A few weeks later

"So do you know the sex yet?" Penelope asked her friend. Her wedding was upcoming and she could hardly wait to be married to the man of her dreams. They were looking for a house in New Mexico, as they had all agreed to move there after their wedding.

"No, unfortunately not," Emily said regretfully, even as she patted her tummy lovingly. "I'm not quite far enough along yet, so we still have at least a month to wait."

"I know how hard that will be for you and Aaron," Penelope said.

"Yeah, it will, but we have to remember that they're not going to die on us like what happened the first time Aaron and I had a family. I know I've already said so on several occasions, but I'm certainly glad I was dead by the time my children started dying," Emily said softly.

"I don't blame you there," Penelope shuddered, keeping her tone quiet. "That's one thing that neither one of us is going to have to worry about and that's the death of any of our children, well, so long as we can keep them out of trouble, like by running out into the street, where they can get run over. A lot of kids don't have any sense. I know this from my brother's own two."

"Yeah, a lot of children really don't have any sense," Emily agreed. "Let's not worry about it now though. This baby isn't even born yet, so I don't think we need to worry about what kind of trouble the baby can get into. They could choke on a small object for instance, so Aaron and I are going to have to baby proof our house once we find one, which won't be until after your wedding when we've moved to New Mexico. I want to be ready to leave New York soon after your wedding is over though."

"Has something got you anxious to leave New York? Has your mother been being a pain, moreso then usual?" Penelope asked her friend.

"No, nothing like that," Emily promised. "I just don't think I'll ever be able to relax completely while I'm still in the same city as my mother that's all, especially the closer it gets to the birth. She has such a habit of interfering in my life, without even asking my permission mind you, that I don't think I'll ever trust her to not do so, even if she has promised to leave me alone, unless I request her help. She did admit that she wasn't really a mother to any of her kids, back when she was helping me plan my wedding and while that's progress there's too much bad blood between us for us to ever be close. I understand better nowadays, why mother is like she is and I told her I'm glad I never met my grandfather, because we would've been at constant loggerheads. Luckily, he was dead before I was born, as he would not have liked what I would've had to say to him I'm sure. I'm sure he would have tried to beat me up until I did what he wanted, just like he did mother and probably my grandmother, just because I had defied him."

Penelope nodded at this feeling pity for her friend, but especially for her mother Elizabeth Prentiss, if indeed her childhood had been physically abusive.

Emily had told her exactly what her mother had said about her father, as he had apparently been just as domineering and with a wide cruel streak. He apparently did not care about his daughter's feelings when he had arranged the marriage with the Prentiss family. Emily's mother had basically been forced into agreeing and Penelope had no doubt that the father would have beaten his daughter if she didn't agree or maybe just disowned her, as either was possible.

Penelope thought it was sad that families just couldn't get along, but she also knew it was just part of human nature.

"It's just as well then," Penelope said Emily nodded in complete agreement.

The two women continued looking for bridesmaid dresses that would go with the wedding dress that Penelope had ordered.

"So how is your mother responding to the fact, that you're moving away from New York?" Penelope said.

"She's resigned to it," Emily said. "She knows she can't change my mind and she knows she is the main reason that I'm doing so. She has to live with the guilt of not being a mother, to any of her four children, though I doubt very much that my mother is capable of such an emotion, as Elizabeth Prentiss doesn't do guilt. She was good at promoting guilt in her children when we were growing up, but that's a different thing."

"I think she's going to eventually regret her attitude towards her children when you were growing up," Penelope suggested carefully, as she had no idea how her suggestion would be received, as Emily could be volatile when the subject came up and it was even more risky with her pregnant. Penelope couldn't actually blame her for this considering, that the subject of her mother was a very sore one. "She's going to regret just ordering her children around or ordering the servants to do something that involved you or your three brothers. She's going to become a lonely old woman with children who don't want anything to do with her."

"That's her fault," Emily said firmly, though still in a soft tone. "I refuse to feel guilty, if that does happen, because she brought it on herself. Her trying to arrange a marriage for me with some son of one of her political cronies was the last straw. It showed a complete disregard for my feelings on the matter, as she didn't even bother to ask me what I wanted. She had to know that I would never agree to any such arrangement, yet, she went ahead and tried to arrange a marriage anyway. Women have plenty of rights now, unlike even 50 years ago, so it's not like I could be forced into it, like mother apparently was. I'm perfectly capable of working to earn my own money if I had to."

"That's what I told my parents when the subject came up," Penelope agreed with a sigh.

"Not everybody is close to their parents as you are, Penny," Emily told her friend gently, but quietly. "I know you're tenderhearted, but me and my mother are never going to get along and at best we're going to have a begrudging peace. I'm going to allow her to see her grandchildren once a month, because I'd feel guilty if I didn't, but I will never allow her to be alone with them. I think that's quite a concession on my part considering."

"I suppose so," Penelope finally agreed.

"Your parents actually put in the effort to forge a close relationship with their children, while my mother and father did the exact opposite," Emily reminded her friend. "My parents were so busy with their own interests that they completely ignored their children. Servants are all well and good when you don't have time to do laundry or clean or take care of all the other chores, that doesn't mean you leave your children for them to take care of every minute of every day. I have nothing against having servants, since I hate doing laundry, to clean or cook, but when you have children, they need affection they need to know that their parents love them.

"Neither of my parents did anything to prove that they loved my brothers and me. Yes, I understand due to the family statutes that father had to have four to get his portion of the inheritance and that mother probably wouldn't've had any if she had any choice or possibly only one. I understand that when she got married that women were still considered mostly property by a certain class of people, even though the laws had changed by then. I understand that mother was raised to obey her father and that my grandfather probably would've beat her bloody if she hadn't, but while all these factors might make me understand her attitude a little better, it doesn't excuse the fact, that she basically had us because she had to, because father wanted his portion of the inheritance, which would've been quite substantial even back then. Whether she wanted us or not, the least she could've done was pay us a smidgen of attention, to let us know that she loved us and the same goes for my father," Emily said with real heat in her voice.

"Neither one of them made the slightest effect to spend time with their children. They didn't take us on outings, to the park or a toy store. They weren't even at dinner most of the time as they always ate later then us kids. We were never put the bed by them, it was always the nanny's responsibility, nor were we read any type of bedtime story. We were just told to go to sleep and not even the nanny bothered to read us any stories when we were really young. I suspect that mother told her not to bother, because she doesn't believe in fantasy and likely didn't want her children to either, though most children outgrow the fantasy stage, once they are an adult, even if they enjoy fantasy fiction. I doubt mother or father realized that doing such a thing as reading each of us a couple of bedtime stories each night would've shown that they cared about us. It was just a lonely and cold childhood Penny, which is one reason that mother and I don't get along now and I would've said the same about my father if he wasn't dead."

"I understand," Penelope said looking sad at what she had leaned about her friend. There were some things she had never known about Emily.

"Let's just concentrate on finding me a bridesmaid dress, since I'll be your matron of honor. Let's forget about mother entirely as the subject just makes me furious."

"Alright," Penelope agreed and tried to return to her usual cheerful personality.

"So looking forward to marrying Dave in a few weeks?" Emily asked and Penelope nodded excitedly.

"Absolutely! You know I am. He's simply the perfect man for me. He is generous and kind, tender and loving and many more things besides."

"No man is perfect though, not even Aaron," Emily said with a grin and Penelope giggled at that.

"No Dave isn't perfect, but then, I don't expect him to be, because no man is. Still, he's certainly better than the vast majority of them. He's thoughtful for one thing and always thinks of others needs, something many men are not," Penelope said. "I'm sure we'll argue some, as that's unavoidable, but he's so even-tempered that it probably won't happen very often. Not to mention his vast experience with human nature helps."

Emily was nodding at this, because Aaron was the same way, as much like Dave personalitywise as one could expect, considering they weren't technically related. They were both honorable, but then given the times in which they had been born that wasn't too surprising. They were both gentle, kind and generous with their money, now that they had so much of it, unlike when they had first met.

The two women kept looking at dresses and holding them up to their bodies to see how they looked against their skin tone.

"I really like this one," Emily said holding up a burgundy silk dress, putting it up against her body.

"Yes, that's lovely," Penelope said, as the color looked good against her friend's dark hair and white skin tone. "I will say that's definitely the choice for you. It doesn't have too many ruffles or too much lace, which I know you hate. I know you like simple lines, when it comes to dresses, as you've never been really girly girly."

"I like nice things, but nothing that isn't easy to take care of and things that don't need to be dry cleaned," Emily agreed. "Having one dress that needs to be dry cleaned, that I'm only going to wear once in a blue moon won't be as much trouble, as having a whole closet full. I'm never going to another political party again, if I can help it, so I don't need a whole closet full of dresses that needs special care and can't just be thrown in the washing machine. I wore enough dresses, to enough parties, when I was growing up to make me appreciate a pair of simple pants and a blouse. I sure am glad that I wasn't born back when my mother was, where a woman wearing a pair of pants was considered unwomanly at least, especially among the wealthy set. At least today us females have freedom to wear what we want."

Emily's and Penelope's voices had risen a little since they weren't talking about things that no one else needed to know and the saleslady hurried over to see if they needed any help, now that they didn't seem to be carrying on a very private conversation."

"Can I help you with anything ladies?" The saleslady asked politely.

"I think I'm going to go try this on," Emily said holding up the dress by the hanger. "This is beautiful, nice and simple, with clean, straight lines."

"My friend doesn't like anything complicated when it comes to dresses," Penelope explained to the saleslady who nodded. She had overheard part of their conversation so she understood that the dark-haired lady hated complicated dresses, with a lot of lace and ruffles and really would prefer to wear pants all the time. The saleslady couldn't blame the dark-haired woman for this, since from what she had overheard she'd gone to a lot of parties as a young girl that she had hated, probably being forced by her parents to attend. Unfortunately, such things happened all the time and it was clear that the dark-haired female hadn't enjoyed such parties and probably would have appreciated being left at home with a babysitter. From what she knew the blond haired lady was getting married and so her friend was going out of her way to buy a nice dress, even if she would prefer to show up in a pair slacks and a blouse.

"That way madam," the saleslady pointed and Emily headed for the dressing room.

"We have a wide selection of wedding dresses as well," the saleslady told the blonde one.

"I've already ordered my wedding dress out of a catalog, though it may have to be taken in, so that it fits perfectly. I want to look my best for Dave after all," Penelope said smiling. "It should be here within a day or two."

"Of course, madam, this is your wedding so of course, you want to look your absolute best for your man and your guests," The saleslady agreed.

"I'm Penelope by the way, but you can call me Penny. I prefer it to madam just, so you know, as I'm not a very formal person."

"Very well, Penny," the saleslady said after a moment of hesitation.

"And my friend is Emily. She hates formality as well, which is one of the reasons we became such good friends. Now, she's going to be my matron of honor, as she just got married recently."

"Yes, I did see that she was pregnant," the saleslady said.

"Something that made her and Aaron very happy," Penelope grinned. "They wanted to have children right away, since Emily isn't getting any younger."

The saleslady was nodding at this, as having a child was hard on the body, especially the older you were, so it was good to have any children as young as possible, late 20s or early 30s, though some women had them much later of course. Penelope's friend Emily looked at least in her early 30s, so really she didn't have long before she couldn't have any children at all. No more than 10 years, maybe a few more. If she and her husband wanted more than one or two they really needed to have them close together."

"So what do you think?" Emily asked once she returned from the dressing room.

"You look spectacular, Emily," Penelope said, as she examined her friend from head to toe. "I think that's the perfect dress for you. I would get it, I really would. We can do your hair in some sort of fancy arrangement to complement the dress, so that you look even more spectacular on the day of the wedding. Maybe with some kind of fancy comb to hold your hair in place, so it doesn't get in your face," Penelope added thoughtfully.

"Yes, I have to agree, it looks really good on you, with clean simple lines and goes well with your dark hair and eyes. It won't be difficult for you to get dressed by yourself if you have to for your friend's wedding," The saleslady said.

"Alright then, I'll get it," Emily said.

"I'll pay for it Emily. Dave gave me a copy of his credit card and insisted that he pay for everything," said Penelope. "The only concession to this, was my father insisted on paying something, so I let him pay for my wedding dress, which was a couple of thousand dollars, as Dave insisted I get what I really want, instead of going for something far cheaper."

The saleslady was nodding at this, as Penelope's fiancé Dave was apparently very well-off and insisted his future bride to be buy whatever she wanted for the wedding. He had apparently not set a budget for purchases and trusted his fiancée with a copy of his credit card. The saleslady thought that said a lot about him.

"Oh no, I will pay for it," Emily protested. "I don't want to spend Dave's money, not when I have plenty of my own."

"You know Dave will be upset if I allow you to pay for that dress and he will find out," Penelope told Emily firmly. "You know how stubborn he and Aaron can be. He'll only find some way to get you to accept a check or do a direct money transfer and you know it. He might even just write a check and give it to Aaron to deposit into your account and you know Aaron will do it, as he knows how Dave is and that he will never accept just letting you pay for your matron of honor dress."

"Oh, alright," Emily gave in with ill grace.

"Good, because Aaron will tell you that Dave is one of the most stubborn people you've ever known and since Aaron also is, I suppose that we just picked two of the most stubborn guys on the planet as ours," Penelope said smiling.

Emily knew this was true so nodded. "It's really generous of Dave to pay for my dress," Emily finally said.

"You know that Dave's a generous guy," Penelope offered.

This was true Emily reflected, as Penelope paid for the dress and Emily went through numerous fittings so the dress could be adjusted, so that it fit perfectly when it was time for Penelope's wedding in a few weeks.

The two left the shop and the saleslady was very pleased as the dress was quite expensive, one of the most expensive ones the store carried actually, because despite the lack of ruffles or lace it was well made, though with simple lines and easy to get into and had an empire waist with puffed sleeves. The dress was long but stopped right above the floor, so whoever wore it wasn't stepping all over the hem and was a lovely burgundy. It also fit well, so there wouldn't be much taking in of the material, to make sure it fit properly. Still, it could use a little tightening, in the waist and Emily was having the skirt raised a little.

"So where to next?" Emily asked her friend.

"What about some lunch? I'm starving," Penelope suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Emily agreed. "We can go shopping for shoes next. I need a pair to go with the dress."

"Okay, sounds good," Penelope agreed.

"And this time I'll be paying," Emily said empathically.

Penelope said nothing, but she would make sure she paid for her friends purchases with Dave's credit card. No matter how much Emily protested, because when Dave said he was paying for everything he had meant it and Emily was just going to have to accept that.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~