Low Income Affection | S.M & C.C

Thankful For You

Camila's POV

"Why are you so nervous, babe?" Shawn laughed, squeezing my hand as I bounced my leg up and down on my seat of the plane. I laughed nervously, "it's just...I haven't been on a plane since..." it took some time to think about, "...since my first year at Cornell."

His eyes widened, clearly in shock by my statement, "you haven't travelled since?"

I shook my head, "nope."

"Have you ever travelled before?" He asked, "besides moving from California to New York." He added.

If it were anyone else I was talking to, I'd probably be the most embarrassed. Quite honestly, if it were a few months ago, I'd be embarrassed but in these past few months with Shawn, I've learned that he's never one to judge and I was starting to not care too much about money.

"I've never travelled before." I replied, dropping my head before bringing it back up with a smile, "my dad used to build me things...like slides and he'd splash me with water and we'd pretend it's a water park," I laughed at the sudden memory.

"And my mom would get recipes online to recreate those desserts from Disney World and we'd pretend we were there...we even made the Mickey Mouse ears."

I was grateful for my parents for making me feel special and not having me worry about the little money we had. I never worried when I was a kid. I didn't understand anything about money or other financial issues, my parents were quick to not bring it up in front of me. But as I got older, I learned and began to understand how worrisome it was to be losing money or to not have money to provide. This would be why I began to work. Of course, I got made fun of for having to work as the other kids got to hang out at the mall after school and pick out anything they wanted to buy without checking the price tag first. I never experienced things like that. I never went to birthday parties, not that I was invited to many, because I didn't want to show up with no gift. I started to make sure my grades were as high as possible so that I could be reprimanded for a scholarship to a good school, which paid off.

Shawn squeezed my hand before bringing it up to his lips, "after thanksgiving, we'll go to Disney World...or anywhere you want."

When I was little, I always dreamed about going to Disney World. I always wanted to be a Disney princess or at least meet one but to no surprise, I couldn't. We didn't have cable or any electronics besides the phone that was shared between my parents so I could never watch any of the cartoons that were on tv so I instead turned to books that Damon used to loan me and then sometimes, before dinner, I'd watch some cartoons at his house.

I smiled, my eyes twinkling and my heart swelling, "I've always wanted to go to Disney World," I hummed. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to my forehead, "then that's where we'll go."

The plane ride wasn't too bad. However, the turbulence messed me up but luckily, I had Shawn right by my side, coaxing me through it.

Shawn insisted on getting a hotel nearby so that we weren't bombarding my parents space and I appreciated that since my bedroom was small and could barely fit me in it.

Upon arrival to my parents house, we settled our bags down and I warned him that dinner would probably be small and if we're lucky, mashed potatoes would be present but he shrugged it off and reminded me that it was about spending time with loved ones and not how gourmet the food was on the table.

I couldn't help but feel incredibly guilty that Shawn was with me instead of with his family. No matter how many times he reassured me that his family didn't mind and that he'd much rather be with me, I couldn't help but feel horrible for even asking him to join me for a thanksgiving that would most likely consist of leftovers they had and possibly some small decorations.