The Bloom Sisters~Part 2

 

Dahlia settled in her room above the quilt shop, found some pretty fabrics and lace and proceeded to sew herself some new stylish dresses. Hyacinth was in the quilt shop rearranging all the quilts and materials. She couldn't believe her sister was acting like such a fool. The more she thought about the spectacle Dahlia was making of herself, the madder she got.

Several hours later Dahlia came down the stairs wearing one of her new dresses. Hyacinth couldn't believe how beautiful her sister looked. She felt like an old frump and was not too happy about that.

Dahlia tried to explain to her sister that she wanted to look pretty, wanted to have a life outside of the quilt shop. She was tired of having people look right through her and if a little make up and pretty clothes made her a bit more visible, she didn't see anything wrong with that.

Dahlia wasn't getting anywhere with Hyacinth so she decided to take a walk through town. Herman Smith was unloading a delivery truck in front of Nichol's Corner Store and almost dropped a 50 pound sack of flour when he looked up and saw Dahlia walk by. She greeted him and he realized it was Dahlia. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. He always liked the Bloom sisters but never thought of them as knockouts. Hyacinth was watching her sister from behind the window and noticed that all the men were tipping their hats and stopping to say hello to her. Hyacinth vowed she would never forgive Dahlia for her wretched behavior. The days passed by and the sisters barely spoke to one another.

Finally, the day approached when Mr. Harold Hightower would be riding by in Mr. Hennessy's covered wagon. Dahlia couldn't sleep the night before she was so excited about seeing him again. She had plans to buy several yards of the prettiest fabric in his wagon and she had no intention of using it to make quilts. She had made blueberry muffins that morning along with roasted coffee. Hyacinth would never approve of serving coffee but Dahlia didn't care. She knew most men preferred strong coffee to weak tea.

Harold pulled up in front of the shop and Dahlia greeted him with a big smile and her new look. Harold didn't recognize her as the shy twin sister he had met last week. He felt his heart skip a beat just looking at this pretty young girl. He told her he was there to see the Bloom sisters. Dahlia blushed and told him she was Dahlia Bloom. Harold sat on the porch drinking coffee and eating the best blueberry muffins he had ever tasted.

Hyacinth stepped out of the shop, quickly chose some fabric and thread and retreated back into the shop immediately. Harold explained to Dahlia that he was not cut out to be a traveling salesman. He would be happy when Mr. Hennessy returned from his vacation. He wanted to see Camden Corners and was thinking of buying a shop down the street. Mr. Hennessy had told him that the owner, Mr. Cromwell was planning to retire and was selling his store.

Harold asked if Dahlia would like to have supper with him that evening when his route was finished. Dahlia was beside herself with joy. She said yes right away but was concerned about Hyacinth. They had never had a meal apart.

Harold told her he understood about twins because he and his brother Howard are twins.

“Maybe, if Hyacinth would agree” said Harold “the four of us could have dinner at Marino's Trattoria.”

Dahlia promised to try to convince Hyacinth to join them.

Hyacinth, who had been eavesdropping took a look at herself in the mirror. She had to admit, Dahlia did look very pretty. Not only that, she acted pretty. Maybe it wasn't such an awful thing to try to look your best. Besides, she had felt the same way about wanting a family of her own. She always thought it would be a betrayal of Dahlia but that seemed awfully foolish now.

Dahlia walked over to Hyacinth and said “We need to talk”.

Hyacinth wrapped her arms around Dahlia and told her how sorry she was for the way she had been behaving. With that she pulled the pins out of her hair and begged Dahlia to make her look pretty too. The girls worked diligently sewing new dresses to wear that evening. Dahlia was excited about her date with Harold and Hyacinth was nervous about being seen in public as her new self.

The Hightower brothers called on the twins. Harold and Howard often fell for the same female and for once they each had one of their own. They proudly escorted the ladies to the Trattoria. Along the way, the two sets of twins attracted a lot of attention. Diana Taylor saw the foursome from the bakery window and was so happy to see both sisters looking identical again. They had always been pretty but now they were striking looking especially walking beside two very handsome gentlemen.

They were married in a double ceremony three weeks later. The sisters wore white organza gowns without any sign of quilting. The fellows had dark gray suits with matching quilt vests. They wore their wives handiwork with pride.