Rosalind ran her hands over the ivory skirt and got a thrill of joy at the feel of the fabric. Jane had really done a magnificent job.
Rosalind, with Iantha's help, had arranged her hair piled up on her head, with just a few stray curls hanging down around her face and neck. She looked in the mirror and smiled. She already knew Tommy was going to stand there stunned, like he had done during prom.
She took a deep breath and noted with pleasure how light she felt. No burdens, no worries. This is what she wanted.
"Don't poke me," Skye muttered.
Rosalind turned to watch Batty attempting to dust Skye's eyelids with some shimmery powder.
"Hold still and trust me," Batty said. "I'm not doing too much, just enough to make you look like a fairy princess."
"What if I don't want to be a fairy princess?" Skye asked. "What if I want to be the hag?"
Jane stopped whirling about in her glorious green dress and clucked her tongue.
"Don't you want Jeffrey to look at you like your beauty has stopped the world from turning round its axis?" Jane said in a whimsical voice.
"He always looks at me like that," Skye said with a sly smile.
Never had Rosalind seen Skye come alive as much as she had in the last month. She was still witty and down-to-earth and just a little bit biting with her sarcasm, but everything had softened around the edges. Skye had relaxed. She was finally doing exactly what she was meant to be doing: studying astrophysics come the fall, and vowing to have adventures with her best friend for the rest of her life.
Rosalind peeked back in the mirror and reminded herself that she couldn't tear up anymore. She had applied mascara, and it wouldn't do to have black tracks running down her cheeks, at least not until after the wedding.
She waited until Batty had finished Skye's make-up. With her blonde hair and bright eyes and that flowing blue dress, Skye really did look like a fairy. Just one that could whip out a sword and slay a dragon if need be.
Rosalind stood and took a breath.
"Alright, MOPS come to order," Rosalind said. "Iantha, you can obviously stay, this isn't a super secret meeting."
"Second the motion," Skye said.
Jane thirded it, Batty fourthed it, and Lydia fifthed it. They all piled their fists on top of each other.
"Right," Rosalind said. "No need to keep anything secret as I said. But I do want to say that I love all of you very much, and I just want us to vow to take care of each other forever, and always uphold the Penderwick Family Honor."
"And have a sister vacation every summer," Jane said. "Point Mouette was amazing, even with the histrionics."
"And you have to take me next time," Lydia added.
"Agreed," Skye said. "Alright, let's do the vow."
"This we swear," they all said. "On the Penderwick Family Honor."