Let Me Call You Sweetheart Chapter 4, Page 37
It was a short week for school with Christmas the following Sunday. With the pageant done, all Dee needed was one last practice for the Christmas Eve service. Elizabeth encouraged Dee to take off Monday and go to Dottie's to pick out her bridal dress.
Dee bounced into Dottie's Apparel shop with a mission. Today she was going to decide on a dress for her wedding that was quickly coming up in less than 2 months. "Good morning, Dottie"!
"Good morning Dee. I'm so glad you finally have a chance to come over. We need to select a bridal dress for you right away. Your big day is right around the corner and will be here before you know it!" Dottie greeted.
"After seeing the dress in the chest of drawers upstairs, I felt right away that was the design I was dreaming about. It is so pretty and perfect!" Dee smiled.
"We don't know who the dress upstairs belongs to. Henry hasn't come over for it yet, but perhaps we can take another good look at it and see if there are any telltale signs as to where it was made or by whom. I don't want to stay up there long as it's so dusty, but luckily, the clothes inside were protected pretty well from the dust." Dottie advised.
The two of them went upstairs to the chest of drawers. Inside one of the deep drawers was the dress. They carefully removed the dress to examine it. Not being light enough to see, they walked over carrying the dress to the window. The delicate lace and the pearl buttons were in good shape. The gown had no rips or stains on it and when Dottie held it up, the bodice and the skirt flowed together with satin trim.
"Let's take this downstairs and examine it in more light" Dottie suggested.
The two of them oohed and ahhed as they let the dress fall to the ground so they could see the whole design. Rosemary walked in just then and her eyes lit up as she walked in seeing the dress in plain sight. "That is just gorgeous!" she declared.
"We're checking to see if there is any clue as to where or who made or wore this dress." Dottie informed Rosemary.
They deliberately took very delicate moves with the dress as they looked inside for clues. There were no tags or initials, so going by the stitching they believed it to be home sewn.
"Whoever the seamstress was, was very talented!" Rosemary affirmed.
"Let's hold this up to you Dee and see how close it is in size." Dottie suggested.
As Dottie held it up to Dee, in walked Henry.
"What are you doing with that dress?" Henry demanded.
"We are just admiring it and..."
"And? What? Is it yours?" Henry sneered.
"We're so sorry Henry, Dee really liked the style and we were just looking for ideas as to how it was sewn so we could purchase her one just like it!" Rosemary said demurely as she put her arm through Henry's.
Henry looked out the window and then back at Dottie as he untangled Rosemary from his arm. "I didn't mean to come in here with both guns blazing, but when I saw you with the dress, it upset me. You should've asked me first."
Dottie knew there was something else triggering such a startling response out of Henry. She asked the ladies to take the dress back upstairs where they had found it. Rosemary and Dee knew they better follow Dottie's direction and quickly went back upstairs.
With that Dottie took Henry aside and asked, "What is really upsetting you Henry?"
Henry shook his head. "It's nothing for you to worry about Dottie. It was a long time ago."
"The Henry I know has a soft heart under that tough exterior. We've been through a lot in this town and believe me, nothing will shock me Henry. Your secret is safe with me." Dottie said assuredly.
"I will just pack up the clothes and other items and take them out of your way. You all can keep the furniture as I said before." Henry announced. "I've got the boxes right outside the door to do just that. Now, if you'll excuse me, permit me to retrieve the clothing and I'll be out of your way."
"Is there anything I can say that'll allow you to share with me where the wedding clothes and accessories came from? It is still a mystery that we would love to know." Dottie asked one more time as she stopped Henry from moving hanging onto him tightly.
Henry knew she wasn't going to just stop questioning him. Dottie had a way of making sure she knew as much as she could to keep herself well informed.
"Maybe someday I'll fill you in." Henry smiled as he broke away and grabbed the boxes heading upstairs.
Rosemary and Dee came down while Henry was packing up. Rosemary did tell Henry it would be a shame to let the accessories go to waste in a box. After all, Dee was a bride to be and could easily borrow something. Henry just nodded.
When Henry was done, he let them know he would send someone over to clean the upstairs and get the window to open and with that, "Good day ladies" as he left.
"Now, there's definitely a story to all this!" Dee said.
"Oh you be there is my dear, and we are going to get to the bottom of this!" Rosemary said emphatically.
