Bitten

Prairie Du Rocher

Chapter 61

Two weeks had passed and my parents were silently battling each other on the whole idea of me going to the Winter Formal. I didn't understand why Dad for some reason didn't want me to go. Laura and Gloria went every year. And now Anna was going at twelve years old. I understand Lilly because realistically with her disability she'll probably never get married. But what was wrong with me?

Eventually, Mom and Dad compromised and by compromise I meant Mom got her way. So we were heading to mom's hometown, Prairie Du Rocher, to get material for dresses. Prairie Du Rocher by horse and buggy was only an hour and 30 minutes away. Laura was already making mine out of stuff she already had, Anna worked as a seamstress so she had nothing but time and materials to make her dress exactly the way she wanted it. So this trip was really just for Gloria.

Samuel and Gloria were steering the buggy while Mom, Lily and Anna sat in cart. I rode on my horse next to them with my shotgun strapped to my back. The stone road fit together like an over-sized jigsaw puzzle. They looked cold and smooth. Each little stone had a place among the others.

I paid little to no attention to the conversation keeping a vigilant watch over our surroundings. To our left was an empty field that looked like it had just been harvested. But to our right was a forest. The pine woods rises over what otherwise would be a bare rain-washed rocky scree, creating an artwork of untold beauty on a canvas that requires the hand of God. But I knew better. Behind anyone of those trees could be a revenant or a bandit.

Luckily we didn't run into any troubles on our way to Prairie Du Rocher. The city had grown since the last time I had been here. As we came into town I saw a total of four new shops.  The town was a happy hug of red brick houses that had expanded as the years went on. The small town wasn't so small anymore, paved the roads, electric light post and a bustling amount of cars only proved my point. But the town wasn't too big where everyone didn't stop to say good morning.

It wasn't long before we found Spades Fabric's. Mom bought her a wedding dress from Spades and every special occasion we ever had. We went here either for materials or for an actual dress.The shops look like all the other buildings, but this one had a window display a fine silks and satins in the latest Evian styles. That's all it took for Gloria to hop out of the cart and make a beeline into the store. Samuel stopped in front of the store to let Mom, Lilly and Anna out before parking the cart around the side of the building. I tied my horse to the back of the buggy hoping when we came back he was still there.

"I kind of wish I was shearing sheep", Samuel said twisting his face.

"You guys drew straws. You knew it was at risk", I joked.

"We're going to be here for hours", He wasn't wrong. This was a day trip. We walked inside the building that was just the spades house with material, fabric pins, needles and anything else you would need to sew skewed about. The house was welcoming from the open door to the wide hallway. Upon the walls were the photographs of children, so obviously so loved. The floor was an old-fashioned parquet with a blend of deep homely browns and the walls were the greens of summer gardens meeting a bold white baseboard. The banister was a twirl of a branch, tamed by the carpenter's hand, it's grain flowing as water might, in waves of comforting woodland hues. Under the lamp-shine it was nature's art, something that soothed right to the soul.

"Can I do this one?" I heard Gloria sing as I turned and went into the living room that had been transformed into rows and rows of fabric. Mom held Lily's hand as Anna sat bored on the couch flipping through a magazine.

"I don't like that color green. It's too neon. Why don't you try the black chiffon or the red silk?" Mom suggested.

"I want green this year like a deep emerald", Gloria said searching hard for the exact thing she had in her mind.