Page 12 of Enchanted in Time
“You shall!”
“I cannot go!” Mirabelle screamed in horror. “See, Mother, see how I look! Look at me!”
“You shall go!” replied her mother firmly, without so much as a single glance. “We may not refuse the king! It is your father’s wish, and you shall obey!”
She walked briskly to the window and drew the thick, heavy drapes. The sunlight streamed into the room. Blinded, Mirabelle held her hands to her blemished face.
With a loud noise, her mother threw the remaining curtain aside and looked directly at her daughter. “The time for hiding is past!”
5
The day flew by in a flash. Doing the laundry, tidying up the kitchen, cleaning the bathroom, dusting, cooking, tidying up the kitchen again, vacuuming, settling the children’s squabbles in between it all, folding laundry... Then an hour at the playground amid loud grumbling from Marco, who would have liked to stay home alone, except that Hannah had insisted he come along so he could get some fresh air. Practicing reading with Emi, and, finally, a game of Memory on the living room rug.
Just after five thirty, just as Hannah had collapsed onto the couch with a cup of coffee and put up her feet, the doorbell rang. Exhausted from the day, Hannah groaned. Who would be coming over now?
“Frieda!” Emi and Leon cried simultaneously, leaping up from their third game of Memory.
Hannah rolled her eyes and forced herself to get up. She trudged behind her two youngest children as she made her way over to the door. Yawning, she opened it—and froze.
There before her stood Frieda with a huge smile on her pointy, mouselike face and her half-moon glasses peeking outfrom beneath her curly gray locks. And there it was, draped across her outstretched arms. The dress.
It was a dream in warm, soft reds. The upper part was designed with a Carmen neckline. The waist was narrow and the skirt wide and swinging. The dream dress consisted of several layers of fine material overlaid with a berry-red lace fabric. It looked as if it had been created for a member of the royal family.
Hannah stared at the dress in disbelief and cautiously felt the material. “What is this? Silk? There’s no way you put this together from my old scraps.”
Frieda shrugged. “Oh, I still had a bit of this and that in my old clothing trunks. Do you like it?”
“Oh, Mommy, it looks like it was made for a real princess!”
Hannah gulped. Emi was right. The dress was absolutely gorgeous.
“You need to try it on now, Mrs. Meyer, in case I still have to adjust it.” And without further ado, Frieda shoved her way past Hannah and into the apartment.
Caught by surprise, Hannah stood still in front of the open door. How had her neighbor managed that? Not even a state-of-the-art dressmaker’s shop with multiple employees could have made a gown like that in so little time! She must have already had it. It had to have been in one of the clothing trunks she’d mentioned, and when Hannah had made the deal with her children that morning, Frieda must have already known about the dress and not told her.
“Mrs. Meyer, kindly shut the door—there’s a draft. We’re running out of time.”
Emi came running up, slammed the door, and pulled her mom into the bedroom. Frieda had already spread the dress out on the bed, and lying beside it was a small pouch sewn from the same material, with room for Hannah’s cell phone, keys, and some tissues.
Frieda was holding a little bag with needles and thread. “Come now, Mrs. Meyer, you need to get dressed. The coach will be here in less than two hours.”
“I’m not going to any ball!”
“Mommy!” Emi stood in front of her mother and made herself as tall as possible. “We made a deal. If Frieda brings you the dress, you’ll go to the ball.”
“A promise is a promise!” Leon added in his high little voice.
Hannah rolled her eyes. How could she get herself out of this mess? Well, maybe the dress wouldn’t fit her at all and Frieda wouldn’t be able to make the adjustments in time. Satisfied, Hannah nodded. That was extremely likely. She reached for the dress and disappeared behind the folding screen.
“Just call if you need help, Mrs. Meyer.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Hannah removed her jeans and shirt, slipped her socks off her feet, and gingerly stepped into the evening gown. She pulled it up over her shoulders. The material literally slid onto her body as though, by putting on this dress, she had slipped on a new skin. It was an indescribable feeling. She gently stroked the ball gown and smiled. She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment of feeling special. All dressed up. And precious.
“Let me help you with that zipper!” Frieda came trundling up behind the screen and pulled the zipper shut. “Fits like a glove! Come, Mrs. Meyer, come stand in front of the mirror.”
Hannah slowly came out from behind the screen and had to laugh when she saw Emi’s and Leon’s astonished faces. She stopped in front of the standing mirror, and then her jaw dropped as well.
