Title: Yesterday to Tomorrow: Chapter Forty-four, Overwhelming
Rating: NC-17 [violence, swearing, nudity, sexual situations]

Summary: Alyssa struggles to decide on a wedding dress, but the girls' flower girl dresses are easy.

Previous Chapter Out with the Girls

Current Chapter Overwhelming

Next Chapter Mama Lyssa

With the girls running around the store giggling, Alyssa's fingers trailed over fabrics as she weaved through racks of dresses. With Andrew along, she didn't worry about always having her full attention on the girls. Besides the boutique was small enough she could tell where they were by their giggles.

"It's so... overwhelming," she muttered.

"Where's the wedding going to be?" Andrew asked.

Glancing over her shoulder at him, she replied, "Didn't you get your invitation?"

"Uh.... let's pretend I did and I've forgotten what it says," he answered.

Alyssa shook her head and opened her mouth to reply. However Toni's little screams interrupted her thoughts. Hurrying to where the toddler was crying, her eyes found Lily's eyes wide, terrified.

"We were just playing. And she tripped and... and... I'm sorry Aunt Lyssa," Lily declared.

Scooping up the toddler, she calmed the little girl, "Don't worry, Lily. It was an accident. Everything's all right."

Toni's cries stopped but one big fat tear rolled down her cheek, wetting Alyssa's shoulder.

"How about we pick out your princess dresses?" she suggested. "Then you can help me find mine."

Lily's face brightened, "Mommy never lets me touch her clothes."

"She doesn't!?" Alyssa gasped, grinning. "Well then we better try on everything in the store!"

Andrew groaned behind her.



The flower girl dresses were easy to choose. The girls tried on about a dozen, even though all had agreed on the first one they wore. They were simple a-line dresses with a tulle overskirt with silk flowers floating in between the layers of tulle. The bodice could be any colour Alyssa requested, which she was struggling with red and blue. She had originally intended the wedding to be white and blue, but when she fell in love with invitations with deep red roses on them, that decision was changing. And the girls looked so cute in the reds.

Alyssa couldn't say no to tiaras for her little princesses. And Lily insisted upon gloves. They were adorable, but Alyssa couldn't see Toni keeping hers on. But she agreed and set aside two pairs with her purchase anyways. With the girls tired and Andrew obviously bored, she decided it was time for a break from the yards of tulle, chiffon, and silk.

"How about we go get some ice cream?" she suggested.

"Yay!" Andrew chirped. "Ice cream!"

Shaking her head, she informed the saleslady they would be back in about an hour. With Toni on her hip and Lily's hand in hers, she lead the motley crew out of the wedding boutique. Down the street a few shops and across the street they headed. Alyssa couldn't help but grin. They were headed to her and Chris's favourite ice cream parlour.

"Your daddy and I used to come here a lot," she declared, stepping into the saccarine shop, Andrew holding the door for the girls.

Toni knew the shop well and started wiggling in Alyssa's arms. Not that she would be able to see the ice cream flavours if she was put down. Lily's hand slipped from Alyssa's, so she could press her face to the glass in wonderment of the flavours.

"Can I get anything, Aunt Lyssa?" she asked, turning her gaze to the woman for a moment.

"Of course, Lily. Anything you want."



After making certain that all little hands, including Andrew's, were free of sticky ice cream, Alyssa headed out of the ice cream parlour.

"You should get married in the park," Andrew declared, glancing across the street at the large park.

Alyssa shook her head, "We're not."

"Then where are you getting married?

"The LA Music Center."

Andrew stared at her for a moment, "You're kidding."

"Nope. Only place that I liked that could hold the number of people on our guest list," she replied, shifting Toni to her other hip.

"How many are on your guest list?"

"About nine hundred," she replied.

Andrew stopped dead in his tracks on the sidewalk, "Nine hundred people?"

"Yeah," she turned, catching Lily to keep her from continuing on without them. "Why?"

"That's a lot of people, Lyss."

"Sure is. But with Chris's celebrity comes obligations," she shrugged. "And with my clientele comes more obligations. Basically, our wedding is going to be the party everyone wants to be at."

"I don't doubt it at all."



Another hour they wasted in the boutique. Alyssa would pull dresses off the hanger, hold them to her body, and frown. Sixteen dresses she did that with, half of which Andrew thought would have been just fine. But then again he wasn't the one marrying. For a moment though, he nearly convinced himself he was. His eyes glazed over, imagining waiting at the end of the aisle for Alyssa to appear in her beautiful gown. A little smile came to his lips.

"Andy!" Alyssa slapped his shoulder.

His blue eyes snapped to her, "Yeah, what?"

"Where are the girls?" she asked, a hint of panic in her voice.

"Oh shit," he muttered, looking around. "I don't know."