Chapter 2: When the last panty falls

            When the remaining boxes were piled into her mother’s car, Callie, having changed into an adorable cocktail dress trimmed in yellow and blue, slid into the front seat while Evie told them she would follow in her own car.  Mrs. Remington had smiled warmly and said she would see her at the church.

            Evie cranked her own car as her mother and sister backed out of the driveway beside her.  Callie was chattering away in the passenger seat while her mother, always classy and soft spoken, gently smiled and said something back until they were driving off and Evie could no longer see them in her rearview mirror.

            This wedding had been in the making for such a long time, and Evie couldn’t be happier for her sister.  Callie and Nathan had begun dating in high school.  When graduation came, they made plans to attend the University of North Carolina in Asheville together.  They had dated all four years with only one break-up.  In their Junior year Nathan had proposed and, naturally, Callie had said yes.  Nathan had a B.A. in Accounting and was starting a job working at a small firm in Belgrove.  Callie had earned a degree in Art Education and would be starting her student teaching in the fall.

            Their relationship was as pure as new fallen snow.  They had done absolutely everything right.  They each had money saved up, their lines were lined up ready and waiting for them, and they had even saved their sexual encounters for their wedding night.

            Evie pushed a pang of jealousy aside as she drove through the picturesque neighborhood toward the church.  This day wasn’t about her and her failures.  It was hardly a failure.  Near-miss is more like it, her mind scolded her.  This day was about Callie’s happiness.  This was about celebrating with her sister on finding her very own Mister Right.  Evie shook away the bad feelings and willed herself to smile.  She glanced into the rearview mirror and checked to see if it appeared genuine or not.  Your mouth is smiling, but your eyes aren’t.  That’s how you can tell whether a person is truly happy or not… you better figure out a way to make your eyes happy and fast!  Instead of thinking about all the reasons why it should have been her marrying first, she focused her mind on Callie and Nathan.  They had played by the rules, done everything in order, and this was their reward… two perfect people getting to spend the rest of their lives together.

            After a quick drive across town, she pulled into the virtually empty parking lot of Belgrove Baptist church and parked next to her mother’s car.  Callie and her mom were pulling boxes out of the trunk and piling themselves up.  Evie jumped out and grabbed a few of the gift bags that were sitting in the floor boards of the backseat.

            “Oh, Evie, don’t worry about those.  Those are going to Ms. Cora for the shower.  Just leave them there and I’ll get them to her this afternoon,” her mother called to her.

            Evie pushed the door closed and hurried to catch up with her mother and sister who were already a few steps ahead.  “Can I help carry anything?”

            Mrs. Remington shook her head and continued her quick steps, “No, but would you open the door, please?”

            Her mother was a little bitty petite thing with dark hair she almost always kept pulled back in a Gibson Tuck.  She always looked put-together and today was no exception.  Even though they were here to decorate, she was wearing heels and a pencil skirt which accentuated her naturally small stride.

            Jackson Nole was talking with Nathan’s mother when the trio stepped into the quiet interior of the sanctuary.  Yellow light was sparkling in the beveled glass of the windows and casting little rainbows across the pews.  The entire room felt warm and welcoming.

            Evie had seriously questioned her sister’s judgment when Callie had insisted on a morning wedding even if there were rainbows, but seeing it in person once again made her heart smile.  It was going to be perfect.

            “Donna, Jackson and I were planning on putting flowers out at eight tomorrow.  Is that too late?  I know they are wanting to do pictures, but I was thinking if we got the front finished first they could start pictures while we finish everything else.”

            Nathan’s mother, Regina, finished speaking with her husband and began heading up the church’s aisle toward them.

            “It’s incredibly convenient to be marrying the son of a florist,” Evie muttered out the side of her mouth to Callie.

            “They have been so wonderful to Nathan and me.  Did I tell you they are donating all of the flowers for both the ceremony and the reception,” Callie chimed dreamily.

            “I’m pretty sure Mom mentioned it.  That’s incredibly generous of them.”

            “It really is,” she said as she dropped the box she was carrying onto a pew and combed her hair out of her eyes as she took in the room’s interior.

            Regina Nole reached an arm around Callie and gave her a hug.  “Are you happy with what we’ve done so far?  We can change anything you don’t like.  Well,” she grimaced apologetically, “maybe not quite ANYTHING because the flowers have all been ordered, but if you want any of the arrangements moved just let me know.”

            “It looks so lovely I wouldn’t dream of changing anything!”  Callie looked down at the sticky note stuck to the end of the pew that said, “Hydrangea.”  The sanctuary was covered with the little notes; each one labeled with what was to be put where in the morning.

            Regina reached out to hug Evelyn as well, “Hello, Evie.  How are you?”  Two of Callie’s friends who were going to be bridesmaids in the wedding had arrived and chatted and giggled behind Evie and Regina.

            Evie smiled and recited her the “I’m great,” small-talk… the same one she had given Ms. Mildred not an hour before.

            “That’s so good to hear,” Regina said as the church’s door opened again and Nathan stepped through.

            “Baby!” Callie squealed, breaking off the conversation with her friends.  She took off running down the carpeted aisle and met her fiancé at the back of the sanctuary.  Nathan wrapped her petite frame in a bear hug that lifted her off the ground and then he kissed her with such passion that Evie felt she needed to glance away.  They need a little privacy for that one.

            A light chuckle echoed through the room as everyone turned to look at the happy couple.

            They are so freakishly perfect together, Evie couldn’t help but think.

            Regina made a quick scan of the room before patting Nathan’s arm.  “I hate to interrupt, but where are your brothers?”

            “They were right behind me, I thought,” Nathan replied.  He was over six foot tall, and with Callie being a modest 5’2” she had to crank her head back to see his face from deep inside his embrace, but crank she did.  She was smiling dreamily up into his eyes and once Nathan had finished speaking with his mother he leaned down to kiss her again.  Nathan was about as all-American as you could get: tall, blonde, ruggedly handsome, and polite.  Now, he could add ‘Perfect Wife’ to his list of achievements.

            Not a second later the church door pulled open again and three guys, all laughing about something, made their entrance.  Kyle, Corey, and Matthew were all blond like their brother and blessed with the same ruggedly handsome good-looks.  Kyle slapped Nathan on the back and smiled ‘hello’ to Callie, but she didn’t notice.  She was still wrapped in Nathan’s arms and lost to the world.

            “Well, since almost everyone’s here, how about we go ahead and have the rehearsal instead of waiting until after we decorate?” Donna Remington asked to no one in particular.  “Evie, would you call your dad, and let him know we’re thinking of starting early?”

            The mothers of the bride and groom discussed more details about tomorrow’s ceremony while Evie pulled out her phone and dialed the store’s number.  It was one of the part-time weekend girls who answered.  Evie’s father was at the post office but she would give him the message just as soon as he was back.

            Evie relayed the information to her mother.

            “Well, then Bill shouldn’t be too much longer.  Shall we go on and get organized?” Mrs. Remington asked Nathan’s mother.

            The two women agreed and wrangled up the three Nole boys who had drifted toward the front of the sanctuary.  The mothers paired them up with their corresponding bridesmaids in the vestibule.  Evie, being the maid of honor, was told to stand with Kyle who was Nathan’s best man.

            Evie smiled at her tall partner.  Kyle grinned back.  The three new couples chatted quietly while Regina tried to coordinate with the gentleman who would be running the sound for the ceremony.

            Kyle was standing quietly with his hands clasped in front of him and Evie felt a bit awkward.  It’s not like she had never crossed paths with Kyle before, they just hadn’t traveled in the same circles in school.  She thought it very strange how this handsome guy who wouldn’t have given her a second glance in high school as now paired up with her in her sister’s wedding, and he was smiling at her!

            Evie wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself so she leaned toward Kyle and asked, “So, are you the one who messed up Ms. Mildred’s door?”

            Kyle laughed and turned his cool blue eyes toward her.  “That’s a strange thing to ask.”

            “I’m trying to make conversation.”

            “I can see that.”  He chuckled again.  “But, no.  I was not the Nole boy who messed up her door.  That would be Matthew, but he did what he thought was best.  That spring was completely shot.  It should have been replaced years ago.”

            Matthew, being home from his first semester of college, was probably just looking for odd jobs around town.  He was the youngest of the four Nole boys.  Kyle was the oldest.  He and Evie had graduated together.  Next was Corey who was married and now lived in South Carolina, or Georgia somewhere.  Nathan was the third in line, followed by Matthew.

            “Ms. Mildred’s not one to let go of things easily.”

            Kyle smiled brilliantly as the music finally started playing in the sanctuary, “No, she is not.”

            The door at the back of the church opened and all three couples, including Callie, turned to see who it was.  Mr. Remington stepped through in a rush and hurried to Callie’s side.  He wrapped her in a giant hug and kissed her on the cheek.

            “Bill’s here,” Evie heard Corey call out in front of her.

            Evie’s father leaned in close and was whispering something in Callie’s ear.  She couldn’t hear the exact words but she smiled to herself as she guessed their meaning.  He was telling her how lucky she was and that he couldn’t believe his baby girl had grown up.

            “Shall we?” Kyle asked offering his arm to her and tugging her away from the happiness she was witnessing behind her.

            Evie politely took it while they waited for their cue to walk down the aisle.  She glanced over her shoulder once again at her sister who was sucking in deep breaths and grinning from ear to ear.  She was clutched to their father’s arm while she was busy mouthing ‘I love you’ to Nathan down at the front of the church.  Evie felt a tug on her arm as Kyle stepped forward in time with the music and began guiding them down the aisle.

            Evie couldn’t help but feel warmed by the closeness to Kyle’s body.  His strong arm was linked around her own, and for a fleeting second she longed to feel comforted knowing that the man beside her was her own.  He smelled clean and musky.  He was a good head taller than her too.  She wasn’t tall by any means, only an average 5’4”, but if felt nice standing next to a guy she had to look up to.  The walk down the aisle was a short one, and when it came time to part ways she and Kyle locked eyes.  Oh, those eyes!  Kyle gave her a nod before releasing her arm.

            What was that?

            Evie spent the rest of the rehearsal entertaining a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach.  Twice more they had to walk down the aisle until her mother was satisfied with the timing, and each time Kyle offered out his arm and smiled at her with a charm that Evie couldn’t help but notice.  The love between Callie and Nathan was infectious.  Every time they were close they wound their fingers together, or Nathan gently kissed her lips, or they stared longingly into each others’ faces.

            Regina Nole taught him well!

            Once the rehearsal was finished, the women all piled into cars and left the little stone church.  They hopped across town to Ms. Cora’s house where the bridal shower was to be hosted.

            The brick house was fairly large by Belgrove standards, but then again Cora’s husband had been a banker before his retirement.  He had obviously done well for himself.  Donna Remington clicked her way up the brick steps leading to the door at the end of the house where the garage had been converted into a family room.  She politely knocked before cracking open the glass paneled door and poking her head in.  “Cora?  May we come in?”  The blinds against the interior of the window danced and beat against the glass.

            Cora had been in the kitchen and hurried through the family room to open the door the rest of the way.  “Come in!  Come in!  How was the rehearsal?”  She held out her hand to take the gift bag Donna was carrying.

            “It was wonderful.  Everything is ready,” Donna said as she gave up her clutch on the bag.  “Those are some extra paper plates and cups, Cora.”

            Cora cocked her head to the side and began shaking it.  “I told you not to worry about that.  I have plenty.”  Cora’s voice had become lightly raspy with age, but with the booming power behind it you never had to worry about hearing her.  She sang in the choir at Belgrove Baptist and there was absolutely no mistaking her clear soprano voice that rang out above all the others.  She always kept a smile on her face, but she had a funny habit of shaking her head ‘no’ whenever she talked that made her mop of brunette permed curls shake around her face like water in a fish bowl.

            Evie had always admired Cora’s house.  Not a thing was out of place!  The entire place had been decorated in the Victorian fashion with elegant furniture, lace doilies across every table surface, puffy valances above elegant curtains, and the most amazing thing… the family room had been painted a dusty rose color.  Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined one entire wall of the family room which held numerous books, porcelain dolls, and antique music boxes.

            “There’s the blushing bride!” Cora boomed.  “Isn’t she the most beautiful bride you’ve ever seen!?”  She grabbed Callie and squeezed her, pinning Callie’s arms to her sides.  “I’m so happy for you two.”

            Regina Nole stepped in with a brightly wrapped package and reached out an arm to greet Cora with a hug.

            “Come in!  Come in!  Everyone, make yourselves at home,” Cora called out.  “The bathroom is straight through the kitchen, down the hall on the right.  Punch and snacks are in the dining room.  Help yourself!”

            The room hummed with the voices of women.

            “Hello, Evie!” Cora boomed in her raspy voice as she grabbed Evie and hugged her neck.  “You’re still in Knoxville, right?”

            “Yes, ma’am,” Evie replied.

            “And what is it that you’re doing?”

            “I’m in advertising.”

            “How wonderful!  Are you doing television commercials?”

            Evie was just about to explain what exactly it is that she does when the door pushed open again and a group of women stepped in.  Bessie was among them.  Bessie was about as round as she was tall, but she was a spit-fire of bubbling joy and cheerfulness.  She was the first to find Callie and hug her after Cora.

            All of these women had been people Evie and Callie had known since childhood.  Some of them had been her Sunday School teachers, some had been teachers to one or both of them, some were neighbors, some were fellow shop owners, and others were simply family friends.  Every single face was like coming home all over again.

            The women mingled with silver plates printed with “His and Hers” on them piled high with mini sandwiches, mints, and cake.  All of the gifts had been placed on the light-colored wood grand piano that had been pushed into the corner of the family room where it would be out of the way.

            When it came time to open gifts, Callie sat next to the piano with Evie at her side to keep a record of who had given what.  Donna had originally stepped up to carry gifts from the piano to Callie, but Cora wouldn’t hear of it.  As the hostess of the shower she insisted on doing it herself.  Donna resigned to seating her elegant frame on the other side of Evie where she could throw the torn paper and empty bags into the trash.

            As Callie carefully opened each gift the women in the room ‘Ooohed’ and ‘Awhed.’  There were fluted champagne glasses engraved with their names, elegant picture frames, even a blanket with some of their engagement photos on it, “This one has to be from Ms. Bessie!” Callie cried as she pulled the blanket out of the golden bag and the room burst into ‘Awhs.’  Bessie still sat with her paunchy little hands clasped in her lap.

            “Isn’t that stunning!?” Cora boomed in her lightly raspy voice as the rest of the room agreed.

            “How did you make this?”  Donna was running her finely manicured fingers across the fabric as Callie held it out for Evie and her mother.

            “I found it in one of my magazines and got a few of their engagement pictures from Regina.”

            “I had no idea what she was going to do with those pictures,” Regina added with a grin.  “It turned out beautiful!”

            Callie had reluctantly handed the blanket across Evie and on down to her mother who continued passing it on down the line around the room.

            “That was a beautiful gift, Bessie,” Donna said.  Bessie flushed as her smile deepened the crinkles around her wide face and mouthed, ‘You’re welcome.’

            Cora handed Callie the purple and gold package with the crimson red bow around it.

            “This one’s from Ms. Mildred,” Evie said to her sister as Callie nodded and tore the package open.  There was a pause of silence as everyone waited to see what was inside.  Callie instantly flushed and refused to show the room what Mildred had given her.

            Cora leaned in to spy on the contents and threw her hand to her mouth and began shaking her head side to side as she laughed.  She leaned over to the white haired woman on the other side of the piano and whispered something in her ear.  The two women shared a laugh together before the white-haired woman whispered the news to the woman beside her.

            “Hold it up for everyone to see, Callie,” Donna said.

            Evie couldn’t help herself.  She laughed and fanned herself with the pad she had been keeping notes on.

            Callie’s face was ten shades of red as she reluctantly tore off the rest of the paper and exposed the box of edible underwear.  The room howled with laughter, and that was the end of the polite shower conversation.  Even without being physically present, Ms. Mildred’s corruption had found its way into the room.

            “Perhaps, we should put those back in the paper.”  The classy Donna Remington was mortified.  Evie didn’t want to even imagine her father and mother in bed together, but she figured their sexual adventures didn’t involve edible underwear.

            “What am I supposed to DO with those!?” Callie cried through embarrassed tears mixed with laughter.

            “You’re not supposed to DO anything.” Callie’s kindergarten teacher called out from across the room and all the women rolled in laughter again.  “You put them on and HE does all the work!”

            The room was virtually screaming with hackles.

            “Who gave those to Callie?” someone asked.

            “I think it was Mildred,” Cora yelled above the noise.

            “Who would’a known Mildred knew about such things!”

            “You can’t get anything like that around here.”

            “You have to go to Asheville or somewhere like that.”

            “Or order it from a catalog.”

            “They make catalogs for things like that?”

            Everyone wanted their chance at viewing the box of edible underwear, and in spite of Donna’s efforts to hide it away it didn’t take long before long it was floating around the room unchecked.

            The remaining unopened gifts were mundane after that one.  There’s nothing fun about His and Hers towel after a box of candy underwear has crossed your lap.

            When everything had been opened, Evie excused herself to the restroom.  She realized her ears were slightly numb from the noise as she walked down the cozy hall and the sounds of the women faded away behind her.  She found the bathroom easily.  It was decorated the same as the rest of the house with a wicker table in the corner supporting a pink Victorian globe lamp.  Plant vines draped down in front of the window with green, heart shaped leaves.  There was even a crocheted doily placed on the back of the toilet.  She marveled at the tolerance of Cora’s husband and what a wonderful man he must be to live in this Victorian dollhouse and still hold onto his masculinity.

            When she returned to the party the conversation had turned to Callie’s wedding night.  The older, obviously more experienced women were giving Callie their suggestions on how to make the night more pleasurable.

            The advice ranged from how to stroke Nathan’s manhood to what she should wear.

            “What do you have picked out?” Cora asked.  She had found a chair close to the kitchen door.

            “It’s a silk gown,” Callie said.  Evie pitied her sitting there so small, flaming red, and exposed to a brand new world of experiences.

            “I picked it up from a store the last time we were in Asheville,” Donna spoke up as Evie reclaimed her seat between her sister and mother.

            Callie rolled her eyes toward her with a desperate, ‘Help me!’ glance tucked away in a tight smile.

            “It will all be over soon,” Evie whispered in Callie’s ear.  “You’re going to come back knowing more than them.  Especially, if you try out those undies.”

            Callie playfully pushed her sister away and shook her head in exacerbation.

Chapter 1: The winds of change can lead you home, right?

            Something needs to change.  Something needs to be different.  I need a new job.  I need to move to a new city.  I need to buy a new wardrobe.

            She sat cross-legged on her old blue couch, drumming her fingers mindlessly on the faded arm.  She was feeling so incredibly flustered and she couldn’t put her finger on exactly why.  It was almost like an itch at the back of her mind that was sending her warning signals for no apparent reason.

            It was well past eleven o’clock by now.  She really should be in bed… she had an early start in the morning… and yet here she sat drumming her fingers in the silence of her apartment and feeling like she needed to DO something.

            That TV is all wrong.  It really should be moved.  But where?  I could slide it into the corner, and move the love seat up against the wall, but if I do that I would have to move all the pictures because they would be un-centered.  She liked the collage she had hanging.  It was one of the few things she liked about the room now days.  There was a time when she loved this room… back when it was freshly arranged.  Now, it was stagnant.  She couldn’t afford a new wardrobe, she wasn’t dating anyone, obviously, she couldn’t change her job, so the only thing left within her control was the furniture in her living room.  Hopefully, her neighbors downstairs wouldn’t mind.

            After mentally visualizing where all the furniture would move to, and moving it back a hundred times, in a hundred different ways, she finally settled on an arrangement that would freshen the room and give her creative itch some relief.

            She started by carefully dragging the TV stand to its new location, wiggled the couch by lifting one end and inching it a foot, and then lifting the other end and inching it in the new direction, effectively “walking” it to its new spot.  Once the furniture had been rearranged she pulled the pictures off the walls, carefully laying them on the floor in the exact same way they had been hanging so she wouldn’t forget how the clusters had been arranged, and moved them to their new spots.  Her favorite collage that had been centered between the TV and the door would be moved a foot to the right.  She was so proud of the way she had found all the mismatched frames, some ornate and some oddly decorated, repainted them all to a single teal color, and hung them in a pleasing pattern.  Little projects like that made her tiny apartment feel so much more homey, it required very little money, and pleased her creative-self.

            Once she was finished with her project, she flopped down on the faded blue couch in its new location, and breathed in a very satisfied breath.  This is better.  She instinctively glanced at the old wooden clock her father had given her ages ago, but of course it wasn’t there anymore.  She had decided to move it and now that spot was blank.  I might have to rethink that.  I’m going to feel so lost.  She remembered laying it next to the loveseat where it was going to eventually hang between the window and the closet.  When she stood up from the couch to glance at the clock’s new resting place leaned up against the wall, she realized it was after one in the morning.  Ugh.  I have to be up in five hours.  She suddenly felt the heavy exhaustion come crashing in on her like a rogue ocean wave.

            She flipped off the lights and staggered into her small bathroom tucked away directly behind the kitchen.  It was too late to bother with taking off her makeup.  She would rather skip her nightly routine in order to have thirty extra minutes to sleep.  She popped out her contacts and zombiely staggered from the bathroom the four feet toward her bedroom door.  She took a moment to pause at the doorway and glanced into the small living room blanketed in darkness and only silhouetted through the closed blinds by the streetlight illuminating the parking lot.  She smiled to herself as she took in a relaxing breath.  The creative tickle had been soothed- for the moment- and she could rest peacefully tonight.

At six AM sharp her alarm cheerfully began singing to her, “Good morning!  Good morning!  Good morning!  It’s time to rise and shine!  Good morning!  Good morning!  Good morning!  I hope you’re feeling fine!  The sun is just above the hill!  Another day for us to fill!  With all the things we love to do!  I’ll plant you here!  It’s calling you, doodle-de-do, doodle-de-do, doodle-de-do!”  In the middle of the second round of good mornings she hit the snooze button and let her face fall back onto the pillow with a grunt.

            A moment of silence.

            She loved her alarm.  She had shopped a long time before finding something that didn’t shock her awake and nearly make her have a heart attack day after day, but some mornings even her cheery alarm was too much for her.  It’s just so freakishly happy.

            After rubbing the sleep from her eyes she turned off the alarm before the snooze period ended and the darn thing started singing to her again.  Oh, I stayed up waaaay to late.  It took a moment before she was able to roll herself out of her wonderfully warm, heavenly plush, and incredibly seductive bed.  It was one of those little miracles that drives a person crazy.  She could find a million things wrong with the mattress, the pillow top, her pillow, the sheets, of the comforter when she was trying to fall asleep, and yet every morning it transformed into the most wonderful cloud she had ever been enveloped in.  She patted the sheets as she threw her feet over onto the floor.

            “Until we meet again,” she said out loud.  Is it weird that I talk to my furniture?  She didn’t think so, but then again there was no one around to be weirded out by it.  Personally, she thought it was cute, but what did she know?  As long as the furniture didn’t start talking back she saw no harm in it.

            Back when she had a roommate she would talk to her.  They would continually throw random observations out and the other would laugh or make a snide comment.  It was like having your own personal sounding board.  They had roomed together in college, and when they both ended up with internships in the same city they had gotten an apartment together, but those days had ended a while ago.  They had grown up.  Her former roommate had found Mister Right, gotten married, and now had an actual house outside of town.  And, where was she?  Still in the same place she had always been.  Not much had changed.  When her roommate had moved out she had downsized to a one bedroom apartment, but aside from that everything was exactly the same.

            After a quick shower, she put on her makeup, dried her long brunette hair, and dressed.  By now she was feeling more awake and alert even though it was only a little before seven.

            She was very pleased with her newly arranged furniture in the living room.  It still gave her that “fresh” feeling even in the light of day despite the walls being blank.  That little project would have to wait until later.

            She picked up the duffle bag she had packed the night before- long before rearranging her living room and just before she THOUGHT she would go to bed- and bounced down the steps outside her apartment to her car and drove the two hours to her parents’ house.

            It always gave her a very pleasing feeling in the pit of her stomach when she drove past the ‘Welcome to Belgrove’ sign in her sleepy little town.  It was a quaint place known for its selection of Antique stores, craft fairs, real country music, and rural landscape.  There was absolutely nothing around.  Being nestled a half hour’s drive off the interstate in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains, it wasn’t generally a place you simply happened to pass through.  It was a place you had to intend on finding, and people did… they came from all over the country to experience the simple living that was Belgrove.  The tourists came in their fancy cars or on giant buses.  They made reservations at the Shady Hill bed and breakfast, or if they couldn’t afford that (or simply hadn’t planned far enough ahead) they rented a room at the Hampton Inn that was within walking distance of everything in town, but that wasn’t saying much.  EVERYTHING was technically within walking distance in Belgrove.

            Tourists walked the strip wandering from store to store.  During the summers people enjoyed live music at the festivals virtually every weekend, they bought ice cream at the Sun Café, and they went horseback riding at Blue Sky Farm.  During the winter the town was decorated with millions of lights.  There were parades, caroling, a life size village children could walk through that was built exactly like Santa’s at the North Pole (or someone’s idea of what it might actually look like if it actually existed) more craft and music festivals… it was a regular old wonderland.  It was so perfect that she couldn’t wait to get out of there.

            She made sure her college was in a big city where she would meet normal human beings and not the happy-go-lucky tourists on vacation who were always so insanely happy about visiting her little town.  During her college career she had visited home only when it was absolutely necessary- birthdays, holidays, and such.  Belgrove was too quiet, too small, too… PERFECT.  It wasn’t until after she had been hired on at a design firm in Knoxville, after her roommate got married and moved out, that she began missing her little town.  The people in the town were real.  Perhaps a little simple at times, but there were very few fake personalities.  Everyone had known everyone their entire lives, so pretending to be someone you’re not was pointless.  The residents of Belgrove were genuinely happy to live there and it showed on their faces.  They were content being shop owners, festival organizers, street cleaners, or bed and breakfast managers.  It was a quiet contentment that she hadn’t understood until she had been away from it for a while.

            There was nothing she regretted about the life she had chosen, her career, or her cozy little apartment.  However, driving past that ‘Welcome’ sign, rolling down her windows to allow the sweet-smelling air into her car, and waving to the familiar faces made her miss her perfect childhood.  She longed for it again.

            She avoided Main Street because it was always congested with cars that had license plates from all over the country.  Instead, she followed the side streets that wound through neighborhoods of pleasant little houses that all had high pitched roofs, front porches, and fireplaces.  Most had fencing around the front yards and lovely landscaping.  Some had vines draping off iron rod fencing while others boasted an abundance of sweet smelling rose bushes.  The trees were mature, the sidewalks were lightly cracked, and the entire place felt like stepping back in time.  If it wasn’t for the Chevys and Toyotas parked in some of the driveways, a person could easily be confused about which decade they were in.

            She turned down a small side street that guided her back toward the main strip and parked behind a row of two story brick buildings that had been renovated not too long ago in an effort the town made to keep up the integrity of the original structures.

            It was nine in the morning when she walked around the building to Main Street and pushed opened the tan door with wavy glass for the windows and was greeted by the familiar clanging of the brass bell above her head.  The heavy smell of wax swirled in her nostrils and almost made her head dizzy with nostalgia.  The shop was still cozy.  Every wall was lined floor to ceiling with shelves that proudly displayed hand carved, decorative candles.  She loved how the wooden floor creaked below her feet as she took the first few steps in.  The front of the store was nothing but glass windows lined with glass shelves filled with candles of all different sizes and all different colors, but all crafted by hand with love.

            “Good morning, sugar!  You’re here earlier than I expected!” her father said with a brilliant smile.  He stepped out of the back room and wrapped her in a bear hug.  When he kissed her firmly on the cheek his blonde mustache scratched against her skin.

            “Did you have any traffic troubles on your way down?” he asked as he released her from the hug.

            “Not a one,” she replied as she glanced around the store.  “I like this new collection,” she said pointing up at the group of white candles on the shelf behind the counter.  The elegant swirls and cuts in the wax had revealed soft pastel blues and yellows.  There were at least fifty candles of varying sizes all with the same matching color pattern.

            “A customer from Texas ordered those last week for her daughter’s wedding.  I was just about to start boxing them up so I can ship out today, hopefully.”  He returned to the back room and came back with a flattened box, packing tape, cardboard dividers, and a stack of waxy craft paper.  “Mother is at the house getting ready,” he stated as he went to work delicately wrapping each candle.

            “I figured.  I just wanted to come by and say ‘hi’ before I headed that way.”

            “I’ll take a ‘hi’ anytime I can.”  He came back around the counter and wrapped her in another hug.  He quickly kissed the top of the head.

            “Okay, I’m headed that way.”

            “Oh, stop by Ms. Mildred’s will you?  She said she had something for Callie.  Mother didn’t have time to pick it up yesterday and I really can’t either since I need to get these to the post office.  Would you mind?”

            “Nope, not a bit.”

            “Thank you, sugar.”

            She gave her father a smile and pulled open the wooden door once again as the brass bell clanged above her head.  She smiled at the couple just outside the door and excused herself as she stepped aside to allow them to enter her father’s store.

            “Good morning, folks!” she heard him greet the customers before the wooden door closed between them.

            It was a quick walk one block down to Ms. Mildred’s gift shop, Something Different.  Anyone looking for a unique or unusual item typically found what they wanted in Ms. Mildred’s store.  She was an odd little woman who loathed technology and insisted on running her business solely with a hand-crank cash register and good old fashioned book keeping.  She ran her store with an iron fist.  When customers picked items up and put them back on a shelf other than the one it had originally been on, Ms. Mildred was always there to discreetly put the item back where it belonged, which was strange seeing as how the store seemed cluttered to the naked eye.  There didn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason to it, but there was logic to Ms. Mildred.

            The door closed behind her with a bang as she stepped into the store’s interior.  Glass wind chimes jingled with the vibrations.  There were tiled tables crowding her as she stepped in.  She spotted Ms. Mildred up on a ladder hanging expensive mobiles made with crystal white beads on the right-hand side of the store.

            “Evelyn Remington!” Ms. Mildred exclaimed from her high perch.  “Good Lord, it’s been ages since I last saw you.  Let me get down from here and I’ll give you a proper greeting.”

            Evie cringed as the elderly woman shakily descended the ladder.  She hurried to Mildred’s side and held out her hand in case she fell… not that the hand was going to prevent her from getting hurt during a fall, or that she even knew what to do to help her other than calling an ambulance, but the gesture made her feel better.

            “Should you really be up there by yourself?” she asked.

            Mildred was now only two rungs above ground level now which made her a little more than eye level with Evie.

            “I’m old, not dead,” she snapped.

            Mildred was a petite little woman with white hair, beady blue eyes, and skin that seemed to hang from her bones.  When she walked, her back was slightly hunched, but she was a speedy little thing.  Keeping up with her pace could sometimes be challenging.  Once she was safely on the ground, she took Evie’s left hand in both of hers and patted it with her wrinkly one, “Let me take a look at you.  It’s so good to see you.  Your mother talks about you all the time and about your life in the fancy big city.  How have you been?”

            “I’ve been doing good.  Just working and keeping busy,” she said.

            “Have you found yourself a nice boy yet?”

            Oh, Ms. Mildred.  Always straight to the point.

            “Not yet, but I’m still looking,” she managed through a forced smile.

            “Well, he’s out there.  One day you’ll look up, and there he’ll be!  You’re going to wonder why you didn’t see him earlier.”  She was still rhythmically patting Evie’s hand with every other word, I guess to emphasize the point.  I wish you would let go of my hand now, she thought to herself.  She hated to wriggle it away from the old woman, but this was starting to become awkward.

            “Dad said you had something for Callie.”  She was desperately hoping to change the subject.

            “I do.”  She released Evie’s hand and sped off toward the checkout counter in her spindly, hurried steps.  Her back was perhaps a hair more hunched than the last time she had seen Ms. Mildred.  The woman grabbed a box wrapped in purple and gold paper with a crimson red bow tied around it.  So Mildred.  She handed it to Evie with a gnarled hand.

            “I hate that I won’t be able to make it tonight, but my evening help needed off and I can’t justify closing the store early.”

            “We understand, Ms. Mildred.”

            She made small-talk for a few more minutes, thanked Ms. Mildred for the gift on behalf of Callie, and pulled open the door which seemed unusually heavy.  She remembered the loud bang it made when it slammed shut when she had come in.

            “I think your door needs some work,” she said as she heaved it open.

            Mildred threw both her gnarled hands in the air and rolled her beady little eyes.  “I had that Nole boy look at the spring on it ‘cause it had gotten to where it wouldn’t close properly, and he replaced the whole darn thing with this shiny new one that’s done up too tight.  I don’t know why he couldn’t just fix up the old one instead of wasting money on a new contraption that’s worthless.”

            Evie was beginning to regret mentioning it.  “Well, as long as you’re aware of it.  Bye, Ms. Mildred!”

            She was just skirting out the door with the purple package and crimson ribbon in her arms when Mildred said, “Give my best to your mother and Callie.”

            Evie let the door rest uncomfortably against her foot as she turned and told Ms. Mildred that she would.

            “I really hate to miss it.  I think Bessie and Cora are going to be able to be there.  I ran into Cora at the grocery store the other day and we were talking about it.  Have you been by to see her?”

            Evie goaned inwardly but continued forcing the smile, “I’ll be sure to look for them.  I haven’t seen Ms. Cora, but it sounds like I will tonight.”  This might be a long and challenging exit.

            “Tell Callie I’ll see her tomorrow.”

            Evie continually let the door close a little more, “I will.”  Eventually, it would shut completely and Ms. Mildred wouldn’t be able to give her any more well wishes.  She smiled to Ms. Mildred and Mildred gave her a quick wave before Evie completely removed her foot and let the door slam shut—BANG!  Evie jumped lightly at the sound.  She really needs to get that fixed.

            Evie pulled into the driveway of her parents’ house and parked behind her sister’s car.  There was a good chance she wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while, but if she needed to for some reason Evie could always move it later.

            She grabbed her duffle bag out of the backseat and pulled Ms. Mildred’s purple and gold package with the red ribbon out as well.

            She loved her childhood home nestled on the outskirts of town and on the side of one of the Smokey Mountain’s rolling hills.  This was where she had grown up.  The house was white sided with grey stone accents.  There were mature bushes and trees scattered around the small front lawn and a cobblestone walkway leading from the driveway to the front door.  She had considered going in through the garage, but the front door was open she could see, so she chose that route instead.  When she was a child she had always pretended she lived in the cottage from “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” and in a way she sort of did.  The house wasn’t too big, or too small, it was just right.

            She pulled open the storm door and let herself into inviting entryway.  The door on the left lead into her parents’ bedroom, the living room was on the right, and an L shaped staircase directly in front of her lead up to her sister, Callie’s, bedroom and her old room that had been converted into a guest bedroom done in tans and teals.

            “Hello,” she called out as she let the storm door gently close behind her.

            She heard her mother coming long before she saw her rounding the edge of the doorway under the stairs leading to the kitchen.  Her mother was wearing heels and created a distinct “click click” as she walked across the hard wood floors.

            “Oh, Evie!  Callie!  Your sister’s here!” she called as she classily walked toward her daughter with open arms and a giant smile.  She wrapped Evie in a huge hug.  Callie was right behind her, standing awkwardly with her toes splayed apart and rocked back on her heels, and when Evie’s mother let go, she followed in her mother’s footsteps.

            “How was the drive?” her mother asked.

            “It was fine.  No traffic what so ever.”

            “That’s good to hear.  Did you stop by to see your father?”

            “I did.  Oh, here,” she held the purple and gold package with the red bow out toward Callie.  “Ms. Mildred sent this for you.  She said she is very sorry she won’t be able to attend the shower tonight.”

            Callie smiled as she accepted the gift.  Looking at Callie was like looking in a mirror.  The sisters had been born five years apart but had looked almost identical.  Sometimes, guests would look at their childhood pictures on the wall and say, ‘How old was Evelyn in this picture?’ or ‘My, Callie was so adorable,’ only to have Mother smile politely and say, ‘That’s actually Callie, and she was six,’ or ‘Yes, Evie really was adorable,’ and they were always followed up with a brief moment of reminiscing on how wonderful both her girls were and still are.

            Callie clutched the oddly wrapped package and smiled widely, “That’s so sweet of her!  I wonder what it is?  Did she tell you?”

            “She did not.”

            Mrs. Remington was standing, looking perfectly beautiful as she always did, watching her daughters interact.  “I’ll put that with the others,” she said as she held out her hands for the package from Ms. Mildred.  “Evie, have you had breakfast?”

            “Not exactly.”

            “What can I make you?” she asked as she headed back through the doorway into the kitchen.  She made a turn to the right and set the package on the dining room table along with all the others, and walked back into the kitchen, “clicking” the whole way.

            Evie dropped her duffle bag at the bottom of the steps and followed her mother and sister into the kitchen.

            “I’m not really that hungry.  I can wait.”

            “Are you sure?  We will be heading to the church before long and I can’t say when we will finish decorating.”

            Callie had waddled back to her spot at the kitchen table in the breakfast nook area and was reopening a bottle of champagne colored nail polish to continue painting her toes.  She was wearing the familiar white “fluffy robe” as Callie called it, even though her hair was done and her makeup was on.

            “I’m sure,” Evie said as she pulled out a chair across the table from her sister.

            “How about some tea?”

            “Tea would be fine.”  She watched Callie delicately and expertly slide the paint on.  “I still can’t believe you’re getting married!”

            Callie looked up from her work with another huge smile, “I know!  Me neither!  Oh my gosh, it felt like it would never come, and now it’s here!”

            The two sisters giggled together and talked until Mrs. Remington set a piping hot cup of tea on the table in front of Evie.  Her mother knew exactly how she took her tea.  Four cubes of sugar and a dash of milk.

            “Still having a little tea with your sugar, I see?” Callie teased.

            “Hey, back off missy.  Not all of us can be as sweet as you are and we need a little more help.”

            “We need to leave in about twenty minutes.  Can you both be ready?”

            “I’m ready now,” Callie said as she blew as best she could on her toes to help them dry faster.

            “No you’re not,” Evie added.  “You’re still in your robe.”

            “All I have to do is change into my dress.  Easy peasie.  It’ll take two seconds.”  She shrugged off her sister’s remark.  “What about you?  Are you going like that?”

            Evie glanced down at her denim skirt and white top.  “What’s wrong with what I have on?”

            Callie looked from Evie’s outfit, to Evie’s face, and then to her mother.

            Mrs. Remington jumped in, “I think Callie’s just asking if you would mind changing into something a little more dressy for the rehearsal.”

            “Oh of course, but that’s not until this afternoon.  I’ve got plenty of time to change.”

            Her mother smiled, “Thank you, Evie,” as she “clicked” out of the kitchen and into the master bedroom where her steps were muffled by the plush carpet.

            Evie sipped on the hot tea and savored these very last moments of being in her old house when things were just like they had always been.  Perhaps, this was why she had been so incredibly on edge last night.  Her life was still the same while her little sister was starting a new chapter in hers.  Shouldn’t it have been me?  Of course it should have been her.  It almost WAS her two years ago, but that chapter had closed in her life and now it was Callie’s turn.  She tried to block Josh and all his memories out.  It still cut her to the core.  She couldn’t let herself feel this way.  Today was about Callie and Nathan… not what used to be her and Josh.

            “Where’s Nathan today?” she found herself saying as she took another sip of tea and tried to shake away the bad feelings that were slipping in.

            “He’s supposed to be getting tables set up for the reception.  I’ll see him when we get to the church to decorate.”

            “Are you guys going to see each other before the wedding tomorrow?”

            “No!  Of course not!  It’s bad luck,” she smiled.  “I want him to be blown away when he sees me for the first time in my dress with everything perfect.”

            Evie smiled across the table at her beautiful sister.  “I know he will be.”

            Callie pushed the nail polish bottle aside and stared at her sister with pity in her eyes.  “How hard is this for you?  You know, since Josh…”

            Why on earth would you bring that up!?  Not that I wasn’t thinking it already, but WHY!?

            Evie took a couple more sips of her tea in the suddenly uncomfortable silence.  She swallowed against the lump growing in her throat and forced a smile.  “It’s in the past and I’m ready to celebrate your new future.”

            They could hear their mother coming as she crossed the wooden entry and clicked her way into the kitchen.  “Would you girls mind helping me get these decorations into the car?”  She started to turn away before realizing Evie was still sipping on her tea.  “Oh, I’m sorry.  Evie, stay.  Callie, do you mind?”

            “I’m good,” Evie yelled as she sucked down what was left in her cup.  “I’m coming.”