31 August 2012
Chapter 3:
I woke up at the crack of dawn the next Saturday morning. At first I was greeted with the ever so regular butterflies, but after laying in bed for a few minutes I calmed myself enough to put my nerves to one side and turn them into excitement.
After having my shower I felt fresh and ready for my first serious job. I found it hard to chose what to wear; I wanted to look smart and present myself in a suitable way, but I would probably be working in the back room and so decided not to dress too formally. I put on my black skinny jeans, a blue and white striped shirt, my heeled boots and a navy blazer. I didn't want my hair in my face so tied it in a high bun.
I went down stairs and heard my usual lively family. There were six of us in total and I was the only girl (along with my mum) so often fought my battle in this household. As alway mum had laid out a delicious breakfast with waffles and pancakes but the sight of food just made me feel ill. I decided to call Jasmine, my best friend and meet her for coffee round the corner from the boutique. As I left the house I thanked mum for her efforts with breakfast and the whole family sang a "good luck" as I ran out the door.
I saw Jasmine come skipping in with her usual big grin, and we ran into each others arms. It had been a while since we saw each other so our 'quick cuddle' actually lasted quite a long time.
"so, Soph, you excited? We all know how badly you wanted this job." I put my coffee down and tried to steady my nervous hand. "I still can't believe I got it within such a short amount of time! I'm so happy and luckily Cindy is really nice. I can't wait to meet her sister."
As we babbled on and on as we usually did, Jasmine told me about her exciting adventures in India and New York; she decided to travel in her gap year, whereas I just wanted to dive straight into uni. There was a lot of work and I often craved relaxation and rest. I sometimes regretted not taking a gap year as I have plenty of things I want to tick off my bucket list.
After several coffees between us, I checked my watch and couldn't believe it was already ten to twelve. As always, I began to panic and started rushing around frantically. Jasmine linked her arm in mine and calmly walked me out the coffee bean. All those nerves I managed to put to bed earlier had come back to say hello, so I started to take deep breaths which seemed to help slightly.
Jasmine turned to face me a few metres in front of the store. "you'll be fine. I promise." "thanks Jas, I don't know why I'm getting so worked up!" I gave her a hug and rolled my shoulders a few times before making my way to the door.
That familiar bell rang out and I carefully walked into the boutique. The cold air from outside was replaced by a glowing warmth in the store and there was a beautiful scent wafting through the air. I couldn't see Cindy around and didn't think it was appropriate to call out for her. I walked around admiring every detail of the wedding shop. How I dreamt to one day have a place like this of my own. I was still sure I wanted to get into law, but maybe if I had enough money one day I could buy a little shop like this as well.
I ran my fingers across the hundreds of dresses that had been neatly hung on the vintage racks. Once I had finished carefully looking at the dresses on one side of the room, I noticed a small white shelf with little ornaments on it. There was a very old picture frame containing a photograph of a bride and groom, that I presumed was taken years ago as it was beginning to fade. Next to it was a white candle that was giving off that gorgeous smell when I came in. It reminded me of Christmas.
I heard the clicking of high heels coming my way and Cindy came from the back and stood in front of me.
"hello Sophia, you're right on time. Now about the orders, there are only a few dresses and accessories that need to be brought in, so I was thinking that when you finished you could help me change the window dresses over, they've been there for far too long." "oh yes! I would love to." "great," Cindy replied "now follow me I'll show you to your desk."
As I walked behind Cindy through the narrow corridor, the darkness was brought to life by tiny golden fairy lights along the walls.
Cindy showed me to my desk and explained everything to me, it seemed fairly simple and I got my head around it quickly and before I knew it Cindy was gone. I relaxed in my seat and took in my new little office. My desk was a white colour with delicately carved corners. There were cute little signs hung up around the room and it felt a lot more cosy here than in the tiny corner I got at my parents work. I wanted to get on with my work so that I could go and help Cindy with the dresses. I was so excited, but tried to keep myself calm as I knew this had to be done properly with no mistakes.
I rang up my first supplier which was called "belle mariee" which I knew meant beautiful bride in French. It was very simple I just gave them the code and dress name and it was done. Within half an hour I had finished the orders, I tidied up behind myself and made my wake back to the front of the store. "oh great, you're finished already?" "yes, everything was fine and the orders will be here by Wednesday at the latest." "oh fantastic!" she cried out, "you're a star. Now let's finish this off and then we'll have a nice cup of tea."
Cindy pointed to the antique chair I had sat in for my interview and there lay the most beautiful bridal gown I had ever seen. It was an ivory shade with a strapless top and stunning lace embroidery to cover it. From the waste it went out slightly but it was very understated and classy; that's what I liked about it. It was seeing dresses like this as a child that made me fall in love with this hidden treasure.
I didn't want to touch the dress without Cindy's permission but she gestured again at me telling me it was ok to. "so, I've already taken taken the old one off your mannequin, so you need to be fast in putting the next one on or we'll give the customers a fright!"
I picked up the dress carefully, surprising myself how heavy it was, and began to dress my bare statue. I giggled slightly as at first it was quite strange, but Cindy comforted me telling me it got less weird each time.
We had a nice conversation about my plans and hers too, and our chat flowed easily with no awkwardness at all. I knew straight away that I liked Cindy and we would get on perfectly. Once we were both finished we stepped outside to look at the dresses and smiled to each other. The feeling I had inside was one I only rarely got and it was one that told me I had fallen in love with my new job already.
by vera©
The Wedding Shop • Opuss № I