Chapter 48: Wedding Shopping

On Friday morning Helena got the call from the bridal shop, her dress is ready for the final fitting can they come either today or tomorrow. Helena rang Suzanne “Busy?”

Suzanne replied “No quiet morning.”

Helena asked will your boss allow you to try on your wedding dress, they just rang me. Fred is busy with his project.”
Suzanne asked Ben who agreed she could go for the day. “Yes I available, I’ll come to your place.”

Helena dressed in a similar dress and the same shoes as they wore for the fitting. Suzanne arrived just as Julie pulled up ready to take them for the fitting. They called into Suzanne place so she could get correctly dressed and correct shoes.

Arriving at the bridal shop Julie went in with them to be the third eye on the fittings. Julie had tears in her eyes at seeing the girls in their wedding dresses. Julie advised “Those different styles certainly bring out your best features and highlight your faces. They are stunning.”

The dress maker did some final pinning advising the dresses will be ready Monday week. 4 days before their wedding. Outside Julie asked “Where to girls”

Suzanne said “Heaven- that is, SHOE shopping!!!”

They both laughed at Suzanne. “Lets start in Southport shops shall we?” Asked Julie. She drove them to the Fair and they wandered around looking at shoes. At noon they stopped for coffee and some sandwiches. They all agreed that there appears nothing in the way of nice shoes. They departed from the Aust fair and went to Pacific fair shops. Believe it or not in the first shoe shop they found their ideal shoes for the wedding day. The shoes were pearl white with sequins. Both Helena and Suzanne found the individual styles they liked.

Returning to the car they placed their purchases in the boot then returned upstairs for coffee. The girls walked around the shops and made a few more purchases. Julie dropped Suzanne and Helena at their respective homes. Helena paid for the days travel.

Helena returning to her unit just as Fred had finished for the day. Helena placed her shopping away as Fred made some herbal teas.

The next day Saturday, Fred asked “What are we doing this weekend?”

Helena replied “Feel like a drive?”

Fred looking excited “Yes please, where to darling?”

Helena said “How about showing me your old home. That would be a good drive?”

Fred lent over and gave Helena a passionate kiss. “Yes lets get some breaky on the way. We better pack a bag for a night or two, It can get cool down that way.”

They left about 7 am, Fred filled the car at the BP Chindra and proceeded to Ballina where they stopped and had some breakfast. Helena asked the shop if they had any flasks and ordered one to be filled with a very very large cappuccino. She would need a few on the journey. They stopped at Coffs Harbour for morning tea then drove out to Tamworth via Dorrigo. They arrived in the middle of lunch time. They found a restaurant for lunch. Here Helena ordered a steak and a large steak arrived. Fred laughed at her, This is steak country and this is real steak. It filled the large dinner plate with salad and chips served in side dishes. Helena did finish the steak meal which surprised everyone.

Fred drove out of town along the Oxley Highway for about 15 minutes he stopped at Byanee Lane and showed Helena his property. He noticed his house looked lived in. He then drove down the land and called in on his neighbour that leases his land for farming. When they saw the Jaguar drive up they were on their guard thinking it was another real estate agent trying to buy Fred’s property. There was a lot of interest in his land as the government and the water board were needing to expand and he held the best property.

When they saw Fred get out of the car they came out of the door and greeted him. Fred hugged them as they were more like family than friends. Fred then opened the door for Helena and introduced her. They made her feel very welcome and invited them in for afternoon tea.

Fred was updated on his property. “I removed some of the good furniture out to my shed and let the place out to some local farmhands that work for me and other locals. The missus here goes over every month to check the place out and make any necessary repairs. I felt it was better for you to have a place that was lived in than rather let it go to the weather elements. I pass the rent payments on less expenses in your 6 monthly payments.”

Fred replied “Thank you, We have come for a visit. I want to introduce Helena my future wife. We are getting married week Thursday. Would you like to come to the wedding?”

His wife quickly replied “We would like to attend, but I’m having a women operation on that day. But thank you anyway.”

After a few more drinks and chit chat Fred and Helena left for town. On the return journey Fred said “I wanted to personally ask them but they never leave this place for anything. Anyway I am glad I have seen them.” Helena knew this was Fred’s day.

Fred took the A15 and drove to Armidale. There they stayed the night in a local motel. The next morning they drove onto Glenn Innes, then Tenterfield for lunch. Fred then took the B road to Casino then onward to home. They arrived at the unit around 7 pm. They had a light dinner at the restaurant then retired for bed. Fred thanked Helena for the weekend. It was good to drive the car and to see his property.

On Tuesday Janet and Julie called Helena and asked for a lunch appointment. There they spoke about the Vanuatu clinic. They have found a medical Clinic that does help the islanders and infact they do have some old mining medical units in Australia and are looking for funds to transport them to Vanuatu. They have been quoted around $200 k for transport. They are willing to set up some of the units in the leprosy island for a clinic if they can get all of the units travel costs covered. They have been trying to get some information about some mining units but the medical units are always given away to ‘not for profit groups’ for tax write off. The only problem is it’s run by a church group. Helena asked them to get a guarantee at least one medical centre and a hospital bed unit is set up on the island in writing and she will pay for the delivery. Both the church and the medical clinic must sign so we can get the Vanuatu government to verify. It would be nice if they could have the letter before Thursday week, so we can pass it on when we arrive. Janet advised to leave it with them. They chit chatted about the coming wedding asking about a ladies night out. They made some plans for a final dinner evening on Wednesday. Little did Helena know it would be a party night with quite a few ladies attending.

Wednesday morning Helena needed to go for a walk. Fred was busy in room 3. Helena walked to her unit in Tugun and check everything out. She cleared the mail and went over to the bank. There the Manager greeted Helena. Helena made out another cheque for $10 million to her account which has had a few payments made out. Helena told the Manager she was going away to Vanuatu for up to 3 weeks. The Manager arranged for her card to be available for use overseas. Helena needed to sign a few bank forms for the Airport and unit accounts. She was a signature on the account but had not filled in the paperwork. Helena requested all forms to be photocopied and sent to Ben for his reference. This they attended to. Helena returned to her flat for a final check before walking back to Coolangatta. Everything was fine.