The Wednesday Before
It happened when she saw the dress.
She was coming from the fruit store, passing Mona’s Dresses, a store she’d never entered. There was no reason. She had clothes, yes, old, yes worn, but considering she only went to work or church, why waste money on a dress when there were wearable things in her closet?
The dress was a giddy sequined thing a woman like her would never wear. Yet, it hung in the window, as if summoning her. She stopped, stepped a bit closer. Her eyes rolled over the dress, and touched the tag; the price was a ridiculously low. She stared, assuming she misread, yet the number was an unmistakable $14.50.
Was there something wrong with it? Her eyes found no flaw. She assumed it was because women didn’t need to dress like that. Most of the men were away. They were fighting to save the world, leaving the too old, too young, too inferior behind. Leaving the women who have occasion to wear such a dress, behind.