Mina usually enjoyed dress shopping, the few times they had the money to do so, but this was getting ridiculous. Mina scanned the rack of dresses, and her eye stopped on a deep red one.
“That one.” Mina pointed to the rack, and Molly jumped up and pushed the dresses to the side. She pulled out a beautiful red dress that flowed out in billows from the petite corseted waist. Most of the fabric was gathered and pleated down the back in a late Victorian style. The corset was a deep red, made from many different fabrics that sparkled and twinkled with the lights.
The dress was gorgeous—at least the Story had good taste. This was the one she would have chosen, if it hadn’t been red.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this one,” the seamstress exclaimed, gushing over the dress, then taking one looked at Mina’s petite figure and announcing, “I’m afraid it might be too small.”
“It will fit.” Mina knew deep down it would. This was the dress she was supposed to wear.
Sara helped Mina into the dress, her hands shaking as she went to try the zipper. “I can’t.” Sara backed away from the dress to sit on a small pink padded stool by the mirror. She held her hand to her mouth fearfully.
Molly stepped forward and pulled the zipper up with ease, carefully hooking the top eyelet.
“Well, I’ll be. I would have thought it was two sizes too small, but it fits like it was made for you.”
Mina’s eyes went wide when she saw her reflection. Molly began cinching the back of the corset and tugging and arraying the ribbons. Mina had to actually pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.
She looked different: older, more mature, and beautiful. She couldn’t remember ever looking this stunning in her whole life. Her dark brown hair flowed down her back and was lost among the ribbons of the corset. Her eyes looked huge, and her lips red and full. Her nose, the one she always feared was too small for her face, looked straight and perfect. She gave a sleeve a cursory sniff and sighed in relief when it smelled of cinnamon and honey instead of mothballs.
Molly stood back to admire Mina. “Wow. You look like someone out of a fairy tale.”
Sara cried harder.
Mina spun around and looked at the dress from every angle in the multiple mirrors. It was better than any princess dress she had tried on so far. Mina’s only worry was that the dress had layers and layers of material in the back. It would make it very difficult to run in, if it came to that.
“We’ll take it,” Mina told the girl, not even bothering to ask the price was. If the Story wanted her to wear the dress, then the Story had better provide.
Unsurprisingly, Molly had to check the price on the tag twice, confirming it with the manager. “I can’t believe it. I didn’t even know we had dresses for this price, but the manager thinks it’s fine. It seems you have yourself a dress.” She clapped and pressed her hands together in excitement.
Mina was about to get down off the platform when Molly held up something hidden by the folds of the dress. “Oh, look, it comes with a cape and hood.”
Of course it does, Mina thought dryly.
Chapter 21
Mina couldn’t stop pacing in the small carpeted living room, waiting for Brody to pick her up. Even Charlie sat in the window seat, nose pressed firmly to the glass, fogging it up with every breath he took. Mina wondered who was more excited.
Sara had been unusually quiet and had become more withdrawn as the time of the dance drew near. She did her motherly duty and helped her daughter do her hair. She made all the appropriate comments and oohed and aahed at all the right times. But nothing could get her excited about this evening, knowing the tale was heading toward its climax.
This was one of the tales that had secretly haunted Sara as a child. When her grandmother read her the story as a child, she’d wake up with nightmares about a wolf attacking her in her bed. And now here she was, sixteen years later on the day of her daughter’s birthday, her greatest fear finally coming to life.
The morning had started out peacefully enough. Sara had made Mina a two-tiered white frosted birthday cake with light pink flowers and strawberry cream cheese filling. She invited Nan Taylor and the Wongs, who had decorated a section of their restaurant with bright pink and blue streamers that Mina suspected might have been left over from a baby shower.
The Wongs sang "Happy Birthday" off key, while Nan and Charlie made faces during the whole song. Nan went so far as to even add "you look like a monkey and smell like one, too," just so Charlie would giggle.