and make a face. They try to hide their laughter. 

“We have to work on the guest list in the morning.”

“I know. We have to narrow it down some. But I don’t want anyone’s feelings to be hurt because they aren’t invited.”

Then, Rachel narrows her eyes and looks at me. “Who is going to be your plus one?”

Dad chokes on his sandwich when Mom answers for me. “She’ll bring her best friend of course. There will be no weddings for her any time soon. She has to date someone, first.”

“Don’t rush her. She doesn’t even have to get a boyfriend or get married. It’s perfectly normal to put off dating and marriage until one is older.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“At the rate Julia is going, she’ll be eighty before she finds someone. Then, she’ll have to go to one of those online dating sites for senior citizens.”

I glare at Rachel. “I can’t help it if I have a life.”

I look over at Mom. “I will have a date for the wedding. An actual date.”

“Oh, yeah? Who is he?” Rachel taunts.

“You’ll find out.” I need to find out, too.

I take the clerk at the dress store a mocha. She thanks me, and then sighs heavily when Rachel declares that she is having trouble choosing. 

However, she finally decides on an off the shoulder gown with a long train. The intrinsic bead work makes the dress sparkle beneath the lights. It accents her classical figure, and makes her into the fairy princess she wants to be.

The clerk breathes a huge sigh of relief as we leave. 

That evening, I decide I need to practice what I preach and settle on a dress myself. I’m not a big fan of pastels, but I can’t outdo the bride. Dark colors aren’t really appropriate for a made of honor dress, and bright colors wouldn’t really be appropriate. 

After a microwavable dinner and my second glass of wine, I still haven’t found anything that I like that would fit into her theme: A spring wedding. 

I absolutely refuse to get dressed up in a pale yellow, sunshiny dress. I love Rachel, but I won’t do that even for her. 

Finally, after what seems like hours, I finally find a dress I might like. It is simple and is a burnt orange color. This would complement my dark hair, be fashionable, but not garish. I wouldn’t outdo Rachel. I could make the case that it is a spring color, because some early flowers are this color, and so is the sun as it sets. 

However, when I click the link, an ad pops up. 

“Date for Hire.” 

I almost X out of the ad to go on to look at the dress more, but then, a thought jiggles in the back of my head.

I can still hear them saying that I wouldn’t bring a date. I would only bring my male best friend, Luke. 

Luke and I’ve been friends for as long as I can remember, and he has been my date for everything. We went to every school dance, including prom, together. Every party or other event, we went together. It just seemed natural, especially since neither of us seemed to be dating anyone else.

I’ve always had a bit of a crush on him, but I wouldn’t want to risk our friendship by acting on it. I wouldn’t mind going with Luke, and I’m sure he’d like to go to Rachel’s wedding. 

However, I told them that I was going to bring a real date. The problem is, I don’t even know any males who could be a date.

I click on the ad, despite my misgivings. I really don’t need to take a gigolo to my sister’s wedding, and most escort services feature people who are willing to provide a little extra, after “the date.”

The ad says that it caters to the professionals who are too busy to have a dating life. People can hire a date to attend dinners and other functions with them. The functions can be anywhere from a casual party to a formal occasion such as a gala or a wedding. The dates will meet with the professional prior to the function so they can get to know each other, to make the date authentic. After the function is over, that is it. No other activities are allowed.

I wonder…