The Flower Girl - Part 2 (Patreon)

"Umm, what the hell is this?!" Jaida's cheeks blazed as she stared at the dress hanging there, waiting for her. It wasn't awful, by any means, but it was also very much not the one she'd been shown pictures of up until now. If anything, it looked more similar to Violet's dress now, except less intricate, more simple and childish.

"That's your dress," Violet's sister, Wendy, rolled her eyes. "Duh. Look at the tag."

Jaida and Wendy had never been big fans of one another, and that apparently wasn't going to change even now that they were both getting ready to be in Wendy's wedding together. "Yeah, but..." Jaida protested.

"I thought by Violet having someone your age as a flower girl, I could get through one wedding without having to help the flower girl get dressed, but I suppose that's the curse of being a big sister... There's always somebody who needs a hand," Wendy gave a long-suffering sigh. "I just thought today it would be Violet..."

"I can do it!" Jaida insisted. "But there's been a mistake, so maybe I should..."

"Don't you dare!" Wendy shot Jaida an icy glare as she edged towards the room where Violet was preparing. "She has enough on her plate today! Besides, even if it is wrong, what do you think she can do about it now?"

Jaida shrugged, seeing her point, even if she didn't like it. The most she could do was tell Violet, again, that she should have had the dress sent to Jaida herself, rather than her own house... Then Jaida could have tried it on beforehand, and seen that it wasn't right. Violet had vetoed that, reminding Jaida of how forgetful she had been back in high school, saying she wanted to make sure the dress made it there so Jaida didn't have to race back across town to grab it right before the wedding started. Jaida was much less spacy these days, but Violet still said she would feel better doing it her way.

Jaida slid the dress off its hanger, trying to convince herself it was just as good as the one she'd been expecting, only to see something else hanging behind it, something that nearly made her drop the dress in shock, and embarrassment. Quickly, she tried to slip the dress back onto the hanger, to hide it, her fumbling fingers failing to work properly, instead sending everything onto the floor in a pile.

"All right, that's it!" Wendy declared. "I don't want you making a mess of your dress before you've ever worn it... Give it here, and I'll do it."

"N-No, that's okay," Jaida insisted. "I've got it, I just..." She yanked the dress off the floor to appease Wendy, failing to snatch the other garment up at the same time, like she'd wanted. It sat there, mocking her, making her face warm a few extra degrees.

"You'll need that, too," Wendy told her, like it was perfectly normal.

"What?!" Jaida squeaked. "Why?!"

"It's just traditional flower girl stuff," Wendy shrugged. "Obviously, most flower girls are a little younger than you, and they have to stand up there for quite a while, so... It's a cautionary thing."

"But I am older," Jaida reminded the other woman of what she'd just said. "I don't..."

"You did the last I heard," Wendy smirked. Jaida wanted to sink through the floor; she'd really hoped Wendy had forgotten about that, or at least wouldn't bring it up... Jaida had, indeed, had to wear Goodnites, just like the one staring up at her from the floor, to her sleepovers with Violet, until after Wendy had headed off to college. "It's tradition," she repeated. "So you will put it on, or I'll put it on for you."

Jaida wanted to say no, but Wendy still scared her a little... She was still bigger and older than her, and rather intimidating... Jaida had no problem imagining her doing exactly what she threatened, making it hard to know if it was safe to take it as a joke or not. 

Thankfully, Jaida decided not to, because, as soon as she'd changed, Wendy marched up to her and said, "Well? Show me."