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“You know I still have flowers from that bridal bouquet,” Mrs. Sullivan said. She put aside the knitting, rose from her chair and stretched. “I loved them so much that I couldn't bear to throw them away. I pressed them in the old family bible along with a couple from my own bouquet.” She went into the hall and quickly returned with the heavy bible. She sat it on the counter and slowly opened it. It was bulging from all the things stored inside.
There were a couple of dried yellow flowers with a faded lavender ribbon. Under it was a card about half the size of the book's pages.
"Is that the invitation Malinda made?"
"Oh yes, I've always cherished it."
“See?” she said, looking down at the dried buds. “I kept them all these years.” Katy sighed, and for a minute she was far away in another place and time. Maggie reasoned she remembered a world long ago.
As she turned the pages, a photograph fell out. It was a picture of a young man and a pretty girl with blond hair.
"Is this a picture of you?" Maggie asked.
"Yes. Jesse and I were dressed for the prom. His father took it with a new camera that his father had purchased the year before. I think it was called a Land Camera. Maybe it was just supposed to take pictures of the landscape."
"Actually, I think someone named 'Land' invented it," Maggie said. "It must have been one of the early Polaroid models. Do you still have it? It would be worth a lot on today's market."
The old woman laughed. We have a lot of old things, but I don't imagine they have much value.
"Antiques are in high demand today. That's why shops like those in Arcadia are so popular."
Katy just chuckled. "Jesse's father took a picture of us just before we left to go to the dance."
“Is that where those flowers are from?” Josh asked, picking up a cluster of flattened roses.
Mrs. Sullivan let him hold it for a moment and then reached for it. She looked at it longingly for several minutes and then held it to her heart.
“I don't believe I ever had anything as beautiful as that corsage.”
“It must have been from Jesse,” Josh added, his voice soft.
“Yes, I got it that night."
"And you kept it all this time," he said.
"In the picture, the boy... Jesse is wearing a flower. Did you give it to him?" Maggie asked.
"No, I think Doris bought them both. He was wearing him when I arrived. Dad and Malinda drove me to their house. They said it was because they wanted to see Jesse too. Actually, Dad probably wanted to tell him when to have my home and such." She laughed. "My dad was like that."
"I see they took several pictures. Who is this?" Josh asked laying down a picture of three people.
"That one is Jesse with Ted and Doris." Katy tapped the faces in the picture with a gnarled finger that shook a little.
"Then this must be..." Maggie didn't finish the sentence as she laid another picture on top of it.
"Yes. That is me with Dad and Malinda." She picked it up for a closer look, and a smile crept onto her lips. Then she laid it on the pile. "Ted had the camera loaded with a whole roll of film, and I thought at the time that he must want to use every bit of it." She chuckled and added. "He was very proud. His boy was grown up and taking a girl to prom."
The next picture was of her alone. Josh noticed that she was standing at the stairway by the phone. The pictures on the wall going up the stairs looked very much the same as they do now.
"How pretty you were!" Maggie added.
"That's the dress Malinda, and I found. We went shopping for the weekend after her wedding. We went to the same store on Manatee Avenue, and Mrs. Waverly helped us find it."
"Were you nervous that there might be another incident like the one with Brice the time before?" Maggie asked.
"It did cross my mind," then she added with a grin, "But I had Malinda with me. She had grown up with boys, and she knew how to handle them."
The other two chuckled.
"It was pretty, but I struggled all evening. The full skirt and high heels made it awkward because I wasn't used to either.
"Here is one of Jesse alone. How cute he was." Maggie laid the picture on the pile, but Katy picked it up.
"Yes. He was attractive." She laid it down, her hand shaking, but held onto it a moment longer, as if unwilling to fully let go. “He was so handsome in his rented tux. I remember Ted clapped him on the shoulder and slipped him a dollar bill, 'just in case you want to stop for ice cream.'
"What color was the dress?" Maggie asked.
"It was a midnight blue taffeta with a portrait collar that framed my face. Malinda had loaned me her pearl necklace and earrings. A trip to the beauty parlor was a treat. They piled my long hair up with cascading curls all around."
"It was gorgeous," Josh added.
"Jesse went to the refrigerator and came back with the pink rose corsage. 'This is for you,' he said."
Mrs. Sullivan took a deep breath and sat up in her chair. “Oh my, I haven’t fed the dogs yet,” she said, looking around, “or have I?”
Maggie piped up, “I believe you already did, Mrs. Sullivan.”
“I’m getting forgetful these days. My Travis worries about me. Isn't he a good looking young man? He looks just like his grandpa. You know, when I first met Jesse, I thought he was just about the neatest thing going. He was handsome, well built, and he went to a regular school. Don’t get me wrong. I loved being home-schooled. My dad and I traveled around a lot after my mom died. He had to take the bees all over the county and home-schooling worked better for us. When Travis finishes high school, he’s going to go to college and learn the bee business. Jesse is so proud of him.”
Maggie and Josh looked at each other. The Travis they met was mid-thirties at least. Maybe she was getting forgetful.
“Mrs. Sullivan, what happened at the prom?” asked Maggie.
"That was a night I will never forget. It was a wonderful night and a horrible one. It still plays over and over again in the middle of the night.”
