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“Mrs. Gherring said you might be a bit reluctant, but I never expected this.” She chuckled as she stitched.
“Gram knew I wouldn’t like the dress? Then why did she pick it?”
“I’m not sure. She mentioned some man’s name. Collin? Maybe that’s your date tonight?”
“Gram said something about Collin? Are you sure?”
“Let’s see, her exact words were, ‘Hopefully Collin will like the dress. I hate to waste a wedding cake.’”
“Gram wants me to marry Collin?” She tasted something awful in the back of her throat.
“Now you didn’t hear that from me,” said the dressmaker. “I don’t want to get in trouble with Mrs. Gherring.” As she completed her stitching and taping, she stood back and surveyed her work. “You look simply stunning, my dear. I’m certain Collin will be pleased.”
“I don’t want Collin to be pleased,” she complained, pulling on her overcoat.
“Well, I can tell you right now, he’s going to be pleased unless you manage to hide from his sight. I can’t imagine a man who wouldn’t be pleased to see you tonight.”
“Ughh! This just complicates things.” She slipped on her trench coat and buttoned it to her neck. “Thanks for your help. I’m sorry I’m not more grateful. I’m sure you did your best to please my Gram, and she’s the one paying the bill.”
“Yes, indeed,” she smiled. “Have a great time at the party tonight.”
AS THE DOOR CLICKED shut behind Charlie, the dressmaker called, “You can come out now, Margaret!”
“You were
magnificent, Elaine. You should have been on Broadway. You were well worth the bonus.” Gram wore a broad, satisfied smile.
“She doesn’t seem too fond of this Collin, fellow.”
“Oh that’s fine.” She waved her hand. “He’s not the target anyway. Yes, yes, yes. Everything’s going according to plan.”
“SO CHARLIE. THANKS for coming by. Why don’t you come inside and get comfortable for a minute? Don’t you want to take your coat off?” Steven observed her with concern. Why is her coat buttoned to her neck when it’s warm inside? And her face is flushed. Does she have a fever?
“No thanks, I’m comfortable with it on. Why did you want to talk to me before the party?”
“Your mother wanted me to talk to you. Uhmmm...” He paused, searching for the right words. “She thinks you might have misunderstood my intentions. When I said you were rushing into the marriage for the wrong reasons, I didn’t mean I thought you shouldn’t get married.”
“You didn’t?”
“No, I just wanted to make sure you were...” He cleared his throat. “I wanted you to think about it, that’s all. I wasn’t trying to talk you out of it altogether.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. But thanks, anyway.” She turned to go.
“Charlie, wait. Why did you call it off? Why not just postpone it? After all, you told me you loved each other, didn’t you?”
“We said that, but...” Her hand rose to her throat, and her chin trembled. “But it wasn’t true. I mean, it wasn’t true for him, anyway.”
“What you’re saying is you love Josh, but he doesn’t love you?”
She nodded, her eyes downcast and her expression miserable. Anne was right—Charlie was clearly lost and afraid.
“Charlie, have you ever heard the phrase, ‘Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water?’”
“Yes, but I always thought that didn’t make any sense.” She gave him a wobbly smile.
“Well, it does if you know the origin of the phrase. Supposedly, there was a time when an entire household would bathe in the same water—first the husband, then the wife, then the children, and lastly the baby. And the water would be so black at the end, one could accidentally throw out the baby when trying to get rid of the dirty water.”
“And why are you telling me this?”
