Purity and Bea saw many signs that this was, indeed, Prudence’s home.  An owl solar light graced the front yard and they recognized art they had seen on the door of her apartment from years before.

They entered the wooden front door.  The girls were completely blown away by how big the living room was. And they loved the backyard.  There were so many flowers and it was completely encircled by trees.  The house was so warm and cozy.

“Now, we should let you both get settled for the night.  I’ll show you to your rooms,” said Prudence.

First, they walked into Bea’s room.She had the big blow up mattress set up with lots of warm flannel covers (with owls on them) and pillows.  There were pictures of old movie stars all over.  Bea had always wanted to be famous, so these pictures inspired her very much.  There were also shelves of books all around her bed: books that had made her older sister the woman she was.  Bea looked down at the window sill.  There was a picture of herself, as a baby, in a heart shaped frame.

“Yes, you are in this room always!” said Prudence.

Bea followed Purity into her room to see it.  Purity’s room had a bed with a downy comforter.  She also had a leather love seat to sit upon when she didn’t want to sit on the bed.  Purity’s picture graced the bedside table.  The guest rooms were indeed going to be very comfortable.

“Can I take a bath in your gynormous tub?”asked Purity.

“Sure,” said Prudence.  “That will give Bea and I a chance to talk.” Prudence pulled both girls close to her and held them in a very long hug.

“Ugh!  It’s so good to hold you both again!  I suffer from withdrawals!”

Later, while Purity enjoyed a long hot bath in the tub, Prudence and Bea talked about the next few days.

“How long can we stay with you this time, Prudy?” asked Bea.

“Until moonset, Monday,” said Prudence. “I’m having a little party tomorrow night and I want to introduce you to the women who keep me strong.”

“That sounds good,” said Bea.  “We don’t have any party clothes though.”

“Well, you do actually,” explained Prudence.  “I’ve been keeping a secret from you both.  I did buy you both something special in Paris…”

“Dresses!  Oh wow!  A real dress from Paris!  I always wanted one!” exclaimed Bea.

“Yes, I knew that, so we’ll show them to you when Purity gets done with her bath,” replied Prudence.  While they waited, they sat on the bed and talked about everything: boys, friends, peer pressure…

 

Once Purity got out of the tub and dried off, the girls saw their Parisian dresses.

“I got Purity this white one.  I thought it would look good with your blonde hair and skin tone,” said Prudence.

“And I got Bea this black dress,” said Prudence.  “It is tres chic!  You’ll be able to wear these dresses forever.  They are both classic styles.  They will never go out of fashion.”

“And these are our prom dresses,” said Purity looking next to her Parisian dress in the closet.

“OH! exclaimed Bea.  “They are so pretty!

“Yes, I saved them for you,” said Prudence.  The one with the puffed sleeves was mine and the light blue one was your mother’s,”

“Can we try them on?” asked Bea?

“Go ahead!” giggled Prudence.

The girls wriggled into the dresses.  It was quite apparent that neither of them would be able to use Prudence’s dress unless the hem was let down considerably.

“That’s too bad,” said Bea.  “I liked the puffed sleeves.”

“Mom’s dress is pretty and it fits me,” said Purity.

“Yes it does,” said Prudence.

“I don’t want to try it on!” remarked Bea.  “She left us.”

“Come here girls…” Prudence got very serious as she said the next few sentences.  She took each of them by the hand.  “If this situation with Grandma and I has taught you anything, you’ll be careful to NOT, necessarily, judge a situation by what the parents are telling you.  They are trying to protect you.  No one disputes this.  But someday, I hope you’ll allow your mother to sit down and explain her point of view.  She is not a monster. She made mistakes.  We all make mistakes, right?  What if I held against you Bea, your losing my phone that time we took Purity driving?  Or you Purity – couldn’t I be mad at you for telling the stepparent about your coming to live with me?  I never intended my invitation for you both to live with me as anything other than a break in routine for all concerned.  I had no designs to tear the family apart.  You both know that. And I’m not angry at you.  I understood that you were both young.  Please, consider giving your mother a chance to explain herself.  I do not want you to grow up hating her.”

“We don’t hate her,” mumbled Purity.

“I’m glad.” said Prudence.  “She’s the only mother you’ll ever have.  Some day, with God’s grace, you’ll be mothers.  Perhaps you’ll understand some of the stresses that go along with that job.” She squeezed her sisters’ hands and let go.  Then Prudence turned.

“Let’s go watch a movie on Netflix!”

“Yeah!” they both said together.

That evening, they watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants on Netflix.  Like the girls in the movie, they wore their PJs and munched on popcorn, gummy bears and chocolate in Prudence’s bed.

https://youtu.be/AKcIG8D8FOY