Scream Me a Dream

Sunday December 19, 2010
7:30 am

“You look tired.” Ville commented quietly as Soya slid him a plate a toast.

“That would be because I am.” Soya muttered, as she poured her sister a glass of juice. “Someone was being difficult last night and wouldn’t go to sleep.” Soya said, looking pointedly at her sister.

“Sorry.” Aida groaned laying her head on the breakfast table. “Can I go back to bed now?”

“No, I need you to eat breakfast, then go upstairs and change.” Soya said as she sat next to Ville with her own breakfast. “I set your clothes out, so all you have to do is put them on.”

Aida groaned as she chewed on her toast slowly. “I’m so tired.”

“Come on, eat up, you’ll need your strength for all those pretty dresses you’re going to try on.” Ville said trying to spur Aida on; it seemed to work as she started chewing her food a bit faster.

“Who is that on the couch?” Aida asked, looking over at the couch with a frown.

“My friend Bam.” Ville said, turning to Soya. “Sorry I didn’t tell you he was staying.”

“It’s fine.” Soya shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

“Are you all right?” Ville asked Soya quietly as Aida stirred her oatmeal with a wrinkled nose, before grabbing the sugar bowl from the center of the table.

“Do not add more than one spoon full.” Soya warned, pointing a finger at her sister. “I do not need you hyped up today.”

“I won’t.” she muttered,

“I’m fine; I just didn’t sleep well last night.” Soya said her attention back with Ville though she eyed her sister wearily as the one spoonful of sugar, turned into one giant lump of sugar. “Aida.” She warned, causing her sister to groan and dump half the sugar that was on her spoon.

“Aida, why don’t you go upstairs to change, and then when you’re done you can come down and finish your breakfast all right?”

“Fine.” Aida said sliding of her chair and shuffling towards the stairs and up to her room.

“Soya?” Ville asked, turning to her.

“I’m fine.” Soya sighed gathering her still full plate and heading to the kitchen, not feeling very hungry anymore.

Ville stood and followed her, trapping her with her arms against the sink as she placed her plate inside; he moved her loose hair to the side and kissed her neck softly. “You didn’t sleep well?”

Soya shook her head. “Aida was being difficult all night, she tossed and turned and when she finally got to bed, you came in and moved her.”

“Ah, sorry love.” Ville said sincerely apologetic.

“Then when I finally got to sleep, you came in and woke me up again then I got about three hours of a fitful sleep, before you kicked me awake.”

Ville winced, he’d accidently rolled onto his side onto his fresh tattoo and had woken up with a start, kicking Soya in the process. He’d been ready to apologize when she’d gotten out of bed and left the room. “You’d left the room, I assumed you were already awake, I am sorry Soya.”

“You have no reason to be. I wasn’t feeling all that great to begin with and went to the bathroom to take a shower.” She rubbed her face tiredly. “It’s going to be a long day and I’m not looking forward to it, is all.”

He moved his arms to wrap around her waist, hugging her to him as she rested the back of her head on his chest. “Is it because you’re looking at dresses or…” Ville frowned when her hand came up to rest on top of his. “You’re not wearing your ring.”

Soya looked down and frowned, only to realize she wasn’t wearing her engagement ring. “I took it off last night.”

“You never take it off.” Ville said, rubbing her bare ring finger.

“It’s been a little tight.” Soya admitted. “I’ve been taking it off when I’m around the house, I’ll make sure to grab it on my way up to grab my shoes.”

“Soya, just leave it here, I’ll go to the jewelry store and get it fitted.”

“No.” she said shaking her head. “It’s fine, I like my ring, I don’t want you getting it fitted.”

“If it’s tight and causing you to take it off…”

“It’s fine Ville.” Soya said leaving the shelter of his arms. “I have to go put on shoes.”

“You haven’t eaten anything, you said it yourself, it’s going to be a long day and you’re going in on an empty stomach.”

“My stomachs not quite feeling right, I’ll eat at lunch.”

“Soya.” Ville sighed, hating when she missed a meal.

“I’m just feeling a bit nauseous is all.” Soya said with a shake of her head. “I’ll have something at lunch.”

“Sounds like Valo knocked you up.” Bam muttered as he settled on a kitchen stool. “Mornin’”

Ville looked over at Soya, who seemed to be turning bright red, from anger or embarrassment, he wasn’t quite sure yet.

“Trust me; I’m not knocked up, as you so eloquently put it.” Soya muttered, “I have to go put on shoes, excuse me.” She walked away from the kitchen, just as Aida came down in a pair of jeans and a grey long sleeved shirt with silver flats on her feet.

“Aida.” Ville called as she started for the TV. “Finish your breakfast before you turn on the TV.”

“Fine.” Aida muttered dropping the remote back on the couch, grabbing her bowl and setting it on the counter next to Bam as she climbed up onto the stool to sit at the breakfast counter.

“Are you rain boots by the door?” Ville asked.

“Yes.”

“And you put your thermals on under your jeans?” Ville questioned knowing Aida would only put out what Soya set out for her, forgetting that she needed to put on other things as well.

“Yes, I put my thermals on.” She muttered stirring her oatmeal before pushing the bowl towards Ville. “Do I have to eat this?”

“Yes.” Ville said pushing it back towards Aida. “Both your jackets are by the door?”

“I don’t know.”Aida shrugged still staring at her food. “Can’t I put more sugar in it?”

“No, you can’t.” Ville said with a sigh, of course the day Soya was in a questionable mood Aida decided to be difficult.

“We’re just going to have lunch in a few hours anyway.” Aida murmured, still stirring her oatmeal with a frown.

“Aida, please eat your breakfast, if you don’t I won’t let Soya take you dress shopping.”

“I don’t want a stupid dress anyway.” Aida muttered, pushing her plate again, causing Ville to drop his head in defeat while Bam stayed silently amused watching the interaction between Ville and the eight year old. If he didn’t know any better, he would have said that Ville took on a nearly paternal role when it came to the kid.

“Leave it alone Ville, we have to go anyway, with our luck we’ll hit traffic.” Soya said. “Come on Aida, let’s go.”

Aida hopped off the stool towards Soya who was holding her blue sleeveless puffer jacket open, shrugging it on her sister, wrapping Aida’s scarf around the little girls neck before zipping up the jacket and crouching down and helping Aida put on her blue striped rain boots, before handing her sister her second ivory colored jacket motioning her to put it on.

“Gloves on.” Soya said handing Aida the pink and white gloves once her jacket was on and buttoned, keeping her fingers crossed that Aida actually put them on instead of stuffing them in her jacket pocket as she usually did.

“I’m going to grab us some fruit, go on to the car and wait for me.” Soya said handing her sister the car keys and putting a white knit pom pom beanie on her sisters head, pulling it down to cover the girls ears, before letting her out the door and rushing to the kitchen and grabbing to apples from the fridge.

“Hey.” Ville said, catching Soya on her way out. “Do you have your thermals on?” He asked looking at her attire. She was wearing a pair of jeans with ripped patches on the legs, through the rips he could see the black of her leggings that she usually wore underneath her jeans when they went out, though those weren’t her thermals.

She also wore a long sleeved black and white striped knit sweater with a cherry detail on the side that fell just at the top of her thighs. She looked cute as she usually did when she dressed, he only worried that it wasn’t practical enough for the winter that was starting to hit Finland. He looked at her feet and was glad to see actual boots on her feet instead of heels or Converse; at least her footwear had gotten smarter.

“I’m not a damn child, I don’t need reminding.” Soya said, looking up at him.

“Soya…” Ville sighed. “Seriously what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” Soya sighed. “I’m running on four hours of sleep at the moment Ville, I’m tired is all and you reminding me to put on thermals is annoying me at the moment. Can you let go now?”

“Look, how about after Impi and Aida try on their dresses, I go and pick them up? I’ll take Impi to Jyrki and I’ll take Aida off your hands so you can try on dresses without Aida there whining. Take the burden off you a bit.”

“Aida is not a burden.” Soya snapped.

“And you are unusually testy today.” Ville said letting her go and raising his hands in a ‘peace’ gesture. “I know she’s not a burden and you know I didn’t mean it that way. I’m trying to help here Soya.”

Soya groaned, feeling horrible for treating Ville the way she was. “Sorry, sorry, that’s fine; perfect really, I’ll call you when she’s done.”

“All right, can I have a kiss before you go or are you going to bite my head off for that too?”

Soya leaned forward kissing him lightly. “I’m sorry.” She whispered against his lips.

“It’s fine.” Ville whispered back. “Call me when the girls are done and Bam and I will go and pick them up.”

Soya nodded, turning from the kitchen, Ville and Bam watched as she put the apples in her purse, wrapping a black scarf around her neck, pulling a grey beanie over her head covering her ears and black quilted jacket, slipping her hands into her gloves before leaving the tower.

“She is in a bad mood.” Bam said looking at his friend.

“Yeah, she is.” Ville muttered, wondering if there was more to Soya’s bad mood other then not being able to sleep.

XxxxxxX

“Are you angry at me?” Aida asked as they walked to the visitor’s area of the airport where Soya had told Rosalind they would meet.

Soya smiled lightly at her sister and shook her head. “No, I’m not angry at you, sweetheart.”

“Are you angry at Ville?”

Soya shook her head again. “No, I’m not angry at Ville either.”

“You seem angry.” Aida muttered.

Soya hugged her sister to her side tightly. “I’m sorry I’m not in a better mood Aida, I’m just tired is all, I’ll perk up by the time we reach the dress shop. I can’t wait to see what you look like in the flower girl dresses Ville and I picked out for you.” Soya said, smiling a bit wider at her sister.

“Did Ville really help?” Aida asked suspiciously, causing Soya to laugh.

“Well he picked five that he liked out of the twenty I picked, so yes he helped.” She explained with a grin, knowing Ville wasn’t all too fond of helping with the finer details of the wedding.

Mostly Soya picked a few options she liked and made Ville pick the final choice. If she gave him a wide variety and asked what he thought, he’d stare at her, kiss her temple and say ‘whatever you pick I’ll love’ before going back to what he was doing. It was better if she narrowed down his options and told him to pick.

“Soya!” Aida squealed, “It’s Impi!”

Soya let her sister go as she caught sight of Rosalind holding her daughters hand, watching as her sister ran over, grabbing the giggling five year old in a hug. Soya reached her friend with a smile, hugging Rosalind tight, only for Rosalind to pull back and frown with Soya.

“What’s wrong?”

Soya frowned back at her. “What?”

“You’re vibrating.” Rosalind said as she waved a hand over the air that surrounded Soya. “It’s just all bad energy.”

“Rose.” Soya sighed slapping her friend’s hands away. “None of this psychic hippie dippy aura crap, I’m in a nasty mood as it.”

“I can tell.” Rosalind said, putting her hands down, she looked down at Aida who was giggling with Impi. “Is your sister in a bad mood Aida?”

Aida nodded. “She says she’s tired, but I think it’s something else.”

Rosalind looked back over at her best friend with a smirk. “Is Ville not giving you the pleasure?”

“Get your bags Rose.” Soya said rolling her eyes as she picked up Impi’s suitcase.

“Because I will give him a very loud and long winded talking to if that’s what it is.”

“It’s not that.” Soya said as they started walking out of the airport, the girls in front of them chattering away. “I just didn’t sleep well.”

“I’m with Aida on this one, it’s definitely something else.” Rosalind said watching her friend.

Soya rolled her eyes as they directed the girls towards the car, Soya popping the trunk as the girls climbed into the back while Soya and Rosalind loaded up the luggage.

“I’m allowed to be in a bad mood you know.” Soya said once she and Rosalind were settled in the car. She reached into the cup holder grabbing her phone seeing the missed texts from Toni, saying that everyone was starting to gather at the little Café near the bridal shop they’d all agreed to meet at.

“True.” Rosalind said slowly as she texted Jyrki to let him know she and Impi had gotten to Finland safe and sound and she’d meet him once the dress fittings were finished with. “But you in a bad mood is a very rare occurrence.” Rosalind frowned at her. “Did you get a visit from our dear old aunt?”

Soya snorted in amusement as she looked at her friend after telling Toni they were on their way, pulling out of her spot and heading towards the café. “Just because I happen to be in a bad mood does not mean it’s because I’m on my time of month, thank you very much.”

“You know.” Rosalind said ignoring Soya as she grabbed her purse from the floor of the car. “I think I have some children’s Advil if you have cramps.”

“I’m fine Rosalind.” Soya said.

“Are you sure?” Rosalind asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Positive, now stop asking or you’ll make my mood worse.”

“All right.” Rosalind said. “So this mood you’re in, it’s just because you didn’t sleep, because you’ve run on little to no sleep before.”

“Usually when I run on little sleep, it’s at least four consecutive hours, I slept at least four but not consecutively.”

“And who are we blaming for the lack of sleep?”

Soya shook her head. “I’ve already set the blame, and I feel horrible for it. I think once we’re done at the bridal shop I may just head home and take a nap.”

“I think that would be best for all.” Rosalind laughed. “Well I’m sorry you’re in a bad mood, but cheer up, you’re trying on wedding dresses today.”

Soya smiled at Rosalind, but even to her it felt a bit strained. She knew it wasn’t just the lack of sleep that had her in a bad mood, lack of sleep usually made her a bit short with people, but mostly she kept to herself not wanting to spread her dark cloud onto anyone else. She wasn’t like Josef, who loved to make everyone miserable if he was miserable, she kept her bad mood to herself.

This was different, for some reason it wasn’t just the lack of sleep that had her on edge, the ball of anxiety that had taken residence in the pit of her stomach wasn’t helping her mood either, even worse was not knowing where the hell that ball was coming from. She had no reason to feel anxiety, yet there it was, just sitting there, churning at her stomach which in turn made her feel nauseous and again ruined her mood. There was definitely no winning today, she knew she wouldn’t feel better until she isolated herself and slept the mood off. Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to get a minute to herself for hours yet was most definitely a factor for the anxiety.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Rosalind asked as Soya parked her car.

“I’m fine.” Soya said as she started for her purse that was lying at Rosalind’s feet.

“Hey.” Rosalind said, grabbing Soya’s hand. “We don’t have to go dress shopping today if you’re not up for it.”

“Rosalind, Josef…”

“I know what Josef did.” Rosalind said with a quiet laugh. “And as sweet as that gesture was, you know he’d do it again if you called him and told him how you were feeling.”

“Rose, really I’m fine, I’m sure of it.”

Rosalind eyed her carefully, making sure Soya was telling the truth, though she saw weariness in her friend’s eyes, she let go of Soya’s hand with a nod. “Fine, let’s go have some lunch then.”

“I think it’s more like brunch.” Soya said, noting that it was just before eleven as they shuffled the girls out of the car, and led them inside the café where they found their large group quickly. After she had left the flat the night before she had texted Kat the address of the restaurant so she would be able to find it, Kat sat next to Anita who had been picked up by Nathan as he’d driven Niina into town from Sipoo.

As Soya started unloading the sweaters off of Aida, she noted with a smile that Elli and Inka had also decided to help her find a dress as they were sitting with Toni, Vedrana and Natali at the table.

“There’s the bride!” Inka teased as Soya finally got Aida’s puffer jacket off her, letting the girl go over to the table to go hug Niina and Anita.

“Good to see you were able to make it.” Soya said, kissing Inka’s cheek, before following suit with the rest of her friends. “Glad you came Kat.”

“Thanks for inviting me.” Kat smiled as Soya stripped off her jacket, hanging it on the empty chair between Anita and Rosalind.

“Where’s Lara?” Aida asked Natali as she climbed onto a free seat across from Soya helping Impi onto the seat next to her.

“Lara and her daddy had a date today.” Natali said smiling at Aida. “But she sends her ‘hellos’”

“So tell us Soya, do you have an idea of what types of dresses you want to try on, you’ve been quite mum about it.” Elli said, looking over at her friend.

“Oh, no, not really.” Soya said shaking her head. “I…the shop we’re actually going to Josef picked out for me.”

“He did?” Toni asked looking down the table at her.

“Yeah,” Soya nodded. “There’s a boutique in New York, he went in and saw a few dresses he knew I would liked, he arranged everything for me to come to the boutique here.”

“By arranged,” Rosalind said with a roll of her eyes. “Soya means that Josef had the shop close for today so that Soya could go in and try on dresses without being gawked it by people other than us.”

“He picked your dresses Soya?” Niina asked.

Soya nodded as she reached for the water, for some reason she felt the ball of anxiety in her stomach tighten just a bit. “He couldn’t come down, so he went and looked at dresses, picked a few that he knew I would like and arranged it so I would be able to try them on here.”

“Well that was very sweet of him.” Anita said.

“Uncle Josef says that one nice gesture from him will last him at least a year with Soya. So he really doesn’t have to do much else for her now.” Aida said, as she grabbed her water cup causing the table to laugh.

Soya smiled at her sister, only to look up when the waitress came up to take their orders. The table took their orders, Soya ordering a hot tea and soup, hoping it would settle her stomach just a bit.

“You sure you don’t want the Tylenol?” Rosalind murmured to her.

“Positive.” Soya said, smiling lightly at Rosalind, before smoothing her napkin on her lap, turning when Anita started talking to her.

Kat watched Soya throughout lunch, noticing that she wasn’t quite the vibrant and talkative woman she had been the night before. She was looking down at her plate with a frown, only looking up when talked to, and only speaking when asked a direct question. Pulling out her cell phone, keeping it under the table she texted Ville, wondering if he knew about his fiancé’s mood.

Hey you, your wifey okay?

She looked back at Soya who was looking over at her friend Inka, who was talking about her own wedding to her husband, and the venue they had had it at. While Soya seemed interested in Inka’s topic, the smile she wore on her face was a bit more then strained. Kat looked down when she felt her phone vibrate, seeing Ville’s text back.

She didn’t sleep much last night, she’s just in a mood, I’ll make it better when I go down to the shop in a couple hours. She okay?

Just a bit quiet Kat typed back, I was wondering if you knew why

Just a regular bad mood, it’ll get better Ville answered a couple minutes later, causing Kat to put her cell phone back in her purse smiling and thanking the waitress as she set her food down in front of Kat.

“Soya,” Niina said, capturing the attention of most of the patron’s at the table, including Kat.

“Hmm?” Soya answered looking up at Niina.

“Sweetheart, I was wondering who you were going to have walk you down the aisle?”

“Oh.” Soya said looking at Niina with wide eyes. “I…um…I hadn’t really thought about it, I mean, with isi gone, I didn’t really…”

“Oh sweetheart, I didn’t mean to bring up Jonah, I just wondered if you’d thought about it.” Niina said patting her hand. “Really, Ville himself could walk you down the aisle, Nathan would as well if you asked him, and I’m sure Ville’s father would be honored to do the job, God knows he was fond of you when you were younger.”

“And he still is,” Anita put in. “As you well know.”

“I’ll…um…” Soya frowned as she nodded. “Yes, I’ll think about it.”

“Soya, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Niina said quickly.

“Oh, Niina, ei, et järkyttää minua.” Soya said with a kind smile, patting the older woman’s hand. “I just didn’t realize it was something I needed to think about, but now I know.” (No, you didn’t upset me.)

“Soya,” Elli called getting Soya’s attention on the other side of the table. “Are you really set on an outdoor wedding, because you know my father would be more than happy…”

“Elli, really, I appreciate the offer but I don’t want to hold my wedding in a hall, I’d much rather have it outdoors, especially with the weather Spring brings around here.”

“Soya, are you sure because…”

“Elli, let it go, Soya’s sure.” Inka said, catching her friend’s attention “You’ve already planned your wedding, let Soya plan her own. If she wants an outdoor wedding, let her have an outdoor wedding.”

“I’m just pointing out, that if she and Ville plan on getting married in early May it’ll be when the snows still melting and they’ll be stuck with mud on the ground.”

“I’m sure they’ve found a way to avoid that problem, haven’t you Soya?”

“As we have yet to find the venue, no, but I’m sure we will.” Soya said, placing her napkin on the table, “Excuse me for a minute.” She whispered before leaving the table and heading for the bathroom.

She leaned her hands against the sink blowing out slow breathes before turning on the water, cupping cold water in her hand before leaning down and splashing the water in her face. When she looked up she jumped when she found she wasn’t alone in the bathroom.

“God, Rose, make a noise.” Soya muttered as she reached for a paper towel, only for Rosalind to beat her to it, grabbing it for Soya and handing it to her. “Thanks.”

“Soya…”

“I’m fine Rose.” Soya said, rubbing the towel over her face. “I’m just-”

“Tired.” Rosalind cut off. “You’ve been quiet all through brunch or lunch or whatever the hell this is, you haven’t even been talking about the plans you and Ville have made.”

“We really haven’t made many.” Soya muttered.

“But you haven’t shared the ones you have made. Elli is making suggestions and you’re acting as if she’s trying to take over the damn thing.”

“Rose.” Soya sighed.

“Soya.” Rosalind mocked. “Sweetheart, if we didn’t know you better, we’d think you were having second thoughts about marrying Ville.”

“I’m not.” Soya said quickly. “I’m just a bit overwhelmed at the moment.” Soya shook her head. “And I’m not feeling all that well, I’m just ready to go to the shop and see the dresses Josef picked out.”

Rosalind nodded slowly, “You’re not telling me everything.” Rosalind pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest as Soya stared back at her friend with wide eyes. “You’re not just tired, Soya, you’re in an honest to god bad mood for some reason or another and in typical Soya fashion you’re keeping the reason to yourself as to not burden us.”

“Rosalind-”

“No.” Rosalind said putting her hand up to stop Soya from speaking. “I know you Soya, you’re not going to share, and that’s fine, over the years we’ve been friends I know when to push and when not to, and right now I know that you won’t share what’s bothering you, will you?”

Soya shook her head. “No.”

“So, I’ll let you keep your inner turmoil, but if you don’t share soon Soya, something is going to cause you to crack and I really don’t want you to crack.”

“I’ll be fine Rosalind; really I have no idea what it is that’s bothering me.” She admitted. “Part of it is that I am tired, the last few days have been time consuming and hectic and it’s all catching up to me.”

“But you admit it’s more than that.”

Soya nodded slowly. “But I really…I just don’t know what it is.”

Rosalind shook her head; she highly doubted that Soya didn’t have any idea as to what was causing her mood. Deep down Soya had to know what her problem was, but didn’t want to say it out loud in fear of letting go of all the emotions that were churning inside of her. So Rosalind let it go, she’d learned early in her friendship with her that Soya didn’t admit to anything until she was damn ready to. So like a good friend, she went over and hugged Soya.

“Well, I hope you figure it out.” Rosalind whispered. “Now,” she pulled away and smiled at her friend. “Everyone’s done with lunch, so I’ve gathered everyone to start for the shop. Impi and Aida are already in their jackets, hats and gloves are on, we’re just waiting on you. Are you feeling a bit better?”

Soya nodded. “I am.”

“All right then, let’s go find your wedding dress.”

Soya smiled lightly, as she let Rosalind lead her out of the bathroom and back into the restaurants where her group was waiting and talking. She put on her own jacket, stuffing her scarf into her pocket before putting on her hat and gloves and taking Aida’s gloved hand. She started to follow her friends out of the café, heading down the block where the dress shop was located.

They found the little shop easily, Rosalind going to the front of the store and knocking on the door, smiling at the woman who came and opened it, letting them in.

“You must be the Valo party.” The young black haired woman said as she shut and locked the door behind the last person in.

Rosalind gave a laugh. “Well, she’s not ‘Valo’ yet.”

“I’m sorry?” The woman asked as she let them in.

“‘Valo’ is my fiancé’s last name.” Soya answered as she wrestled her sister out of her jacket, who was eager to go over to Impi. “I’m still Toivonen.”

“Ah, I see, I am so sorry for the mix up; Mr. Kolar said it was ‘Valo’.”

“I’m sure he did.” Soya said with a small laugh. “Really, it’s fine.”

“Well I’m Miia, I see you have a large party.”

“Yes, they all insisted on coming with me today.” Soya said with a smile.

“Well first I’d like to congratulate you on your engagement and impending marriage.”

“Oh, thank you.” Soya said as her friends got situated on the couches that sat at the far end of the room; right in front of the couches was a circular platform with a three way mirror.

“You should ask to see her ring.” Rosalind said with a wink as she stripped herself of her jacket.

“Oh, I’d love to see it.” Miia said grinning at Soya.

“Oh, of course.” Soya held out her left hand only to curl her fingers as she saw the bare finger. “Oh, I…” she shook her head at herself; she couldn’t believe she’d actually forgotten her ring after she’d told Ville she would grab it when she headed upstairs.

“Soya?” Rosalind asked, looking at her friend.

“Sorry,” Soya said, looking at Miia. “I forgot it on the nightstand this morning.”

“It’s fine.” Miia said with a smile. “I have the dresses that Mr. Kolar picked out for you ready, if you’d like to try them on. He gave me your size and everything.”

“We’d actually like to start off with the flower girl dresses,” Soya said as she unwound her scarf from around her neck, “As well as get a suit measured for the little one.” She said pointing over at Impi who was chasing Aida around the circular platform giggling.

“A suit?”

Soya nodded as she took of her jacket setting it on the couch behind Rosalind. “She’s my ring bearer and she really wants to wear a suit, she five, I can’t say ‘no’.”

Miia laughed. “Well then, I’ll go get my measuring tape and we’ll see what we can do. Mr. Kolar also told me the colors of wedding, so I’ve picked some dresses for your bridesmaids so they can try on.”

“It’s just one bridesmaid, for now.” Rosalind said, causing Miia to nod as she scrounged around the desk drawer for her measuring tape.

“And you got the flower girl dresses I sent over earlier this week?” Soya asked.

“I did.” Miia said with a nod. “I’ve pulled them.”

“Thank you.” Soya said taking a seat next to Anita.

“I’ll be back, I’ll go grab the racks with the flower girl dresses along with the ones for your bridesmaids, they can try them on while I measure the little one.”

“Perfect.” Soya said with a tight smile, resting her head on Anita’s shoulder.

“You look worn out, love.” Anita said with a soft smile.

“I feel it.” Soya sighed.

“You haven’t told us your colors Soya.” Inka pointed out.

“Ah,” Soya yawned as she sat up. “Purples, blues, greens and gold. Toni and I have been looking at a lot of ‘do it yourself’ ideas on wedding sites and there’s a bouquet that I fell in love with. It has those colors and they’re perfect spring colors as well.”

“Are you going to use the same color for all the dresses?” Kat asked.

Soya shook her head. “I’m hoping to get Rosalind in a blue dress and if she has it her way it’ll be more of a teal.”

“Yes it will.” Rosalind smiled, hugging her daughter to her when Impi came running up and hugging her waist.

“While Aida’s dress will hopefully either be white with a green or purple accent to it, or all one solid color, Ville picked a few of the solid colored ones, so we’ll see how they look.” Soya explained.

Miia came back pulling two racks with dresses, one filled with long blue dresses of various hues, while the other held Aida’s flower girl dresses.

“Well Rosalind, go try them on.” Soya said, as Rosalind winked and got up, looking through the dresses.

“I’ll help Aida, Soya.” Niina said as she took Aida’s hand and went over to the rack.

“Impi, cariño, get on the podium so the nice lady can measure you.” Rosalind prompted, motioning her daughter to the circular podium where Miia was waiting to measure her.

At least an hour and a half later, Soya was texting Ville, letting him know the girls were ready to get picked up, whenever he was ready to come by, he’d responded by letting her know he’d be by in an hour which had suited Soya just fine. Impi had been fitted for her suit, after much squirming and trying on various pieces, the only thing Soya hadn’t been able to decide on was the color of Impi’s tie, but she figured she had time yet to figure that one out.

Rosalind had tried on various dresses, but hadn’t been able to narrow it down to just one, but as Rosalind did, she’d fallen in love with six of the dresses, each with the same style of cut, tight in the bodice only to flow down in the skirt, just as Soya knew Rosalind would pick. She told Rosalind that she didn’t have to pick that day as long as she had it picked with enough time to get it altered. Rosalind had assured her that she would, so Soya made a mental check to cross that off her never ending list of things to do.

The only think she’d been able to decide on, and that had only been with the never ending commentary from her friends, had been on Aida’s flower girl dress. The girl had tried on at least twenty dresses, only for them to come to the final decision that a solid color in the dress would be best, thus a sleeveless dark purple tea length dress had been picked.

It was tight in the bodice, coming down in a ball gown skirt with ruffles throughout the dress that were held up with little crystal embellishments. Aida loved the dress and Soya loved the dress on her sister, so it worked perfectly. Aida had gotten it fitted and with the promise that it would be ready in a month, Soya crossed that off her list as well.

“Well, you’ve put it off long enough; it’s your turn Soya.” Rosalind said coming out of the dressing room, changed into her regular clothes and pulling Soya up just as Miia came out with a rack of wedding dresses.

“Mr. Kolar said you’d prefer full length dresses.” Miia said, “But if you’d prefer shorter, I have some I could show you.”

“Full length is perfect.” Soya said looking at the dresses on the rack.

“I have another I need to pull out; Mr. Kolar was quite insistent that I pull all the ones he picked and that you try all of them on.”

Soya smiled tightly, “Of course he was.”

“Miia, do you mind if we pull these back into the dressing rooms?” Vedrana asked. “The groom is coming by in a bit and we don’t want him seeing the gowns.”

“Of course, I’ll pull the others back there as well”

“Thank you.” Vedrana smiled pulling the rack back into the dressing room area.

“So which one are you going to try on first?” Natali asked as they watched Miia pull another rack into the dressing rooms.

“I have no idea.” Soya sighed, “I’ll go take a look.”

“Josef took care of you Soya, he knows what you like, you’ll find one.” Toni assured.

“I’m sure I will.” Soya murmured as she headed into the large dressing room, smiling at Miia who was spreading out the racks so they were side to side.

“Will you need any help putting them on?”

“I may,” Soya nodded.

“All right, well I’ll be right outside, call me if you need me.”

“Thank you.” Soya smiled as Miia left and closed the dressing room door. Soya released a slow breathe as she looked at the dresses, her fingers barley touching them as she looked though them. Yes, Josef definitely knew her well, she thought as she started pulling them out to look at them better. They all had a very vintage and classic look to them; let it be that some of them had lace detail, a ruffled detail or both. Some of them had a more ball gown feel, while others were tighter to the body.

Finally picking one to try on, she undressed setting her things on the cushioned bench against the dressing room wall, before slipping the dress on and leaving the dressing room. A waiting Miia zipped the dress up, clipping the extra martial so it would it a bit tighter, giving Soya an idea of what the dress would look like once it was fitted.

“This one is wonderful.” Miia said. “It fits you well.”

“Thank you.” Soya smiled as she stepped out in front of her friends and stepping onto the podium, trying got feel excited about the prospect of finding her wedding dress, amongst the murmurs of excitement of her family and friends, but all she felt was the ball of anxiety grow and churn.

She tried on three more dresses, before she found herself sitting down on the cushioned bench in her dressing room, staring at the floor trying to catch her breath.

“Soya?” Rosalind knocked.

“Yes?” Soya called her voice steady though she wasn’t sure how she had managed it.

“You have a phone call; I think you may want to take it monada.”

Soya stood, making her way to the door, smiling at Rosalind and taking her cell phone from Rosalind’s fingers. “Hello?” She answered closing the door again.

“Hey.”

Soya froze at the sound of the male voice on the other end, only to find herself smiling. “Josef.”

“Did you really think I wasn’t going to call you today?”

“I didn’t…I mean…no, I didn’t think you were going to call.” Soya admitted.

“Are you okay Soya?”

“I’m fine.” Soya said, going and sitting on the bench. “It’s just so good to hear your voice.”

Josef laughed. “Soya, we talked last week.”

“I know.” She said, resting her elbow on her knee and dropping her forehead into her hand. “I just…I guess I’m just realizing how much I miss you.”

“Well I miss you too Soya. Tell me, did you like the dresses I picked out?”

“Oh, I loved them.” Soya smiled, trying hard not to let her voice crack.

“Miláček, are you sure you’re all right? You sound on the verge of tears.”

“I…” Soya rubbed her eyes, leaning back against the wall, her head tilted back to stare the ceiling. “I’m trying on wedding dresses.”

“Yes, you are.” Josef laughed. “I’m glad you’re realizing this.”

“No, Josef, I’m trying on wedding dresses, and you’re not here, and it…” Soya shook her head, trying hard to keep the tears away. “I should go; I still have about a million of the dresses you picked to get through.”

“Soya-” Josef started, only for Soya to cut him off.

“I’ll…I’ll call you later Josef, once I’m done here.” Soya assured. “To let you know which one I picked, I’m sure the girls won’t let me leave without having picked one…I…yeah, I’ll talk to you later.” She said quickly, before shutting her phone and finally letting the tears spill out and feeling her breath get ragged as she let the anxiety she’d been feeling all day consume her.

XxxxxxX

“I can’t believe you just dropped that much money.” Bam said shaking his head with a grin as they exited the cab.

“You can’t tell me it wasn’t worth it.” Ville said with a shrug, only to sigh when he caught sight of a photographer across the street.

“I’m sure it was worth it.”Bam said slowly as they walked up the street towards the bridal shop.

“Thanks again for coming with me, Jyrki was suppose to come with me originally but he had to clean up his apartment for Rosalind and Impi today.”

“No problem, are we just picking up the kids right now?”

Ville nodded. “Yeah, just so they’re not running around while Soya’s trying on dresses.” Ville said, coming to a stop in front of the dress shop, smiling when he saw their friends talking, and knocking on the door.

A woman came to the door, smiling kindly at them. “I’m sorry gentlemen; the store is closed for the next couple of hours…”

“Oh! Miia, that’s the groom, he’s allowed in!” Toni called.

“Oh! Sorry!” Miia said opening the door wider, “You’re safe anyway, the bride is just in her dressing room putting on another dress.”

“Perfect.” Ville smiled. “We’ve just come to pick up the rugrats anyway.” Ville said, grinning when Impi ran to him, hugging his leg. “Anyway can I see my bride between dress changes?” he asked, wanting to check up on Soya and see if her mood had perked up anymore.

“I’ll check, she just got a phone call from Josef, so she may still be talking to him.” Rosalind said, standing and going to the dressing rooms.

“Has she found anything?” Ville asked, picking Impi up and settling her on his hip.

“She’s tried on four of them, she looks wonderful in them, but I don’t quite think she’s found the one.” Anita admitted.

“Ah, Ville.” Rosalind hesitated as she came back out form the dressing rooms. “Can I see you for a minute?”

Ville nodded setting Impi down at the serious set on Rosalind’s features and following Rosalind back into the dressing rooms, only to frown when he heard someone gasping for breath.

“Please don’t tell me that’s not Soya.” Ville said shaking his head.

“I’m pretty sure she’s having a panic attack.” Rosalind said, “And I have no idea what’s caused it.”

“Soya?” Ville called, knocking on the door. “Kultaseni, I’m coming in.”

“You….can’t….” she said, her voice cracking and her breathing uneven.

“She’s in a dress.” Rosalind said.

“Soya if you’re not planning on getting that damn dress, then I’m coming in. If you are, Rosalind’s coming in to help you take it off, so I can come in there. So are you planning on getting that dress?” Ville asked, frustrated, he really could have cared less about the dress, but it was obviously important to Soya.

“No.” she said quietly, her breathing becoming even more uneven.

“Then I’m coming in.” Ville said, only for Rosalind to stop him.

“Go in with your eyes closed, so I can pull out the rest of the dresses she has in there Ville, no need to make the panic worse.” Rosalind said, causing Ville to roll his eyes but do as he was told. He closed his eyes letting Rosalind lead him into the dressing room, he heard the rustling of fabric and the squeak of wheels before Rosalind gave him the okay.

Ville opened his eyes, only to blow out a slow breath when he saw his fiancé sitting on a bench against the dressing room wall, surrounded by the white skirt of the dress she’d tried on. Her face was buried in her hands as she tried to breathe. God, she was so tragically beautiful at the moment, he thought, still looking at her. He was brought out of his musing when he heard the uneven intake of her breath, stirring him into action as he crouched down in front of her.

“Hey, hey, you need to calm down Soya.” He whispered pushing her hair away from her face and smoothing his thumb over her cheek as he tilted her face up to look at him. “This isn’t good for you sweetheart, I need you to breathe with me.” He said his other hand grabbing her hand placing it over his heart and rubbing at her pulse point. “You feel that?” he asked, causing her to nod. “You need to match that all right? I need you to breathe in slow.”

She did as she was told, her wide grey eyes meeting the green of his own and keeping the contact as he got her to match his breathing, his thumb wiping away the tears that were falling from the corners of her eyes. “You know a lesser man would think you were having cold feet about getting married.” He teased once her breathing was somewhat back to normal.

“Ville” she said quietly.

“I knew you weren’t just tired.” He told her. “What’s going on huh?”

“I didn’t get my ring.” She said quickly. “I didn’t get my ring and I told you I would grab it…”

“Hey, hey,” he said quickly, getting her attention before her panic rose again. “That doesn’t matter Soya.”

“Of course it does!” Soya cried. “I told you I would put it on when I went upstairs and I didn’t.”

“You were rushed this morning Soya.”

“I shouldn’t have even taken the damn thing off.”

“Hey, it’s all right, you shouldn’t be panicking because you didn’t wear your ring today Soya, I’m not and I knew you weren’t wearing it when you walked out the door. You took it off because you’re stubborn and refuse to let me get it sized, so it’s tight. It is not a big deal that you didn’t wear it, I’m not going to take it as some sign and neither are our friends. It’s not a big deal.”

“But…”

“Not. A. Big. Deal.” He repeated, “Now your mood came about before you forgot your ring, what else if bothering you?”

“I…I don’t know.” She whispered.

“Oh Soya, yes you do.” Ville whispered back. “Or else you wouldn’t be having a panic attack in the middle of a bridal shop while you’re wearing a wedding dress.” He leaned forward and kissed her softly. “What’s wrong?”

Soya took a deep unsteady breath before she spoke. “I’m trying on wedding dresses, that Josef picked out for me, at a shop Josef had close for me, and I just…”

“Soya, do you miss your best friend?” Ville asked with a small smirk.

“I didn’t realize I did until I started trying on dresses, and then he called…”

He felt her breathing speed up a bit more, causing him to chuckle, moving out of his crouching position to sit next to her. He took her hand, wrapping her fingers around her wrist so his thumb could stroke her pulse point. “Soya, look at me.”

Soya looked up at him with wide grey eyes, causing him to lean forward and kiss her temple. “It is perfectly normal to miss your best friend. You and Josef have practically been attached at the hip for the last eight years and you’ve spent the last five months apart. We’re planning a wedding, and your best friend isn’t by you side, Soya, this is normal.”

“But-”

“No buts,” Ville said, “Soya, if it means so much for you to have Josef be here while you try on dresses, then I’m sure the man won’t be upset if you wait until we’re back in New York, in a couple of weeks, for him to go with you.”

“But I have to pick one today.” Soya said quietly.

“Who says?” Ville asked with a raised eyebrow. “Josef? Rosalind? Your friends? Soya, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Right now, you’re trying on dresses more for your friends then for you, and finding your wedding dress is meant to be for you. It’s not meant to cause anything but happy tears. It’s not meant to cause panic attacks.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “Kultaseni, your friends will understand if you don’t want to do this today.”

“I know.” She whispered with a quiet groan. “I just-” She blew out a breath. “There is still so much to do for the wedding.”

“And we’ll get it done.” Ville assured. “We’ve just started planning, you’ll see, we’ll get it all done.” He stood then, holding out his hands, Soya smiled weakly at him, slipping her hands into his, allowing him to pull her up. He settled his hands on her hips, turning her around so she could see herself in the mirror, laying his chin on her bare shoulder.

“Soya, you look beautiful.” He whispered, placing a kiss on her shoulder before looking back into the mirror. “Why don’t you like this one?”

“It’s not that I don’t like it.” Soya muttered, “I’m just not too fond of the skirt.” She said her eyes going down to the ball gown skirt with a frown.

“It is a bit poofy isn’t it?” Ville smirked.

“How do you do that?”

“Do what?” He frowned.

“Make me feel a million times better with just a few words?” She sniffed, hugging his arms around her waist as she settled into his chest.

Ville smirked, “It’s my job, isn’t it? To make you feel better?”

“Well-”

“Soya, we all have our bad moods, today just happened to be yours, it doesn’t hurt that you’re riding the crimson wave.” He teased.

“God!” Soya laughed, shoving him away from her. “I’m allowed to be in a bad mood without having to be on my period, you know!”

“I know, I was just teasing, come here.” He chuckled, motioning her forward. “Soya, everyone is allowed a bad mood, even you.” He kissed her lightly. “Now, why don’t you change and I’ll arrange for these dresses to be placed on hold back in New York, so you and Josef can go and look at them together.”

“Ville, I can take care of it.” Soya assured.

“I know,” he said, kissing her forehead. “But I want to do this for you, all right? Now get dressed.”

“You don’t need to stay for me getting dressed.” Soya said unzipped the dress, before moving towards the bench where her clothes were sitting.

“I think I do.” Ville said with a smirk, watching as she dressed. Once she was finished, she gathered the dress in her arms, careful not the let the bottom of it hit the ground as she followed Ville out of the dressing room, back into the lobby of the store where their friends were waiting.

“Feeling better?” Rosalind asked, standing from the couch, as Miia took the dress from Soya’s arms.

“Yes, I am.” Soya said quietly, as Ville wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“In true Soya fashion, she didn’t want anyone to know that she was missing her best friend back in New York.” Ville teased, kissing the top of her head. “So I think we’re going to hold off on having her try on any more dresses.”

“I think Josef would like that.” Rosalind smiled. “Even though he’s not the maid of honor.”

Soya laughed quietly. “You know I value your opinion, all of yours…”

“You just value Josef’s more.” Rosalind teased. Ville detached himself from Soya as he walked over to the counter, where Bam was leaning next to Kat watching Soya interact with her friends, before smiling at Miia who was standing behind the counter.

“Miia, right?” Ville asked.

“Yes.” Miia smiled, looking at him, getting Bam and Kat to look over at him as well.

“Is there any way we can contact the New York store and get all of these dresses to be placed on hold for Soya? We’ll be down there in a couple of weeks to take a better look at them.”

“Of course.” Miia smiled. “I’ll make sure to do all of that tonight and give Mr. Kolar a call to let him know what’s happening.”

“Perfect, and what do we owe you today?” Ville asked, starting for his wallet.

“Nothing, Mr. Kolar already took care of the costs for today.”

“Even better.” Ville smiled, tucking his wallet back into his back pocket.

“Would you like me to send the flower girl dress to New York as well?”

“No,” Ville said shaking his head. “It stays here, that I will pay for.”

“Mr. Valo,” Miia said kindly. “When I say Mr. Kolar took care of the costs for today, I meant all of them. He’s told me to charge any dress that was picked today or any other day to his card, including the flower girl dress, the suit for the ring bearer, the bridesmaid’s dress, as well as any wedding dress Miss. Toivonen picked out today. Mr. Kolar has already taken care of it.”

“Of course he has.” Ville chuckled, never amazed at just how much Soya’s friends did for her to show her they cared. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.” Miia smiled, before taking a clipboard and walking from behind the counter to the racks that were just out of Ville’s eyesight.

“So is Soya really okay?” Kat asked, looking over at Soya who was trying to get her sister back into her jacket, as she talked to Niina and Anita.

Ville nodded, leaning back against the counter, looking over at his fiancé with a smile. “She’s fine. She doesn’t like to burden people with her problems.” He said looking at Kat and Bam with a smile. “She loves keeping things to herself and when it gets to be too much it tends to just bubble over. She was having a fucking panic attack in her dressing room over missing her best friend.”

“Seriously?” Bam asked.

Ville nodded, “She’s not use to people taking care of her, worrying over her, Josef just shakes the information out of her or lets her deal with it on her own, same with Rosalind. If Soya doesn’t want to share, she won’t, so people tend to just let her think things over until she’s ready to share and by the time she’s ready to share, the issue she’s dealing with is pointless.”

“You don’t let her stew do you?” Kat asked with a smirk.

Ville shook her head. “If I do that, she ends up having a panic attacks in a fucking dressing room. I try and let her work it out on her own, as I know that how she prefers it, but when I think it’s gone on long enough I’ll prod it out of her. I enjoy taking care of her.” Ville smiled softly as he looked at Soya. “I love being needed.” He looked over at Bam and Kat. “I love that she needs me just as much as I need her.”

Soya stood, looking over at Ville, smiling at him before walking over, placing her hands on his chest. “Are you busy after this?”

“No.” Ville said shaking his head.

“Because if you and Bam have plans, I don’t want to interrupt them.” Soya said biting her lip and looking over at Bam.

Bam shook his head. “Nah, we don’t have plans.”

“Are you sure?” Soya asked. “Because-”

“Rakkaus, we don’t have plans. Why do you ask?”

“I was thinking we could go home and take a bit of a nap, hopefully sleep my mood away. Aida wants to go home with Anita as she hasn’t spent time with her grandparents in a while. We could go have dinner there, that way I can pick Aida up and drive her back to Sipoo.”

Ville nodded slowly. “That sounds fine; did you still want Kat to work on your tattoo?”

“Yes.” Soya said, looking over at Kat. “That is if you don’t mind?”

“I would love to.” Kat assured.

Ville looked over at Kat and Bam. “Did you guys want to meet us back at the tower later tonight then, after Soya and I get back from Sipoo?”

Soya looked up at Ville with a raised eyebrow, but kept quiet as she wasn’t about to argue about Ville’s presence in Sipoo in front of friends.

“That’s perfect.” Kat nodded. “Just give us a call when you’re back and we’ll make our way over there.”

Ville nodded, looking down at Soya. “Go grab your jacket and we’ll start heading out then, get you that nap.”

“All right.” Soya said, starting to pull away, only for Ville to grab on to her hand and pull her back towards him.

“I forgot,” he said with a roll of his eyes, sticking his hand in his pocket. “I had this to give you.” He took his hand out of the pocket, holding Soya’s engagement ring between his thumb and pointer finger.

“You jerk.” Soya laughed, reaching for the ring. “You had it the entire time!”

He pulled the ring away from her, taking her hand before slipping the ring on himself, rolling his eyes at the slight resistance before Soya took her hand and pushed it the rest of the way on.

“Thank you.” She whispered, kissing him lightly.

“You’re very welcome.” Ville nodded, before smirking. “I should have taken the opportunity to go get it fitted.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t.” Soya laughed. “Thank you Ville, really.”

“Go get your jacket on so we can go.”

Soya nodded, this time Ville let her walk away as she picked up her jacket for the couch, shrugging it off.

“You did good, Valo.” Kat laughed, putting her own jacket on. “You did very good.”

“I did, didn’t I?” Ville laughed, wrapping his scarf back around his neck and making sure his beanie was adjusted right, before following their group out of the bridal shop, everyone thanking Miia on their way out.

“You’ve got company.” Bam said, gesturing over to the photographers that were across the street, causing Ville to nod as Soya hugged her friends goodbye.

“I saw them on the way in.” Ville said with a shrug, waving goodbye to his mother and Aida as they ducked into the black town car with Nathan and Niina.

“You haven’t announced your engagement have you?” Bam smirked.

Ville shrugged looking over at his friends. “Why should the media know?”

“It might make life easier for you guys if you guys just outed yourselves.” Bam shrugged.

“Who likes a simple life?” Soya said, wrapping her arms around Ville’s waist, all their friends having left except for Bam and Kat.

Ville grinned at her, tugging her beanie down so it covered her ears. “Right you are, love.”

“We’ll meet you back at your tower later tonight Ville.” Kat laughed, linking her arm in Bam’s and leading him away from the couple.

“The car’s this way.” Soya said starting towards where her car was parked.

“Yes, but the beach is this way.” Ville chuckled pulling her in the opposite direction. “Come on, before we hole up in the tower for the day, I just want to walk with you for a bit.”

“In the middle of the freezing weather?” Soya laughed as Ville wrapped his arm around her shoulder, bringing her tighter to his side as they started walking towards the beach.

“Of course.” Ville teased, “More reason to huddle together.”

Soya laughed, wrapping her arms around his waist as they sloshed through the snow towards the beach that was a couple of blocks away.

“Did you want me to ask Brooke and Josef to announce our engagement?” Soya asked, looking up at him. “We could put a small announcement on my website.”

Ville shrugged. “Don’t worry about that right now Soya.”

“When should we worry about it?” Soya asked, “We have photographers following us out of a bridal shop and you don’t want to worry about it?”

“People will assume that we’re engaged.” Ville shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.” He repeated directing her around a corner smiling when they got the view of the snowed in beach. “How long has it been since you’ve been here, Soya?”

“So long.” She sighed as he moved her so they walked towards an empty bench. Ville wiped the snow off the seat, causing Soya to grin at him as they sat, Ville pulling her closer to him as they looked over at the iced over sea. “I love how quiet it is.” She whispered.

“Well yes, who in their right mind would sit out in twelve degree weather?” Ville teased.

“Well obviously we’re not in our right minds.” Soya chuckled, resting her chin on his shoulder. “Thank you for this.”

Ville nodded. “I know how you get, I know that when you’re upset, you like to sit outside and just think. I’d rather you do it now when your all bundled up rather than when we’re back home and you start taking off your pants.”

Soya sighed. “I just didn’t realize how much I wanted Josef to be a part of this.”

“It’s understandable Soya, Josef is a very large part of your life.” Ville sighed. “I don’t like that your stressing over the wedding plans though.”

“Isn’t that normal though?”

Ville nodded slowly. “Sure, if we were planning a large affair, but what happened to the small wedding we were planning? Soya,” he sighed as he twisted around to face her better. “I don’t want a large wedding or some extravagant affair.”

“Then why-”

“Because you do.” Ville said, smiling at her, reaching over to pull the hood of her jacket up, so the faux fur lining framed her cool cheeks. “You say you’ve never dreamt of your wedding, but every girl dreams of their wedding at least once.” He smiled at her when he saw the light blush work its way up her cheeks. “If you planning this wedding is going to make you happy, then I’m happy letting you plan it because at the end of the day I get the result I want, you as my wife.”

“And if it doesn’t make me happy?” she asked.

“Then we’ll go to city hall right now, right this minute and get married that way.” He said with the utmost sincerity causing Soya to smile.

“I would kiss you right now, but I’m afraid if I do, our lips might get stuck together.”

Ville laughed. “Not a bad way to spend the day. Soya, do you want to keep planning this?”

Soya nodded. “I do.”

“Fine.” Ville said slowly. “Then we’ll keep planning for May, but the minute is see that you’re stressing out about this again Soya, we’re just eloping.”

“Define stressing.” Soya teased.

Ville grinned glad to see Soya feeling more herself. “No more panic attacks in dressing rooms.”

“Deal.”

“You tell me exactly how you’re feelings Soya, no more holding things in because you don’t want to burden people, you need to start sharing and letting me take care of you all right?”

“I will try my hardest on that one.” Soya said. “I’m still a work in progress Ville; it’s going to take me a while to get out of that mindset.”

“As long as you try.” Ville said.

“Is that all or are there more conditions?”

“I think that’s it, but I’m allowed to add to these conditions.”

“Fine.” Soya laughed, standing up, holding her gloved hands out and pulling Ville up when he put his hands in hers. “Then I have a condition for you.”

“All right.”Ville nodded.

“When I ask you to help me with the wedding, I expect you to actually help me Ville. No more kissing me on the temple and telling me that whatever I pick you’ll love. I need help with this, there’s only so much I can do with my friends.” She bit her bottom lip as she looked up at him. “There’s only so much I want to do with my friends. Look, in this day in age, people don’t just get married once anymore, me I want to make this one stick.”

“So do I.”

“And I want to make it a day we’ll both remember, I know you’d be happy with just eloping, but it would make me happy if you were a bit more involved in the planning process Ville. At least for an hour a day, if you could just sit with me and moan and groan about what a pain in the ass this all is, it would make me incredibly happy.”

Ville groaned. “Soya.”

“It would make me that much less stressed as well.” She sing-songed.

“Such a low blow.”

“I’m asking for an hour a day Ville, it can even be before we go to bed, just an hour.”

“I’ll give you two.” Ville said with a sigh, “Especially if it’ll take the stress away.”

“Thank you.” Soya said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. “Now can we go home? I’m freezing.”

“Yeah, let’s go.” Ville nodded letting her direct him to where she had parked her car. They reached the café in no time, Soya unlocking the car, before looking into the coffee shop.

“Do you want anything?” Soya asked. “I’m craving a hot chocolate.”

“Coffee would be nice.” Ville nodded. “Please.”

“I’ll be right out.” Soya said, handing him the keys. “Warm the car up?”

Ville nodded, watching her go into the coffee shop, before starting towards the passenger side, only to blink when he saw three photographers with camera aimed at him. “Hello.” He said with a shake of his head as he started going around the car again.

“How are the wedding plans coming along?” one of the photographers asked, causing Ville to shake his head as he opened the door. They were baiting him, which was fine by him as he didn’t have to answer. But Soya had asked him if he was planning on making a statement and he’d told her not to worry about, though he would usually go through Seppo to make an sort of official announcement, and he still would, he decided to bait the photographers a bit.

“They’re a pain in the ass.” Ville said, smiling cheekily at the photographers before getting into the car, just as Soya came out, carrying the coffee carrier. With eased practice she slid into the car while the photographers took pictures of them. Ville swapping Soya for the coffee while she took the keys.

“I seriously don’t see why they have any interest in us.” Soya said with a roll of her eyes as she started the car, letting the engine heat up as she took her gloves and scarf off. “We’re just getting into a car and getting coffee.”

Ville smirked as he handed Soya her hot chocolate only for Soya to raise an eyebrow in his direction. “What?” She asked.

“You know how you asked if you should make an official announcement on our engagement?”

“Yes.” Soya said slowly.

“I think it’d be a good idea.”

Soya blinked, looking over at the photographers, before looking back at Ville. “You didn’t.”

“I did.” He grinned.

“You bastard.” Soya laughed, putting her hot chocolate in the cup holder. “You spend most of your time trying to keep your personal life out of the tabloids, but this you decide to share, wonderful Ville.”

“Oh shut up and give you fiancé a kiss for the cameras.” Ville said leaning forward.

“You’ll be lucky if I ever kiss you again.” Soya laughed, pushing his face away as she started out of her spot, hoping she didn’t hit one of the three photographers taking pictures of her and Ville.

“You might want to talk to Josef and Brooke about making an official announcement for you on your website or something.” Ville said once she was free from her spot and driving down the street.

“Will you talk to Seppo?”

Ville nodded. “I’ll talk to Seppo.”

“Then I’ll talk to Josef.” Soya said. “And it’s for us.”

“What?”

“The announcement it’s for ‘us’ for just for me or for you, it’s for ‘us’ and by the way, you’re not going to Sipoo with me.” Soya said once she was down the road and on her way towards the tower.

Ville chuckled. “We’ll argue about that after your nap.”

“Nothing to argue, you’re not going.”

Ville shook his head, not able to keep the grin off his face. “Yes, we’ll most definitely argue about this after your nap.”