“Sounds good.”With the lantern held high, she maneuvered through the mounds of furniture.
Dragging his eyes off her, he made his way to the left-hand side of the room.After worrying about Steve McGibbons for far too long, it felt good to be doing something different.And, hopefully, after spending decades in storage, some of the pieces of furniture would finally get the attention they deserved.
BY THE TIMEBarbara arrived home, Katie, Diana, and Anne were sitting in the living room, relaxing in front of the television.
Charlie rushed up to greet her, giving her a big doggy welcome.“How are you, boy?”
Diana smiled.“He’s happy.We’ve just come back from a long walk.”
“I bet that was fun.”
“Your dinner’s in the microwave,” Katie said.“There’s a bowl of salad in the refrigerator, too.”
“Thanks.I was longer than I thought I’d be.”
“Did you find some furniture for the radio program?”Anne asked.
“There were so many interesting pieces that it was hard limiting what we’ll use.Is Penny home?”
Diana picked up a magazine.“She went to see Mom and Dad.”
“Is everything okay?”
“The company we ordered the bridesmaids dresses from called her two days ago.They found the gowns we wanted in one of their warehouses.Penny didn’t want to get our hopes up, so she didn’t tell us.”
“Are the dresses here?”
“They were delivered to the general store an hour ago.”
Barbara looked at her sisters.“Do they look as good as the photos in the catalog?”
Diana frowned.“We don’t know.Penny hasn’t called.”
“That doesn’t sound promising.”
Katie made room for Charlie when he jumped onto the sofa.“You know what they say.No news is good news.”
“Not where Penny is concerned.”Barbara left the living room to find her dinner.Penny had complete confidence in the company that had made the bridesmaids dresses.No one else was quite as optimistic.If the dresses were a disaster, their lives would get a little more stressful.
As she walked into the kitchen, she sniffed the air.Someone had been busy baking and the sweet, chocolatey scent was delicious.Stacked on a cooling rack beside the microwave was a batch of chocolate chip muffins.If they couldn’t wear the dresses, at least they could enjoy a mouth-watering treat.
When the back door opened, Barbara looked over her shoulder.“Hi, Penny.”Her smile disappeared when she saw the frown on her sister’s face.“What’s wrong?”
Penny dropped three white bags onto the kitchen table.“The dresses are horrible.”
“They can’t be that bad.”
“They don’t look anything like the pictures.”
Barbara joined Penny at the table.“Can I have a look?”
Penny picked up one of the bags and rolled down the zipper.“I don’t understand what happened.The dresses have so many good reviews that I thought they’d be perfect.”
“Looks can be…” Barbara lifted one of the gowns out of a bag and stared.She didn’t know what to say.The sunshine yellow dress her sister had ordered was a dirty shade of orange.“Are they all like this?”
Penny nodded.“At first I thought they’d sent the wrong dresses.I double-checked the design, then looked on the website to see what color I’d ordered.It’s the right style and they don’t sell anything close to that awful color.”
Barbara opened the next bag.Even the sizing was wrong.“I’m sorry.You must be disappointed.”
