When you live in a town as small as Benton, your choices of entertainment are very limited, the more popular choices include the skating rink, the local movie theater, or if you were sixteen or older you could attend a popular teenage dance club that had just opened last spring in the countryside called “The Mill”. Most of those only opened once the sun had set. And most of those catered to the popular kids, or kids who had could get a ride or owned their own set of wheels.
I myself did not own my own set of wheels. I take that back, I had been gifted a bike a few months ago as a late birthday gift. And if pressed I could ride the towns trolley that made hourly loops around town. So I was very limited in what I could do, also I did not have a job and summer work was limited to farm work, and no farmer in their right state of mind would hire me as a field hand. So my income was limited to the thirty dollars a week my folks had deemed fit to give me for doing a huge number of odd jobs around the house. And while that might seem like a king's ransom to some, it was really not a lot. Maybe enough to see one movie on a Saturday Night.
Anyway with that in mind. I had chosen to make our local library my retreat from home and life. The Library was huge too, it had once been a stately manor house that had once belonged to one of the leading families of Benton. If I can recall correctly it once belonged to the first mayor of Benton, a gentleman by the name of William Joseph Potter and during the American Civil War it had served as the headquarters for the Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnstone who had commanded the defense of Benton during the Battle of Benton. It was also rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a librarian that wondered the rows of books late in the evening. According to legend she was often spotted caring a enchanted box that she used to trap the voices of children who raised too much fuss. And more recently teenagers who texted or talked to loud on their cellphones.
The library itself was located on main street, it sat right across the the towns Post Office and Sunflower Food Store. Beside it one would find Main Street Elementary School. A bit further down the street one would find St. Mary's Episcopal Church and a bit further down All Saint's Roman Catholic Church.
So in short, here among the books and where the voices of long dead authors still echoed into the ear of the living I decided to shake shelter from the trials and tribulations of a often confusing and chaotic world. It was also air conditioned and proved a place to relax when the sun was at its zenith and the heat wilted the day lilies. It was one such afternoon, when summer at reached its zenith and the strong midday sun caused all to retreat in doors or seek the shelter of the shade tree. That I, a new comer to Benton, having only lived in the township for a month and half found myself browsing the young adult section.
Now, at the time I was something on R. L Stine reading binge. A recent weekend overnight stay at the local hospital because of a bad case of pneumonia had gotten me hooked on his works. I quickly found myself falling head over heels in love with his down to earth style and the fact that each chapter of his books always seem to end on a cliff hanger really kept me glued to the edge of my hospital bed. Its safe to say when the doctor had signed my discharge papers, I was hooked and I could not get enough of them. Thankfully, the local library had vast collection of Goosebumps and Fear Street books to choose from.
I can remember, I had my arms full of books, All of those where choice vintage Fear Street novels. I loved the Fear Street novels above all his works. Mostly because I could see a little Shadyside, the fictional town the books were set in, in my new hometown of Benton.
As I neared the main desk, I felt a sudden blush come over me. Somebody had cracked a window in hopes of luring in a late afternoon breeze. I don't see why, the building was cool enough. Anyway a breeze had brown in, I watched it travel across the desk, picking up speed as it went. That wind then blew around my legs and caused the light cotton skirt I was wearing to get picked up a bit. Blushing I dropped the three books I was holding as I forced the cotton skirt down. I was still getting use to wearing a skirt. And my outfit for that day was a simple, blue cotton skirt and pink hoodie.
I felt my cheeks fill with color as all eyes turned toward me. The crashing sound of the books must have broken the scholarly silence that filled the room. An older brunette sitting behind the desk just blinked at me. She wore her shoulder length brunette hair pulled back in a tight bun. She wore a cream colored blouse and black pencil skirt. She projected the air of a older teenager who had it all together. A platinum colored name badge that was pinned just above her breast pocket read “Madeline”.
“Need some help?” She asked as she stood up from her chair and peered at me.
“I'm fine!” I said a little louder than I should. What can I say, I was very embarrassed. The older teen blinked and blinked again and for a moment she peered at me. Finally after a long moment of silence she said.
“Don't raise your voice. You never know when she might around.”
“She?” I asked as I stood up and placed my books down upon the desk.
“The ghost, you know the library haunted right?” She said in a teasing tone of voice. “Don't want her to steal your voice do you?” She added as she reached over and started stamp the three books I had selected.
Once more I felt my cheeks starting to flush with color. I was sure she was teasing me. Or just messing with me, I mean, I remember the nurses at the hospital talked about a ghost nurse that was suppose to roam the hallways at night But I never saw her, I did get into a spot of trouble with a nurse named Mindy who gave me a scolding and a spanking for being out of bed. But.. that was a story for another time.
Anyway, as Madeline looked over my books, my eyes started to wonder and then out of the corner of eye something caught my attention. Now as you first walk into the library your going to walk through a narrow hallway. On the left hand side of this walkway your going to a see a board. The board is kind of a community board, pinned to this board were a number of grocery circulars, a few pamphlet's and a odd number of handbills. Once such handbill caught my attention.
The title was in big bold letters that spelled out the words “Volunteer Wanted for 'Dotty The Dalmatian Princess' Fundraiser” and the words below that read. “The Dotty Shelter, Benton's only no kill animal shelter is looking for a brave boy or girl to play the popular PBS cartoon character Dotty, from the very popular Saturday Morning cartoon of the same name. Volunteers must be fourteen years of age or older. If Interested please see the front desk.” And finally a very cartoonish image of a Dalmatian puppy wearing a pink collar was pictured at the bottom of the flier.
I don't know what came over me, but I remember taking a deep breath. Slowly I walked over to the flier and without thinking I removed the pins that were holding it in place. Then without thinking, I turned upon my heel and walked toward the front desk.
At that moment I became tongue tied, I could only place the piece of paper down upon the desk. Madeline once more blinked and blinked again as she peered at, I noticed her eyes then were the deepest shade of blue I've ever seen and they seemed to be peering into my soul.
“So you want to volunteer for that too?” She asked as she turned away from her computer screen and peered toward me. “Okay sure, I'll get your information once I've finished with this. One thing at a time honey, one thing at a time.” She said in a sweet, almost motherly tone of voice.
“Okay..” She said blinking. “Do you have a library card?” She asked.
I blinked and mentally scolded myself. How could I forget that, having just moved to Benton I'd not had the time to get one. It was on my list of things to do, it just kept getting bumped down. I forced myself to take a deep breath and in a low tone of voice I said.
“No ma'am.” I said blushing.
“Okay no problem.” Madeline said with a smile. “Here's what were going to do. I'm going to get this form for you to fill out.” She said smiling softy as she reached under the desk and pulled out a sheet of paper. She then placed an ink pen down upon the sheet. “You can stand here and fill this out. And” She paused again as she bent down and pulled out another sheet of paper. “You can fill this forum out. This forum is your volunteer permission form to play Dotty.” She said with a small smile. “Once you get those two things filled out. I'll check out your books and we'll be done.” She paused. “Easy, as one, two and three.”
I was starting to like Madeline she seemed like the cool kind of teenager. The one that often played the part as the cool big sister to the younger characters. She gave me another smile before she returned to her clerical duties. I tackled the permission form first. It was your basic stuff, you know, name, date of birth, phone number you had to include your cellphone and your house phone. I sailed through all that stuff, like I said it was pretty basic. But then I came to 'Gender' I blinked. I had been provided with two choices 'M' which I knew stood for male and 'F' that stood for female. I just skipped over that little section. I was not quite ready to tackle that.
For the next forum I needed to provided the same, only I needed to show some form of ID. Now I did have some form of ID as in state issued ID that was needed for me to enroll at Benton AG High School in the coming autumn. But I hated it. It was taken at a deep, dark period of my life. And I hated the way I looked in that photo that had been before I had finally talked my mom into letting me get my hair cut, styled and shaped in a more feminine style. My facial expressions too were bland and my eyes seemed dull. Almost void of life. And my outfit was just horrible, a baggy shirt and pair of oversize jeans. I'd been meaning to get another one made, but getting another state ID cost around twenty dollars. And Like I said, my weekly income was around thirty dollars, or one hundred and twenty dollars month. That might seem like a lot, but when your starting your life over its really not.
“Hey Madeline?” I asked as I pointed toward toward the area that asked for my Gender and ID.
“I have a question. Do I really need to tell you my gender. Its kind of a issue. You know. Thing are kind of in the works their.” I said trying to dance around the subject.
Without skipping a beat Madeline told me, and this took me back.
“Just circle the one that you think fits the best.” She said in a matter of fact tone of voice.
And so I did, I circled 'Female' for both forums and I handed them back to Madeline who did some typing on her computer. A few moments later she was handing me a small plastic card. A second later she handed over the three books I'd selected. “Okay your books are due back on the fourteenth of this month so you have fourteen days to read them. We charge a ten cent a day late fee for all overdue books. Books are to returned by noon the day their due.” She said in a very business tone of voice.
I nodded my head.
She then took out her phone. “Also the handbill failed to mention that we'll need you to Dotty this coming Saturday. I advise you to bring a spare set of clothes. As you will be getting a little messy, and to have at least one person over eighteen with you. Safety and health reasons.” She paused again.
“Also one last thing. Would you mind if I take your picture? I'm going to update the 'Dotty Fundraiser' group Facebook page. We have past volunteers pictures their. Kind of gives people a face and stuff. Really increases donations.” Madeline said with a smile as she reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out her phone.
I felt my cheeks starting to flush with color.
“Sure.” I said smiling softy. “Just let me do my face.” I said blushing.
“Sure, just don't take all day. Were closing early today. We have a repairman coming to check out a few things.”
I nodded my head. I'm not going to lie to you. I was a little anxious about getting my picture taken. I'm still not use to being a girl. But, I decided to put on a brave face. And so gathering up my courage, I pulled my purse around. That another thing I was getting use to, having to tote a purse around with me. My skirt, lacked pockets for some strange reason, as did most girls clothing. So I had come to depend upon my purse. I quickly found my whole life was contained within it. It held my wallet, my phone, my house keys, a notepad and a odd assortment of pens. It also held my makeup compact, a tube of lipstick and some other make-up items.
Also a change purse that always seemed to work its way to the bottom. I felt my cheeks starting to flush with color again as Madeline watched me dig through my purse. The look on her face was one of pure amusement.
“Getting use to caring a purse around?” She asked as she stepped out from behind the desk.
“Yes.” I said in a weak tone of voice. I had finally managed to dig everything out. Mom had given me a crash course applying make-up when I had come out of the closet just before going into the hospital.
“I know the feeling. Took me a while to get use to it as well. Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it sooner or later. Just like you'll get the hang of using make-up.” She added as she watched me touch up my face.
Once I had finished touching up my face, I returned everything to the confines of the purse.
“Okay I'm finished.” I said smiling.
“Wow that only took a hour and a half.” Madeline said joking. “Okay if you could, could you please stand over by the poster. You know the Dotty poster.” She commanded.
I nodded my head and stood were I was told too.
“Okay, now smile for the camera.” And a second later a bright flash filled the room. “Picture perfect! Also one more question. What your name?” She asked as she peered toward toward me.
I'd been bracing myself for that question. Legally my name was still Lawrence Alton Huntington, that the name that appeared on my birth certificate that was housed in the Mississippi sate department of Heath and that the name that appeared on my social and on my ID and in most of my school records. But mom had started to call me Lauren after she accepted that I might be a girl. And from time to time she would yell out Lauren Elizabeth Huntington! If I was in trouble.
“Lauren.” I said said, then I paused. “Lauren Elizabeth Huntington.” I quickly added.
“Pretty name.” Madeline. “Well Miss. Huntington I will see you this coming Saturday at the square. As know you are our lovely Dotty volunteer.” Madeline as she waved goodbye.
I waved goodbye too. I had a sudden craving for a extra large milkshake. I could really use one, the truth was starting to weigh down on me.
To be continued.
Once I left the library I wanted to go straight home. But like I said before I was craving a milkshake. So I placed the borrowed books into the wire basket of my bike and mounted it and then I started to ride. There was one thing I'd admired about Benton was the historic architecture of the town. The main street of the town was paved in interconnecting cobblestone and running down the center of the street was the trolley line. Now I've ridden the trolley once or twice, but the trolley was not free. Riding it from where I lived down at the very end of Croft Street to the center of town took around three dollars. Now, I'm not a miser by any means of the word, but I tend to hoard my allowance for those twice a month trips into the big city.
Plus, I had been given a nice bike and it was a shame not to use it. And so I followed main street till it reached an intersection. Here the trolley tracks took a sharp 'U' turn. Checking for traffic I took a right and peddled onto another street called Willow because of the number of willow trees that grew down the center of the street. A creek that was born deep in the hills that surrounded Benton flowed through the middle of Willow. The Creek was supposed to flow from a deep pool that according to urban legend was supposed to be haunted by the ghost of a girl who had drowned there about fifty or so years ago. Benton was full of old urban legends and ghost stories. It's the first thing I noticed when I'd moved here at the start of summer.
A few moments after turning onto Willow I came to a squat, square building. The sign in front of the small parking lot read “Chuck's Choice Burgers” and below that another sign read. “Proudly serving Benton since 1970.” and finally below that. “Home to the world famous Chuck Burger” the first part I believed the place looked fifty years old. It kind of had that old retro decor going on for it. Now Benton had two mom and pop burger places; the first one was Joanna's that was located about a half mile away down on main street. The other one was Chuck's, Chuck's was popular because it was cheap, as in a seven dollars could get you a hamburger that even Fred Flintstone would have trouble finishing, served along with a basket of home style crinkle cut french fries and a large fountain drink that would quench your thirst, refills where ten cents though. Only on soda though, if you had tea, water or coffee it was free.
It was also a stones throw from Benton Agricultural High School. The School I'll be attending in the coming autumn. Mom had already enrolled me. I'll be leaving the eighth grade and going into the ninth. And yes mom had enrolled me under my new name Lauren Elizabeth Huntington. It was fitting, a new school for a new me. Mom was to start teaching there in the coming school year. Anyway I took a deep breath and pulled into the parking lot and guided my bike toward the old metal bike rack. I then secured it with a good length of chain.
Once my bike was secure, I paused and peered into the sky, it was clear. Not a cloud could be seen in, it was a picture perfect sky. I took a moment to breeze in and for a moment I wondered if it would be this pleasant next Saturday. I pushed that thought from my head as I started to walk across the gravel parking lot. I heard the gravel starting to crutch under my feet. After a moment of walking under the hot sun, I reached the door. I pulled the door open and was greeted with a blast of cold air.
The air inside the dinner was thick with the chatter of a dozen or so conversations all going on at once. From the back I could hear an old jukebox cracking out some oldies. Right now a mournful ballad about somebody losing the love of their life in a car wreck. I always wondered why so many songs ended with somebody getting knocked off.
Anyway I took a deep breath and slipped into one of the plastic booths. The lunch room was crowded with people. People drawn from all classes and walks of life.
A few moments after I sat down a waitress that looked around my age slipped over to my table. She turned a page on her notebook and looked down at me.
“Hey. So what can I get for you.” She said in a snippy tone of voice.
“I'll take Chuck's monster hamburger with fries please.” I said a little taken back by her snippy tone of voice. “Just meat and bread only please.” I added it quickly. She nodded her head. “And an extra large coke-cola too.” I added.
The girl nodded her head. “One monster with monster fries, just the wheat and the cow, and brown sugar water to wash it all down.” She repeated my order back to me in the same snippy tone of voice.
“Right..” I added.
“Be right out in a second hon.” She sounded tired. Once she reached the counter she yelled out to the cook in the back. “HEY CHUCK.” Her voice echoed off the wooden walls. “ONE MONSTER WITH MONSTER FRIES, JUST THE WHEAT AND THE COW.” She shouted. And oddly nobody paid her much attention. For a moment I thought maybe I should find a summer job. I mean that girl must have the best job in the world, she gets paid to be snippy with people, then shout at the top of her lungs.
A moment later I saw a group of three cheerleaders enter the place. In middle school a girl with golden blonde hair had the prettiest blue eyes I'd ever seen. Standing to her left was a girl with flaming red hair. Like the perfect shade of strawberry blonde. And to her left was a raven-haired girl. All were dressed in pleated red and white skirts with red sneakers and white tops.
I blinked and offered them a wave. And much to my surprise they returned the wave. And before I could catch myself all three were walking up to the booth. The red haired girl spoke first. “Hey! You're the girl in town. I saw a moving van a few weeks ago across the street. I wanted to go over and say hello. But I was down with the flu. Really the whole family was.” She paused.
“Anyway I'm Taylor Anna Croft. And this.” She said pointing toward the blonde hair girl standing in the middle. “Is Jamie Sarah Potter, better known as the Princess of Benton Academy.” The blonde girl waved before Taylor pointed toward the Raven haired girl. “And this is Cerridwen Circe Whitethorn. Also known as Cerridwen the Witch.” The Raven haired girl waved too.
“Hey its a pleasure to meet you.” The blonde girl said as she gave me a friendly smile. “I've seen you hanging out at the library a lot. And you're always alone. I mean Taylor says you just moved here. So it makes sense that you don't have any friends. But..”
“You're more than free to hang out with us and maybe join our group. We meet each Saturday night at midnight in the marshes and woods behind William Street. Just follow the lanterns.” Cerridwen said. She paused. “And no, it's nothing bad. Where just a society of..” Her voice trailed.
“Of Storytellers! We gather around this big old campfire and roast hot dogs and marshmallows and make s'mores and we tell ghost stories.” Jamie added quickly. “Madeline says you really dig the Fear Street and Goosebumps stuff so we figured you might invite you. I've been meaning to, but you know cheerleading practice and stuff.”
I blinked and blinked again. Today must have turned out to be a very good day. I mean getting to volunteer for something was nice, but now I was being invited to join a club? Man I was on a ball. Was God finally giving me a break? Had he heard my prayers? What in the world was going on here.
“I don't know.” I said blushing a little. “I don't really know a lot of ghost stories” I said looking down at the table.
“Oh girl!” Taylor said smiling. “You don't have to worry about anything. We have plenty of ghost stories to tell. I mean Benton is just crawling with ghost.” She added. “I should know I live in the most haunted house on Croft Street. Like I'm not lying. There a ghost in my house.” She then shifted her eyes toward Jamie and Cerridwen. “And don't you two start anything. I both invited you guys over for a slumber party and you both declined.”
I felt a sudden pang of jealousy hit me dead in the chest. The way those three causally joked around with each other, made me understand how along I was. Since we've moved to Benton, I rarely left the house, and when I did leave it was just to go to the supermarket and pick up a few odds and ends for mom and dad. Maybe once or twice I would go check the mail for them. I really had no friends, no close girlfriends to hang out with, to have slumber parties with, to gossip with and to do silly things like braid each other's hair, paint our nails and share the newest, juiciest pieces of drama with.
I was just about to say something when the waitress returned.
“Here you go.” She said, setting down a massive hamburger. “One Monster chuck burger, just cow and wheat.” She said with a grin she then plopped down a basket of golden crinkle cut french fries. “One Monster Fry.” And she then sat down a massive, like I mean massive glass of ice cold coke-cola. “And one brown soda water on the rocks.” She then tore off the ticket and set it down. “Your total seven dollars and thirty five cents. But since you volunteered to be Dotty this coming Saturday. This one's on the house.” She said, “Chuck said so, and he's the big boss.”
“I love that cartoon! Teaching morals and stuff! Gotta love the PBS channel! Best cartoons around! Anybody that volunteers to play Dotty! Can dine here on the house!” Called a big man, and I mean he was a big man. And he was dressed as your stereotypical fry/grill cook. You know white muscle shirt jeans, a white towel draped over his shoulder. His accent was what I called deep fried southern.
“Right Chuck.” The waitress said. “Anyway, enjoy and just wanted you to know we were donating like a hundred dollars.” She said, slapping the table as she turned away.
I blinked and blinked again.
“Anyway we'll let you eat. It was nice meeting you..”
“Lauren.. Lauren Huntington.” I said blushing a little as I looked down at the massive hamburger. It was the size of my head. Shrugging my shoulders I reached down and found out I could barely lift the thing. Swallowing hard I muttered a quick breath before I bit into it. As I thoughtfully chewed, a sudden overwhelming feeling of bliss came over me. The beef patty was seasoned perfectly and seasoned to perfection. It was juicy and moist without being raw and overcooked. Chuck was a master of the grill it seemed.
It took me a good thirty minutes to smash that hamburger. And once I started eating there was no way I could stop. I had to finish it. And so I did. I'd skipped breakfast that morning and lunch had been nothing more than a swig of water and a piece of fried chicken from Sunflower Food Stores. So I was famished. I was just about to finish the fries up. Using the last few fries to mop up the remains of the juices and dripping from the burger when my waitress returned.
“Hope you saved room for desert hon.” She said in her sweet southern accent. And with that she dropped a dish of ice cream down in front. It was the biggest dish of soft serve vanilla ice cream I'd ever seen before and it was just dripping with a rich chocolate sauce that was topped with a big mountain of whipping cream that was sprinkled with chopped up peanuts, walnuts, and pecan bits.
“Chuck's monster chocolate sundae.” The girl said as she held out a plastic spoon. “Enjoy.”
I don't know where I found room for it. But somehow I found room. And another thirty minutes later I was scraping the bottom of the cup. I was full as a tick at that point. I mean all I wanted to do was just crash, instead I stumbled to my feet, thanked Chuck for everything and somehow managed to mount my bike. The sun was hanging low in the sky then, big, dark clouds had blown in and were hiding it. The clouds were iron gray and heavy with rain. I could hear the distant echo of thunder rolling across the land.
The trees too were starting to sway back and forth in a gentle breeze. Rain was coming and so I made tracks. I arrived home, after a twenty minute bike ride. And as soon as I reached the safety of the front porch the bottom fell out of the sky it seemed. Sheets of rain started to call down. The raindrops fell in slats. The temperature started to drop. Blessed coolness. I somehow managed to get inside and once I was in, I locked the door behind me and started toward my room. There in the darkness I fell smooth out and dreamed for the first time in months pleasant dreams of a bright future. A future that was not so far away, and a better life than the old one I had left behind.
To be continued~
A few days before I was scheduled to play Dotty, my mother had decided to spring a surprise trip to Jackson on me. It seemed daddy had been given an unexpected bonus for the company he works for, Yazoo Chemical Corporation. And since it had been a few years since we've had a proper family vacation daddy had decided to rent a condominium down on the Alabama gulf coast for a whopping ten days. With that in mind, mommy had decided that my wardrobe needed an upgrade. Since it was clear I was not going back. To be a boy.
Up to this point, my wardrobe had included a few token blouses, a few token skirts, and one dress for attending those rare church functions and fetes. Mom and I don't really go to church a lot. But dad does, he's a stout Anglican. Anyway once in a blue moon the mood would take me and I'll tag along with him, or mom and I would tag along and on those rare occasions I'll put on a dress. I think I've only worn a dress once since getting out of the hospital. And that was oddly enough the morning the doctor signed my discharge papers.
Anyway, Mom had decided I needed a few good sundresses for our trip, and she also decided I might need a new bathing suit. Since I was starting to develop in the chest. Modern medicine works wonders. Anyway as my body developed most of my old clothes just seemed out of place. My own taste was starting to develop too. I'd always been kind of a dark, brooding person. Before going into the hospital, I had fallen head over heels in love with the Twilight books, best known for sparkling vampires. Mom had been a huge Twilight fan back in the day, so she had all the books and movies. She also had the Hunger Games books.
Those books had been a huge lifesaver for me, because it had given mom and I something to bond over. We both loved to read. When I discovered the Fear Street series, she was overjoyed, saying that it had been her favorite series to read too when she was in middle school. Anyway that bright Thursday morning found us browsing the racks of clothing at McRae's and a regional department store. Now if you're not from Mississippi, allow me to tame a moment and tell you a little about McRae's.
McRae's was a mid-range regional department store that was founded and based in Jackson, Mississippi the state capital. Everybody I knew shopped at McRae's, generations of southern belle's had depended on the department store for that perfect prom dress or that wedding dress. Generations of brides had picked out their chine from their, generations of Catholics had brought there confirmation gowns their. It was the southern women's choice. Yes, I still brought some stuff from Hot-Topic, but that was on my own dollar. If mom was buying as she today, well most as she had agreed to swing by Hot-Topic to buy me a skirt and a top as a reward for volunteering to play Dotty, it would here. Where her mother had shopped for her, and her mother's mother before that and even her mother's mother, mother. One hundred and thirteen years of southern tradition right here.
Anyway it was still early, the mall Metrocenter had just opened. Again, let me tell you about Metrocenter Mall, Metrocenter mall hands down was the biggest mall in Mississippi. According to its website it could boost around a million and a half square feet or retail space. The mall was also the only mall in Mississippi to have a second story. Four main anchor stores included a McRae's, a D.H Holmes, a Dillar's and a J.C Penny and dozens of small boutiques. Including my personal favorite. Hot-Topic and GameStop.
Now, back to the story. We'd been shopping, Mother and I for a good forty minutes. Mom finally settled on a new Sundress and a new bathing suit, and a few summer blouses. As I watched her pick through the racks, I started to fidget a little and found myself googling random things on my phone. Anyway mom knew I could not provide much feedback since last summer I was a gloomy boy.
But thankfully she had an army of sales clerks to come storming in the moment she had a question. Finally she turned to me and with a smile said.
“Alright Petal.” She said. “Time to get you squared away.” And with that we broke camp and started the hike across the store to the Junior section.
“So mum.” I sometimes mix British English in with American English. “I have a question?” I asked. As we passed through the Home Department section. Pass tables filled with china and passed beds piled high as the heaven's with white lace.
“And I have questions, Petal.” She responded as she paused to look at a new mixer. I don't think mom enjoyed cooking, but she enjoyed collecting things. And she also enjoyed watching the Food Channel and the Art and Craft Channel. Right now she adores a woman who called herself “The Pioneer Woman”. Like every time she comes out with a new cookbook, she has to buy it.
“Are you going to allow me to pick out the swimsuit and dresses?” I asked as I noticed a big sign ahead that read “Junior's Department”.
Mom paused and then turned around and smiled at me.
“Yes and no.” She said in a matter of fact tone of voice. “Yes, I'm going to give you the freedom to pick out a few sundresses, you're going to need more than one. And maybe two bathing suits, but I'm going to be the final judge. I'm not going to tell you what to buy, or pick it out. But I am going to set a few hard rules down.” She once more in a matter of fact tone of voice.
“One, I'm giving you two hundred dollars to spend. So with two hundred dollars, I want you to pick out two bathing suits, two sundresses and one good pair of sandals. Since your my daughter, I'm going to allow you to use my McRae's shopper's card. That gives you access to some good discounts and deals.” She said smiling.
“Now, two.” She said holding up two fingers. “Have fun. I want to see you develop your own sense of style. Each person has their own different fashion senses and their own personal taste. Have fun, take your time, try on different styles of shoes, I would advise that you go for a skirted swimsuit though. Because of personal reasons, it will hide something better than the traditional suit. But that's just me.”
I nodded my head.
“Okay have fun and I'll see you in an hour or two. After this we'll get some coffee and swing by Hot Topic and then maybe the book store. I think we'll skip lunch today and have an early dinner at LongHorn or something. Don't know about you girl but I've craving a steak.” Mom said, smiling. Then I think a light bulb popped up above her head, because she snapped her fingers and said.
“OH! Idea” She said a little too loudly because a dozen people stopped what they were doing and turned around and paused at us. I was a little embarrassed by all the attention we were getting. But mom really did not seem to notice at all. “Okay one more thing for the shopping list. I'm going to really put you to the test. I want you to find a kind of casual dress for this evening. Dress with matching shoes. I'm going to go find one too.” An mischief's smile played across her face.
“And to buy those, I'm going to give you an extra one hundred and fifty dollars. Should be way more than enough.” She said as she pulled her purse around and handed me some folded bills. “Oh I'm so excited, our first mother and daughter shopping expedition” She paused and then added.
“ And our first mother and daughter dinner date too! So perfect! Daddy went fishing with the guys so we don't have to rush home and start on dinner. Anyway have fun and I'll see you in a bit.” And with that mom left me alone. A stranger in a strange world.
I was lost at first, I'd never done much shopping as a boy. I was completely over my head. So much so I was ready to throw my hands up and give in. But I took a deep breath. I knew I had to develop these skills, I was going to be a freshman in high school before long. I had a ton of catching up to do if I was going to pass as a girl. Okay not pass, I was beyond trying to pass, I had stopped trying to pass the moment I left the hospital. Flourish, yes that was the word I was looking for, I wanted to flourish as a girl. And to do that I needed to acquire a set of skills, skills that most girls had been homing since they took their first breath. Skills that had been refined by dozens of mentors. Skills that I lacked and only had a scant two and a half months to acquire.
What happened then, nothing much. I started to pick through the racks of clothing. After a quarter of an hour I settled on my first dress, a knee length tropical print dress that was white and red. Suitable for family dinners at the local Outback SteakHouse or the local Seafood place. Knowing dad we'll be going out to eat a lot. So I figured I might need two dresses, one the folks would approve of and one for me to wear when I was alone. For that one I selected a ruffled maxi dress with floral print. The first dress was modest and flattering, the second one was fun, flirty and alluring. For both I decided to buy a pair of ankle strap cork heels, since I figured that would go good with dresses.
The total for both dresses once you did sales tax and you tossed in a pair of clip on earrings was one hundred dollars total. I was amazed, I had saved something like forty three dollars using mom's reward card and had earned like seven hundred points. Seven hundred points amounted to like seven dollars off my next purchase. Keeping mom's advice in mind, I finally settled for two. Both were skirted, one was more like a swim dress, I mean once was two pieces, flattering and cute, mom approved you know. The other came in two pieces, the other one was for when I was away from the prying eyes of mom and dad. For when I was around my peers. That was on sexy, flirty, alluring a skirted bikini with a tank top. Perfect to wear under a light cotton skirt I had and a loose fitting shirt. Oh yes, these were going to be the best ten days of my life. And again, thanks to mom's reward card. I earned double points and a steep discount. Both suits were mine for a jaw dropping fifty dollars, plus tax of course. But man was I getting the bug! I was catching shopping fever.
Finally I turned my attention toward the evening dress. Around this time I had attracted the attention of a few of the saleswomen. I mean, they had their eyes glued on me. And they followed me around the section. Thankfully none of them bothered to help me, I mean not to sound cynical or anything. But I could tell by the way they were dressed and the way they looked that most of them wanted me gone. They struck me as the kind of women who would ask question after question, very personal questions. The kind of people that would pull your teeth out to get the answers they wanted.
Anyway after another forty minutes I found what I was looking for, a black, knee-length cocktail dress that was both fashionably elegant and sophisticated. Perfect for parties and church fetes. Something that could either be dressed up and down. Add a pair of black low heel shoes and I was set. Another one hundred dollars and I was out of there.
I felt quite pleased with myself as I walked out of the lower entrance of the mall. The mall was starting to fill up with people. The walkways were filled with people. All jostling and pushing past each other. Wonderful smells were coming from all directions. Metrocenter Mall unlike its rival Northpark Mall over in Ridgeland did not have a food court, no instead small restaurants like Ruby Tuesday's, Red Robin and finally my personal favorite Sbarro's a popular pizza place that sold pizza by the slice. And I mean jumbo slices. Were scattered about the mall. You really had to hunt for them.
For a moment I found myself swept up in all the hustle and bustle. Then I heard my phone starting to buzz from somewhere deep within the confines of my purse. It buzzed for a good minute before I fished it out. It seemed I had a text message from mom, the text read. “Changed my mind. Let's have a light lunch before we hit up Hot-Topic. Meet me at Sbarro's down by the fountain. My treat!”
I blinked and smiled as I read the text over and over again. Sbarro's did sound good and the bowl of cornflakes I had this morning had pretty much gone through me. Mom always wanted an early start, so she had rolled me out of bed this morning before the sun rose. I barely had time to gobble down a bowl of cornflakes, a small cup of coffee and lump of sausage before she was rushing me to get dressed. Once I'd gotten dressed, it was out the door we went. By the time the first rays of morning were breaking across the cornfields, bean fields, and cotton fields that dot the countryside between Benton and Jackson, mom and I were heading South down Highway 59, our destination the princess city of Mississippi, Jackson the state capital.
But none of that mattered now, it was time to regroup and take stock of what we've done so far. And so I make tracks toward Sbarro's.
To be continued~
There's something special about sharing a meal, I think it creates memories, strengths the bonds and such. So mom and I sat there, enjoying our pizza. I could feel the ice starting to melt away. Mom had ordered a jumbo slice of cheese pizza. I had ordered a jumbo slice of pepperoni pizza. One thing I loved about Sbarro's pizza was it was the style, it was New York Style, meaning the slices were huge, like massive and thin enough for you to fold them in half like a sandwich. A gooey, greasy, cheesy, pepperoni sandwich, a tiny bite of heaven. Mom had also gotten a diet coke, I'd gotten normal. I just can't stand the taste of diet coke.
“So.” Mom said at last, she was halfway through her slice of pizza. “What do you think about your first mother and daughter day out?” She said using a napkin to clean some of the grease from her chin.
“I liked it.” I said smiling a little. “Its been fun. I really enjoyed shopping by myself. It was fun, trying to get the best deals.” I added. “But, getting to spend time with you. That what I enjoyed the most. I mean, since we've moved you and dad have been super busy with things.”
Mom nodded her head.
“We have honey. Dad's promotion caused him to move from Clinton to Benton. Yazoo Chemical is really investing a lot of its money into the town, because they're going to start the construction of a second plant there soon. It's really going to be a big boost for the town. And Benton is growing, I mean Yazoo City is growing too, they just built like a huge Walmart shopping center there a year or so ago.” Mom said as she took a sip of her drink.
A thoughtful look then came across her face.
“I know it's not easy for you. A lot's changing in your life. For one, you're going to be a Freshman in high school. That is a pretty big change for anybody. And for you it's really going to be hard. I mean, different schools, no friends. Your starting over again.” Mom then took another sip of her drink. “Plus the whole going from a a boy to a girl thing.” She paused yet another and took another sip from her drink. “That reminds me, we need to get you a set of bra's while were here.”
I blinked and blinked again. I was a little taken back by that statement.
“A bra?” I said blushing as the word left my mouth. “Are you sure about that mom? I mean I'm not really developed enough to start wearing a bra yet?” I paused and looked down at my chest, “Am I?” I said as I touched my chest.
“Maybe not.” Mom said truthfully. “But its will do you some good to get into the habit of wearing one. Plus, when you start high school you'll want to fit in. Most girls your age have already started wearing one. Even if they don't need one. And since there's Victorian Secrets just across the square. I don't see what harm would come from going over and picking up a few bra's and panties. Maybe a nightgown or two.”
“Mom.” I said blushing. “Your starting to spoil me.” I said blushing softly as I peered toward mom. And to be fair she was starting to spoil me a little. Mom was known to squeeze a dollar out of a dime. And here she was just throwing money at me. It was like Christmas, My Birthday and Easter had all come at once.
“You deserve to be spoiled once in a while. So, how did it happen? I mean when did it happen? If you don't mind me asking? When did my son decide he wanted to go from being a he to a she?” She paused. “I want to know. Like I said before, I support you and I love you. But one thing you gotta learn about being a girl, we share things. Mothers don't really hover over their sons a lot. We tend to leave that to the dad's. They kind of understand the teenage boy's mind better than we do. But mothers, they really hover over their daughters. Girls love a good heart to heart. So if you don't mind telling me, I would love to know.” Mom said as she took another sip of her drink. She then reached over and squeezed my hand.
I was taken back by the question. I really don't know how it all started. But I felt mom deserved some answers. And so, gathering up my courage and trying to clear my mind I started to talk.
“I guess it really started about two years ago when I was twelve. Back when I started to grow my hair out. I remember stumbling on a site that featured stories about boys being put into dresses and stuff. You know, being made to dress like girls instead of getting grounded or spanked.” I started to blush and expected that at any moment mom would butt in and say something or roll her eyes or make some kind of dismissing jester. Instead she leaned in and looked me dead in the eye.
“Anyway, some of those stories featured boys willing to get dresses. And stuff. And I kind of liked them. It was around that time I started watching anime and stuff and from time to time one of the characters would be put into a dress for some kind of stunt and I thought it was funny.” I carried on. My tone of voice was low, I was a bit afraid of spilling all of this. But from time to time, my mom would reach out and give my hand a soft squeeze.
“Anyway, it really started a year or so ago.” I said in a matter of fact tone of voice. “I decided to take a chance one night and make a fake email account using a random name, a girl's name and a random last name. I just picked one out from the old phone books we have upstairs in dad's office drawer. Anyway, I did a google search, And I picked out a random image of an anime girl and that became my avatar and then I made a girly sounding username and the more I did this. The more it felt right.”
Mom nodded her head.
“So let me get this straight before we move on. You first started trying to pass yourself off as a girl on the internet before you tried to pass yourself off as a girl in real life? I'm correct.” She asked as she finished her slice of pizza.
“Yes, anyway I joined some forums. And started to read about teen fashion and all. And then I started to exchange emails. Then I got sick and I went to the hospital..” I started to choke up a little. I hated remembering my time in the hospital. It was the longest nine days of my life. It did however give me a lot of time to think. To think away from the internet and maybe sort things out. Also since I was without internet, I had somehow gotten hooked on Fear Street while there. I think it started because I borrowed the thirteenth book in the series “The Knife” From a book trolley. Being something of a voracious reader I had started the book right after my morning medications and by noon I had finished it. I think the cover drew me in. The cover showed a young hospital volunteer, one with honey blonde hair and baby blue eyes standing in the hallway of a hospital chatting with a doctor who was holding a surgical knife behind his back. At this moment though mom seemed to take note of my discomfort and in a gentle tone of voice said.
“Okay let's stop there.” Mom said, nodding her head. “Well, I know more than I started. Thank you for sharing.” She said, smiling sweetly as she drained the last of her coke.
“Anyway we need to get you some bras, and a few sets of panties. We also need to stop by Hot Topic and pick up that top and skirt for you.. and maybe a dress. Then I want to swing by the book store and check out the newest John Grisham book. You know I just love John Grisham. He writes such detailed thrillers.” She added.
“Mom, I have a question to ask?” I said, smiling a little.
“We'll since you answered one of my questions. I don't see why I can't answer one of yours. So go ahead and shoot.” She said in a matter of fact tone of voice.
“Why did you marry dad? He's a Chemical Worker and you're an English Teacher. You read dozens of books a year and he barely follows the baking instructions on the back of a box of brownies.” I asked and much to my surprise mom blushed a little.
“Long story honey. But your father won me over. See, I knew your father a good twelve years before we decided to marry and we dated for around four. See I met your father when I was twelve. At that time I was a girl scout and each summer I would attend a summer camp called Pocahontas. Now the camp got its name because of the lake it was built on Lake Pocahontas. Across the lake there was a boy scout camp, and from time to time boys would paddle across the lake to see us. And from time to time a girl would paddle or swim across the lake to see them. Sometimes group of girls.”
“Anyway when I was twelve, I met your father at one of those dances. And I hated him, I was going through my.. I think we called it 'Emo' phase and I did not want to be there. I thought he was a dork, a nerd, and a right twat.” Mom said blushing. “Anyway we ended up dancing together somehow. And we both hated it. I was so glad to get away from him at the end of the night. Anyway summer ended, school started. Dad got promoted and had to move to Madison. So, I went from living in rural Yazoo City to urban Madison.. new school, a chance to start over.”
Mom was blushing hard at this point. And I had to giggle. It was just too cute. But I could tell she was having fun reliving those days.
“Anyway the school's in Madison were huge. Like in my old school, the classes were small right, but there they were huge. I'd never seen a school that big before. It was super big. Anyway, on my first day at my new school I decided to dress up a bit. I wore my best pleated skirt, best blouse and even washed my hair.” Mom laughed a little at that. “And guess who I happen to bump into on my first day.. your dad. Man, I blushed so hard. Because even though I had hated him, and thought he was a total twat after our first meeting, I'd never stopped thinking about him.” She paused. “And there he was just standing at me. Anyway over time.. we started talking and over time he won me over. We both dated all through High School, then we kind of broke apart when we graduated. But we came back together after getting our respective degrees. Then we got married and nine months later out came you.”
“Anyway, finish your meal. We gotta make tracks, we still have a lot of shopping ahead of us.” And with that being said I swallowed the last of the pizza and drained the last of my coke, gathered up all our trash and dropped it into a nearby waste paper can. And we were off.
The first thing that struck me about Victorian Secret's was the hyper-feminine nature of the store. It was dark, it smelled funny and all the model's just put me on edge, all of them had that dream girl body. You know, perfect breasts, perfectly toned legs, perfectly curved bodies. I was a twig and compared to them, I looked more or less like a twig.
Mom seemed to notice my discomfort and wrapped her arms around my shoulder. I leaned into her embrace.
A few minutes after we entered the shop a perky, young, sales woman approached us. She was dressed in a black pencil skirt, crème colored blouse and her raven hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. She smiled toward us, I swear she saw dollar signs when she looked at my mom and me.
“Good afternoon ladies, how can I help you today?”
I blushed and hid behind mom. Mom thankfully took the lead and returned her smile with one of her own. After a thoughtful moment of pause, she brought me around and placed me in front of the woman.
“Yes,” Mom started. “My daughter and I are bra shopping. She needs her first bra. I was wondering if you have any specials on today too?” Mom asked.
I felt my cheeks flush with color. I fully expected her to make a comment about me being a late bloomer or something. But instead she smiled and guided mom and I through the store until we reached a different section of the store. “We have a special section for girls buying their first bras.” She said in a friendly tone of voice.
“Oh wow.” Mom said. “Woow things have changed since I was a teenager.” She said smiling as she started to pick through the racks. “Can you have her fitted please? I want to make sure her first one is a snug fit, it's going to be a while before we can come back to the mall.” Mom said.
The sales woman nodded her head and guided me toward a changing room. She measured me, and then told me the size she would recommend and armed with that knowledge I went to find mom. Who had picked out a few things for herself. The sales woman told mom my measurements. And she just nodded her head. The woman then left us alone.
“Okay Lauren.” Mom said once we were alone. “I'm going to give you a little advice. A lady always wears a matching bra and panties. Always.” She said in a firm tone of voice. “So with that in mind I'm going to buy three sets. That way you can always match.” Mom paused. “So go ahead and pick out three matching sets.”
And I did, I'm going to be honest with you. It felt good being given the freedom to pick out my own undergarments. Mom just stood there, hovering over my shoulder. I could tell she was watching me, and a giggle escaped my lips as I picked out a pair of lacy black panties and lacy black bra. Mom just arched her eyebrow up but said nothing. A matching set of pink and white panties and bra joined the solid black set and finally a sky blue set. Mom added them to the basket without saying the world. I then hung around for a few minutes as I watched mom pick out something for herself. Once she was finished she walked over to the cashier who rang the items up. After the items were rung up she handed over a white plastic card.
“When you're a little older. We're going to give you a low limit credit card. That is once you get a job and start earning some real money of your own. We're also going to take you down to the local bank and have you open up a checking and saving account in your name. There are three very important lessons a young lady needs to learn before she steps out into the real world, that is how to pay her bills, how to manage her personal finances, and finally how to manage credit.”
I nodded my head. It seemed mom had a lot planned for me. It kind of made me feel good. It was one of those signs you know, she had accepted me, she had accepted me as her daughter. And instead of just tossing me into the deep end of the pool and saying 'Okay now you either sink or swim!' she was going to ease me into things. She wanted to give me every advantage she could, and I think the first step to that was learning financial responsibility. Anyway I've rambled enough. Once everything was paid for, we made tracks toward Hot Topic, their mom like she promised treated me by buying me a few nice, black pleated skirts and a few nice tops. She even tossed in a nice set of black leggings. We then hit the local bookstore, I picked up a few R.L Stine novel's there and finally we hit up F.Y.E and that's all. It was a good day, a very memorable and fun one.
To be continued~
aturday morning dark, cloudy, damp, and windy with a gray overcast sky. My Radio/Alarm clock started to buzz at six, without thinking I hit the snooze button. Six minutes later it was buzzing again. My eyes shot open and for a brief moment I thought about reaching over, snatching the alarm clock from my night stand and tossing it halfway across the room. That thought vanished a few seconds later, the alarm clock had cost me ten dollars. Repairing the window, if I tossed it through the window would cost the better part of sixty dollars. Two weeks' allowance gone down the drain. For what? A sudden outburst of teen anger.
Sighing I reached over and turned the lock off. The digital clock read six o' six in the morning. Early enough I suppose, since most of the time I normally sleep in till eight or maybe nine in the morning. Sometimes I even sleep till noon, depending on how late I stayed up the night before. What can I say, I'm something of a night owl. I spend my days reading cheap paper books and spend my nights talking on Discord with my online friends or binge watching my favorite shows on Netflix.
As I lifted myself from my nest of pillows and blankets, I started to wonder why today felt special. Like today was going to change something for me. Then I looked over at the calendar. Today was circled and somebody, most likely my mother, had written in a little note that read. “Volunteered”. It then hit me like a ton of bricks, today I had volunteered to dress up like Dotty? And I still had no idea what a Dotty was or what I had volunteered for. Madeline had been very vague when she went over the details, the poster left much to be desired for when it came to some solid information. The only thing I knew is a lot of people were donating money. I saw “Feed Dotty!” Posters plastered all over town the last few days. All the local merchants had then taped up in their windows.
I just shrugged my shoulders. I was sure I'll find out soon enough. The event was to take place at ten that morning in the town square. But text revealed the event was to take place in Goose Egg Park, a park that was only a few houses down from where I lived. Now I've passed Goose Egg Park a dozen or so times before. It's kind of located dead splat in the middle. Anyway the event was supposed to take place at ten, but they wanted me there at nine to get ready. So that left me with a little over three hours.
With that in mind I rolled out of bed. As soon as my feet landed on the wooden floor, I started to make my bed. Once my bed was made I marched off to the shower. Once I reached the bathroom, I stripped off my pink nightgown and tossed it on the floor. I then turned the water on and stepped under the steamy mist. A few moments later I felt much better, I felt awake, and clean. Once I finished my personal business, I towed off and walked toward my room. Without thinking I slipped on one of the new pairs of panties and bra's mom bought me a few days ago. I then slipped on a pair of old jeans and a shirt, you causal wear around the house.
It was then Seven in the morning and I could smell bacon cooking from the kitchen. Well I could smell bacon cooking, coffee brewing and the morning news playing. Dad always listened to the morning news while he cooked Saturday morning breakfast. I liked it when dad cooked, he cooked hearty things like bacon, eggs, french toast, pancakes, and waffles. Mom on the other hand liked a light morning meal, so most of the time you'll have some turkey sausage, a bagel, or an English Muffin. Normally with a side of plain Greek yogurt or something. The turkey sausage, bagel and English Muffin I could handle. But I could never develop a taste for yogurt in any favor.
And to wash it all down, you had your choice of either cold milk, hot coffee, hot chocolate, builders tea, and sometimes orange juice when mom remembered to buy some. We also had something called Bright and Early, an sugary orange flavored drink that graced the breakfast tables of southern families for generations.
After taunting myself for a few minutes by just sniffing the air I decided to bite the bullet and go down stairs. Before long I found myself peering into the kitchen. As I expected dad was hovering over the stove. His hand wrapped around the handle of an iron skillet, he was flipping a link of pork sausage around. Mom was sitting at the table dressed in her night robe. She was sipping a cup of coffee, you could smell the hazelnut creamer in it. Mom loves the stuff.
“Morning petals.” Mom said with a big smile. “You're up early.” She added as she took another long sip of her coffee. Mom seemed to be almost glowing in the morning light. I wonder if I'll do that when I'm her age and married and having to deal with a teenage daughter or son. You know, wake up glowing like a rose in summer. Looking fresh as a Lily.
“Morning mom.” I said, settling down at the table.
“So ready to play Dotty?” Mom said smiling.
“I guess..” I said blushing. “Though I don't know what that means..” I said blushing. “I kind of jumped before I looked if you will.” I said blushing. At that moment dad placed a plate of food in front of me. It was around three sausage links, a mountain of scrambled eggs, a few pieces of toast.
“Thank you.” I said smiling softly as I watched dad nod his head and return to his cooking.
“Average. Thankfully I did some digging for you. By agreeing to play 'Dotty' you have agreed to dress up as 'Dotty The Dalmatian Princess' a popular cartoon character that appears on the PBS. Anyway you're going to dress up as Dotty, a more human version of her. And perform some tricks for the crowd. Fetch, roll over, sit, beg and shake. You know all that fun stuff.” Mom was beside herself now. She was really giggling hard. “Basic doggy princess stuff. I think you even have to speak. Its going to be cute and I'm going to snap dozens and dozens of pictures.” Mom then paused.
“And there is a surprise for you in the end.” Mom said with a wink.
“And people pay money for that?” I asked.
“People pay money for a lot of stuff. Now eat your breakfast before it gets cold.” I nodded my head, and bent down and picked up my fork. I was just about to spear a piece of sausage till a distant peal of thunder roared out. A moment later the sound came again it was getting closer then time and after another moment it was right on top of us.
After the third echo of thunder, rain started to fall. You could hear the rain smacking upon the window panes. A boom of thunder caused the house to rattle. As soon as the rain started the lights started to flicker on and off. It had been threatening to rain all of yesterday afternoon and all this morning. And now it seemed mother nature had at last made up her mind and decided to hell with our plans, Its going to rain.
“Man.” Dad said looking out the kitchen window and onto the backyard. “It's coming down. It's totally raining cats and dogs out their.” He said pausing as he pulled the storm door open and stepped out onto the covered patio. A sudden gust of cold wind blew across the kitchen table. The tree's were bending with the wind and the laundry mom had hung out last night on clothes line flapped like phantoms.
“Oh dear. And I had a lot of chores planned for today.” Mom said with a sigh. Just then the house phone started to ring. Mom and dad exchanged looks. And I just sat there. I was kind of lost for words. Mom let the phone ring for about a minute before she picked it up.
“Good Morning, Huntington Household.” Mom said. “Oh, oh yes she is right here. Yes..Yes,” She said, nodding her head along with the speaker on the other end of the line. “Here let me, let you speak to her, she right here.” Mom said as she covered the receiver with her hand. “Lauren its for you.” She said holding the phone out.
I blinked and blinked again, Nobody ever called me, hell most of the time my friends on Discord never really wanted to talk to me. And here somebody was calling me. Puzzled I stood up, walked over and took the phone in my hand and pressed the receiver to my ear.
“Good morning. Lauren Huntington.” I said. A moment later a voice came crackling over the phone.
“Hey Lauren, It's Madeline, the girl from the library. Anyway I'll keep this short. I was going to call you on your cell. But when when I looked over your form, I noticed you kind of left that blank, but you did jot down your house number so that why I'm calling your landline.” She stated. “Anyway, as you can tell it's really coming down outside. And From the looks of things, we might have to postpone, no chancel our event. The one were you were going to play Dotty. Sorry..” Madeline said, I was struck by how she sounded, she sounded really crestfallen.
“Hey it's okay...” I'm unsure what else to say. I was still at a loss. “Maybe we can move it to next Saturday.” I said, trying to cheer her up. To be honest I was a little relieved. And I silently prayed a prayer of thanks for any God or Goddess that might be tuning in. It seemed this little rain shower had saved me from doing something really dump.
“No, Next Saturday they're going to host the Dotty Fund-Raiser in Yazoo City.. anyway I just wanted to call you and say thanks for volunteering. If something else comes up, I'll keep you in mind.” She paused. “Anyway I'll let you go now. Thanks again, bye-bye.” And with that she hung the phone up.
“Who was that honey?” Mom asked the moment I hung the phone up.
“Oh that was Madeline...” I said returning to my seat.
“Who's Madeline?” Mom asked as she poured herself another cup of coffee.
“She is a girl that is a few years older than me. She works part time at the library. She is pretty cool. I also think she likes the head waitress down at that anime style maid cafe that opened a few years ago on main street. 'Sweet Magnolia' is what I think it's called. It's like a southern style tea room and bakery. About two years and a half years ago Lily Potter and her friend Robin Peers opened it.”
Mom nodded her head.
“Have you been down there? I know you love exploring the town and all. So I figured you've been to every little shop this town has to offer.” Mom asked as she sipped her coffee.
“No ma'am. Not yet anyway.” I said truthfully.
“What's Madeline's last name?” Dad inquired as he returned to his cooking.
“Brewer.” I answered.
“Fine people. Kayla Brewer owns Brewer Christmas Tree Farm.. She is a really keen business woman. And she does a lot for the community. Her wife is the hostess for Heather's House Party, a popular PBS talk show. Their daughter I assume Madeline is a real social butterfly in town. She is a good friend to have. And Lily Potter is the oldest daughter of William Potter and Sarah Potter. Both fine people, very business minded folks. They own the oldest general store in the state, Potter Mercantile..” Dad said in a sage tone of voice. Of course dad would know them. He's a chemical salesman.
“Well I think it's wonderful that you're finally coming out of your shell. And speaking of coming out of your shell. Monday, you and I have some business we need to handle. Dad and I have talked and we've both come to an agreement. It's time for you to open your own checking and saving account. So tomorrow morning both you and I are going to head down to the local bank and open an account in your name.”
I blinked.
“Your mom's right. You're going into High school in a few short weeks. There are a lot of things we need to cover. One you need to get your own checking and saving account, that is the first thing on the list. The second thing on the list we need to do is get you registered for school, and have all your records changed. Third thing, we need to get your teeth looked into.” Dad paused. “Fourth thing we need to do, get you driving so you can be like any other teen.”
“Problem is dad.” I said blushing a little. “I'm not like the other teens. I'm different.” I said to be honest I was kind of getting tired of all this stuff. I'm the kind of person that likes to tackle one thing at a time. So when you give me this big huge list of things that need to be done I kind of run a mild freak out if you will. That is to say I panic and when I start to panic I don't do well. I kind of lose track of everything going on around me, I stall and then nothing gets done. So having all this stuff thrown at me was a bit of an information overload.
“We understand your different honey. And your father and I are here to support you. Just think of these things as a little checklist. We care about you, and we want you to be the best person you can be. Besides, if say in a few months you wanted to get a job somewhere around town, sure you could use your bike and maybe you would walk to work if the weather was nice and sunny, and sure you could always take the trolley if you needed to. But, if you had your permit, you could take one of the cars.” Mom paused. “And plus a car warmer too, we get one or two good snow storms down here in Mississippi each winter. Best to have your own set of wheels if push comes to shove.”
“Okay.. So what are your plans for today?” I asked as I finished off my breakfast.
“We'll since it's raining cats and dogs, we can't do any of the chores I'd wanted to do. I was going to mow the front lawn and the backyard this morning. So I guess I'm going to catch up on my sleep.”
“So shut on the weekend?”
“Yep lazy weekend.” Mom said.
And that suited me just fine. After all the running around and shopping I've done this week, I needed a good long weekend along. Time to get my thoughts together and unwind and recharge. I was kind of glad the whole Dotty thing had been postponed.. man who am I kidding it's been canceled. And that suited me just fine, I needed some time alone to think and just do some self reflection.
And that's what I did, I practiced self care. I took a nice long shower, did my toenails and my finger nails then I settled in for a long afternoon of reading. Starting first with the four or five “Fear Street” books I owned and the few I had borrowed. Those lasted me till around noon. Then for lunch I ordered myself a stuffed crust pepperoni pizza from the newly opened Pizza Hut. Mom and dad decided to split a pizza. After lunch, I decided to binge watch episodes of “Are You Afraid Of The Dark?” including the two recent reboots. And finally around midnight I fell asleep.
I was hoping to laze around in bed all day Sunday, instead mom got me up, tossed me into the shower, squeezed me into a floral print dress and we joined dad for Mass down at St. Mary's Episcopal Church. After Mass we all had a nice family lunch And then I got to laze around in bed. So all in all it was a pretty good weekend.
To be continued~
Like most small, rural, townships in the mostly agricultural heavy south. The heart and soul of Benton was its Main Street. Here one could find just about anything one needed. And on this Monday morning both sides of the street were crammed full of parked cars and the sidewalks seemed almost bursting at the seams with people as they rushed from one shop to the other. Each little shop and boutique seemed to be filled with people. With the crowds spilling out onto the concrete sidewalks.
Main Street had everything one might need or want. If you needed some legal advice, there were one or two good law firms downtown that would be more than happy to take you on as their client. If you needed some screws, nails, bolts and all the odds and ends used for quick fixer-ups and projects around the house they had Brewer Hardware, family owned and operated since the town first drew breath. If you needed a pound of bacon, a pound of flour, canned goods of any kind, bread or just wanted to get a quick bite to eat. There was Potter Mercantile.
Let's say you wanted a special cut of meat, let say you wanted something more than the average run of the mill steak. Then you wanted to visit The Benton Butcher. An old world inspired butcher shop that specializes in locally raised and processed meats. Also Benton's only full line grocery store was located downtown. Sunflower Food Store, well known for hand breaded, crispy, golden brown fried chicken, a wide selection of meats, including fresh ground chuck. If you needed groceries, Sunflower was the store for you.
Let's say your soul needed to be saved. Well, you could find three mainline churches down in Benton, St. Mary's Episcopal Church, a pretty pink and white church that was befitting the name of the woman who birthed Jesus, All Saints Roman Catholic church, an handsome fire red brick church that serviced the small Catholic population of Benton. And finally Benton United Methodist. So, between those three you could be sure that your soul will be saved.
And if you needed to get your hair trimmed or styled for that big date on Saturday night Then you wanted to go to Pandora's Family Salon. And if your furry, four legged friend needed to get checked out, you could also pop in and visit Lisa Croft, owner of Croft Veterinary Clinic and head doctor. And if you needed a booster shot, well St. Johns Clinic was just a few doors down. In short, downtown Benton had everything you needed for a busy day on the town. It was the beating heart of the town.
All of these thoughts filtered through my head as mom and I stepped into the lobby of the main branch of The Bank of Yazoo City. Mom was dressed in a sky blue cotton dress that had short sleeves. I felt preppy that morning so I decided to go with a matching sky blue skirt and blouse. Both mom and I wore our hair in high ponytails. The woman sitting behind the wooden service desk raised her eyebrow and peered at us both.
“How can I help you ladies?” She said after a moment's pause.
Mom shifted her eyes toward me and gently pushed me toward the woman. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. I hated talking to new people, it always put me on edge. I always felt like they were waiting for me to trip over my own words or say the wrong thing. Or that they were snickering at me behind my back. It made my blood boil and often made me see red.
“Yes ma'am.” I said blushing. “I would like to open a checking account with you. A checking and saving account.” I turned toward mom who nodded her head.
“Oh.” The woman said. “Sure we can do that. Just have a seat and somebody should be right with you.” She said pointing toward a small sitting area. I nodded my head. The woman had right out dismissed me, I felt like a pebble standing in the shadow of a massive rock. A massive rock that could just roll over at any moment and crush me and break my frail body into a million and one pieces. And the woman and not even bothered to ask me my name! No, she had just brushed me off with the causal ease one brushes off a fly. It made me feel bad, so mad. The woman did not seem to mind, instead she had returned to typing. I was about to say something, something that would no doubt have gotten me kicked out if mom had not stepped in and placed her hand upon shoulder and shook her head.
Sighing I nodded my head and followed mom into the sitting area. Thankfully only a few minutes passed before somebody else a man this time appeared in one of the doorways. He waved us back and soon I found myself sitting in a little side office.
“Good morning ladies.” He said with a small smile. “My name is John and I'm the new opening and closing account manager here.” His voice was smooth as silk. John was tall, tall for a man, and his shoulders were broad. He wore a white button down shirt and a pair of gray slacks. Everything about him seemed neat and well put together. My sour mood from before was starting to lift. As I peered into John's eyes. They were green or maybe gray, eyes a girl could get lost in. Then I noticed a small golden band on his hand. I felt myself starting to sigh. Here I was, swooning over a man twice my age and a married one at that. Man being a girl was so confusing at times.
“Yes.. my daughter here would like to open up an checking and saving account with you.” Mom then turned toward me, and I believe she noticed me starting to space out. Taking a deep breath she started to snap her fingers together. But I was too far gone, the train had left the station. I was dealing with emotions that I never thought I'd have to deal with. I mean, I was starting to wonder if I could charm him into the vault for some fun.. that thought bubble popped as soon as it surfaced.
“Anyway.” Mom it seemed had given up on pulling back to earth. “She going to a freshman next year. And I really want her to learn to manage her own money. I understand its going to a joint account till she turns seventeen. With that in mind, I would like a draft of forty dollars to placed on my account. I would like that forty dollars to be deposited into her account on the first of each month.” Mom said in a polite but forceful tone of voice.
The man nodded his head.
“Okay I'm going to need your daughters name, a social, and some form of I.D” He said.
At this point mom gave me a gentle push and I finally stopped my day dreaming.
“Lauren Elizabeth Huntington.” I spouted out a little too loud, because a dozen heads started to turn around and a dozen pairs of eyes just stared wide eyed at me, like I don't know, I just sprouted an extra head or something.
“Inside voice petal.” Mom said with a sign. “Remember you gotta use your inside voice. You're a big girl now, no need to yell. A lady only raises her voice as a last result. First she throws up her hands.” Mom paused as those last four words left her mouth.. “And only as a last result.”
I blinked and blinked again, Had mom really suggested throwing hands over using words. I never knew mom had that kind of backbone. Then again, from the stories her older brother and younger sister have told me. She was something of a firecracker in her younger days.
“Okay..” The man blinked a little. “Now we just need proof of address.” He said as he tapped the keyboard a few times. No doubt entering all my information into that great computer that tracks us all. “And we still need to be social.” He added as he peered toward the screen.
“Here you go.” Mom said as she handed over a recent bill, I think it was the internet, cable and phone bill from Sparklight, the company that provided our internet, cable and phone. Over to the man. “Proof of address.” And she then handed over a card. “And my daughters social.” The man nodded his head and entered the information into the computer. Though he did make a comment that made my ears perk up.
“So you guys live on Croft Street?” He inquired.
Mom and I nodded our heads in unison.
“Nice street. Strange things are supposed to happen on the street though. I remember growing up somebody always had a story about Croft Street. You know the woods behind those houses are supposed to be haunted. They say during the eighties a bunch of devil worshipers moved into those woods and built a bunch of stone altars. Lot of folks reported hearing chanting late at night and a lot of household pets went missing.” He said with a casual shrug of his shoulders.
Mom and I blinked and exchanged glances. But neither of us said anything.
“Anyway.” John said returning the social and the bill back to mom. “Give this machine a few minutes and..” A loud beeping could then be heard. “Oh I guess it's ready now, one moment please.” With that John pushed his chair back and stood straight up. He then left the room. He had a swagger to him, he walked with the air of a man who commanded the world and knew it. And I don't know why, but that drove me wild. I once more felt my flash flushing with color.
“Try not to drool petal.” Mom said, sighing. “And close your mouth too. You're not a fly trap. And allow me to give you a bit of friendly advice, one woman to another woman. I don't know about men, but women tend to frown on poaching. Now, a married woman would only be slightly annoyed, maybe even flattered by the signs you were giving off. A girl in high school would knock your block off your head. Or worse, cut your ponytail off. Women are a lot crueler than men sometimes.”
I blinked and blinked again.
“I'll give you an example. Men often use their fist to settle their differences. It's expected of them. We're in the deep south. And as such chivalry still does exist in one form or another. A man is expected to hold the door open for a woman. He's expected to hold her books, he's expected to pay for dinner. And he's expected to settle his differences with his fellow males out in the field, in front of his peers. With the main choice of weapons being his fist.” Mom paused. “Or in some cases pocket knifes.”
I nodded my head again. I was not expecting this. In fact this is the last thing I expected.
“Girls on the other hand, have other weapons. It's frowned upon for a woman to slap another woman. So instead they use words. I'll give you an example, a girl who hates another girl will gossip behind her back and spread rumors about her. She might even try to turn that girls friends against her.”
I blinked and blinked. It all seemed so savage and unreal to me. I mean, I always thought girls got along with each other. You rarely saw them fight or bicker like boys do. Then again I was aware of the classic mean girl trope, and I've seen enough teenage movies, for example Heather's, Carrie, and It. To know girls did bully other girls mostly by calling them names such as Slut, Bitch, and Dyke. But I thought that was just in the movies, something some trillion dollar Hollywood director had dreamed up.
I was just about to say something when John returned with my new checking card. He handed the card to me and I quickly slipped it into my wallet. Mom and I then left John, since he had other business to attend to. We then left the bank and walked a few doors down to the town's dentist office. Mom got her teeth cleaned first and then I got mine cleaned. Nothing special their. Nothing to really write home about. I mean nothing I write in my diary or anything.
Anyway, once we got our teeth cleaned. Mom stopped by Joanna's and got a quick bite to eat. We both decided on the chicken tender basket. It was more than we could eat, the chicken tender basket came with six dinosaur size tenders and a mountain of golden, brown, crinkle cut french fries, that were golden on the brown on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. A king size piece of toast finished the basket off along with a huge soda . It was pure heaven.
Mom and I ate in silence though. I think both of us were just too tired to talk, and sometimes silence is golden. Once we finished our lunch, mom deemed it was time to finish off her day. It was a quarter past noon and mom I think was ready for her afternoon nap. But then I remembered I had some books that needed to be returned. And so, grunting something mom agreed to swing by the library. Of course she gave me strict instructions to just drop the books off, pick up a few new ones and leave. I could tell she was ready to get back to the house and take a late afternoon nap. Could always tell when she was getting tired, her normal facade of collective calmness started to slip away and she started to become snippy and the slightest annoyance would set her off on a rampage that could only be compared to a thirty something year old woman throwing a massive fit.
But being very aware that this woman held the powers to ground me or even spank me, caused me to keep my mouth shut. Mom had threatened me once or twice with spanking when my mouth had gotten the best of me. And as I often did from time to time. It had never moved past that, a threat. Anyway, true to my word I dipped in and placed the books in the wire basket that was marked “Returns” when a voice called out to me.
“Hey Lauren!” The voice called out, it was a friendly voice. A very southern voice. I spun quickly around to greet the person who had called out to me, and there standing in the doorway that lead to the Children's/Young Adult section was Madeline. She wore a coal black pencil skirt, a cream colored blouse and her long brunette hair was tied back in a tight bun.
“Perfect timing girl, we just got some manga in. Like our manga section is expanding by leaps and bounds. Hard to believe a town this small will have a manga section. Then again it's hard to believe a town this size would have like half the stuff we have.” Madeline said with a smile. “ Though I remember when I first came here about three and a half years ago. This town was really small. It's grown though, some in population, and some in business. It's really starting to boom. Like I've seen some seeds that were planted back when I was a freshman already starting to bear fruit.”
I blinked. And blinked again. I was not sure how to take Madeline's random musing.
“Anyway, I just wanted to drop by and say, '' I'm sorry about what happened Saturday. I know you were looking forward to playing the role of Dotty. And even though there was a chance of rain, I totally did not expect that storm to slam into us the way it did. I was hoping that the storm would swing to the right of us, you know blow right across the Yazoo Ridge Line and then pass over Vicksburg and then right across the Mississippi River into Louisiana. Instead it blew right up the mouth of the Big Black River and drove right into us. And I think it dropped a good sixteen or so inches of rain. I think some of the field's my sister planted in Soybean's went under. The ones that are near the edge of Wilson and Short creek flooded out big time. And for a moment I thought our backyard was going to go under. I know Cerridwen said the bridge that connects the Hallow with the Highway got flooded out.”
Madeline paused at that point and sighed.
“Anyway I wanted to ask you something.” She paused. “But first let me start from the beginning. My older sister, who is kind of like my mom, is going to be putting on a summer party at our family farm. The whole town's invited out. We're going to have home-made ice cream, plenty of barbecue, hmm we're going to have games too and have special events. I think maybe a pie eating contest. I know for sure we're going to have a huge firework display at the end. Anyway, I was wondering if you would like to volunteer for something. We need a volunteer to work the 'Pie Toss' and normally I'll get one of my friends to do it, but Cerridwen's leaving for the gulf coast today. Jamie and Lily are busy helping with the food stuff. I'm kind of tied up playing hostess. Taylor's in the Hospital with a really bad case of Hay Fever. So.. could you volunteer?”
I blinked and blinked again. Madeline had just vomited a huge stream of words up on me. And I was still processing them.
“Sure.” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “I'll volunteer.”
“Thank you!” Madeline said rushing toward me, she quickly threw her arms around me and gave me and pulled me close to her. I could feel her breast pushing into my chest. I blushed, it was strange getting a hug from a total stranger. But then again in the south we love to hug. “You are a total lifesaver for me!”
And that was that, I dropped off the books, picked up a few new ones and darted out to the car. And that was that.
To be continued.