Dearest, Theodosia

Chapter XXXV:

Chapter XXXV:

The Bride

This is a flashback for you all! Enjoy!

   "Theo, darling?" Theodosia Burr called for her daughter. After not feeling well that morning, she dosed off on the sofa in the living room. She trusted her daughter not to do anything stupid while she was asleep, but still not seeing her made her nervous. Theodosia wandered the hallways in the house, looking in every room in the house. When she arrived at her own bedroom that she shared with her husband, she saw her daughter, standing on a chest, in front of a mirror, wearing an oversized white dress on. Her wedding dress. "What are you doing?" The mother smiled at her daughter.

Theo dropped the dress onto the floor, scared about what her mother would think of her playing with the wedding dress. "Mama, I'm sorry. We were talking about your marriage with Daddy and I found the dress in your closet." Theo shook her head, but still stood on the chest. "I'm sorry, Mama." She looked down at her small feet.

"Oh, baby." Theodosia said softly, walking over to her daughter. She held the small hands in her own, smiling. "It doesn't bother me, my beautiful baby girl." Theo smiled softly at her mother. She was always getting called beautiful by her parents. They called her that like it was her name.

"Can I play with your wedding dress again?" Theo asked, looking down at the big white pile of fabric that was on the floor in front of her. Her mother nodded and Theo quickly jumped down from the chest, grabbing the dress. She hung the hanger around the back of her neck and walked towards the mirror, long fabric dragging behind her. The dress was beautiful. It was a bit of an off white color with puffy sleeves and lots of lace. The back had lots of extra fabric flowing from it. "This is the dress you married Daddy in, right?"

Theo was a smart young girl. She knew her mother was married to a British officer before she was married to her father, Aaron Burr. She knew that they had married after the officer had died and Theodosia was left a widow. She didn't know about her parents' relationship with each other during her mother's first marriage.

Theodosia nodded. "You're right, Theo." Theodosia didn't have her dress from her first marriage anymore. New chapter of her life, new wedding dress.

"I bet you were a beautiful bride, Mama." Theo spun around the best she could in the oversized dress while her mother sat down on the unoccupied chest.

"Oh, she was the most beautiful bride there ever was, dear." Aaron Burr stood in the doorway, smiling at his two girls. The man went to sit beside his blushing wife, taking her hand in his own. "Except maybe you, someday."

Theo rushed over to her parents, looking at them eagerly. "I wish I was there, at your wedding." The couple laughed softly. Their daughter hadn't been born yet, so she wasn't there. Theo had always imagined what the wedding must had been like. She imagined Mrs. Eliza Hamilton as her mother's maid of honor and despite their constant arguments, she imagined Mr. Alexander Hamilton as her father's best man. She was right.

It was a beautiful wedding in a church. It was a small reception, close friends and family only. "I have an idea." Aaron said. "Why doesn't your mother put on the dress, I'll put on my wedding jacket and we can give you a look into what it was like."

Theo jumped up, tapping her mother's knee rapidly. "Please, Mama! Mama, please!" She begged. Theodosia looked over at her husband, then at her daughter.

"Okay, okay." Theodosia said, carefully taking the dress from her daughter. The young girl shrieked loudly, bouncing up and down. "Calm down, baby." And she did. "I'll be back." Then she left to go and change in the other room.

Aaron went to the closet, trading his current jacket for the one that he wore on his wedding day. It still fit nicely. He turned back to his daughter, looking down at her. "Someday, you're going to be a beautiful bride, just like your mother was." Theo blushed.

   "Thank you, Daddy. I can't wait!" It was little Theo's dream to be a bride, like many young girls around her age.

   "Hopefully not too soon, though, beautiful." Aaron said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "Stay young, stay my little girl." Theo smiled at her father.

   "What'd I miss?" Theodosia asked as she appeared in the doorway of the bedroom. Aaron and Theo looked at the beautiful woman in the doorway.

   "You look absolutely gorgeous." Aaron said as he walked towards his wife. Theo sat on the chest, watching her parents joyfully. Aaron took Theodosia's hand and led as the two began dancing around the bedroom.

   Someday, this would be Theo and whoever her husband would be. They would be dancing around, having the time of their lives. The girl wondered who that man might be. Would he treat her as well as her father treated her mother? She knew that her parents would never let her marry anyone who didn't treat her like a princess.

   After the couple danced around for a few minutes until they both looked over at their daughter. "Theo, baby girl." Theodosia said, extending her hand out for the girl. "Come dance with us."

   Aaron nodded, putting his free hand out too. "Yes, come on." Theo hopped up from the chest, dashing over to her parents and taking their hands. Theodosia and Aaron swung and spun her around, the family's laughter filling up the room.

   This was a family moment for the ages. The parents took turns dancing with their daughter. When Theo danced with Aaron, it was a slow, classic ballroom type of dance. Like the first father-daughter dance after marriage. She stood on her father's feet.  When Theo danced with her mother, it was more casual and laid back. They would jumped around and spin in circles.

   "I can't wait to see you get married, my beautiful girl." Theodosia said. She wouldn't get to see it. Theodosia passed away five months later.

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Here's a little flashback of the Burr family! Thank you all for reading! I appreciate all of your support! I love you all! Have a great day!