Learning

Chapter 10: Hungover Charity

Ashla Tano woke up at one'o'clock in the afternoon smelling of wine and tears. Last night had not been good for her and clearly the late hour was one indication of that. Her pillow had a shape underneath it and she found three empty bottles of wine. 'Oh well.' Ashla sighed for their was little she could do now but a pounding headache was starting to creep up on her. God she hated being hungover. Getting out of bed, Ashla spotted an empty glass of wine and her old photo album of her honeymoon on the floor. The pieces of last night were starting to fall into place as her memory jogged itself into action.

Picking the album up, she walked over to the bookshelf and slotted it back into place. It wasn't really a bookshelf, more like a photo shelf for it was covered in photos of a younger Ashla and Hosin. They seemed so happy and in love with each other that it really hurt Ashla to think of where they were now. She remembered being angry at him after Ahsoka left the restaurant and going home... That must've when she started drinking. 'Wait, no!' Ashla mentally shook herself as she remembered that she had had a drink at the restaurant.

Drink, the glasses. She needed to clean those up. Ahsoka always got mad at her whenever she found her drinking evidence. It was ridiculous really for Ashla was the grown adult and therefore had a legal right to drink as much as she wanted to. Ashla gathered up the evidence as she went downstairs and washed them up. Her head had gone really fuzzy now and was hurting like hell. Grabbing a clean glass, she poured herself a glass of water and found one of the tablets that helped with hangovers. Ahsoka should be proud of her for this was the first hangover she'd had in over three years. Hosin just gave her a reason to hide her emotions behind the liquid. Besides, it's not like Ashla had done any lasting damage while she was drunk and probably angry.

The sound of wind knocking the wind chimes against Ahsoka's window made Ashla tread upstairs to close the window and go into her daughter's room. Ashla realised then that maybe Ahsoka had a pretty good reason to be annoyed when she took in the destruction. "Kriff." She muttered to herself, seeing the broken glass, torn clothes and message on the wall, in bold writing. Ashla needed to sort this out before Ahsoka returned home. Pulling the laptop out of the windowsill, she opened it slightly to see the home screen: It was a picture of all three of them at a picnic on the beach. Ashla tried to recall when this was taken but the hangover still stopped her from doing more than the most basic tasks.

Sighing, she placed it safely on her desk and started to clean up the shredded pieces of fabric. Bright yellows, blues, greens and reds fluttered around the room and Ashla herself as she placed them in the bin. 'I need to go shopping.' Ashla promised herself and Ahsoka as she cleaned up the broken glass as well. She really needed to get a handle on things whenever she got a bit drunk.

Ashla collected her phone, her handbag and a plastic and left a note beside Ahsoka's as she went out the house and into town. She groaned for the sun was too bright and the world too noisy for her in her hungover state. The town itself was actually pretty quiet for this time of day which Ashla was grateful for. Stepping into a charity shop where Ashla had always bought Ahsoka's clothes, she noticed that they were having a sale. 'Odd.' She thought for they rarely has sales unless it was a holiday. "Ashla! Good to see you again dear!" An elderly gentleman called out to her from behind the desk.

She smiled and made her way over to him. "Mr Sharn, hello, how are you? What's with the sale?" Ashla looked to her side where Ahsoka's size was. The girl was a bit small for her age but it meant that she saved money by buying smaller sizes.

Mr Sharn looked sadly around the store. "Business hasn't been the same recently, we're trying to drum up some business but this will probably be a clearance sale." The elder man ran his hand over the cash register that Ashla could see was neglected and empty. Business really hadn't been good for them.

"Oh I'm so sorry to hear that, this store is always so great. It's a small consolation however but Ahsoka needs an entire new wardrobe so hopefully that'll give you some pennies." Ashla patted him on the arm as she looked around the hoodies, t-shirts and jeans she usually bought.

It was extremely quiet in the store which suited her fuzzy brain just fine. Mr Sharn cleared his throat. "Ahsoka's a growing lady now, isn't she? Perhaps she'd like something more besides the jeans, hoodies and t-shirts?" He gestured towards some of the dresses that hung limply on rack after rack.

Ashla was about to kindly dispute his suggestion for she knew her daughter, Ahsoka didn't like all of those fancy things. While that was true, Ashla couldn't just say no while she was his only customer at the moment. "Thank you Mr Sharn, I'm sure Ahsoka wouldn't mind a slight variety." She smiled at him while she ran her hands over the fabric. "Wow this is exquisite! Where's it from?" It felt like wedding dress material, Ashla knew for she uses to work in a bridal shop.

Mr Sharn smiled at her interest but he didn't look keen to divulge. "My daughter's recently going through her second divorce and she donated her wedding dress for sale. Very generous of her. Plus that dress you're looking out was designed by her sister out of their Mother's old bridal gown. However their purpose can be for anything, not just weddings." Ashla looked stunned at the thought of someone departing with their wedding dress. She sympathised with his daughter and her divorce, that risk had been one of the reasons why Ashla has never remarried. Mrs Sharn had died over twenty years ago when she'd fallen ill, it had been hard on her sweet husband and now this store- her legacy- was going out of business. It wasn't fair.

Ashla pulled the dresses off the racks and placed them on top of the t-shirts, hoodies and jeans she'd already collected. She also rummaged around for a few pairs of trainers and boots for herself. Ahsoka's shoes had been difficult to destroy. "Well I'm not sure if this is much, but I'd like to buy these items please." She pulled out her purse while Mr Sharn checked them out.

He shook his head. "Don't you worry about me, I'm an old man who has lived his life. Any money is welcome but you need to focus on the youth. Your youth. Everyone needs their parents around, even if just one or not biological. Ahsoka is a good kid and you, Ashla, are a good mother. But take it from an old fool with two daughters, a son and six grandchildren: Don't be a mess. They remember what you don't and it leads to hurts if unchecked. I lost my way after my Cha died. My children were the ones who brought me back but are also the ones who remember what a mess I was. Thirty pounds." He smiled at her gently as she pulled out six ten pound notes.

He looked surprised but Ashla just leaned over the counter and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you Mr Sharn, consider this gratitude for all the good clothes and advice you've given me over the years." She collected her items and placed them in her bag before waving to him as she left.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter as I haven't wrote a story of this genre before. I hope I'm doing a good job. I'll update again soon. Bye, bye.