Free When Love Calls by Celeste O. Norfleet Page A

first time actually seeing the mess around her. There were several large trunks open and an overflow of books, ribbon-tied stacks of letters, small boxes and black-and-white photos. “What is all this?”
    “Here, help me up to the sofa.”
    Alyssa stepped behind her grandmother, placed her arms under hers and lifted her up slowly, then eased her back to the sofa behind them.
    “Whew, it’s hot in here. How about opening one of those windows over there to get some air moving around?”
    Alyssa did as instructed, opening a few windows, letting a warm breeze in. “You need an exhaust fan in here to help blow out some of this heat.”
    “Always meant to get your father to put one in. Guess I just forgot to tell me to do it.”
    Alyssa went back over and sat on the sofa next to her grandmother. “So, what is all this?”
    “Memories, picture, letters, a lifetime of treasures,” she said.
    “Were you looking for something in particular?”
    “To tell you the truth, I have no idea. I came up here to…” She paused. “Isn’t that funny? I can’t remember now. Oh, well…” she said, then noticed Alyssa’s concerned expression. “Now, don’t you go looking at me all strange. Live long enough, it’ll happen to you, God willing. There’s nothing wrong with me, I’m just a bit absentminded at times, that’s all.”
    “Okay, Grandma,” Alyssa said, avoiding the obvious. She started to neatly stack the photos, letters and other things back into the trunks. She reached over and picked up a very large storage box with a bright red ribbon. “What’s in here?”
    “A wedding gown,” Allie answered.
    “A wedding gown. Whose gown, Mom’s? I never saw it before,” she said. “I thought she eloped. Are there photos of her in it?”
    “No, there are no photos and it’s not your mother’s, it’s mine. Henry bought it for me so long ago I almost forgot all about it. He told me that he saw it in a window one day and bought it just like that. Before he even asked me to marry him, he bought it.” She smiled at the memory. “He said that he saw it and just knew that it was for me, so he had to ask me to marry him.”
    “Wow, that’s so romantic,” Alyssa said. “Do you have pictures of you in it?”
    Allie smiled regretfully. “I never wore it.”
    “What? Why not?”
    “To tell you the truth, I don’t even remember. I just know that it’s never been worn. I’d hoped your mother would have worn it, but she didn’t. She eloped.”
    “May I…”
    “Of course, open it up.”
    Alyssa opened the box and held up the most beautiful white-lace wedding gown she’d ever seen. “This is breathtaking. I can’t believe Grandpa bought this for you and you never even tried it on. It’s so beautiful.”
    “Yes, it is.”
    Alyssa carefully placed the gown back in the storage box and was just about to put it into the larger box when another large dress box below it caught her attention. “What’s in that one, another gown?”
    Allie smiled again. “Open it.”
    She did. Beneath several layers of white tissue she found a beautiful cream-colored silk strapless dress with beautiful embroidered flowers snaking from just below the bodice to the hip, to just below the knee where it ended in a soft flourish. There was a matching shawl with beaded fringe and a pair of silk high heels that looked as if they had never been worn. “Wow,” was all she could say.
    Allie smiled, admiring it happily. “Lovely, isn’t it?”
    “Grandma, it’s magnificent. I’ve never seen anything like it. Where did you get it?”
    “It was a gift from a very long time ago.”
    “From Granddad again?” she asked.
    “No, not this time.”
    Alyssa gently fingered the perfectly hand-stitched embroidery on the side of the dress, on the shawl and on the shoes. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
    “And you never will, I don’t suppose. It was especially made just for me, shoes and all, although I never wore it.”
    “You never