Paul agreed to watch Max and Laura and let Elizabeth take the car downtown on Saturday. She stopped at Ike's to pick up Patty at about ten in the morning.
"I'm so excited!" Patty enthused as she got into the front seat beside Elizabeth.
Elizabeth smiled. "I remember my wedding gown. It was a hand-me-down from Mary Ellen and Erin, but it was beautiful - white with a V neck and long chiffon sleeves."
"That sounds pretty," said Patty. "Maybe I can find one similar to that one."
They arrived at the Bridal Boutique, and Elizabeth parked in front. Inside the store was a table holding a vase filled with white and yellow flowers. In front of the table was a white sofa, and opposite the sofa were long racks attached high on the wall with many bridal gowns hanging from them.
Patty gasped. "I don't even know where to start!"
"Do you know what dress size you wear?" asked Elizabeth.
"Twelve," Patty told her.
A smiling young woman with shoulder-length medium brown hair appeared. "Can I help you?"
"We'd like to see what you have in a size twelve," said Elizabeth.
"Certainly." The woman led them to one of the racks. She showed them a gown with a square neckline and a lacy skirt, another with an oblong collar and short sleeves, and then a third gown with a V neck and long sleeves made of lace.
"I'll bet Anton would love this one!" said Patty, indicating the gown with the long lace sleeves.
"Why don't you try it on," Elizabeth suggested.
Patty did, and it fit her perfectly. The twenty dollars Ike had given her covered it, with a couple dollars to spare.
"Let's go to lunch to celebrate," Elizabeth suggested.
"I'm getting pretty hungry!" Elizabeth replied.
They walked to a restaurant a few stores down from the diner. Its floor was white and black checks, and the walls were sage green on the bottom with white wallpaper with sage green designs on top. Several pictures hung on the walls, and there were two windows with sage green drapes on one wall. The tables were covered with white tablecloths, and the chairs were white. A vase of white flowers sat on each table. Three chandeliers hung from the ceiling.
For lunch, they had steak sandwiches with fried potatoes, with hot rolls and butter.
"Have you ever been here?" Elizabeth asked Patty as they were waiting for their food.
"Never. Have you?"
"Paul and I came a time or two before Max was born," Elizabeth replied.
"Where did you go on your honeymoon?" Patty wanted to know.
"We didn't have one," Elizabeth told her.
"You mean you just got married and then went right home?"
"Paul couldn't afford to take very much time off from work. Where are you and Anton planning to go?"
"Anton wants to see Washington, D.C. He's very curious about the United States government and President Truman."
"Neat! I've never been there myself."
By now their food had arrived. Patty was so hungry she ate everything on her plate. Elizabeth asked if she wanted dessert, but she said she'd give the rest of the change back to Ike.
On the way back, Patty had a question for Elizabeth.
"Would you please keep my wedding gown at your house until right before the wedding? I'm afraid my Mom might do something to it, or hide it from me."
Elizabeth gasped. "Do you really think she'd do something like that?"
"As much as she hates Anton, I wouldn't put it past her."
"Of course I can do that for you, Patty. Would you like for me to drop it off at your place the evening before the wedding?"
"That, or I could come over here to change into it first thing in the morning on the day of the wedding. I'll let you know which."
On the morning of the wedding, Ike dropped Patty off at Elizabeth's house. It was a Saturday, so Paul was home, too. He and Elizabeth were wearing their Sunday best, and even little Max was dressed up in a cute toddler-sized suit.
"Come on in," said Elizabeth. "If you need any help, just holler, and I'll be right there."
"I've never been so nervous in my entire life!" Patty cried.
"I know how you feel." Elizabeth chuckled. "How well I remember my own wedding day! You'll do just fine, sweetie; I know you will."
"Thanks. I wish I were as sure of that as you sound!"
Patty did indeed need help with the wedding gown; although it fit her perfectly, she was unused to wearing such finery and required assistance with adjusting the sleeves and collar so they looked just right.
At last she was ready, and Ike drove her to the church. Together, they waited in the foyer until they heard the beginning strains of Wagner's Wedding March.
As she walked down the aisle on Ike's arm, all she could think about was the moment she would look into Anton's eyes, and when she finally did, the rest of the world seemed to melt away, and it was just the two of them.