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"That's pretty," I said, because I couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Is your sister taking a nap right now?" Varena asked.
"Yeah, and my mom too," the girl said forlornly.
"Come in and see my dress," Varena invited.
Eve really brightened up. Varena seemed to have a way with children. We trailed into the little front room of the house and followed Varena back to her bedroom. The closet door was open, and the wedding dress, swathed in plastic, was hanging on a special hanger that fitted over the top of the door.
Well, it was white and it was a wedding dress.
"It's beautiful," I said instantly. I am not stupid.
Eve was awestruck. "Oooo," she said breathlessly.
Varena laughed, and as I looked at my sister, I saw how warm and responsive her face was, how good-natured she looked. "I'm glad you like it," she said and went on talking to the child in an easy way that was totally beyond me.
"Can you pick me up so I can see the scarf?" Eve asked Varena.
I looked where the child was pointing. The veil, yards and yards of it, attached to an elaborate sort of tiara, was in a separate bag attached to the one holding the dress.
"Oh, honey, you're too big for me to pick up," Varena said, shaking her head. I could feel my eyebrows crawl up. Was it possible Varena couldn't lift this girl? I assessed the child. Seventy-five pounds, tops. I squatted, wrapped my arms around her hips, and lifted.
Eve squealed with surprise and delight. She turned to look down at me.
"Can you see?" I asked.
Eve examined the veil, admired the glittering sequined tiara, and went all dreamy-eyed for a minute or two.
"You can put me down now," she said eventually, and I gently lowered her to the floor. The girl turned to give me a long stare of evaluation.
"You're really strong," she said admiringly. "I bet nobody messes with you."
I could practically taste Varena's sudden silence.
"No," I told the little girl. "Nobody messes with me now."
Eve's narrow face turned thoughtful. She thanked Varena for showing her the dress and veil in a perfectly polite way, but she seemed almost abstracted as she said she'd better be getting home.
Varena saw Eve out. "Oh, Dill's here!" she exclaimed in a happy voice. I stared at the frothy white construction of a dress for a moment more before I followed Varena to the living room.
I'd known Dill Kingery since he moved to Bartley. He'd just begun dating Varena when the whole eruption in my life had occurred. He'd been a great solace to my sister during that time, when the whole family had needed all the help we could get.
They'd continued dating ever since. It had been a long engagement, long enough for Varena to bear a good amount of teasing from her coworkers at the tiny Bartley hospital.
Looking at Dill now, I wondered why he'd dragged his feet. I didn't think he'd been beating other women off with a stick. Dill was perfectly nice and perfectly pleasant, but you wouldn't turn to look at him twice on the street. My sister's fiancé had thi
I watched while A
"Hey, Aunt Lily," A
"OK, sweetie," Dill said, and the two girls clattered outside while Dill turned to me to give me a hug. I had to endure it, so I did, but I'm not a casual toucher. And I hadn't quite adjusted to being "Aunt Lily."
Dill asked me the usual questions you ask of someone you haven't seen in while, and I managed to answer civilly. I was tensing up already, and nothing had happened to make me so. What was wrong with me? I stared out the front window while Dill and my sister talked over the plans for the evening. Tonight, I gathered, Dill was attending his bachelor di
As I watched the two little girls playing on the front lawn, heaving the beach ball back and forth between them and ru
Without asking me, Dill told Varena he'd run me home so she could start getting ready. I looked at my watch. If Varena needed three hours to get ready for a party, she needed help, in my opinion. But Varena seemed pleased with Dill's offer, so I went outside to stand by Dill's Bronco. A tiny, thin woman had come outside of the bigger house to call to Eve.
"Hey," she said when she noticed me.
"Hello," I said.
Eve came ru
"This is Varena's sister, Mama," she said. "She came for the wedding. Miss Varena showed me her dress, and Miss Lily picked me up so I could see the veil. You wouldn't believe how strong Miss Lily is! I bet she can lift a horse!"
"Oh, my goodness," said Eve's mama, her thin face transformed by a sweet smile. "I better say hello, then. I'm Eve's mother, as I'm sure you figured. Meredith Osborn."
"Hello again," I said. "Lily Bard." This woman had just had a baby, according to Varena, but she looked no larger than a child herself. Losing "baby weight" was not going to be a problem for Meredith Osborn. I didn't think Meredith Osborn was over thirty-one, my age, and she might be even younger.
"Can you pick us both up, Miss Lily?" Eve asked, and my niece-to-be suddenly looked much more interested in me.
"I think so," I said and bent my knees. "One on either side, now!"
The girls each picked a side, and I hooked my arms around them and stood, making sure I was steady. The girls were squealing with excitement. "Hold still," I reminded them, and they stopped the thrashing that I had worried would topple us all over onto the driveway.
"We're queens of the world," A
Dill had been talking to Varena in the doorway, but now he glanced over to find out what A
With the anxious smile of someone who is trying not to panic, he strode over. "Better get down, sweetie! You're a big load for Miss Lily."
"They're both small," I said mildly and surrendered A
I nodded at Meredith and gave Eve a little smile. Her brown eyes, peering up at me, looked enormous. She gri
A
I got out at my folks' with a nod to Dill and A
My mother was worried that some of Dill's friends might get carried away and have a stripper perform at the party. I shrugged. My father wouldn't be mortally offended.