How We Found Us | ✔️

Chapter Nineteen

Shopping with Riley's mom was akin to attempting to run a marathon in twelve feet of snow. It was just as slow, just as exhausting, and given the amount of times I'd slipped on ice and fallen into a snow bank, it was just as wet. The first time I slipped, Eleanor and Kelly both rushed to my side in an effort to help me right myself. By the time the fourth and fifth slip had come, their concern faded and laughter ensued. If I weren't sopping wet from a pile of snow, I might have laughed too.

It could've been worse, I could've actually landed on the concrete and hurt myself. As of then, the only thing hurt was my pride. My boots, with their thinning tread, were no match to the winters of the east coast. When we wound up in a nice, warm, crowded mall, my body practically did a summersault through the hyperthermia.

My happiness, however, was short lived once the shopping began. There were twenty-five clothing stores in the three-story mall. Within the first two hours, we had visited five of them and I tried on more dresses than I could count. Most were of the fancy ball gown variety, the kind with veils dragging behind, layer upon layer of fabric, and one even had a wired hoop skirt that made me look like the top of a wedding cake. Needless to say, I was not amused by any of them.

I did my best to keep a smile on my face and pretend I enjoyed the montage of trying on dress after dress after dress and modeling it to Eleanor. By hour number four, Kelly had found her New Years ball gown and so the focus was completely on me. It wasn't that I hated shopping, it was fun and often therapeutic. What I did hate, was having to model every article of clothing I tried.

"Sorry about my mom," Kelly said. We sat in a dark corner of a coffee shop in the mall, taking a break from the endless shopping. At least one good thing came from the shopping; I found a better pair of boots that would hold up in the weather.

"She's fairly intense right now," I said, glancing over to where Eleanor leaned against the display case holding an array of pastries. The poor barista behind the counter had to go over each and every one of them and explain what products were in them, how fresh they were, and God only knows what else.

"This is her on her best behavior actually." Kelly grunted. "Riley made her promise to stop and think before she spoke. It was the only way he would dare let you go shopping without him and since Mom really wanted a girls day, Riley won."

"I don't understand why the dress I brought isn't good enough. I know it's fairly simple compared to what you picked out, but it's not right to let her buy me a ball gown!"

"It's not that the dress isn't good enough," Kelly said. "It's more Mom has this idea about her New Years party. She thinks every women or girl who attends them needs to feel like Cinderella. She hopes that it's a magical night for all of us. The fact you're here with Riley means even more to her."

"Um . . ." I licked my lips, wondering how to proceed with telling Riley's baby sister I wasn't dating him. Why did it make me nervous to tell the truth? It's not like my dating Riley made their lives whole or something. "There's something I should tell you."

Kelly waived a hand. "Yeah I know, you're not dating Riley. Mom knows too. Still . . ." She took a sip of her coffee and looked toward Eleanor who'd finally decided on a pastry, several of them, and was currently paying. "You're the first girl Riley has brought home since Josephina crushed him."

"So you know what Josephina did?"

Kelly shook her head. "Not specifics, no. Mom is taking a blissful ignorance stance because she knows it was probably bad enough that her friendship with the Valescos would have to end as a result. As for me, I can probably guess but if my brother doesn't want me to know, I won't ask. He doesn't know everything that happened between me and Deaton before the Michelsons moved, and I doubt he'd be any happier with Deaton then I would be with Josephina."