She Could Have Any Dress

Sheila was a princess the minute she put on the dress. Made from blue taffeta, crisp new netting, and shiny satin. Bodice trimmed with tiny seed pearls. Her date fell in love with her the second he saw it. She married him in this dress. It was 1944, and a war was on. No one ever felt more like a bride. Sheila did not have daughters, she had sons. They had sons, and their sons had sons. It was years before a girl was born into their family. When she arrived in 1972, she was a delight. They all made over her. She was their princess. She could have had any dress for prom. She chose her grandmother’s 1944 wedding dress. Her date fell in love with her the second he saw it. She did not marry him, but she kept the photos. Propped next to photos of her grandmother in the same beautiful dress.