7. Dulcie
DULCIE
D ulcie sat in West’s truck, enjoying the heat pouring out of the vents, and looking out the window as wooded land gave way to more houses and a handful of businesses.
“That will be my school, Dulcie,” Elizabeth piped up suddenly from the backseat.
Dulcie glanced over to where a walking path led to a beautiful old stone building that looked like a classic elementary school out of a movie.
“It seems like a very nice school,” Dulcie told her. “Are you excited to go to school one day?”
“I’m excited for recess ,” Elizabeth said.
“Her cousins have told her all about elementary school,” West said, chuckling. “And we’ve gone to play on the school playground a bunch of times, so Elizabeth is definitely ready for recess next year.”
Dulcie smiled at the laid-back exchange between father and daughter. Her own dad always seemed to be impatient and argumentative, if he paid attention at all. She couldn’t imagine him taking her to a special playground, or getting her ready for much of anything in life.
Inadvertently, maybe, she admitted to herself. Dealing with her dad had certainly prepared her for a lot.
But then the town appeared, and she was too charmed to let thoughts of her dad take up any more of her headspace.
Just ahead, four blocks of old-fashioned shops bordered a beautiful park with a skating rink on one side and an actual pavilion on the other.
All the shops were beautifully decorated for the holidays, and the pavilion had been hung with pine boughs that were threaded with twinkling golden lights.
For a second time this morning, Dulcie felt like she was on a movie set, because what was in front of her was too perfect for reality.
“There’s the toy store,” Elizabeth yelled excitedly.
“Let me park, Elizabeth,” West said with a smile.
“Can we go there?” she asked.
“We’ll definitely check out the window,” West told her. “But we need to get clothes for Dulcie before we can go fun-shopping, okay?”
“Okay,” Elizabeth agreed. “We’ll look in the window, Dulcie. They have a big castle in there.”
“Wow,” Dulcie said. “I can’t wait to see it.”
West pulled onto a street called Bear Avenue and parked right in front of the toy store.
All around, people walked slowly down the sidewalk, arms laden with shopping bags. Dulcie tried to imagine what it would be like to be one of them—enjoying life, with money to spend on gifts and time to enjoy each other’s company .
We’ll have that one day, she promised herself. Delphine and I will be walking down a pretty street just like this, smiling and carrying packages.
Honestly, she didn’t need the packages or the pretty street. She just missed her sister so much that it hurt. Some days, it was hard to remember why she had traveled so far away. But she didn’t really have a choice, not if she wanted to give Delphine a better life.
“Come on, Dulcie,” Elizabeth urged her from the backseat. “Let’s go see my castle.”
Dulcie waited for West to tell her that it wasn’t her castle, but the big man just smiled at her as he helped Elizabeth down. He clearly saw no harm in his daughter seeing that castle as her own, even if there had been no discussion about buying it.
Dulcie scrambled out of the car before he could try to open her door for her like before.
She didn’t want him thinking she was some helpless girly-girl type of person.
She needed him to know she was ready for work.
The air outside was cold, but just as sweet as back on the farm. This place was unreal.
Elizabeth grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the toy store window as an older couple walking past tried to hide their smiles.
“Easy, Lilibet,” Dulcie told her gently. “We don’t want to bump anyone.”
“Look,” Elizabeth said, pressing her face to the glass of the toy store window.
Dulcie moved beside her and had to smile at all the wonderful things inside the shop—there were dolls, costumes, train sets, and rows of toy cars, all visible from the window.
Elizabeth’s eyes were fixed on the display in the corner, where a huge, wooden castle sat on a bed of cotton snow. Through one of its front windows, she could just see a tiny Christmas tree inside.
On top of the turret, three little figures gathered to survey their territory. There was a little woman with a crown who could have been a princess or a queen, a knight in armor, and what looked like a baby dragon.
“That’s us,” Elizabeth said casually, nodding to them.
“Am I the knight or the dragon?” Dulcie asked her.
“You’re the princess ,” Elizabeth howled. “And Daddy is the knight and I’m a baby dragon .”
“You’re so cute, ” Dulcie told her, happy to play along. “And maybe a little bit dangerous?”
“A lot dangerous,” Elizabeth crowed. “I have scales and fire.”
“Let’s keep going,” West suggested gently. “We’ve got some shopping to do. Are you going to help Dulcie choose her work clothes?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth said, her expression turning serious. “I’ll help.”
“Thank you,” Dulcie said.
They continued past a gift shop to a cute clothing store with the words Second Hand Rose on the glass window in a flourishing script.
The mannequins in the window all wore beautiful but obviously pre-owned clothing. Dulcie felt herself relax for the first time since West had insisted on buying her new clothes .
She was determined not to be a charity case, but she understood that the family couldn’t have her working for them dressed in her threadbare clothing. It would hurt a lot less for him to take the price of a few pieces of used clothing out of her pay than if they were brand new.
“I hope this is okay,” West said quietly. “It’s used clothing, but it’s all in very good condition. My little sister loves this place.”
“It’s perfect,” Dulcie told him. “Thank you for this.”
West pulled the door open, sending the strap of jingle bells hanging from the knob dancing.
“Welcome, welcome,” an older lady in a pretty blue sweater and long, tie-dyed skirt said as she headed their way. “I’m Willa. What can I help you find today?”
Dulcie swallowed, uncertain where to begin.
“Dulcie here needs some good clothing for a Vermont winter,” West said after a moment. “We’d like to start with jeans and sweaters, and of course she’ll need boots and a good, warm coat, and anything else you think would suit her.”
“Is this your first winter in Vermont, Dulcie?” Willa asked with a warm smile.
Dulcie nodded.
“Oh, my goodness,” Willa said. “This is going to be so much fun. Come on.”
Dulcie followed as Willa narrated her way through the racks, holding a few items up to Dulcie and rejecting them or nodding her head up and down as she added them to the quickly growing pile draped over her arm.
“Just holler if you see something you like that I didn’t grab,” Willa said over her shoulder before launching into a description of exactly how cold it got at night in these drafty old houses , and letting Dulcie know that she wasn’t originally from these parts herself.
Dulcie glanced back to see that Elizabeth was following her like a duckling, nodding her little head up and down in agreement with all of Willa’s suggestions.
“Now, all of this is just what I think you’ll need,” Willa said, grabbing a wonderfully soft and warm-looking sweater off a shelf on her way past. “Once we’ve got you a nice set of everyday necessities, you’ll come back out and look for accessories.”
“I’m really just looking for work clothes,” Dulcie managed.
“Everyone needs accessories,” Willa said, looking back at her with a scandalized expression. “And I charge by the pound on Fridays, so you’ll get good bang for your buck.”
“Wow,” Dulcie said.
“I close up and make a run to Burlington every Monday for fresh inventory,” Willa explained.
“So, if you’re looking for something special, you can come in early on a Tuesday and have first pick, but you’ll have to pay regular price.
Prices are discounted twenty-five percent on Thursdays, and then I sell everything by the pound Friday and through the weekend. ”
“How do you keep the doors open?” Dulcie wondered out loud.
“I do a pretty brisk business around here,” Willa said. “And I sell a good bit online too, without the discounts. Here you go. Let me know if the sizes are wrong, I can usually eyeball my customers, but I don’t always get it right.”
“Thank you,” Dulcie said, watching Willa place the mountain of jeans and sweaters on a bench in the room-sized dressing area.
“I’ll be right out here,” Elizabeth announced, stopping in the area with the mirrors just outside. “Come on, Daddy.”
Dulcie pulled the curtain shut and turned to look through the pile of clothing, pulling out a pair of dark jeans and a soft gray sweater.
She felt a little self-conscious peeling off her old things.
She knew she had probably lost a few pounds over the last couple of years as she focused her efforts and her pay on her future plans.
But when she pulled on the jeans, she was pleased to find they were made of a slightly stretchy material and they clung to her hips enough to stay on just fine.
The sweater was as soft and warm as it looked.
She closed her eyes and hugged herself for a moment before turning to the mirror.
When she did, her breath caught in her throat at what she saw.
Willa obviously had a gift when it came to dressing strangers.
The well-fitting clothing somehow made her look less like a pathetic beanpole than her own too-big wardrobe.
And the pale gray of the sweater brought out the blue of her eyes.
I look… nice.
“I want to see,” Elizabeth yelled from outside. “Are you done yet?”
“Here we go,” Dulcie said, stepping out. “What do you think?”
West was sitting on a chair with Elizabeth on his lap. She hopped right up to come and examine Dulcie’s outfit.
“Yes,” Elizabeth said, nodding her head up and down approvingly. “That’s really good. My sweater has ponies.”
Dulcie turned to look at herself again, inadvertently meeting West’s eyes in the mirror.
He was observing her intently, though it was hard to know what was going through his head. Somehow, he looked handsomer than ever.
She felt her cheeks heat as she begged herself to stop having these thoughts. The man was practically a saint, just trying to raise his daughter and do something kind for a stranger. It was wrong for her to keep thinking of him as handsome.
“Oh, wow,” Willa said, stopping over with two more sweaters in shades of blue. “You’re a knockout.”
“Thank you,” Dulcie said, smiling at her, not because she actually thought she was a knockout, but because she knew the clothing was just right for her and Willa was a kind lady. “Thank you for choosing this for me.”
“Oh, you’re a fun one to dress,” Willa said. “Try these. They’ll bring out your eyes.”
“ That one,” Elizabeth said, pointing to one of the two sweaters. It was the palest blue, and looked soft as a cloud. “That one.”
“Okay,” Dulcie said, smiling at Elizabeth. “That is a pretty one.”
“Just let me know,” Willa told her.
“Thank you,” Dulcie said, taking them quickly and retreating back into the changing area.
She knew she was only here to get some sensible work clothes. But there was something about all this kindness and attention that made her feel special.
Are you a princess?
Elizabeth’s words echoed in her head again, and she couldn’t help grinning back at the well-dressed and well-rested girl in the mirror.
She definitely felt like a princess right now, even if it was only in the eyes of herself and a four-year-old.
Half an hour later, Dulcie headed to the register with West, who was carrying a massive pile of beautiful clothing, including a dove-gray, woolen coat and a pair of winter boots.
“I don’t really need this much, do I?” Dulcie asked.
“Warm clothes are a dealbreaker around here,” West said. “And this is an employer expense, so don’t worry about it.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but at that moment Elizabeth tugged on her sleeve.
“What is it?” Dulcie asked.
“You need something that shows you’re a princess,” Elizabeth said worriedly in her bell-bright voice.
“Oh, I’ll just be working,” Dulcie said. “I don’t need to look like a princess.”
“I have just the thing,” Willa announced. “Hang on just a second.”
She disappeared into the back and reappeared a moment later with what looked like a shimmering piece of the summer sky in her hands.
“What’s that ?” Elizabeth asked.
“This is a scarf,” Willa told her, handing it to Dulcie. “But it’s a scarf fit for a princess, so I couldn’t just leave it out in the shop where anyone would find it.”
The fabric was surprisingly soft, but it sparkled with tiny sequins and lace that had been added to the material. It felt warm and beautiful, and Dulcie was very sure that Willa had set it aside for herself.
“Take it,” Willa told her softly. “It suits you.”
Dulcie and Elizabeth trailed her back to the counter, where the exquisite scarf was placed to the side as Willa weighed the rest of the clothing, naming a price that really seemed too good to be true.
While West pulled out cash to pay, Willa grabbed a few things from under the counter and placed them in a separate bag along with the scarf.
“These are my gift to you,” Willa said, handing it to Dulcie. “It’s just a little way to say welcome to town. I know you’ll love it here.”
Dulcie glanced inside the bag and saw packages of brand-new socks and underthings—as if Willa had sensed that Dulcie might be too embarrassed to tell West that she needed that stuff too.
She was right about that.
“Thank you,” she said, blinking back sudden tears.
“Every girl needs to freshen up her wardrobe from time to time,” Willa said, winking at her.
“That should do it,” West said, handing over his cash.
“Thank you so much for doing business with me,” Willa told him. “Tell your mother I send my love. ”
“I will,” West said, his serious expression melting into a big smile at the mention of his mom.
“Now can we look in the toy store window again?” Elizabeth asked hopefully as they headed out.
But West’s phone started ringing before he had a chance to respond, and Dulcie suddenly remembered that the man probably had more important things to do than take her on shopping sprees.