Three Dresses for Charlie

Welcome to Galeton

The tires made a dull thunk-thunk noise as they ran across the cobblestone street. The bus looked out of place next to 1800's style shops and houses.

Just a few blocks away, the town was more modern though still well-mannered and quaint. But in the town center, there were no cars, and no modern electronics were visible from the street.

Charles got off the bus behind a load of Japanese tourists. He tried to find his bearings from a local street sign, but it was late in the day, and the light was getting dim. He had a hard time reading much of anything. He tried squinting harder, but that didn't help. There was a tap on his shoulder, and he turned around.

"You must be Charles," a young woman said smiling. She wore a very formal ruffled white top with a high collar and a knee-length black skirt. Her dark hair was done up in sausage curls and had a black bow holding it in back. "Yeah I know. It's some get-up, huh?"

"Yes, sorry for staring... I'm Charles," he said, brushing a lock of ash brown hair off his face.

"It's okay, I just got the outfit today, and I'm still not used to it. Your aunt, Ms. Hughes, sent me to come and get you. I'm Lilly."

"Oh, she gave me directions. I thought I was going to have to find it," he said.

"Well, I'm here now. That is, unless your mom doesn't want you talking to strangers."

Charles sighed. "I'm not that young, and I guess my mom doesn't mind me talking to strangers that much if it didn't keep her from dumping me here."

"Hey, this isn't any dump." Almost on cue, the streetlights started to sputter and crackle. A hundred gas lamps that lined the street began to glow warmly. "Welcome to Galeton."

"That's a neat trick," he said.

"Totally, on purpose." The girl rolled her eyes and smiled. "Well, at least fortunately on accident." She reached down to grab one of his bags.

"You don't have to do that."

"No, it's okay. Since I came all this way, I at least get to feel useful," said Lilly.

"Well, let me carry the big bag. You're all dressed up and all."

"Nope, it's too late." Lilly started walking, and Charles grabbed his backpack and followed. "Besides, I think I'm a little taller than you."

"No... I'm five five."

"You're up on the curb, I'm five seven, five nine in heels. Don't take it personally, you look like you've still got some growing to do."

"Fine. What's with the town anyway?" Charles asked.

"What have you heard?"

"Just that it's historical. Are you Amish or something?"

"No, it's a tourist town, like a costume party really. Come to mention it, you probably shouldn't have packed such a heavy bag." Lilly stopped at the street corner and they watched as a horse buggy went by.

"Why's that?"

"You'll probably need to dress in period. It's one of the rules. You wouldn't have to, except the house is in the historic district. I don't know, maybe you can just be a tourist, but I doubt Ms. Hughes will let you get away with that."

"Mom said she ran a hotel. What's the house?" he asked.

"It's like a bed and breakfast, a really big house that your Aunt converted into a hotel. She's the junior owner. I think most of it is owned by a rich lady from upstate. Plus they own the houses on either side. Those are part of the hotel too. All in all, we have twenty rooms. Don't you know any of this?"