LONDON CALLING

"Look, if you guys don't think we should do this today..." Simone began, feeling like Rowan and Ruby were getting perhaps too nervous for them to continue this. They reached the dress shop, and Simone went inside, already regretting this trip. Right now, she wanted to just pick any dress of the rack and get out. She went to the rack of bridesmaid dresses first, hoping to hep Ruby find something either in taupe or sage green. "You've got such a good figure, you could wear any of these," Simone told her. "What sort of style do you like?" Simone wasn't terribly worried about size. Magic allowed anything to be perfectly resized.

When Victor and Edward got done on the hippogriff, they joined Angus and Victor on the patio and looked at the sketches that Sam and Angus had done for the cake for Ruby and Angus's wedding. Angus wasn't considering a groom's cake. He just wanted one nice wedding cake, and he wanted it to reflect the milky way. He wanted it to be something she would truly love.

Ruby followed her to the dress shop and smiled " this isn't for me its for you Simone, as you said I have my dress" she told her " you chose your dress" she said placing the bags down by Rowan who stood beside them this shop was practiacl empty making Rowans job easier.

"choose what you like Simone, and don't worry wee okay here" he asid smiling " I like the burn umber one over on the maniquinne" he pointed to a floor lrngth dress to his right." Ruby looked at it and smiled " its beautiful " she said walking over " why not try it on Simone." she said as an anassistant walked over to them.

Simone agreed to try the dress on. It was a pretty dress, but she didn't want a floor length dress. She didn't want something so frilly and fanciful. In her mind, those were for first time brides, young women like Ruby. She had originally thought that perhaps she would pick a pretty dress from her own closet and then she and Edward would just go to the registrar. Edward wanted, at least, to have a nice spot someplace to have a ceremony where all their good friends or family could join them, and that was hard to do in the registrar's. The problem with the taupe dress was that it looked entirely too much like a wedding gown.

The shop assistant cold tell that she was not entirely sold on it and asked her why, and she told her that she really didnt like the floor length hem. The assistant conjured the hem a couple different ways for her-a straight tea length hem and then as a high low hem with a tea length in the front and not quite brushing the floor in the back so it wouldn't drag on the grass or in the mud. That made her a little less nervous. She agreed to set it aside.

Then she saw a dress that was sage green with some wisps of white and of different shades of green. It would go well with the headpiece, if she chose to wear it. And it wasn't floor length. She couldn't decide. She finally decided to take them both. She bought shoes to go with both dresses.

"I know that perhaps I shouldn't take the first dress or two I've seen, but I've been turning this over in my head nonstop for days and days. And these are better than anything else I've debated about. If worse comes to worse, I can wear one dress for the ceremony and the other for the reception. I didn't go through this much debate when I married Maurice. My mother and my grandmother helped me pick that gown. I've still got that dress someplace, but that is overdone in miles of lace and fru fru stuff. The only place that dress would work is if we got married in a cathedral someplace."

Ruby watched Simone pick two dresses and heard her say she shouldn't have taken the first dress she saw but Ruby smiled " Simone relax this is your wedding nobody will say anything, chose and do what you want" she said smiling at her " long dresses can be taken up if you don't like the length, and I'm sure Edward would do the same but he loves you for you and would probably run to city hall, Angus said the same thing for us." she chuckled " not that I wouldn't mind but I'm holding out" she said looking at some dresses but she knew she ahd hers back with Kate.

Rowan looked at the two dresses Simone had picked and smiled " well they both look good ." but can't you alter them or something?" he said looking at both dresses. " it is suits for the guys?" he asked picking up the bags and holding them.

"I think I'm going to take both of these. I think a lot of brides are now wearing one dress for he wedding and one for the reception, so I could always do that. And, yeah, I can take up the hem. Actually, Kate told me that if I find something I like and it doesn't fit exactly right, she said I should buy it anyway and said that, of all people, Marcus is particularly gifted with glamour spells and spells to alter garments. I mean, I should have considered he might know that since he ran in the same diplomatic circles and Maurice and I did, but I didn't even think about how valuable it would be for one to have a bodyguard that could keep their clients looking sharp. It makes immense sense, though."

She took the dresses to the clerk to pay for them. Rowan asked about the guys.

"Yes. Edward wanted something rustic and casual, so he's found this luscious brown tweed suit for him and for Angus. I saw a swatch of the fabric, but he isn't letting me see it until he can see my dress. So I guess I'll have to trust that he's well turned out. He says he's made sure that both suits are very sharply tailored. Alright. I think that's it for me for now. Do either of you have something you want to do, or shall we head straight for home?"

Ruby thought for amoment and shook her head " nope I got what I ws asked for, what about you Rowan?" she asked and he too shook his head.

"nope , I came with you ladies he said " so if your okay I'll take you home, and yes most bodyguards to use glamer spells to keep looking sharp as well as their cliants." he said smiling as he offeed her his arm to aperate back home. Once both had held on tight he aperated them to the living room " here we go ladies home safe and sound" he said with a smile as he moved from them both.

"Thank you," Simone said.

"That didn't take long," Edward said, seeing her boxes. "That has to be the quickest wedding dress shopping and fitting in history."

"Well, I had good help," Simone smiled. "I'll just put these upstairs. No peeking, now."

"Certainly not, I know better," he laughed.

"Well, I should get back to work," she said. She got out some chicken, some greens, some vegetables, and some asian ingredients--soy, ginger, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, garlic, honey, mirin, and shallots.

"Let me give you a hand," Kate hurried in and joined her. "You know the old saying, many hands make light work."

She and Kate prepared a delicious asian dressing, and then diced the chicken, cut some fresh vegetables and sauteed the chicken in some peanut oil and a little of dressing. They arranged the vegetables as a fabulous asian salad with chicken with fresh peaches and raspberries, and added some chow mein noodles for crunch. Kate stirred together a very hasty fried rice with more vegetable as a side dish, and some little burger sliders with some crispy butter lettuce, homemade hoisin sauce and a quick improvised asian slaw. For dessert, Simone found some waffle cones in the pantry and opted to go to the freezer and serve ice cream cones.

"I don't know what you're making, but ready or not, I'm gonna eat it," Edward teased.

"Well, it's ready now," Simone said. "Can you call everyone?"

"But that would be less for me," Edward teased. Simone laughed, but Edward did his duty and called everyone for lunch.

Rowan watched Simone and Kate coking and smelled the food " yum" he said then heard Michael talk " oh just like me" he said and chuckled " good food is hard to waste" he said and chuckled as he watched Ruby Jack and Jess all appear in the dining room ready to eat along with Sam and Victor, Rowan moved to help Victor slid under the table so he could eat too.  "Smells divine ladies, thank you"he said with a smilebefor he took some food and ate.

Jack and Jess both took some and sat talking between themselves, Ruby gathered a small tray and heded back to where Angus sat.

"I brought you lunch" she said and also handed Andrew a plate too with a drink.

"Thank you," Angus said.

"Thanks, Ruby, I appreciate it," Andrew said.

"The boys worked at their lessons this morning because Andrew's things are coming this afternoon, and Andrew would like to borrow the boys to unpack boxes and get moved in. I think we could try having Andrew next door instead of upstairs, so we're going to try it tonight and see how it goes," Angus told Ruby. "He'll come in the morning and stay during the day, but then he'll go back to his own place at supper time. That means that I'll probably move my shower to doing it in the morning instead of before bed, but it will also give Andrew his evenings off, starting at about 5, like a normal human being. If it works, great. If not, then we'll try something else."

"I told Michael I'd try to do supper tonight," Angus told Ruby, "but I think Michael intends to help anyway. I'll try todo as much breakfast prep as I can because Edward and Simone have an appointment over at Robert's farm tomorrow morning to meet with the woman they've hired as a wedding designer. Apparently, it's an old friend of Simone's that used to help her with designing her diplomatic receptions. I hope to be able to go with them, as a good best man should probably do. You certainly are welcome to come with us, as the maid of honor. I think they're planning on keeping it rustic but pretty--whatever that means." Angus cast her an amused smile.

Ruby looked at Andrew "it's okay, I thought it was about time I showed you that your appreciated" she said smiling then listened to Angus " okay and yes I'll come" she told him " the room situation is fine, and I agree he needs time for himself " she chuckled at Angus mentioning rustic but pretty " are those two words even meant to go together?" she asked with a smirk.

Jess sat with Jack talking about her day at the hospital while Jack massaged her feet whie Jack just listened untill he noticed the clock and stood up after moving her feet.

"Sorry hun my patrol starts se you in a bit" he lent down and kise her gently before leaving the house with Jessie for his patrol of the evening.