Melissa's Arc

Chapter 1 of 4

Melissa lifted the dress from the chest, letting the fabric unfold in her hands. The lace felt soft, almost fragile, against her fingers. She held it up to the window where morning light caught the small flowers stitched along the hem. Her mother had worn this dress once, and now Melissa would wear it to marry the man she loved. She thought of the retirement home where her mother lived now, the small room with the single window facing the garden. Her mother kept a silver ring on a chain around her neck, always touching it when she talked about the past. Melissa had never asked about the ring. She wondered if her mother touched it the same way when she wore this dress all those years ago. The cottage felt too quiet. Melissa folded the dress carefully and placed it back in the trunk at the foot of the bed. She needed to tell someone, to share this moment with someone who would understand. But Angry Baker had left early for the bakery, and the silence pressed against her until she found herself walking to the pantry. She stopped in the doorway, her hand on the frame. The dress waited in the bedroom behind her. Her mother would see it on the wedding day and know that Melissa had chosen to carry something forward. For once, Melissa turned away from the pantry and went back to the bedroom. She opened the trunk again and touched the lace. This was enough.