It had been one of those days.
One of those nightmarish days in which nothing had gone right. Nothing.
Cheryl Lane told herself she should've seen the writing on the wall that morning when she tripped over the laces of her high purple running shoes as she hurried from the parking lot to her dinky office. She'd torn a hole in the knee of her brand new pants and limped ingloriously into her building.
The day had gone steadily downhill from there, with a package lost by the courier and worst of all the discovery that her bank account was overdrawn because a client's check had bounced.
By the time she returned to her apartment that evening she was in a bad mood. All she needed to make her day complete was too have her mother pop in unannounced with a man in town, convinced she'd found the perfect mate for Cheryl.
She could only hope that wouldn't happen but it was exactly the kind of thing Cheryl had come to expect from her dear, sweet desperate mother. Cheryl was twenty eight now and still single, and her mother tended to view her marital status as a situation to be remedied.
Never mind that Cheryl felt content with her life just the way it was. She wasn't interested in marriage and children......at least not yet. That time would come, someday or some year soon.
For the moment, Cheryl was absorbed in her career. She was proud of her work as a video producer, although she continually suffered cash-flow problems of the self employed. Her relaxation DVDs-- seascapes, mountain scenes, a flickering fire in a brick fireplace, all with a background of classical music--- were selling well. Her cat-sitting DVD had recently caught the attention of a major distributor and she couldn't help believing she was on the brink of success.
Tossing her woven Mexican bag and striped blue jacket onto the sofa, Cheryl ventured into the kitchen and sorted through the packages in her freezer until she found something that halfway appealed to her. The doorbell chimed.
Her mother. It had to be her mother. Groaning inwardly, she decided she'd be polite but insistent. Friendly but determined, and if her mother began talking about husbands, Cheryl would simply change the subject.
But it wasn't Faith Lane without stood outside her door. It was Elvira Livingston, the building manager, a warm, delightful but insatiably curious older woman.
"Good evening, dear", Mrs Livingston greeted her. She clutched a large box protectively in both hands. " The postman dropped this off. He asked me if I'd give it to you ".
" For me, Mrs. L? ".Perhaps today wasn't a loss after all. " The return address is California. Know anyone by the name Millicent Bannister?"
"Aunt Milly? " Cheryl hadn't heard from her mother's aunt in years.
"The package is insured", Mrs. Livingston noted shifting the box just enough to examine the label again.
" I certainly appreciate all the trouble you've gone to", Cheryl said gripping the sides of the box and giving it a firm tug. Mrs. Livingston released the package reluctantly, her face fell with disappointment as Cheryl began to close the door.
Obviously, she was hoping for an invitation to stay. But Cheryl wasn't in the mood for company, especially not the meddlesome, if well meaning, Elvira Livingston.
Eagerly, she carried the package into the kitchen and set it on her table. Although she wondered what Aunt Milly had sent her, she carefully peeled the letter free, then just as carefully removed the plain brown wrapper.
The box was an old one, she noticed, the cardboard heavier than that currently used by stores. Cheryl pried off the lid. She found layed of tissue paper wrapped around........... a dress. Cheryl pushed aside the paper and lifted the garment from its box. She gasped in surprise as the long white dress gracefully unfolded.
This wasn't just any dress. It was a wedding dress, an exquisitely sewn lace and satin wedding dress.
Surely it couldn't have been Aunt Milly's......... No, that couldn't be......... It wasn't possible.
Ahh!
Finally..... Next chapter coming soon
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