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Are you sure you have to do this now? The Doctor asked, again, with pleading eyes.
“Yes, my girl needs me to pick up her altered wedding dress. It won’t take long at all.” Rose answered him with a smile. The same smile and same answer she had given him roughly 10 times on the way to the shop.
“But why do we have to do this now? You can literally do this favor at any time.”
Rose looked at him sideways and contemplated the implications of bursting his bubble. In the interest of saving time, she opted for bursting. “No, Doctor. Not literally, but rather theoretically.” She preempted the question that she was sure would follow his confused look. “This face,” She drew a circle in the air around her face, “was on a milk jug for a year. A whole year.”
“That’s not fair. That was a long time ago. A whole lifetime ago.” The Doctor huffed.
Rose smiled gently and took his hand. “The point is, Doctor, the margin of error is not always as small as you make it out to be, and this is my girl’s wedding. It’s important. Plus, we’re here now. We have time now. I’m doing this.” She gently squeezed his hand before leading the way into the shop.
“Oh what a lovely couple! How did you meet? How did he propose?” The excited shopkeep inquired as she made her way from the back of the shop to where they stood just inside the door.
“Well, actually,” the Doctor started before the shopkeeper's attention was drawn by the phone ringing.
“Oh I have to get that. Please, begin browsing and I’ll be back with Champagne and a few starter options.” The shopkeep told them over her shoulder as she made her way to the back and towards the ringing.
“That was rude,” the Doctor said matter of factly.
“Yes, but the important part is that she is returning with bubbly. That isn’t rude at all,” Rose added.
“Rose, we can’t accept the Champagne. She thinks we are engaged and shopping for dresses. We need to clear up the mix up, get the dress, and finish this errand.”
The Shopkeep was returning from the back with a tray holding two glasses and a mini prosecco bottle.
“Or,” Rose whispered in the Doctor’s ear, “we enjoy ourselves in the moment. It doesn’t all have to be running and near death experiences.” With a friendly nudge and a wink she glided over to meet the shopkeep midway. Rose picked up one of the glasses with a flourish and spun in a slow circle. “Oh this is just so exciting. This is our first step in wedding planning and I just can’t wait to kick it off.”
“Oh how wonderful. You picked a great place to start.” The shopkeep said as she uncorked the bottle. “We are out of proper champagne. Our last delivery included some additional samples. I hope Prosecco is OK. The shopkeep poured Rose’s glass first then filled the Doctor’s and handed it to him.
“It’s brilliant!” Rose said with wide eyed enjoyment as she took her first sip.
“Wonderful! I’m Gloria and I will be leading you on the adventure of finding your perfect dress.” She walked into the back room briefly and returned with a rack of dresses in tow. “These will get us started.” Gloria said with a wide grin as Rose started going through the dresses. “Don’t be shy dear. Any dresses you like, just hand to me and I’ll hang them in your dressing room.
Rose flipped through the dresses while sipping her drink.
“We are also here on business.” The Doctor interjected as he set his glass down on a small table surrounded by arm chairs. “Rose has a good friend that is getting married soon and we are here to pick up her dress.”
“Yes,” Rose added handing her the dress ticket. “I’m Rose Tyler, my girl asked me to grab her dress while I was here. I just had to start here after she wouldn’t stop raving about her dress,” Rose added without missing a beat. She risked a smirk at the Doctor in celebration of how not easy she was to derail. She was trying on one of those fancy dresses and finishing the mini bottle at her own pace, thank you very much.
“Oh how lovely of her to tell her friends about us. Please tell her we do appreciate it. I’ll make a note that you picked it up. Rose Tyler,” she scribbled a quick note. “Let me go set it up front for you while you finish perusing.” Gloria turned and walked gracefully to the back.
“That will help move us forward, I think.” The Doctor smiled pleasantly at Rose.
“Oh nice try, but I’m going full on bridal montage on you. Dress after dress. I’ll start with one that’s completely wrong for me, then one with too many ruffles, then one that’s too short, then one that’s a crazy color, and then when you’ve done all the eye rolls one alien can do, I’ll step out in the wow dress.” Rose hurried off towards Gloria who was coming back around the corner.
“Oh it’s just lovely how eager you are dear,” said Gloria as she guided Rose over towards the dressing rooms, grabbing the to-try-on dresses off the rack and draping them over her arm as they passed. Gloria carefully hung the dresses on the display hooks on the side of the dressing room so she could see the selection. “You sure do have a varied style my dear.” She smiled knowingly at Rose. This wasn’t her first fitting where the bride-to-be had a sense of humor and a rom-com obsession.
Rose worked very hard to keep her smirk from going full smile as she averted her eyes and stared at the ground. Gloria was a pro, she had to give credit where credit was due.
Gloria took a full minute running a finger over each dress and looking from Rose to the Doctor and back to the dress. When she had finished her initial screening, she grabbed all but two dresses and returned them to the rack. Remaining on the hooks was a beautiful ivory A-Line dress with an off-the shoulder lace bodice. The other was an unconventional short light blue dress.
Rose grabbed the blue dress, making sure to give Gloria a smile for finding a suitable compromise for her intended shenanigans. When she came spinning out of the dressing room even the Doctor had to smile. Rose gave dramatic pose after pose, and finished with her fiercest runway walk all the way back into the dressing room.
Gloria opened the door just a crack to slip the A-line to Rose. A minute later, an audible gasp was heard from the dressing room.
“She’s found the one,” Gloria interpreted for the Doctor.
Rose slowly walked out of the dressing room and stopped in front of the full length tri-mirror. At the gown’s drop waist the fabric abruptly transitioned into a flowing organza that flowed gracefully over her curves as Rose turned from side to side admiring herself in the mirror.
The doctor was speechless. He walked next to her to admire her beauty with her.
“I never imagined myself in a wedding dress,” Rose whispered. Her voice was breaking a little and she was trying to discreetly wipe her tears.
“I have, but it didn't get near the reality,” He said.