A few weeks before the wedding, Lily asked if she could have a special job.
“You mean be the flower girl?”
Her entire face lit up.
“I want to throw petals so everyone knows you’re coming!”
Finding her dress took three stores.
Finally, she tried on a soft pink dress covered in tiny embroidered flowers.
She spun in front of the mirror.
“Mom, I look like a princess.”
Then she looked down at her bare arms.
“Do my spots look okay with pink?”
My heart tightened.
“Do you love the dress?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s your answer.”
We bought it.
A few days later, Lily wore the dress at home to show Derek.
Patricia happened to be visiting.
Derek dramatically announced that Lily looked like “the boss of all flower girls.”
Lily laughed and twirled.
But Patricia didn’t smile.
Her eyes moved from Lily’s dress to the pale patches on her arms.
Then her knees.
