She straightened. “I do?”
“We’re doing parent recognition before the tribute. Would you step onto the stage?”
She heard “recognition” and bloomed.
“Would you step onto the stage?”
“Well,” she said, touching the copied rosettes, “if they insist.”
She walked onto the stage like she was accepting a crown.
Gary took the microphone. “Before the tribute begins, someone here can explain why one dress in this room matters so much.”
Pregnancy & Maternity
The side curtain opened.
Mrs. Howard stepped out holding a folder.
She walked onto the stage like she was accepting a crown.
Shirley’s smile cracked.
“You,” she said.
The microphone caught it.
Mrs. Howard stood beside Mrs. Chen. “About a month ago, Shirley came into my shop with photos of a dress. She asked me to copy it exactly.”
Dresses
Shirley snapped, “That isn’t true.”
Shirley’s smile cracked.
Mrs. Howard opened the folder. “These are the intake scans from that appointment.”
The screen showed my bedroom mirror, my closet, and Mom’s garment bag.
A murmur rolled through the gym.
Shirley laughed once. “It’s a dress.”
Mrs. Chen stepped forward. “No. It’s not just a dress.”
Photographic & Digital Arts
The screen changed to the tribute slide. Mom’s photo appeared beside mine.
“No. It’s not just a dress.”
Not the sick version. The real Mom, laughing in the school auditorium.
Mrs. Chen’s voice softened. “Delilah wrote that her mom made this dress as one final gift.”
Every face turned toward Shirley.
She stood under the spotlight in a stolen copy of that gift.
“This is cruel,” Shirley said. “You’re all humiliating me.”
“Delilah wrote that her mom made this dress.”
Clothing
A mother near the punch table spoke clearly.
“You copied a dead woman’s dress to hurt her child.”
Shirley’s head snapped toward my father.
“Thomas. Do something.”
The whole room looked at my dad.
So did I.
“You copied a dead woman’s dress.”
For one awful second, I thought he would choose Shirley again.
Then he walked to me and wrapped his jacket around my shoulders.
Pregnancy & Maternity
“No one humiliated you, Shirley,” he said. “You did this yourself.”
Shirley’s mouth fell open. “I’m your wife.”
“And Delilah is my daughter,” Dad said. “I forgot what that meant. I’m not forgetting it again.”
“You did this yourself.”
I wiped my face.
“I needed you before 200 people had to see what she was doing to me.”
His eyes filled.
People & Society
