Buttons in one compartment. NEEDLES IN ANOTHER. Spools of thread arranged by color. And always, at the very bottom, wrapped in brown paper, something I was never allowed to touch.
I looked at Grandma. « You brought this? » « For Lily. » MY EYES FILLED. « Grandma, she’s one. She can’t sew. » Grandma gave me a look. « Neither could you at one. » That was fair. I opened the clasp. THE TOP TRAY STILL HELD BUTTONS.
Dozens of them. Pearl. Wood. Blue glass. Tiny red ones shaped like flowers. UNDERNEATH WERE FOLDED PIECES OF FABRIC. I lifted the first. A small white dress.
Yellow flowers embroidered around the collar. My breath caught. I knew it. MOM WHISPERED, « NO. »It was the dress from the photograph. The photograph Grandma had kept beside her chair for years. Me at four years old, standing on her front step. Wearing that dress.
I touched the stitching. « YOU KEPT IT? » Grandma looked offended. « Of course I kept it. » « For 38 years? » « Things don’t spoil just because people get older. » Mom was crying now.
I LAUGHED THROUGH MY OWN TEARS. Then I lifted the next layer. Another dress. Smaller. Pale blue. Mom made a sound I had never heard before. SHE REACHED FOR IT. « My dress. » I stared at her. « What? » Grandma nodded.
« Your mother wore that when she was two. » MOM PRESSED THE FABRIC TO HER MOUTH. The dress was more than 60 years old. Hand-smocked. Tiny covered buttons down the back. I looked at Grandma.
« You made both of these? » « YES. » Then she pointed into the box. « Keep going. » Below Mom’s dress was something wrapped in tissue. I opened it carefully. A third dress. NEWER. Cream-colored linen with tiny green leaves stitched along the hem.
It was unfinished. One sleeve was attached. The other wasn’t. A row of pins held part of the collar in place. I STOPPED BREATHING. Grandma said, « That’s hers. » I looked at Lily. Then at Grandma.
« You made this? » « Started it. » « WHEN? » She looked away. « Years ago. » Mom’s eyes widened. « How many years? » Grandma ignored her. « LOOK IN THE POCKET. » There was no pocket that I could see.
