Same Bitches - Post Malone

9

To Lux's absolute joy the seating arrangements for lunch have been changed so now she gets to sit at a table with her mother, grandmother, Austin's parents, Demi and Shawn, and - drum roll, please...Austin! This is what dreams are fucking made of.

"I will have the satay chicken please," Austin says. "Same," Lux says - she could not be bothered to look at the menu again. "You can't have that," Austin says. Excuse me? Who the fuck does he think he is telling her what she can or can not eat. She looks at him and gives him her dirtiest look. "It has peanuts in it, Lux," he says. Lux keeps her glare on him - she thinks she was subconsciously trying to kill herself, satay chicken sounds very appealing right now. "Lux," she hears her mother hiss and kicks her under the table. "Sorry," she laughs nervously at Austin's parents, "you don't know how lucky you are that you landed up with two sweet boys. We landed up with an angel and a heathen - it's quite the ride," her mom says.

Lux bites her lip and sits back - her mother's judgmental words always stung and she has never held back on them. "Aww, well I think it's nice. It would have been boring without our Lux to keep us on our toes," her grandmother steps in. She has always defended her, even when she was wrong. Lux loves her. "And she is sweet if you just give her a chance," Demi adds. What is with all these people defending her? "Get her the cranberry chicken. She likes that," she hears Austin whisper to the waiter. She does like that but she will never let him know that and she is going to complain about it and push it away.

"So Lux, we would love to hear more about you. Demi goes on about her wonderful sister all the time. Tell us what you do in New York," Jody says. Lux likes her smile - it's kind. Lux opens her mouth to talk, but her mother cuts her off. "She owns a cute little shop, it's small but it pays the rent," she says. Her mom is a little embarrassed she chose to be a tattoo artist when Demi is a doctor and most of her cousins are lawyers or doctors too.

"Oh, you run your own business?" Rich asks. "I have one shop so far but I have just signed a deal that will see me opening another store soon," Lux explains. "She is a boss bitch," Demi says with a proud smile. "Wow, that's amazing, Lux. You sound like a smart woman. What do you sell at your shop?" Jody asks. Lux watches her mother melt into a puddle of embarrassment. Fuck, she smells a family meeting being called shortly. "Tattoos. She is a tattoo artist and a sought-after one at that. We are proud of our Lux," her grandmother says. Austin's parents look at her with shocked and confused faces - geeze, stuck-up bitches.

"That's...great. I love a woman who is not afraid to build an empire by following their dreams," Rich says. Oh, she read that wrong. We'll take back the stuck-up bitches thought. "Forgive our confusion. You don't look like a tattoo artist...straight neat long black bob, elegant clothing, light makeup, French tip nails, and not a tattoo in sight - you look more like a lawyer or doctor that a whimsical free-spirited artist. No shade, it's just not what we expected," Jody says. "It's the irony of it I suppose - that's where the artist comes in," Lux says taking a sip of her white wine and ignoring her mother's disapproving grunt.

"You...you opened your store?" Austin whispers.  "Well, it was a dream, Austin, hard work made it a goal so yes," Lux says trying to control her annoyance. She had spoken about her dream in great detail to Austin, late at night when they were wrapped up in each other - he had never taken much notice then so she does not know why he looks almost proud right now. "Well, Demi has just written her final exam and is well on her way to becoming a surgeon. I just can't stop gushing to my friends about how proud we are of her," his mother says. "Oh stop," Demi says giggling behind her hand. Rich and Jody turn to her and start talking about the difficulties medical students go through while her mother joins in and Shawn wraps his arm around her sweetly. Her grandmother drinks more wine - she will need her cage soon.

"Why the fuck are you staring at me?" Lux hisses to Austin and takes another sip of her wine. "You wanted that tattoo shop so bad. Your body used to shake when you spoke about it...I am glad you persevered, Lux. You worked very hard...I saw that," Austin whispers. Lux snaps her head to him and glares, she hopes her glare burns a hole in his head.