My First - Jason & Katie by Melanie Shawn

slowly, centering her emotions. Damn! That little exchange had taken her by surprise. It was so odd for Katie to hear people talking about Nick so casually, not crying or speaking in whispers. Just mentioning him as a part of everyday life.
    But, she thought, I guess that's what you're able to do when you stay and deal with something instead of running away, moving to another state where no one even knows who Nick was, let alone ever mentions him.
    It was also odd to think of Nick watching over them, and it was a concept that Katie had never thought of before. Maybe that's what she had sensed outside of the shop. Maybe the feeling of being observed was Nick was watching over her.
    She shook her head. No, no, no. She was letting her imagination work overtime. That crazy feeling was probably just her subconscious trying to deal with all of the emotions she was feeling today. All of the stress she had been under didn’t just disappear – it had to surface somewhere.
    Suddenly, the curtain to Katie's cubicle was whisked aside briskly by Aunt Wendy.
    “Hey!” Katie said in surprise, “I could've been naked in here!”
    Aunt Wendy waved this away like it was a small concern, “Oh, please, honey. Do you think I don't have the sense God gave a grasshopper? I knew you'd be taking a minute to collect yourself before you started undressing. But come on out now before you try on your dress. Sophie's ready for everyone to see her. You can finish after.”
    Katie nodded and stepped back out into the main part of the shop.
    “Okay is everyone ready to see the most beautiful bride in the world?” Grace asked as she pulled the curtain covering the entrance to Sophie’s dressing cubicle to the side.
    As Sophie stepped out of the dressing room, the entire shop was so silent you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone just stared, speechless.
    The sight of Sophie took Katie’s breath away. She was a vision, gorgeous.
    Sophie had altered Grandma Marie’s dress, modernizing the feel by transforming the three quarter sleeve into a cap sleeve. But other than that one small adjustment, the gown looked exactly as Katie remembered. It was incredible, and Sophie looked as if she had stepped right out of a sepia-toned formal wedding portrait and into the real world.
    “So...” Sophie asked nervously, clearly unnerved when she was greeted by nothing but silence, “What do you think?”
    At this question, the room exploded with comments.
    “You’re beautiful!”
    “You looked like you just stepped out of a bridal magazine!”
    “You took my breath away.”
    “You are perfection.”
    “You have never looked so beautiful!”
    “Bobby is going to cry when he sees you.”
    “You look amazing!”
    “You are what a bride is supposed to look like!”
    Sophie didn't look as relieved at the barrage of positive comments as Katie thought she should have. As everyone was still speaking over each other, Sophie turned to Katie and said, voice trembling a little, “Well, what’s the verdict?”
    “Oh, Sophiebell,” Katie cried, grasping the younger woman to her and holding her tight. “You’re utterly stunning. You take my breath away!”
    “Oh, good!” Sophie joked, the relief she felt at Katie's approval evident in her huge smile, “because it’s too late to change the dress now.”
    “You look beautiful, Soph. My brother is a lucky man,” Katie heard a familiar deep voice intone from a few feet behind her.
    Oh no! Jason was here.
    Immediately, Katie slipped back into the dressing room and took her sweet time (as Aunt Wendy was wont to describe it) trying on the bridesmaid's dress. She could hear the other groomsmen arriving, and Katie hoped that this was enough to distract Jason and lure him out of Mona's. She also heard Sophie being rushed back into her own dressing room so that Bobby wouldn’t see her when he arrived at Richard’s, since the two stores were connected by a wide open breezeway. She heard all the voices start to die