Little Girl Don't Grow Up Too Fast

Growing Pains

"Char, you ready?!" Carrie called throughout the house as she finished putting her shoes on in the middle of the living room.

"Just a minute!" Charlotte hollered from upstairs. Carrie rolled her eyes slightly, knowing that they were already half an hour behind as scheduled.

"What are you guys up to?" Mike came through the living room, having just finished his workout.

"We're about to head out to do some back-to-school shopping," Carrie answered, running a hand through her long curled locks as she sat up after tying the last shoe.

"Did you guys not just do that the other day?"

"That was school supplies. This time it's clothes," she shrugged.

"She has a whole closet full of clothes," Mike noted.

"I'm aware," she replied. "I'm also aware that most of her clothes she got last year, she's grown out of a little, and she's in high school now, which is a little different than middle school."

"Just don't spend too much," he warned.

"Since when do you tell me how much I can and cannot spend?" she questioned, shooting a glare in annoyance. "It's not like we're financially hurting anyways."

"Don't think I don't know that," he quipped. "I don't want us raising a spoiled brat. Just because we can give her anything she wants, doesn't mean that's what we do. Some things she needs to work for and earn."

"What is this about me being a spoiled brat now?" Charlotte questioned her father as she walked into the living room catching the end of their conversation.

"So glad you trust me as much as you do," Carrie raised her eyebrows at her fiancé, sarcasm pouring from her mouth.

"Oh come on, don't go there," Mike huffed.

"I didn't," she smirked sassily. "You did. Come on, Charlie. Let's go."

The mother-daughter duo made it their way through the garage and to the car without talking to Mike any further. The car ride to the boutiques was awkwardly quiet, country radio just played faintly in the background. Charlotte looked over to her mother, who seemed still incredibly irritated as she drove with one hand on the steering wheel, her other arm resting against the window as she leaned her head into that hand.

"I don't think I've ever seen you and dad argue before," Charlotte spoke quietly. "Well, at least since y'all have been back together."

"Yeah, that's because we typically don't," Carrie smirked. "I'm sorry you had to hear that."

"We don't have to go shopping for clothes. I don't want it to cause anything more between you and Dad."

"Charlotte Marie, don't you worry about a thing," the mother assured the young teen. "Your dad and I are going to have our arguments from time to time, especially when it comes to raising you, but that doesn't change the fact that we still love each other very much. I promise you, we will be okay."

Charlotte reciprocated her mom's soft smile back to her as they pulled back in the parking lot. They got out of their car and made their way into their first store when Charlotte turned to Carrie. "I'm so happy you and Dad are finally getting married. I knew that we were family before, but I feel like it's finally becoming real."

Carrie couldn't help but tear up at her daughter's sweet words, quickly wiping them before they started to pass by other people. Charlotte spent most of the afternoon in a dressing room while Carrie fished through racks of clothes, handing her daughter shorts, jeans, tops, dresses, and everything in between to try on. Most teenagers didn't like the help from their parents when it came to shopping and found it embarrassing. Charlotte was different though. Maybe it was all the years without her mom, or maybe it was the joking comments she would get from friends about her messy clothing decisions that typically consisted of baggy hockey hoodies and athletic shorts that she had worn for years. Whatever it was, it made her enjoy getting to spend time with someone that made her feel pretty, a feeling she hadn't felt before until the age of almost fifteen.