The dress

_"What is this mother? Whoever wore something like that? I don't think I've seen anything uglier in my life."

-"What kind of a question is that?" Amalia answered her daughter indignantly. "I myself once wore this beautiful piece."

Elisabeth looked at her mother in surprise and rolled her eyes.

-"Let's keep it civil, shall we?" Amalia tried her best to sound as stern as possible. "You mend that tear in the muslin, and I'll tell you the wonderful story behind that dress."

-"What?" Elisabeth gasped, "Why? Mother please, this will give me a migraine attack."

-"Behave like a lady, will you?" Amalia protested.

"Well, then I hope your story sounds better than that dress looks like. Why do I have to sow this old rag? Who would ever think of wearing something like that again?"

-" Actually, I had forgotten I still had this dress." Amalia mused as she ran her fingers over the fabric.

-"Yes, I understand. I would wipe something like that from my memory too."

"Ah, child, hush up." Amalia snapped at her daughter, "And don't interrupt me all the time."

Amalia looked at herself in the mirror in the room, and arranged her hair:

-"Once when I was about your age, I was allowed to visit my old aunt Elly for a few days. She is long dead now of course. Aunt Elly may have been old, but we got along very well. I think you could call us friends. We really didn't think about the difference in our ages."

"Perhaps your aunt was young for her years and you old for your age." 

Elizabeth sneered. Her mother rolled her eyes again: "I should rinse your mouth with soap." Amalia sighed.

-"Every day we went for a walk together, through the pretty sleepy village."

-"Fascinating." Elizabeth yawned. 

- “Aunt Elly liked to receive letters, so we always walked to the post office first. Then she pointed me to a stately mansion that stood alone, on a small height. That was the house of Monsieur Le Baron. But at that time the Baroness lived there alone. Aunt Elly always spoke highly of her. She is such a big lady, she said.

I always gazed respectfully at that enormous gray stone house where such a distinguished lady lived.

The Baroness never left her house in winter. It was then February. She had some cousins ​​who came to visit her, but they never came in a reverent, enthusiastic state." Elisabeth had done her best to follow her mother's story with feigned interest:

"They might have been afraid of being expunged from her will if they never showed up."

"You always think the worst of people, Elisabeth. Never the good, always the bad and most depraved." Amalia pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and dabbed her forehead with it.

-"I wish I had an old aunt, with eccentric girlfriends." Elisabeth continued, "All I have is a strange mother, whose idea of ​​a sensible pastime it is to let her daughter, in the prime of her life, mend hideous dresses."

-"Lord please grant me strength." Elisabeth squeaked, then went on:

"I always imagined the Baroness to be a tall, stately woman, dressed in purple velvet and brandishing a fan of peacock feathers. 

- “One-day Aunt Elly came back from a visit to the Baroness…”

"Maybe your aunt was in that will too?" Elizabeth sniffed.

-"Child, how vulgar you can be." Amalia looked to the window for a moment, then dreamily picked up her story where she left off:

-"She was out of breath. Her old but beautiful face was pink with excitement. She dropped into a chair and sat staring at me speechless. I asked her what was going on, and if she had any unwelcome news. But she shook her head She told me to go put on my best hat and come with her right away. I was beginning to fear the worst, but Aunt Elly added that the Baroness had learned she had a visitor in her house, and she insisted on seeing that child immediately. Of course, I flew up the stairs and made myself as smart as I could in such a hurry. I did not know what was about to happen, everything pointed at something of vital importance. On the way, I begged Aunt Elly to tell me what was going on, but she told me to shut up because speech would only delay us- and she hurried on. When we arrived at the house, neither of us could speak. Aunt Elly made a few silent gestures to the maid who opened the door. There we stood with burning cheeks and a disorderly appearance.

The young woman who had opened the door quickly led us to the drawing-room, which was covered with family portraits. I tried my best to catch my breath and fanned myself with a handkerchief. A door opened on the other side of the room, I heard a rustle and a smell of sandalwood met me. I could not see very well because the room was poorly lit. Before I knew what was happening, the Baroness was standing right in front of me. A slender figure with snow-white hair. She was about the same height as me. She was wearing a very old-fashioned dress, and I felt as if she had left her crown in the next room. This was a truly great lady; with exquisite finesse and the darkest eyes, I had ever seen. Aunt Elly and I both got up at once, and I made my best curtesy. That's how we did it back then, you know."

This time Elisabeth rolled her eyes and giggled: " Bowing like stiff pump handles, you mean." Amalia shook her shoulders briefly:

-"The silk she wore rustled when she spoke. She had such a soft voice, but it was truly clear for her age.

So, this is the child who came to visit you and about whom you did not tell me anything, she began to speak to Aunt Elly. She looked at me kindly and asked if I was all right. She called me sweetheart. She asked me if my aunt had informed me of the awkwardness in which I could help her. Aunt Elly quickly joined the conversation and said that she had wasted no time explaining, but that she brought me the house as soon as possible. Then the Baroness turned a few words to me: She had received a letter that morning from a distant cousin, a young and giddy person, who lived more than twenty miles away. She was sure, she wrote in her letter, that her aunt the Baroness would be delighted to see her niece. The Baroness went on a little haughtily; oh yes, dear aunt is overwhelmed with joy that she is remembered. She will be hungry as a wolf by the time she invades my abandoned big shed. They think I do not know how they talk behind my back... Then the Baroness turned her face away. I even believe a tear ran down her cheek. She came remarkably close to me and said behind her hand: That child who comes here tonight has no mother, and I have no idea how the youth of today is to be entertained. My two maids are not used to youthful visitors either. When I heard that your Aunt Elly had a young lady staying with her, I had the bright idea to ask her if you could stay with me for the night." Elisabeth was completely lost in her story, "Imagine, I did not have to worry at all about an evening dress and toilet accessories, the baroness would take care of everything. I thought I was dreaming. Scarlet-cheeked, I explained that I had never had an evening gown before and that I myself knew absolutely nothing about entertaining young people because our home was always very resigned and quiet. I saw my aunt whiten with shame. She thought I had humiliated her. But the Baroness kept looking at me kindly and gave me a sweet smile. She had exactly what I needed. I was really sure now that I had walked into a fairytale." Amalia giggled like a teenager, "I was sitting in a room decorated with floral damask, in a large chair by a lovely fire. The Baroness was my fairy godmother, it could hardly be otherwise.”

 Elisabeth sat diligently sewing the muslin ruffles together, while her mother continued to muse on a story that had impressed her very much in her youth but invited sleep with Elisabeth.

-"She did look a little bit withered, in her black bombazine dress," Amalia continued, "I must admit that at the time I only knew the fabric from descriptions. The Baroness had me served tea and plum pie on a silver tray. I could hardly believe it; I had experienced more in one morning than in all my life up to that point. I was so nervous and very curious about the dress the baroness had promised me. I only hoped that it would not be a pink dress. Girls always look so sad in pink dresses, don't you think, honey?"

Elisabeth did not answer her mother but raised her eyebrows in boredom.

-"On the wall hung a portrait of a beautiful girl in a curious old-fashioned costume." Elisabeth dived back into her story, "the dark eyes and the almost royal turn of the head betrayed that it was my hostess in the years of her youth. Then I heard that rustle again and the smell of sandalwood filled my nostrils just like before. Sure enough, the Baroness had stepped softly into the room. She was followed by a maid carrying a long package. That had to be my dress! My dress! I had to get ready. The maid lifted fold upon fold of tissue paper. And there it was: my evening dress: a fairytale of lace and muslin.

The fashion of high collars was at its peak. The gown had long, tight, crinkled sleeves that fell over the hand and were finished with ruffles of yellow lace. The neck was low, well," Amalia smiled slightly blushing, "half low I mean. The waist, or what passed for it, was under the arms. This was not an evening dress, but a costume from my great-grandmother's time."

Elisabeth frowned as he examined the dress she was mending and had an uneasy feeling that this monstrosity was the dress her mother was talking about.

"It also included satin slippers," Amalia continued to paint the picture,” and a huge fan. This had to be a joke!" Amalia put a hand over her eyes in a dramatic gesture, "The Baroness asked me if I could manage on my own or if I needed help. I thought I saw an amused look on the maid's face. I did not cry, of course, I was brought up well, but my heart wanted to scream. I was suffering so intensely, and I was only seventeen. I thought about jumping out the window and running away. Or maybe I could say that I had suddenly become unwell. That was not a lie, I was sick with shame. I would go to my very first salon party dressed like my great-grandmother...

-"Are you actually still listening?" asked Amalia, a little irritated.

-"Yes, yes, of course. I feel your pain mother!" Elisabeth hurried to answer. 

-"I wanted to die there on the spot." Elisabeth whimpered, "Hold on! I said to myself. Maintain dignity and a sense of proportion."

-"Very modern!" Elisabeth remarked, "And very wise!" she quickly added.

-"I sat up in that big armchair into which I had thrown myself to cry. I failed to find proportion in this horror. My poor poor self, why was I born so a vein? I was only seventeen, I really didn´t deserve that." Amalia paused to glance at her daughter's sewing.

-"And then I suddenly had a hunch! I had found the right proportions! I got up and started to change. I took another good look at the portrait on the wall, and then I took another critical look at the dress spread out on the sofa. And lo and behold, it was the same dress. That girl in the painting was wearing this dress. I quickly arranged my hair in two great puffs, with a butterfly knot on my head."

-"That must have helped tremendously." Elisabeth interrupted her mother.

-"And the dress fit me perfectly! At that moment, the maid came back in, she gave me a pair of yellow gloves. She looked at me very critically but kept her mouth shut. She took a turtle comb from the pocket of her apron and put it gently in my hair Then she was just standing there, in the middle of the room, looking from that portrait on the wall to me, and suddenly she flashed out of the room. When she came back moments later, the Baroness was with her.

 The maid was carrying an elongated box. The Baroness took out a necklace and placed it around my neck with her trembling fingers. So beautiful: chrysoprase stones set in decorated gold. It was the most beautiful jewel in the world!

I looked at myself for a long time in the dim mirror in the room. Then the Baroness patted me on the shoulder and sighed briefly: Shall we go downstairs, darling. I will spare you the details of that night, but I can tell you it was a painful affair. Undoubtedly, I must have struck an odd figure. Especially next to that niece of the Baroness whose dress was articulated to the latest fashion.

What about? Are you done sewing?" Amalia asked her daughter, "your father is coming, and he will want some tea."

-"Are you finished mother?" asked Elizabeth.

-"No, not really, but I can summarize the rest of the story in a few words. A year after that infamous party the Baroness died, and a large package was delivered to my home. With great amazement, I opened the parcel, and what do you think was in it?"

-"Pray, tell!" Elizabeth sighed, “Sitting on pins and needles here.”

-"The dress!" Amalia exclaimed, delighted with pleasure, "Yes! The dress I had worn that evening, and which you are now mending."

Elisabeth smiled faintly at her mother, bracing herself for what might come out of her mother´s mouth next.

-"Tears welled up in my eyes as I took that chrysoprase necklace out of the long box that came with it. Partly of pleasure, of course, and part of gratitude that that sweet, sweet lady had thought of me in her last days." 

Elizabeth said.

"Tell me, sweetie, did I ever tell you how I met your father for the first time?"

-"About a thousand times." Elisabeth sighed as she got up.

-"I wore that dress and..." Elisabeth knew the story, but she hadn't imagined in a thousand years that her mother was dressed that day in the dress she had been sewing. And that was an image she did not want to end her afternoon with.

-"And now it is yours, honey. You can wear it tonight when our guests come." Amalia added.

Elisabeth turned green:

-"What? Mother, no! Not in a thousand years!"

 Amalia stood with clasped hands, smiling at her daughter.

"Maybe I'll jump through the window." Elisabeth wailed.

-"Child a little decorum, please!" Amalia snapped at her daughter.

-"As long as you do not arrange my hair in two great puffs with a bow that will make me look like an Easter egg. Else you will go out the window...