“Dad, look! My dress is finished!”
My heart softened every time she called him Dad.
Glen treated her exactly as if she were his own daughter.
Unfortunately, not everyone shared our happiness.
An hour later, the doorbell rang.
Ida stood on the porch.
“I came to talk to my son,” she announced, stepping inside.
“He’s just putting Lily to bed,” I said. “You’re welcome to wait.”
She perched stiffly on the edge of the sofa, then noticed the dress draped across the armchair.
Her lips tightened.
“That’s for the girl?” she asked.
“Yes. She can’t wait.”
“Pretty,” she murmured. “Fragile things always are.”
When Glen entered, Ida immediately stood.
“Glen, this is your last chance. Call off this wedding.”
He stopped in the doorway.
“Why tie yourself to a woman with baggage?” Ida continued. “You could have any girl you wanted.”
Glen’s body stiffened.
“Mom, we’ve talked about this—”
“I mean it,” she cut him off sharply. “If you marry her, I’ll never accept that child. She is not our blood.”
I froze.
A familiar fear of abandonment crawled through me, but I forced myself to answer.
“Lily is not baggage, Ida. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Ida huffed.
Then she turned toward Glen, softening her voice.
“Just think about what I said, sweetheart. That’s all a mother wants.”
Glen escorted her to the door.
I carefully hung Lily’s finished dress in the closet.
“She’ll come around,” Glen told me. “Once she sees how happy we are.”
“I hope so,” I whispered. “For Lily’s sake.”
Neither of us understood how far Ida was willing to go.
She returned every day that week.
And every time, Glen refused to cancel the wedding.
On our wedding morning, Lily raced upstairs, eager to become my flower girl.
“Mommy, I’m going to put my dress on now.”
I smiled.
“Go ahead, sweetheart. I’ll be right up to do the buttons.”
Then I heard her scream.
It tore through the house.
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