Chapter 15 - THE DRESS I WORE NEXT
Three weeks later, I stood in Mrs. Alvarez’s shop while she pinned the last fold of a new dress.
We had used the silk that survived, a little new fabric, and the shape of a sleeve from Mom’s sketchbook. I sewed the blue ribbon inside the waist myself. This time, the silver charm hung from a chain around my neck.
Mia had paid Mrs. Alvarez for the materials and labor. She’d taken a weekend job and arranged to repay me for the original dress too. Dad made sure those payments were her responsibility.
The house had changed. Denise lived elsewhere while she and Dad worked through their separation. Dad made time to eat dinner with us and asked questions he should have asked sooner. Mia and I were civil most days. Some days we weren’t. We were learning to tell the truth without expecting the other person to feel better right away.
Rebecca came often. She brought old photographs and stories about Mom that I’d never heard. Tessa helped me pack for Westbridge.
On the morning of the university’s welcome event, Dad drove me to campus. I wore the new dress under a light jacket. The hem moved softly around my knees when I stepped out of the car.
Dad looked at it and smiled. “Your mother would’ve wanted to know how you made that sleeve.”
“I used one of her drawings.”
“She would’ve liked that even more.”
Mia got out of the back seat. She kept her hands in her pockets.
“You look good,” she said.
“Thank you.”
It was a small exchange. For now, it was enough.
I had spent graduation morning believing everything I’d worked for could be destroyed in a few minutes. My dress had been. Some opportunities had been taken from me long before that. I couldn’t get those days back.
But the scholarship was mine. The letters were finally in my hands. Ahead of me stood a building full of rooms where I would learn to make the things I imagined.
I hugged Dad and Rebecca, waved to Tessa across the courtyard, and walked toward the entrance.
May you like
Just before I went inside, I reached into the waist of my dress and touched the blue ribbon.
Then I let it go and opened the door.
