[MaC] And so it begins....Evangeline

[Ree Moorhead Pruehs]

The Wally dress -- an unashamed copy of the one worn by the Duchess of 
Windsor at her wedding, only in lavender velvet -- had been Vangie's 
favorite for some time. The simple floor-length dress and matching jacket 
were neither plain nor prudish, but they were entirely flattering to an 
aging figure.

Sweetie lay drowsing on the bed as Vangie finished her toilette -- a dash 
of lipstick, a touch of powder. She smiled fondly at the sight of him, 
reflected in her mirror. How innocent he looked, that special kitten she'd 
chosen herself from all the others, Mama's good boy.

She reached for her jewelry box. Her fingers -- knuckles grown 
protrurberant with age, hands showing liver spots, but the nails short and 
well-kept as ever -- drifted over its contents, lingering here and there. 
Memories...so many memories...this brooch, that bracelet, this ring or 
that...the giver, and the circumstances of the giving.

Memories.

Ghosts, those were.

Gone forever.

Eventually Vangie selected a plain strand of pearls and matching earrings 
and donned them before stepping into her plain, low-heeled, sensible dress 
shoes. It was, she thought, the one good thing about getting old. One need 
no longer completely enslave oneself to fashion as opposed to allow aging 
legs and feet the comfort they deserved.

She heard Philip thumping around in his bedroom, but did not tap on the 
door. She had noticed he didn't like being fussed over. And she had never 
been particularly maternal by nature anyway.

"I'll see you upstairs, then," she called loud enough for him to hear. 
Picking up her clutch purse -- the evening's compromise between her more 
typical large and overfilled bag and going completely naked -- she stepped 
out into the hallway.

<tag Marion>