Chapter 106

The next morning, Claire was woken by her Mom. It had been so long since Claire woke up to the sight of her Mom smiling and calling her ‘Sunshine’, she didn’t realize how much she missed it.
“Lukas said that he didn’t want you to miss breakfast again,” She explained, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Claire pushed her hair out of her face, that sounded like exactly what Lukas would say. “Have you eaten breakfast, Mom?” She asked, her voice drowsy.
Julia smiled, “Yes, your Dad and I have already eaten, it’s past nine you know.” She said without a hint of judgment in her eyes, even without the obvious reasons why her daughter had slept in, Julia wouldn’t criticize her for getting some much-needed rest.
"Thanks, Mom." She said kindly, getting out of bed to get cleaned up.
Her mother was long gone by the time she returned, so she just headed straight for the dining room so she could have breakfast.
After breakfast, she met up with the ladies in the sunroom. The space was already cleared up in preparations for the decorations, white billowing curtains covering most of the furniture in the room.
"There she is, the bride to be!" Julia beamed when she stepped into the sunroom.
Claire colored up at this, whispering to her Mom on the side to stop embarrassing her, a request that Julia found funny.
"Have you thought about the wedding dress you want?" Senite asked moments after.
It was just the three of them, Rosie had been called off by Lola to help her move something or the other.
Claire thought about it, "Not really, I hoped that we could do some searching together or…" She trailed off, a thought suddenly hitting her.
She had never been one to fantasize about what kind of wedding dress she wanted, she was more interested in finding love than lavish weddings but somehow she had managed to get both.
But there was someone who could come up with the perfect dress for her.
"Is something wrong?" Julia quickly asked, noticing her pause.
"It's just, I'm good friends with Sabrina Vaschell and she's such a great designer, I'm sure she would want to design a wedding dress for me." She said earnestly.
Senite was the only one awed, "I knew you were close but I didn't know you were such good friends," She breathed, "If Lady Vaschell would be willing to do it then that would be wonderful."
"Who is Lady Vaschell?" Julia asked politely.
Claire excused herself to make a call while Senite explained to her Mom just how famous the socialite was.
She hadn't told Sabrina about her wedding, unsure of if it was right to invite her over but after the dinner party, they had grown even closer.
"Luna Claire, hi!" Sabrina picked up her call right away, a smile in her voice.
After quick pleasantries, Claire decided to just come out with it. "So, I'll be getting married this Saturday and it's supposed to be a very quiet affair…"
Sabrina was happy to hear this, and even happier that the Luna Queen had decided to tell her. "Oh my! Congratulations, Luna Claire!" She said in a rush, "If I'm not being too presumptuous, do you mind if I design your wedding dress? I mean, I understand if you already have a dress… silly me, of course, you'd already have a dress, I'm so sorry for even suggesting that…"
"Slow down, Sabrina," Claire said, finally able to get a word in. "That was exactly why I called, I didn't want to sound shallow and that's why I hesitated."
Sabrina went silent for a few seconds and then broke into laughter, "We're both so silly, aren't we?" She asked rhetorically, "Of course I'd love to design your wedding dress if you'd let me, I'd be honored even." She was quick to clarify.
"Absolutely!" Claire said, happy that her request went so well.
"How about I come over to the mansion with some pictures and also to take your measurements?" Sabrina inquired.
Claire frowned, "Of course, but would you be able to make it in time?" She asked in concern, it was already Tuesday and the wedding was on Saturday.
"Oh, don't worry about that, leave it all to me," Sabrina reassured her. "I'll be there in half an hour," She tagged on before hanging up.
Claire glanced at her screen with a smile before returning to the sunroom where Senite and her Mom were waiting expectantly with matching nervous expressions.
"How did it go, Sunshine?" Julia asked, after learning all there was to know about Lady Vaschell, she had every reason to be worried.
Someone as important as the wealthy celebrity would certainly be too busy to make a wedding dress at the last minute. Especially as her limited edition designs which were just recently released had sold out like hotcakes.
"It went fine, Sabrina is on her way over so we can pick out a design and she can get started on it," Claire said casually.
This stunned both women, Lola and Rosie making their way over when they overheard a snippet of the conversation.
"Luna Claire, did you just say that Lady Vaschell’s is coming over?" Lola repeated with wide eyes filled with disbelief.
"In about half an hour at the very least," She kindly confirmed, settling down on a curtain covered stool. "So the matter of the dress is resolved, we can put our energies into other things." She concluded, glancing at her phone to see that she had gotten a text from Sabrina saying that she just left her manor.
She looked up after a brief spell to find everyone watching her with amazement, "Is something wrong?"
"Not at all," Senite reassured her, returning to the conversation they were previously having about the decorations.
Sabrina showed up just like she promised, Claire going downstairs to get her friend. It was a little odd to see the usually elegantly dressed half werewolf in casual clothes but Claire was dressed the same way so she didn't bat an eyelid at it.
"Thanks for showing up," Claire beamed, taking her wrist to lead her across the foyer and up the stairs.
"Anytime," Sabrina smiled wryly, a large tote bag slung over her shoulder.
"Do you mind if we go up to the sunroom on the second floor?" Claire asked.
"Is that where you intend to hold the wedding?" Sabrina immediately asked, her eyes twinkling.
"Yes but I must warn you, it's a little crowded up there and I'd like to introduce you to my Mom."
Sabrina waved a delicate, jewelry laden hand. "Company doesn't bother me and I'd love to meet your Mom."
That was all Claire needed to hurry her up along to the sunroom, "Here it is," She introduced, holding the door open for her to go in.
"Everyone, this is Sabrina, my good friend," She announced to the group who had fallen silent when she stepped in.
"I'm sure you know Senite, but that's Lola, Rosie and my Mom." Claire introduced, walking in with Sabrina.
"Lovely to meet you, Lady Grey," Sabrina said politely to Senite.
"The pleasure is all mine, Lady Vaschell," Senite said in turn, rising to her feet.
Lola and Rosie were pretty much tongue-tied, only able to wave with barely held back excitement while Sabrina laughed and waved right back.
Her Mom was the only one that walked up to Sabrina and pulled her into a hug, "Claire told me how you're both such good friends, thanks for looking after her."
Sabrina beamed, "I will, Mrs. Mckay…" She earnestly replied.
"Oh please, call me Julia, you're so sweet." She added in a soft voice, returning to her seat.
Claire decided to take the helm at this point, "Now that the pleasantries are over, why don't we get to work?" She suggested.
"Of course, of course," Sabrina was quick to agree, emptying out her tote bag. "Alright, let's get to choosing the perfect dress!"
They spent hours perusing Sabrina’s sketch book and even looked at inspirations from the Internet. There were about six women working on the dress so there were a lot of choices, suggestions and opinions. But the final decision was left up to Claire as it was her wedding dress.
They even had to take a lunch break in between their decision-making, returning back to the sunroom after they were satiated to go back to comparing sketches and discussing.
Eventually, a design was decided upon and Sabrina could finally get to work but before the half werewolf could leave, Lola jumped on the chance to speak to one of her idols and ask for her advice on the decorations.
Sabrina only left when it was close to dusk and Claire worried that she had taken far too much of her friend's time but Sabrina looked so happy when she got into her car that she couldn't bring herself to say it.
"I'll bring the dress on Friday for testing and if there's any issues before then, I'll just call," Sabrina said before driving off.