Missing Scene from Fragile is the Heart, book 2 in the McCagan Inn series.
“I am so excited for this.” Constance was already chattering before she fully opened the door to her apartment, ushering Gracie inside. “Here, let me take this.” Constance took the large box from Gracie, nearly spilling the smaller box on top of it if Gracie hadn’t have grabbed it. Without even noticing, Constance headed back into her bedroom.
Grinning, Gracie followed her, dreamy about finally showing the McCagan women her grandmother’s bridal gown. They had been talking about it forever and had only seen it in the faded photographs of Eddie and Peg’s wedding. Gracie felt privileged to have been able to bring something so important to the McCagan family back to them.
Constance set the box on the bed then turned to give Gracie a quick hug. “I thought we could set up in here. Miss June loaned me one of her dress forms. Isn’t it perfect with all the curlicues?”
“It’s perfect.” Gracie pressed her hands together, that dreamy feeling pressing into her heart again. The dress form looked to be from the same era as the dress, which made sense since Miss June’s dress shop had been around since the early nineteen hundreds. The body of the form was made of stuffed burlap with thick dark wire rising out of the neck, swooshing into intricate swirls where a head would be. Gigi’s gown would look lovely on it.
Constance came to stand beside her, still for a moment. “I wonder if this could be the very form that they used when they first created the dress.”
Gracie felt her throat closing with emotion. She felt as though she was retracing Gigi’s footsteps in a way made her feel like she was right there with her.
A knock at the door broke her reverie and a bubble of excitement started in her belly.
Constance latched onto Gracie’s arm “It’s them.” Her smile flashed. She was as excited as Gracie in showing off the treasured dress to her new family. “Get the gown on the dress form. It’s going to be perfect!” She practically squealed and rushed out to greet everyone.
Gracie heard Constance welcoming the McCagans in. She heard Shannon’s soft voice mingling with Chloe’s chirpier clipped tones. Elise said something, her subtle twang easing into the apartment like sweet iced tea.
Gracie took the dress out of the box and gathered the hem of the gown up to get it over the dress form. When she let the gown tumble down to the floor and took a step back, her breath caught again the same way it had when she had first seen it on the dress form at Baubles and Bows. She classed her hands to her heart and just stood gazing at it. Tears prickled at her eyes.
“Oh my,” Shannon said from just behind Gracie’s shoulder. All the women gathered into the small bedroom. Chloe gasped. Shannon lifted her arm to touch the gown’s sleeve but then let it fall as though she were afraid she’d ruin it. “I can’t believe it. It is so beautiful.”
Elise took one of Shannon’s hands into her own. “The photographs didn’t do it justice. Just imagine…” Elise said. “That Margaret, a part of our family from so long ago, who had such heartbreak, would be the means to bring us all together like this.” Elise smiled widely at Constance who smiled back but then Elise’s gaze sought Gracie’s.
She inhaled and Gracie’s heart warmed a couple hundred degrees. Elise was right, she was absolutely right. The McCagans were going to be her family too, just as they always should have been.
“It’s such a fragile thing, isn’t it?” Shannon spoke softly and this time she did lift her arm and allowed herself to smooth her hands down the soft silk. “Eddie and Peg’s love hung on such a fragile thread. You would think since the war took Eddie from her and then her grief took Peg from all of us, that that would be the end of it.”
“But it was only the beginning,” Chloe finished and Shannon nodded. “Yet their love was also strong enough that it brought their family back together.” Chloe held her hands out toward Constance and Gracie.
True to her nature, Constance was quick to grab on, united with her future in-laws.
Gracie yearned to do the same, yearned to belong to this family. All the women looked back at her, waiting, welcoming. Her nature was hesitant, but not this time. As though it was Gigi’s hand extended, Gracie took Chloe’s hand with her left and Elise’s on her right and felt all the belonging and love she’d had with Gigi and Camille grow tenfold and her heart became stronger for it.
