Wedding of Weeds

Shelia was older than when she had first worn the dress. Nearly twenty years had past, but she could still easily close each button and clasp. She remembered the day she first tried it on, before her mother had finished embroidering embellishments on it, just to check if the fit was right. The look on her mother's face, seeming to glow even more than Shelia herself.

Running her hands down the torso of the white satin dress, feeling each pearl bead sown onto the fabric, Shelia looked into the full length mirror in front of her. Memories of how beautiful she felt walking down the aisle, her father holding her arm, everyone staring at her. She'd never forget how she couldn't stop smiling at the reception, cutting the cake, dancing with everyone she loved. She'd never forget how much her new husband drank that night. She'd never forget how much her husband drank every night. 

Looking down at the dress, Shelia touched a small hole in the fabric. Showing the skin on her left hip bone. During a fight in the honeymoon suite, Shelia had lit a cigarette in an effort to calm her nerves. As the shouting continued she had dropped it on herself, and burned the dress and her skin. It wasn't the last time in their marriage that Shelia had gotten hurt during an argument. It was the last time that she'd been the one to cause the damage.

She took another look in the mirror. Taking a deep breath, her chest expanded slightly, and the dress bodice moved with her. Shelia fit the dress as perfectly as she had twenty years ago. But after twenty years, Shelia wasn't so sure her married life was fit for her.