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Last summer, we went
visit my Gramps at his house by the beach. It was my two younger pests of
brothers, Richard and John, the baby of the family, Roxanne and I. It was a
warm summer day and the boys were kicking a ball in the yard. Roxanne was
entertaining herself in her room with her dolls. I was in no mood to
participate in either activities, so I slipped into the library.
I pushed open the heavy
door and the musty smells of aging books assaulted my nostrils. I headed for
the cozy armchair by the window – a copy of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ in hand.
Suddenly, I tripped over the rug and went flying – my novel skidding to a stop
in a dusty corner. Luckily, I caught myself on a nearby wall, before receiving
anything more than a few bruises. I begun to brush my jeans, when a slow
creaking sound began. A small door, barely above my knees, swung open in the
wall. Naturally, my curiosity was piqued. I decided to go in and explore. I
slipped in, using the faint light of my cellphone to find my way down the
tricky stairs.
I had barely made it
two steps down, when my light caught the flash of a face. I shrieked and
stumbled, landing straight on my butt. My heart thumping in my chest, slowly directed the light back to the same
spot, fully expecting an assailant. What I saw then was a complete surprise.
The face I’d seen was… merely a dressmaker’s dummy!
I slowly went down the
rest of the steps, weary of any more unexpected surprises. As I used my light
to scan the room, I saw racks of gowns and dresses in every shape, size and
color lined up against all the walls. A small table with a sewing machine on it
and full length mirror stood to one
corner. It was just like a clothes store, albeit a very old one. I stumbled
around the room, looking for a light switch, when I suddenly heard a faint
sound. As it came closer, I realised it was Roxanne.
“Josephine, I need your
help!”, she warbled.
Oh bother! I hated it
when she called me that. I wistfully glanced at the engima of a room, waiting
to be explored. Then, with a heavy sigh, I hauled myself up the stairs and
ducked out of the door. Almost as if there was a hidden trigger, the door swung
shut behind me. How was I supposed to find it now!?
With a cross expression
on my face, I shouted to Roxanne, “What is it, Roxanne. I’m in the library. And
how many times have I told you to call me Jo!”
She came scampering in,
her footsteps pattering against the marble floor. Her sapphire eyes twinkled
and she smiled to reveal her adorable dimples.
“I’m sorry, Jo”.
It was hard to stay mad
at her for too long.
“What can I do for you,
little miss?”
“Can you open the trunk
for me, Jo? I want a new dress”
“Whatever in the world
is wrong with this one?” Sometimes, I found it hard to understand all her
fashion concerns.
She shrugged. “I just
don’t like this one very much. Come now!”
I yawned and began to
follow her, when suddenly, my eyes snapped open. “ Wait a second, Rox! You come
with me”
I lead her to the wall,
looking around for some sort of a trigger, I needn;t have worried. There was a
simple switch in the wall, which opened
the door.
“What are we doing,
Jo?”, Roxanne whispered, clenching my hand.
“You’ll see”, I
whispered back, elated at the idea of finally see what the room held.
The evasive light switch
was eventually found and a dim light came on, revealing several dresses,
resplendant in their glory. A thin layer of dust had settled on everything, but
my amazement knew no limits.
“Wow!!!”, Roxanne
gasped, as she ran her hands over the material.
“Let’s dress you up,
princess”. I found Roxanne a small floor-length purple gown with gold trim and
pink beads. She carefully put it on, wriggling with excitement. I put her hair
into a French braid, as she gazed into the mirror.
“Jo, you need to put
one on too!!” At her insistence, I slipped on a simple green gown with silver
trim and a simple V-neck. I let my hair
escape from it’s elastic prison, and my brown curls tumbled over my shoulders.
I actually felt like a princess!
I dragged out a trunk,
which as it turned out, held slippers in a multitude of shapes and sizes. We both put on a pair and
the look was complete.
“Jo, let’s go show
Gramps”, she said, her voice brimming with joy. I simply nodded, too dumbstruck to reply.
We found him reclining
in the family room. One look at us, and his eyes started to well with tears. I
rushed over to him in alarm.
“What’s wrong, Gramps?”
“ Oh my dear Josephine.
You see dear, your grandmother was a great seamstress. When she- when she
passed away, I couldn’t bring myself to clear her secret cranny. Your mother
shared a great bond with her, and since you could never meet her, your mother named
you after her. Seeing you stand there in her old clothing just reminded me of
the first time I ever saw her. Forgive your old Gramps for getting a little
emotional.”
I gave him a big hug,
and as I sat there – in my finery – in my Gramps’ arms, I truly felt like
Josephine belonged to me, for the very first time.
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