The woman at the end of the table had sewn her pocket shut. She discovered it with an expression of such offended surprise that Coralie had to look down for a moment before approaching. Around them, the third class continued in its uneven rhythm: a machine stopping, someone asking for scissors, another student holding a …
The woman buying Coralie’s wedding dress wanted to change the neckline. Coralie had known she would want changes. The listing said unfinished sample. The photographs showed what remained to be done. Petra had explained the condition before arranging the appointment, and Coralie had brought a written note so nobody could mistake the purchase for a …
Stellan forgot to say hello. Coralie opened the door in the blue dress, one earring still in her hand, and watched his carefully prepared expression disappear. He stood on the landing in a white shirt and navy pants, his jacket over one arm. His gaze moved from her face to the curve of the dress …
The blue bag looked exactly as it had in April. Coralie laid it across the table before Bryony arrived and ran her hand over the cotton. There was a faint worn place near the handle, a small mark she had noticed on the first day and never tried to remove. The dress inside had changed. …
Lenore inspected the blue dress without asking Coralie to turn around. “You need to see the back,” Coralie said. “I will when I’m ready.” Her aunt sat in the comfortable chair by the window, hands resting on her bag. Coralie had brought the dress home finished and pressed, then invited Lenore over before she could …
The second chair was ugly. Coralie stood in the open gateway of the walled garden and regarded it beside the first. One was wooden, weathered to a soft gray. The other was a folding chair with a striped seat that had faded unevenly in the sun. “You promised me a place,” she said. “You didn’t …
Bryony arrived without Kit, although he was supposed to be waiting outside when she finished. “He’ll be late,” she said, putting her bag on the chair. “He’s at work.” Something in the last three words suggested that work had acquired responsibility for more than his absence. Coralie opened the blue cotton bag and let Bryony …
Petra read the first page and turned straight to the last. Coralie resisted the urge to tell her that the middle contained some excellent material. She had printed the proposal twice because the first copy had a small mark on it. Now the second lay beneath Petra’s hand beside a mug whose base had already …
Kit was holding a swimming ring shaped like a yellow duck. It was the first thing Coralie saw when she got out of Stellan’s car, and she was so relieved by its ridiculousness that she smiled before remembering to be nervous. “Prize,” Kit said. “For what?” “Buying the wrong thing online. It looked larger in …
The first version made her look as though she had borrowed a bathrobe from a woman with a much more interesting life. Coralie stood on the low fitting platform, holding the front closed. In the mirror, the cream cotton fell heavily from one shoulder and gathered at the other hip in a lump. There were …
