The Azuli by Cassidy Shay (best beach reads of all time TXT) 📕

truth wasn’t some horrible secret that I had to hide from my mother. “They are usually used for disciplinary reasons, even though they aren’t used very often. But with all the weddings going on, they’ve decided to use them for the meetings and all that so that we aren’t taking up whole classrooms.” She nodded, agreeing that using the smaller rooms was much more efficient.
I knocked on the door to Section A. I wasn’t sure what section the fitting would take place in, so I decided to check all of them. When I knocked at Section C, Dr. Pender opened the door.
“Hey guys,” she said, and checked her watch. “A little early, don’t you think?”
“Well, my mom was really excited, so I thought we’d come by early. Is that okay? Or should we come back after lunch is officially over?”
“You guys are already here. There’s no point in you guys going back, because you’ll just have to turn around and come back here as soon as you get there. So come on in and we can get started.”
We stepped in and I spotted my dress hanging on a wall. The woman who had fitted my dress before was sitting in a corner mending a small shirt. It was pretty crowded in the room with all of us in there, but there was enough space to do what needed to be done.
“My dear,” said my mom, and walked over to the dress. “This is beautiful, Penny. Absolutely beautiful.” She reached out her hand and stroked it, and then turned around and gave me a hug. “I can’t believe that you’re getting married in only a few days!”
“Let’s get this done,” said the woman in the corner. “We are going to have other girls coming soon, so if we can get this one taken care of, that would be great.”
I closed my eyes for a moment, and a Memory came into view.
A young woman on a platform in front of dressing rooms, surrounded by family.
She waits as her best friend, two sisters-in-law, mom, aunt, and cousin judge the dress she has on.
“Courtney,” says her mom, “that’s beautiful. You look absolutely stunning.”
Courtney smiles and looks down at the dress. “I think this is the one.”
She walks around the platform, her happiness seeping into everything in the room. “This is definitely the one.”

I opened my eyes and saw my small crowd. My mother and my best friend, two people I loved more than life.
“Let’s see that dress on her,” said my mom. I stood up on the stool like I had the first time, and I put my arms above my head so they could slip the dress over me.
“This looks so beautiful on you, Miss,” she said. “And you haven’t changed in size hardly at all since the last time. That makes my job so much easier.” She flashed me a smile, and then started pulling fabric in a few places, pinching it together in others. I was shocked at the speed of her fingers and hands, but also her apparent enthusiasm. At the first fitting, she’d been quick and professional, not saying a word as she marked the fabric.
She started pinning the fabric, and took a couple pins out of the skirt. When she was done, she took a step back to examine it. My mom gasped, which I thought was a little too dramatic. When I turned and faced the mirror, though, I let out a gasp of my own.
Part of it was from seeing how I looked in the dress, and part of it was because I was seeing my reflection for the first time in ten years. I touched the scar on my forehead, and ran my hands through my hair. I looked truly beautiful.
The white fabric made my skin look more tan than it usually was, and my brown hair fell softly and smoothly a couple inches above my shoulder. The woman started digging in a box until she found a bag with my name on it, and she brought it to me.
“These are extensions for your hair,” she said, and started clipping them in. “You don’t have to have them, but that are here if you decide that you want them.” I looked at my reflection again, and couldn’t help but smile. The extensions blended perfectly with my brown hair, and it looked amazing as it came down over the top of my dress.
“If you choose to wear them in the wedding, you will need to keep them in your room, and you’ll be responsible for them. You might want to wear them around during this week so that you can get used to the weight. Are you going to do that?” I looked to my mom and Macy to see what they thought, and they both nodded vigorously.
“I guess I’m taking them,” I said. She put them back in the bag and handed it to my mom so she could take my dress off. When I was done getting dressed, we all headed to my room.
The rest of the day, I had conversations with several different people about the fitting, the dress, the wedding, and everything that had anything to do with the wedding. It became tiring, and I just wanted the whole thing to be over so I could stop talking about it. I decided that after my wedding was over, I wouldn’t ever talk about a wedding, or anything wedding related, ever again.

Chapter 7

As I took a shower that night, I thought about all the things that were different simply because of the fact that parents were there.
One thing that was different was our showering schedule. Normally, we were only allowed to shower once a week. With our parents there, we were able to take one each night or each morning. We also had more privacy, because of the new doors. The food was better, the clothes weren’t so itchy, and we got to see our parents. It was like a vacation.
However, we also had to lie to our parents. We had to lie about who we loved, and who we wanted to marry. That was the down side. If we had to do this whole wedding thing without our parents, it would have been so much easier.
The next morning, I could feel that something was wrong. I found a piece of paper in the drawer by my bed, and I grabbed a pencil that was also in there.
Next, shook Macy awake. “Macy,” I said. “I need you to count for me. I don’t need it to be exact, but I do need an estimate.” I got situated on the floor, with the paper on the side table. “Just go when you see me start.”
I tried to find something simple, something easily drawn. After a couple seconds, I found a Memory of a father teaching his young daughter how to ride a bike. We didn’t have bikes in the New World; something I’ve always thought should be changed. I started drawing, and it felt great.
The young girl smiles as her dad helps her onto the bike. Neither of them say a word, but instead go through their Saturday routine in silence. It’s only the second time they’ve gone out to learn this skill, but each knows their role. She starts to pedal, but her dad holds onto the seat, not quite ready to led his little girl go. The tires spin and a laugh escapes her throat as the air hits her face.
They pass trees and houses, mailboxes and cars. Finally, she’s gained too much speed for her dad to keep up. With one last push, he lets go and watches his little girl fly.

Finally, I was done. I looked at Macy and saw the sadness and disappointment in her eyes. “I counted twenty,” she said. Then, to make me feel better, she said, “But I was probably counting too fast. It probably wasn’t really twenty seconds.”
I started to cry, because it had never taken me twenty seconds to draw a Memory. I couldn’t even guess what was going to happen that day. When Macy saw my tears, she got down on the floor and wrapped me in her arms.
A couple minutes later, Carl and Jack walked in. “What’s wrong?” asked Carl. I reached up and grabbed the picture, and handed it to him. Because I was still hysterical, Macy explained to them what had happened.
“Shit!” he yelled, startling me. Carl didn’t curse very often, so when he did, you knew it was bad. I heard footsteps in the hallway, and then my parents appeared at the door.
“What happened?” asked my mom when she saw me. “I heard Carl shout, and now… What’s going on?” she asked.
“I think I’m pregnant,” I blurted without thinking. With so little time, I couldn’t think of anything else that would make Carl and I so upset. “I love kids and all, but I didn’t want any of my own for at least a few years!” I started blubbering, trying to make my parents believe me. Looking back, I probably could have told them the truth about the Memory. The general public didn’t know that the Memories were gone after we drew them, but they were aware that we drew them out. I could have told them the truth about bad days. But I had gotten so used to lying, sometimes it was hard to believe what was true and what wasn’t.
I looked at the ground so I wouldn’t have to look at my mom’s shocked face anymore. My dad didn’t say anything, but instead, he walked out of the room. Carl followed a couple minutes later, and punched the wall on the way out. I didn’t know if it was because he was really angry, or if it was for the benefit of my mom. Macy stepped back and left the room, taking Jack with her.
“Honey,” said my mom “is this true?” I nodded and sniffled a bit, then wiped the snot on the back of my hand. “You realize that your father is going to be very upset with you, right?” I nodded again, but then shrugged my shoulders.
“It’s not like I’ll be some single mother out in the real world. Carl won’t run off. He wouldn’t have anywhere to run off to. Plus, he loves kids. He’s great with all the new arrivals, and it always makes me smile to see him with them. Also, we’ve talked about having kids before.” As I said this, I realized that none of it was a lie.
Carl wasn’t going to run off. I was. He really was great with all the little kids, and it really did make me smile to see him interact with them. And we had talked about having children. Although it had been a while since anyone had mentioned