Miss Millie had been more fun at rehearsals than all the rest together. She always amused Mimi and since camp Mimi knew she would never be able to be around Miss Millie long without being happy and gay. Miss Millie was not pretty, but in her sweeping green dress she made a very dashing maid of honor. To Mother Dear’s great relief she had arrived with Miss Jane fully gowned and been smuggled up the back way—one less to dress upstairs.
The trouble lay with the five, and had from the beginning. Even before the color-of-dresses-difficulty arose, there was this matter of not being able to divide five into pairs, and bridesmaids must saunter down the stairs two and two. Mimi was positive any deviation would ruin the whole wedding! Perhaps because she was in the habit now of taking charge of the five, or maybe it was to keep unpleasantness out of anything connected with her wedding; at any rate, Miss Jane settled the first dispute most tactfully.
“But Sue,” she had said and Sue, flattered, had heeded, “Sue dear I wanted you to play at my wedding—I must have a violin and I had pictured you in a blue bouffant organdy dress with your violin under your chin, playing and facing me as I came into the living room. My knees may be a bit wobbly by the time I get my long dress down the stairs—if I get that far without tripping—and I’ll need to see you playing, ‘Here comes the bride, here comes the bride!’”
Who could resist Miss Jane? Not Sue——
Then Jean, who had been superior at camp because she-had-been-to-camp-before, was meek and agreeable because this was her first time to be in a wedding—the first time for them all—at least the first grown up time. Margie had been a flower girl once but she was such a baby then that didn’t count. She and Jean had thrilled over pink for their frocks and they were to come down first. That coming down first had been another matter. Dottie had to be convinced (she with the logical mind and the determined-to-do-or-die disposition) that she and Mimi should be second because they were taller—start with the short girls and work up to the tallest. If only Miss Jane were taller than Miss Millie it would be perfect, but she wasn’t. At this point Mother Dear had mentioned orchid dresses and peace prevailed again.
Now the dark days of running to the dressmakers for fittings, and trying to stand still and not to yell when a pin stuck, were over. Even the satin pumps, which, to be alike, had had to be bought white and dyed, had turned out successfully. Only getting the dresses on and the pumps on remained.
At the moment Mimi’s arms were stretched high over her head, her hair was caught on something or other, and she was wriggling and Mother was tugging trying to get the orchid dress over her head and down without messing up her hair.
“There, we must hurry,” said Mother giving the final jerk as Mimi’s head popped in view again.
“If I can balance on these heels and don’t fall—why, oh why, didn’t Mr. Zeigler finish them in time for me to practice wearing high heels—oh, Mother if——”
And then she saw herself in the full length mirror of the closet door.