The Promise of Home by Darcie Chan

town.”
    “That’s right. I didn’t always have such a nice setup. I had to build up my business and save until I had enough to add on this sewing studio. It took a while, but it was worth it.”
    “Well, I’m glad I found you. I figured I’d need alterations for this dress, since I ordered it without trying it on. The price was great, though, and Kyle and I are trying to stick to a budget. We feel like we should pay for our wedding ourselves, but teachers and police officers don’t make all that much.”
    “Oh, I know,” Pauline said. “It’s just not fair, if you ask me. Teachers and police and so many others with important jobs should make a lot more than they do. Your fiancé’s Kyle Hansen, you said? He’s only lived in Mill River a few years. How did you two meet?”
    “He came to my classroom to talk to my students about what police officers do,” Claudia replied. “And I chatted with him afterward, since his daughter was in my class at the time.”
    “Um-hmm, just a little meeting like that’s all it takes sometimes. He’s quite a catch, that fellow. Everybody in town knows he’s a real gentleman. All right, let me see if it’s even.”
    Pauline had finished a complete circle around the skirt. The seamstress got to her feet and stepped back to inspect the future hemline. Tickled by her praise of Kyle, Claudia was about to gush something else about him, but when she looked at Pauline, she forgot what she was going to say.
    There were at least half a dozen silver pins protruding from the part of the apron covering Pauline’s left breast.
    “That’s pretty good,” Pauline muttered as she walked around Claudia, staring down at the pinned skirt. “Could you turn slowly in a circle?” When Claudia didn’t respond, she glanced up. “Honey, are you okay? You look like you’ve seen something awful.”
    “Pauline,” Claudia gasped, “your…pins. Doesn’t that hurt?”
    The seamstress followed her gaze. When Pauline realized what had alarmed Claudia, she let out a cackle and reached out to lay a hand on her arm. “Oh! I’m so sorry. I’m used to everyone already knowing…I don’t have a real bosom on this side anymore, just a foam falsie. See?” She poked the area surrounding the pins to demonstrate its softness. “I had breast cancer and a mastectomy twenty-two years ago. I could’ve had a reconstruction, but it seemed like such a grueling process. Plus, the implants back then weren’t great. The saline ones leaked, and I didn’t want anything with that silicone chemical going into my body. So, I decided to stay with my falsie. Bob…my husband…always told me he’d love me the same whether I had one boob or two, or none, and he has, for all these years. Besides, it makes a real handy pincushion.”
    Claudia relaxed. Even though she was astounded by Pauline’s candor, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Obviously. Sounds like your Bob is a pretty good catch, too. How long have you been married?”
    “Going on forty-seven years. We were high school sweethearts. We got married at St. John’s a few years after we graduated. Father O’Brien said our wedding Mass all those years ago.”
    “I love hearing stories like that,” Claudia said. “Father O’Brien is going to marry us as well, so maybe that’ll help our marriage be as long and happy as yours. You wouldn’t have any advice for a bride-to-be, would you?”
    “Funny you should ask. I like to give all my wedding clients a little advice with each fitting. Hold your arm out for me, would you, dear?” Claudia extended her left arm, and the seamstress stepped closer, gently pulling up the fabric of the gown on her left shoulder and upper arm, trying to determine how much the material needed to be taken in. Pauline’s eyes sparkled, and a tiny smile puckered the corners of her mouth as she began pinning the material.
    “I’ve seen that look before,” Claudia said. “It’s exactly how a few of my students look right