Something blossoms inside of me, a warmth starting in my chest and radiating out, filling me with so much love.
I’ve loved a lot of people in my life—my parents, Helga, Mathis, at one time Lizzie, and quite possibly Noah. But nothing, none of those feelings are the same as what I have for Nova. It’s a simpler kind of love. It comes easy, without any rules or guidelines. It just i
s, and I tighten my hold on her, trying to preserve the moment.
Eventually she pulls back and looks at me, and I’m nearly knocked on my ass because everything I’m feeling I see reflected back at me in her eyes.
“We’re going to have so much fun today,” she whispers, as though Noah isn’t privy to that little piece of information.
“Then what are we waiting for?” I whisper back. I grab Nova’s bag, she takes my hand, and out the door we go.
“I don’t even get a kiss goodbye?” Noah calls. I glance over my shoulder—something Nova doesn’t even bother with—and blow him a kiss as we walk out the door.
“Hold your arms out to the side.”
Nova does as I instruct, and I wrap the tape measure around her bust, followed by her waist, and then her hips. Probably a little overboard considering she’s only five and flat as a board, but I want the princess dress to fit perfectly. I measure her height and decide to go for the length of her arms just in case I add sleeves.
“What are all of those numbers for?” she asks.
“I need all of those numbers to make your princess dress.”
Nova bounces around. “I can’t wait. Is it going to be poofy?”
“Do you want it poofy?” I ask.
“Yes, but not too poofy.”
“Got it.” I nod. “Just enough poof.”
“And I want it to fan out when I twirl.”
“That I can do.”
“And will it have sparkles?”
I stop measuring and look up, giving Nova a really serious look. “It wouldn’t be a princess dress if it didn’t sparkle. Do you know what color you want it?” I ask, finishing my measurements.
“Can I have any color I want?”
I had planned to have some material shipped here, but I’m not sure I want to wait that long. I’m anxious to get started on Nova’s dress, so I’ll probably just take her to the fabric shop I saw in town and let her pick out what she wants.
“Any color.”
She taps her chin. “Hmmm… Maybe purple.” She quickly shakes her head. “No, pink.” Biting on her bottom lip, Nova thinks some more. “How about yellow, like Belle?”
“Yellow is a great color,” I say, rolling the tape measure back up. I tuck the measurements under the sewing machine so I won’t lose them. “How about we go shopping and you can pick a color, and then we can go grab lunch.”
“Can we take some to Daddy?”
“That’s a great Idea.” I gather my purse, and Nova follows me out of the house. I make sure to lock the front door and grab the booster seat off the front porch. Thank God Noah thought to leave it for me. I wouldn’t have even thought about it.
Once Nova’s all buckled in—and trust me, she’s buckled in; I checked four times—we make our way into town. Turns out Sew Lovely, the little shop I’d found, is so much more than just a little shop. It’s fantastic—a sewing girl’s dream—with fabrics of all different textures and colors and patterns. I was concerned I wouldn’t find the quality silk I needed to make this dress, but Deb, the owner, took me to her secret stash in the back.
Lucky for me, Deb is a grandmother and had ordered silk to make her granddaughters dresses, and she had some fabric left over. Nova’s eyes instantly lock on the yellow, so that’s what we go with.
After matching up some thread and choosing sequins and lace, Nova and I wave goodbye to Deb and lug our haul to the car. Of course, I can’t walk away with just silk because I found a killer pattern for a quilt, so I had to buy material for that as well. Needless to say, I’ve got enough side projects to keep me busy for quite sometime.
Nova and I make a quick stop at the deli and pick up sandwiches and chips, enough for the entire shop. Then we head over to surprise Noah.