Anima finally understood why she was so happy. After all this time, she found her Dad’s clothes she painfully parted with out of desperation.
“It looks brand-new!”
“This has gotta be the crown jewel of this store, m’kay? Actually, I’m surprised they haven’t sold i— Oh...”
Bram cut herself off when she noticed how much they were asking for it. People who frequented secondhand stores usually weren’t looking for high-end clothes, especially not ones with that sort of price tag.
“Anima, would you wear this tomorrow?”
“I would love to.”
Anima happily took the robe. He hadn’t even tried it on, but it looked like it would be a perfect fit.
“I never thought I’d see Dad’s robe again. I’m so happy we came here.”
“It’s great; I’m so happy for you. Now we just need to find your mother’s wedding dress.”
With an energetic nod, they went back to scouring the store again. Just as they got started, though, Marie trotted up to them with a wide smile, pulling something behind her.
“Mommy, lookie!”
“Ah!”
Luina’s eyes popped wide open, which wasn’t that surprising, considering that Marie was pulling a wedding dress behind her.
“I finded it! I finded white, and big, and, and, I pulleded it!”
“Great job, Marie!”
“That’s awesome, m’kay? So, was this your mommy’s, Mommy?”
“Yes, this was Mom’s.” Luina couldn’t contain her smile as it spread across her face, tears welling up in her eyes. Her smile widened even further as she took the dress from Marie and hugged it tightly to her chest. “I’m so happy we found it. Shall we see if it fits?”
They spread it out and held it up next to her. The length couldn’t have been more perfect, and with the waistline set just below the bust, there was plenty of room for her stomach—though none of that really mattered. Regardless of the dress’s practicality, they were going to buy it. It held a lot of importance to Luina, and it would have been a crime to let it collect dust in a secondhand store.
They went up to the counter, bought the two clothes, and left the store. As they walked the paved street in high spirits, Anima held the clothes to his chest, listening attentively to Marie’s passionate tale of finding the wedding dress within the maze that was the store. Amidst their cheerful conversation, they spotted a familiar face walking toward them with a warm smile.
“Oh, if it isn’t my little Luina.”
The lady from the fruit stall greeted them, carrying a basket full of vegetables. She was likely out shopping for her dinner.
“I finded the wenning dess!” Marie boasted, looking up at the lady with a smug expression. She was clearly fishing for compliments, which the woman was more than happy to provide.
“That’s very impressive; you’re such a big girl. But hmm, a wedding dress? Are you holding a ceremony?”
“No, nothing like that,” Luina explained. “Tomorrow is our first anniversary. We’re just going to spend a nice, relaxing day at home, but we wanted something special to wear to celebrate.”
“That sounds like a grand ol’ time! Come with me, I’ve got somethi—”
“Eek!” Bram shuddered as a sudden gust of wind blew past them. “Rghhh, I hate sand, m’kay?! Why does it always have to get in my eyes?!”
“Haha, I guess the sand’s in love with you.”
“I wish it would leave me alone, m’kay?!”
Once again, Bram struggled to rub the sand out of her eyes. They’d gotten what they’d come for, and with Bram being tortured by nature, it was high time they headed home. Staying any longer would only make her more upset, not to mention tire Luina out.
“Thank you. We’ll be sure to visit next time.”
“Good, good. C’mon by any time; I’ll give you a discount! Take care getting home!”
They said goodbye to the woman and made their way home while chatting about all kinds of things.
That night, after taking a warm, relaxing bath, Bram, Myuke, and Marie headed into the dressing room. Luina and Anima stayed for a bit longer so as not to overcrowd it.
“Come to the playroom when you’re done changing, m’kay?” Bram whispered.
“’Kaaay,” Marie agreed in a hushed voice, but Myuke wasn’t so keen on the idea.
“You want to play this late? I still need to think about what to make for breakfast tomorrow, just so you know.”
“I just wanna talk. It won’t take long, m’kay?”
Bram’s serious tone managed to convince her.
“All right, but let’s finish changing for now. We don’t wanna make Mommy and Daddy wait too long.”
They quickly changed into their pajamas and headed into the hallway, which was brightly illuminated thanks to the lamp Anima had affixed to the wall. He’d gotten it specifically because he was worried that Luina could trip as she walked the dark hallway at night, and Myuke had been tasked with lighting it every night before dusk, using a chair to reach it. Bram also played a part in the job, as it was her duty to make sure Myuke didn’t fall off the chair.
After easily navigating the bright hallway, they made it to the pitch-black playroom.
“Myuke, turn on the lights please, m’kay?”
She found a lamp using what little light was seeping in from the hall, used a magic stone to light it, and set it in front of the mirror so the reflected light would illuminate the whole room.
“So, you wanted to talk about something?”
Myuke and Marie stood before the lamp, waiting for Bram to start. She closed the door and turned toward them.
“I wanna talk about Mommy and Daddy’s anniversary celebration, m’kay?”
The two girls immediately got what was going on. She wanted to plan something for them, just like they had for their birthdays.
“I can watch house!”
“That’s very impressive, but I think we should come up with something else this time. Mommy was already tired after today’s trip into town; I don’t think she’d wanna go out for the entire day. Besides, she really wants to wear her wedding dress.”
“Walking around in a wedding dress sounds hard, and the wind’ll get it all dusty. We need something else, m’kay?”
Bram started to think while looking at her sisters.
“I can co’gaturate!” Marie suggested.
“That’s a great idea!”
“Our first present is settled, m’kay?”
Marie celebrated her success before quickly restarting her search for ideas.
“Got anything, Myuke?”
“Hmm... I’m thinking we could make an anniversary feast for them.”
“That sounds great, but I won’t be able to help a lot, m’kay?”
“I can cheer!”
“Cheering would help a ton!”
“It’d make us work twice as fast, m’kay?! But I dunno if we can pull off a feast...”
“Yeah, you might be right. I learned how to make a few different things, but I don’t think I can do a full, anniversary-worthy meal all by myself. I could maybe pull something off with Daddy’s help, but we can’t really ask for his help.”
“We definitely gotta do it in secret, m’kay? It’s fine if they find out, but I really want it to be a surprise.”
They’d kept their birthday present a secret until the big day, and that approach had definitely worked. Luina’s and Anima’s looks of astonishment and the genuine smiles that followed were still vivid in the girls’ minds. They wanted to replicate or even outdo that accomplishment with their anniversary present.
“Yeah, I want it to be a surprise too. The only problem is that we have to come up with a present, and if we don’t do it quick, we won’t have anything.”
“I wish we knew about this a couple days ago, m’kay? We coulda come up with something if we had more time. One day isn’t nearly enough time to— Ah!”
There, Bram had an epiphany.
“Ooh, I know that look. You thought of something, didn’t you?”
“Me! Tell me!”
Answering her sisters’ excitement, Bram presented her plan. The two looked at her in awe after she finished.
“I like!”
“I’m sure they’ll love it! Y’know, I actually feel kinda bad about today. Everyone was having so much fun, but then I had to come in and embarrass Mommy...”
“You only said that ’cause you wanted her dress to be perfect. Don’t beat yourself up over it, m’kay?”
“Thanks, I feel a lot better now.” Myuke nodded with a smile. “Anyway, now that we’ve got a plan, we—”
“Girls! Where are you?!”
Myuke was interrupted by Anima’s voice coming from downstairs. His call marked the end of their meeting, as not answering him would either make him suspicious or give him a heart attack.
“Just make sure you don’t get found out, m’kay?”
“’Kaaay...” Marie yawned.
“Well, tomorrow’s the big day.”
“We’ve got lots to do, so let’s go to bed early, m’kay?”
With their plan set, they returned to the worried Anima and acted as though nothing had happened.