Todays Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul

[Guest guest]

The Blessed Dress

By Sandy Driver

I got an engagement ring for Christmas. My boyfriend and I had been

dating

for almost a year and both felt the time was right to join our lives

together in

holy matrimony.

The month of January was spent planning our perfect Alabama June

wedding.

My mother, two sisters and I went to Huntsville, the closest town with a

selection of bridal shops, to buy the gown that would play the leading role

on

my special occasion.

We had a wonderful time just being together and sharing silly jokes,

but

the day soon turned serious by afternoon: still no sign of the dress of my

dreams. Both sisters were ready to give up and try another day in another

town,

but I coerced them into one more boutique.

I had a good feeling as we entered the quaint little shop filled with

the

scent of fresh flowers. The elderly clerk showed us several beautiful

gowns in

my size and price range, but none were right. As I opened the door to

leave,

the desperate shop owner announced she had one more dress in the back that

was

expensive and not even my size, but perhaps I might want to look at it

anyway.

When she brought it out, I squealed in delight.

This was it!

I rushed to the dressing room and slipped it on. Even though it was

at

least two sizes too large and more costly than I had anticipated, I talked

Mom

into buying it. The shop was so small it didn't offer alterations, but my

excitement assured me I would be able to get it resized in my hometown.

Excitement wasn't enough. On Monday morning, my world crumbled when

the

local sewing shop informed me the dress simply could not be altered because

of

numerous hand-sewn pearls and sequins on the bodice. I called the boutique

for

suggestions but only got their answering machine.

A friend gave me the number of a lady across town who worked at home

doing

alterations. I was desperate and willing to try anything, so I decided to

give

her a call.

When I arrived at her modest white house on the outskirts of town, she

carefully inspected my dress and asked me to try it on. She put a handful

of

pins into the shoulders and sides of my gown and told me to pick it up in

two

days. She was the answer to my prayers.

When the time came to pick it up, however, I grew skeptical. How

could I

have been so foolish as to just leave a $1,200 wedding dress in the hands

of

someone I barely knew? What if she made a mess out of it? I had no idea

if she

could even sew on a button.

Thank goodness my fears were all for naught. The dress still looked

exactly the same, but it now fit as if it had been made especially for me.

I

thanked the cheerful lady and paid her modest fee.

One small problem solved just in time for a bigger one to emerge. On

Valentine's Day, my fiance called.

" Sandy, I've come to the decision that I'm not ready to get married, "

he

announced, none too gently. " I want to travel and experience life for a

few

years before settling down. "

He apologized for the inconvenience of leaving all the wedding

cancellations to me and then quickly left town.

My world turned upside down. I was angry and heartbroken and had no

idea

how to recover. But days flew into weeks and weeks blended into months. I

survived.

One day in the fall of the same year, while standing in line at the

supermarket, I heard someone calling my name. I turned around to see the

alterations lady. She politely inquired about my wedding, and was shocked

to

discover it had been called off, but agreed it was probably for the best.

I thanked her again for adjusting my wedding gown, and assured her it

was

safely bagged and awaiting the day I would wear it down the aisle on the

arm of

my real " Mister Right. " With a sparkle in her eye, she began telling me

about

her single son, Tim. Even though I wasn't interested in dating again, I

let her

talk me into meeting him.

I did have my summer wedding after all, only a year later. And I did

get

to wear the dress of my dreams - standing beside Tim, the man I have shared

the

last eighteen years of my life with, whom I would never have met without

that

special wedding gown.