She smiled.
For six weeks, I worked on that dress.
Not every day.
Usually after Lily went to sleep.
Sometimes for 20 minutes.
Sometimes until midnight.
I redid the sleeve twice.
The collar three times.
One night I got so frustrated that I nearly put the whole thing back into the box and decided “unfinished” was sentimental.
Then I heard Grandma in my head.
Finish it.
So I did.
When Lily was 13 months old, we took her to Grandma’s house.
I dressed her in the cream dress.
It fit almost perfectly.
The hem was a little long.
My sleeve was not as neat as Grandma’s.
Not even close.
But it was attached.
We carried Lily out to the front step.
The same step from the photograph beside Grandma’s chair.
Grandma was already waiting inside the doorway in her wheelchair.
Mom stood beside her holding the old picture of me.
I sat Lily down.
