Forever Glamorous

Chapter 24

THEY HAD SPENT THE rest of the day together in front of Mrs. Smith's house as he worked on that vanity. He worked hard and quickly. By the end of the day, the paint was drying.

He had given her that bright smile and promised she would have a beautiful vanity waiting for her by the morning. She acted like she was indifferent to it, but she was giddy.

She was especially giddy when his words later rang with truth. As soon as Aura had woken up, he was knocking on the door, asking for her. Grandma Ruby was delighted to have a new piece of furniture for her house, and even wanted to pay Tyson for his hard work. He declined it over and over again.

Now the sleek white vanity stood in her room, with a clear mirror and a nice working space for her to do her makeup. She bit down on her lip to keep from squealing.

She promised Tyson she would do her makeup that afternoon, so they could head to the beach to take pictures. For the time being, he was out getting Mrs. Smith a few groceries she was missing.

Aura wanted to wait for him to come back to fetch for him, and maybe spend some time with Mrs. Smith, before going back to their original makeup plan. But Grandma Ruby made cherry pie and was adamant for her to take one to Mrs. Smith immediately.

So Aura knocked on Mrs. Smith's door, holding Grandma Ruby's homemade cherry pie in her other hand. The sun was high in the sky, still making its trip to its highest point. The morning breeze blew her hair away from her face, and she struggled not to get it on the pie. If she did, she'd get an earful from Grandma Ruby, and that was not how she planned to pass her day.

She heard shuffling inside, and soon Mrs. Smith opened the door for her. Her smile widened when she realized it was Aura. She spread her arms wide, like she always did, and begged her to come inside.

"Thank you, Mrs. Smith," she said. "Grandma sent you a cherry pie."

Mrs. Smith beamed at the presentation of the pie. "Oh, your grandma is gonna kill me with those sweets." She pretended to glower, but Aura could see her excitement bubbling inside her.

"I'm sure she baked it with the least amount of sugar." Aura winked, handing her the pie. "You know how Grandma doesn't like playing with her health much."

"Yeah, she was annoying when she started going for healthier options." Mrs. Smith looked to the corner, as if envisioning all those stored memories of their time together. "But at least she learned the concept of moderation." She laughed and waved her over to the kitchen.

She offered her a drink, and this time she accepted. Aura wanted to hear more about Grandma Ruby through Mrs. Smith's perspective. They had been neighbors for decades. They had moved in at the same time with their respective husbands, all in their early years. It was no doubt why they got together to make an unstoppable force of a friendship.

Mrs. Smith handed her a tall glass of water. Aura gave her thanks and started sipping as they moved to the living room.

"Have a seat, sweetheart. You know you're always welcome here."

"Thank you, Mrs. Smith," she said as she sat down.

Mrs. Smith sat on the love seat on the side, smiling over at Aura for just being there. Aura felt like a kid again. She recalled how she ran around those same floors being chased by Tyson. Then his parents would come in telling them to settle down, but Mrs. Smith would wave them off behind their backs, allowing them to be kids.

She had fond memories in that place. She wondered how tainted they were to Tyson after going through such a great tragedy.

"Aura, I'm so happy you're here," Mrs. Smith said. "I haven't seen my Tyson smiling so much since you came."