Second Chances: An Unexpected Angel

Chapter 4

The next day, I went to the mall with Hayley and Abby. The three of us were treating ourselves to a shopping spree.

Abby came out of the dressing room, trying on a green sundress.

"Gorgeous," Hayley and I said.

"Really?" Abby inquired. "You don't think it makes me look fat?"

"Heck no," I said.

"Sweetie, you are not fat," said Hayley, "not in the least bit."

"The people who told you that are all idiots."

Hayley nodded in agreement.

Abby smiled graciously. "Thanks, guys."

We shopped for a few more spring and summertime outfits. Then, we went to the food court for lunch.

"So, how was your date with Logan last night?" Abby asked me.

"Awesome," I said with a giddy smile. "We went out to eat at our usual place. Then, he took me back to his place, and we watched Celtic Woman, and then..."

"And, then... what?" Hayley asked.

"You had sex," Abby whispered, "didn't you?"

I blushed and giggled.

Hayley and Abby smiled eagerly.

"How was it?" Hayley whispered.

"Amazing," I squealed softly. Just in case any of you were wondering, yes, it was my first time. I told them all about the experience while trying not to get too graphic, seeing as we were eating. They burst into snickers and giggles when I told them about the underwear getting caught in the blinds.

"You did use condoms, right?" Hayley inquired.

I nodded. "And, he pulled out." Even though I was on birth control, I still wanted to be super careful.

"Good, 'cuz I know you don't wanna get pregnant."

"No."

"Does he know you don't want kids?" asked Abby.

"Yeah," I replied. "We talked about it the other day. He understands, and he said he's okay with it. I hope so, because if he's not... I don't wanna be the one to take that away from him. Kids are great, but I know my limits, and I know I can't handle being a parent. Just..." I sighed heavily. "I really love him, and... I meant what I said when I said I would do anything for him, but... that's the one thing I can't do for him."

"Well, I'm sure if he had any issues with it, he would tell you," Hayley said reassuringly.

Abby nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," I said, unsure, "I just hope it's not a deal-breaker for us."

"That guy loves you like no other," said Abby. "I don't think he's going anywhere."

As much as I wanted to fully agree with Abby, I still had that fear of losing him in the back of my head.

After lunch, we decided to do a little more shopping. We headed to Barnes & Noble, and browsed around for a bit.

"Oh, my gosh," Hayley said. "They have the extended editions of all the Lord of the Rings movies on sale." She marched up to the DVDs, and grabbed all three of the movies she wanted.

Yes, my sister was the biggest Lord of the Rings fan. She would tell me all about the movies and the books, which got me a little curious myself. However, for some dumb reason, I never got around to watching the movies.

"Awwwww!" Hayley cried. "They have a cute little Sméagol plush doll!" She hurried over to the display, and gently grabbed the doll from the shelf. It was a life-sized, plush doll of the character, Sméagol/Gollum from Lord of the Rings.

"Whoa," Abby said in amazement, "he looks so real."

"I know!" Hayley squeaked. "He's so cute. Cheyenne, look!" she cried, showing the doll to me.

I looked at the doll for a moment, and I felt a few tears welling up. Even though I didn't really know who Sméagol was, the doll was so beautiful. I became a little more curious about the movies. I need to watch them sometime, I thought to myself. Hayley handed me the doll to hold. I hugged him. He was so soft and squishy and snuggly. I smiled like a little girl at Christmas.

"How much is it?" asked Abby.

Hayley looked at the price tag and smiled. "Only twenty bucks," she said. "Not bad."

"You gonna get it?"

"Um, duh," Hayley teased.

Abby and I snickered as the three of us headed for the register to pay for the DVDs and the doll. Then, we continued with our shopping spree. Off to the music store, which is where Hayley worked. While we were there, she bought me some recording equipment and software, a microphone stand, and a pop screen for my mic.

When we arrived home later, Hayley installed the software onto my computer, and showed me how to use everything. Surprisingly, I picked up on it very quickly. Oh, my gosh! I was so excited to finally be able to record songs with professional sounding studio equipment! I couldn't wait to get started. I knew exactly what the first thing I wanted to do was.