My favourite dress

Last night, out of the blue, I had a message from my half-sister.  

Diane is 12 years older than me, and I wasn't brought up with her because my mum left our dad when I was very young.  We have each other on Facebook and have exchanged the odd sentence of greeting from time to time, but we have never really spoken. What to say? When, and how? 

But last night, with no preamble, she messaged me this: 

"On impulse today I bought a dress. I passed a shop window and nearly swooned. All it needed was a lace collar and I'd be in heaven. I so often wonder what happened to my red velvet dress (maybe it was lost in the fire) I think of it fondly and often. I was going to a dance in my last year at primary school and your mum took me to a draper's on the corner below our flat in Govan Road. I saw the red velvet and loved it. She tried hard to persuade me to get something more ..serviceable, but I wouldn't have it! I haven't tried on the new dress yet. I hope it doesn't dash my illusions when I do!!"

A snippet of the past.  Places I've only heard about but never knew.  Our flat on Govan Road.  And now I know there was a draper's on the corner below it. Lost in the fire. The fire? When was there a fire? Why? What happened?  Diane's precious red velvet dress was lost, but now she has bought another, and she wanted to tell me about it. 

I don't have any special dresses myself, but the one I've been wearing to work this week so far is one of my favourites.  The colours are a bit autumnal. I like the idea of a velvet dress. I wonder if Diane will send me a picture of her new one.