Wanted

Eliza slipped her sunglasses down from the crown of her head to the tip of her nose and pushed them up to shield her eyes from the sunlight of the late October morning and took a hit of her cigarette. As she rested her wrist against the railing of the deck, she looked at the sparkling diamond resting neatly against her ring finger. Smiling, she thought about what the rest of the day was going to entail. She was too excited.

They’d been so busy the past month with the release of the band’s new album, Nightmare, and different signings, appearances, and interviews going along with it, not to mention the mini-tour they had in the U.S. and Canada. Mike Portnoy had agreed to go with them to the shows they had in the past three months since the release of the album, but after the last show, he had told them he wasn’t going to do it anymore, which left the band to figure out who was going to replace him as drummer.

Brian had been so stressed and when he said he and the boys were spending the day out, she’d been more than agreeable. In fact, she’d called all the girls together and planned the day for themselves, too.

Not even flinching as she heard the door slide open and close, she leaned back into Brian’s arms as he came to hug her from behind.

“Why are you wearing that ugly thing?”

Eliza looked down at the ‘House of Syn’ shirt she’d swiped from his closet while he was still sleeping and smiled. “It’s not ugly when I’m wearing it.”

“You’re right,” he said, kissing the hollow of her neck. “You’d make anything look good, though. What are you guys up to today?”

“Dress shopping,” she replied, stubbing out her cigarette in the ashtray before turning around to wrap her arms around his neck. “No, you can’t come. Girls only.”

“That’s no fun,” he said, pouting.

“It doesn’t really matter because I’ve had my dress, but still… Girls only. Besides, you've got your own thing to do.”

“You found your dress!?”

She felt Brian pull away from her and giggled at his shocked expression.

“I found it a long time ago, Bri. I bought it in New York with Thomas and I had it shipped out here.”

“Why didn’t I see it in the apartment?”

“You were out with Matt doing something and I took it to the shop and asked them to send it to the one here in L.A. I’m going to go for another fitting today, plus look at bridesmaids dresses.”

“Wow, you’re right, girls only. That sounds boring as shit. I'd rather be drinking with the guys.”

"Yeah, enjoy your video games now, Romeo."

"The love of my life...video games."

She laughed and playfully shoved him before heading inside, pulling at the stockings encasing her feet. She jogged upstairs to grab her purse, phone, and her Doc Martens before heading back down the steps to see Brian entering in through the back door, sliding it shut behind him.

“Are you taking my shoes now?” he cried, pointing at her.

She paused in the middle of bending over to pull the boots on her feet to smile at him before dropping her foot and pushing her heel further into the shoe. Not bothering to tie them tighter, she picked her bag off the floor and whirled around, calling out an ‘I love you’ over her shoulder.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Eliza?! Those are my favorite shoes!”

“Love you!”



“Are you sure that’s appropriate to wear dress shopping?”

“Nisa, don’t make me turn this car around.”

“I’m just saying, mom, that it doesn’t seem appropriate!”

“Considering I’ve already bought my dress and I’m just going to show you guys, I think it’ll be fine.”

“I guess that’s true. So what God-awful color are you going to make us wear?”

“I actually have chosen a lovely color, even though with that attitude, I should make you wear puce.”

Nisa made a face out of the window of the backseat. Wiki and Katie laughed from beside her. Val smiled and turned her attention back to Eliza, smiling from the front seat.

It was barely ten in the morning but it felt like a thousand degrees. Eliza pulled up the sleeves of the thermal shirt and flicked her cigarette out of the window. She pulled to the side of the road, parallel parking the SUV along a line of shops in downtown L.A.

The girls filed out of the SUV, laughing at something that Val had said and made their way up the street.

“Where the hell is this place?” Katie grumbled.

“About two blocks up,” Eliza answered, pointing ahead.

“Why the fuck did we park so far away?” Nisa asked, frowning.

“To make sure you got some walking in to fit in your puce dress,” Eliza quipped back.

Nisa glared at her before smiling and linking her arm with Eliza’s.

“Starbucks!” Wiki shouted, pointing at the green sign.

She and Val walked ahead, Nisa following after them. Katie hung back and grabbed Eliza’s hand.

“It’s your turn, now,” Eliza said, smiling.

“To get coffee? I will.”

“No, to get engaged, doofus,” Eliza said, rolling her eyes.

“In due time,” Katie said, humming.

“So, I’ve got a question for you,” Eliza said as they paused in front of the coffee shop.

“I’ve got an answer.”

“Will you be my maid of honor?”

Katie smiled as she looked at Eliza. “Duh.”

They laughed as the other girls came out of Starbucks, coffee in hand. Nisa and Val handed a cup to each of the girls. Saying their thanks, the five started down the street.

“SUZY!”

Everyone looked up at Val’s announcement to see Suzy Haner walking towards them, a bag in her hand. Shouting their excitement, the five of them jogged towards the older woman, each of them hugging her.

“What are you doing here?” Katie asked.

“I have asked Suzy to take on the role of two moms,” Eliza said, stepping forward to hug her last. “She’s agreed to partially take on my Matron of Honor role.”

A gaggle of screams went up, causing people on the street to stop and look, but the girls ignored them.

“Come on, come on,” Suzy said, rolling her eyes. “Let’s get inside. I want to see this dress!”

They entered into the shop, explaining who they were and were led to the sitting area. Eliza went with Harmony, the assistant helping her, and showed her to a dressing room while she went after the dress.

“It arrived yesterday. We took it out and aired it a bit, and put it back in this plastic,” Harmony explained, unzipping the clear plastic surrounding the dress.

Eliza’s heart swelled as she saw the dress. Smiling, she immediately started to pull off clothes, standing in just her stockings, underwear and bra. She’d specifically worn a strapless bra, because of the dress, and stepped into the dress as Harmony held it open for her.

Once Harmony had zipped it up and fastened it, she left, going to find Suzy who’d brought the shoes with her. Eliza pulled her hair from the ponytail it was in and fluffed it out, looking at herself in the mirror. The dress was a bit bigger than she remembered, but just barely. She figured between August and May, she’d fit it just fine.

From the bottom, looking up, she looked the perfect bride, until her eyes got to the huge tattoo on her chest and her bright pink hair. She laughed and ran her fingers over the slightly-raised skin.

“Here we go,” Harmony said, appearing in the doorway with the shoes.

Bending down to hold out the shoes, Harmony slipped them on Eliza’s feet and she stood up straight.

“Holy fuck,” Eliza said, looking in the mirror.

Tears came to her eyes as she looked at herself.

“You look amazing,” Harmony said from beside her. “I think your girls are going to feel the same way.”

Eliza took the tissue Harmony was holding out for her and nodded. Dabbing at her eyes, she carefully lifted the skirt of her dress and exited the dressing room.

She heard the collective gasps from her friends as she took her spot on the raised stool.

“Holy shit.”