Lily of the Valley

Chapter 5

Chapter Five - Stockard Valley

"Two days in a row! Two days in a row, you are all trying to kill me!" Lily shouted at her mother and sister as they walked into town. Yesterday, after dress shopping, they had also set up a wedding date with Father DeCore in about two weeks, and had ordered a tent to be set up on their land for the reception. Today, they had already ordered all the flowers they needed and now they were going back to the dress shop to find a dress for Lily and Momma, who would be standing with Gen at the altar. "Why couldn't I stay home!"

"We are picking out YOUR dress, Lily." Momma snapped crisply.

"Urrgh." Lily growled inwardly, as they entered the shop.

"Howdy, ladies! I've put aside the dresses I thought would go with your flower arrangements. You said orange, right?" Ms. Hatty said as soon as they entered the shop.

"Yes, the flowers are burnt orange colored tulips." Genevieve replied quietly. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Perfect!" Ms. Hatty handed Momma a dress the colors of the flowers they had ordered yesterday, and then threw a dress the same color to Lily. Lily glared at her, then walked off to stand next to Momma behind the changing screen. They helped each other into their dresses and then walked out from behind the screen.

"I like yours a lot, Lil. Maybe something a bit more simple for Momma but I do like the sleeves on her dress." Genevieve said to Ms. Hatty as she inspected the dresses they had put on. Lily turned to look in a mirror. Her dress was simple, the color of late evening sun, with that new style called a sweetheart neckline. The sleeves were thin and just off the shoulder, and there was a thick, darker orange ribbon tied around her waist. The skirt just went straight down and ended past her ankles. The color of the dress was shimmery, but simple all the same.

"Yeah, I like mine a lot too." Lily said. She looked at her Momma's dress. It was definitely more flamboyant than Lily's or even Gen's dress. It had the same neckline as Lily's dress, but was made of chiffon, not the silky material Lily's was made out of. It was tight around the waist, then the skirt poofed out in bug ruffles down to the floor. The sleeves were also poofy, but more delicate looking than the skirt.

"Oh, here. Let's try this." Ms. Hatty stepped forward and stuck her hands under Momma's skirt. She pulled and tugged a little, then brought her hands back out, holding a white skirt shaper. The skirt immediately flattened out, and the dress looked much more simpler and much more delicate.

"Much better! If we can also just take out the stones in the fabric, and get rid of the ribbon, it would be much more suited, isn't that right dear?" Momma asked Gen, looking in the mirror. She was talking about the little red gems embedded in the skirt, and the big bow sticking out from her back.

"I could have that done in a jiffy! If you want, just leave the dress on, and I'll take those out now and you can see right away what you think." Ms. Hatty approached Momma again and began to remove the gems and tie up any loose strings that came from the pulling of the gems.

"While y'all do this, can I please leave?" Lily asked. She had already changed back into her own corset and dress.

"Fine, we may be a few minutes. Why don't you wait for us across the street at the tavern?"

"Gladly!" Lily got out of the shop and crossed the road to the tavern owned by Mr. Donovan and his second son, Charlie, his only unmarried son. His first son Albert was the town doctor with a wife and two kids of his own and his third son James was the town blacksmith who had just gotten married for the second time after being recently widowed and his only daughter orphaned. The Stockard Valley Tavern was the only restaurant in town, where people went to eat comfort food and also fine dining. The Donovan's co-owned the building with the Finnigan's who was the family that ran the only inn in town. The first floor of the building was the tavern, and when you went upstairs, there was a hallway lined with rooms that served as the inn.