A Snapshot of Dixie

30: Friend or Foe?

DIXIE

Quickly glancing at my phone, I see Tucker calling, but looking at Iris in the flesh has thrown me into a frozen state.

"Hi, Dixie Mae. How was your first week of classes?" Iris smiles and steps toward me, throwing her arms around me in a friendly hug.

"Uhm, they've been great. How are you?" I respond, pulling back from her unexpected gesture.

"I'm fantastic! Sorry, I didn't keep in contact after the concert. I had a family emergency but everything is squared away now. Are you going to the football game tonight?"

Feeling all sorts of things from her peppy attitude and subject change, I shake my thoughts and sling my backpack around the seat of my computer chair. "Yeah, I planned on it. Are you?"

"I've never been much for sporting events but I'm in the spirit of new beginnings, so I think I'll join you if that's alright?"

"Sure. Back in Alabama, Friday night football games were all the rage. It'll be fun to have a little piece of normalcy in that aspect." I let out, feeling conflicted about what I meant by that.

I mean, my classes have been normal but the rest of my life has been anything but. So many questions surround her involvement on the night that Tucker came back into my life. And then there's the issue with my mother... God, she's called so many times and I haven't been able to answer because I'm afraid of what I might say to her.

"Look who's not so perfect now, Miss Alabama."

"How dare you deceive my father like that! You don't deserve to breathe the same air as someone like him, you lying, stuffy..."

And this is exactly why I haven't talked to her. My thoughts quickly turn violent which is so unlike me.

"I agree, Dixie. Normalcy is all I need right now." Iris smiles and looks down at her wrist, skimming her fingers over it.

Catching a glimpse of a few cuts on it, I trail my gaze back to hers as she pulls on the sleeve of her black v-neck shirt and smiles.

"This was left at the door when I got here. The box said "Dixie Cup", so I figured that must be you." Iris shares while retrieving a white box from her desk and handing it to me.

"Oh, thank you. It's a nickname Tucker gave me when we were kids. I have this arrangement of freckles on the back of my neck that look like a cup. It's silly." I giggle and look down at the box.

I don't know what compelled me to spill all that out. You'd think I was craving some sort of female companionship or something pathetic. Ugh, the girls here are not as welcoming as they are back in Alabama that's for sure.

"I don't think it's silly, Dixie Mae. It's adorable! Most people live for those sentimental notions. I know I do." She looks away like the thought sparked a painful remembrance for her.

Eager to see what Tucker sent me, I take a seat on my bed and open the box. Seeing a note laying on top, I read it first.

"Someone wise beyond her years once told me that daisies signify new beginnings. They close their petals at dusk and open back up when the sun shines again. I'm so happy that we got our new beginning. I love you, my daisy girl. - Tucky

Beaming after reading his letter, I pull out a pair of white Kate Spade sandals that have daisies lining the straps. Running my fingers over the leather petals, I feel overwhelmed at this moment, realizing I have the love of a man who knows me so well.

Kicking off my worn-out cowboy boots and peeling off my socks, I try on the sandals and smirk seeing that they're the perfect fit.

"Dang, those are cute, Dixie but you need to do something about those unpainted toes." Iris lets out gazing at my feet.