The Lavender Butterfly

Chapter 11

Meredith opened the door, breaking my attention from staring at the wall, several bags in her arms. “I’m sorry I took so long,” she said. “It’s not much, but it should be enough. This should get you through the day.” She laid the clothes out on the bed and tossed me a pack of girls’ junior underwear. “I decided to get you these instead of the Hello Kitty brand,” she chuckled. She could tell by my facial expression that I didn’t appreciate her humor at this time. “I’m….sorry….” she stammered. “Anyway, I hope these clothes work for you.” I opened the pack of underwear and immediately put them on. She handed me a matching junior bra. I held it awkwardly, examining it from arms’ length. I put the cups over my breasts, not knowing what to do next. “You’ve never done this before,” Meredith said, as she let out an amused smile. “Here, let me help you,” she said as she walked me through how to put on the bra. I looked down at the shirt and pants she laid out for me. The pants were jeans, short capri style. One shirt was a pink short sleeved shirt with a heart-shaped rose in a flowerpot with a smiley face on it. Below it, the shirt read, “Spread Joy.” “Really, Meredith? Pink?” I spoke. “Oh, come on, look at it, it’s cute!” she replied. I picked up another shirt. It was a white shirt with a print of a light blue butterfly on it. “A lavender butterfly,” I thought to myself. I looked again at the clothes. They were tiny. I was thinking to myself that there was no way I would fit in them. However, when I put the clothes on, they fit perfectly. I looked into the mirror. Cute wasn’t necessarily what I was aiming for, but as a 13-year-old girl, I kind of had to play the role for now. I turned and modeled the clothes in the mirror. I was afraid to admit it, but she wasn’t wrong. I did look kind of cute. Meredith looked over my shoulder and grinned. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you? She said. “Well, I don’t really have a choice now, do I? I think you are enjoying this more than I am!” I replied. Changing the subject, she handed me two pairs of shoes. One pair of chuckers and a pair of open-toed sandals. I slipped my bare feet into the open-toed sandals. “Before we go,” Meredith said, “We need to brush that hair. Come over here.” I sat in front of her as she pushed the hairbrush through my long, brown curly hair. “There,” she said. “That should do, but you’re going to have to learn to brush your own hair, sweetie. You are a little lady after all,” she said warmly. She really was enjoying this. But I thought to myself….what was the alternative? These were the cards we were dealt, and she was just making the most of it. “Okay, let’s grab our stuff and check out,” Meredith said. I grabbed my suitcase and lugged it toward the door. The suitcase was a lot heavier than it was before, or it at least seemed so. I was significantly smaller than when we checked into the hotel. We rolled the suitcases down to the main entrance. Meredith leaned over the counter to check out. “I’ll take care of that for you,” as he swiped her card. “Did you enjoy your stay, ma’am? He continued. “Yes, the hotel was wonderful,” she replied. “Just curious,” she continued, “Have there been any incidents of paranormal activity here, such as people swapping bodies, or transforming into someone different?” The man looked amused, but then his expression turned stern. “You know, we have people all over the world that flock here due to the allure of all the rumored paranormal activity. We’ve heard ghost stories, and incidents where people observed lights flickering and the occasional draft of cold air, but we’ve never seen people turn into other people. Or animals, or trees, or houseplants for that matter. We did, however, get some complaints about a young girl screaming last night. Why do you ask, dear?” “No reason,” Meredith replied. “Come on, Olivia, let’s head out,” she continued. “Olivia?” I said quietly. “Just play along,” Meridith hissed. “Have a wonderful day ladies, come back again soon!” the man said as we continued out the door to the waiting car outside. “Once again…Olivia?” I said as we were walking to the car. “I don’t know, I froze. I had to address you with some name.” Meredith replied. An image of the girl I saw in the mirror came to mind. “Well, if I can no longer be Chris…. I suppose Olivia suits me well. I think I’ll go with that from now on,” I said. We got in the car, and after we shut the doors, Meredith turned to me. “I didn’t tell you earlier, but if we were to have a girl, Olivia would have been at the top of my list,” Meredith confided. “It’s a beautiful name,” I replied. She started to tear up a bit, and she brushed my face. “Good, you can have it,” she said, as she kissed me on the forehead.  As we were about to leave, Meredith’s phone rang. “Hey, Stella,” she answered. “Meredith, where are you? Chloe advanced to the national finals, and she’s scheduled to dance at 1:30! Are you and Chris going to be here?” “Listen, Stella,” she replied. “We ran into some issues that we need to take care of before we come up there. I don’t think we’ll make it up there in time. I’m so sorry! Tell her we are rooting for her!!!” “What’s wrong, Meredith? Is everything okay?” Stella replied. “I….don’t want to talk about it right now, I’ll fill you in later, Stella.” Meredith continued. “Okay, take care, Meredith. I’ll see you soon!” Stella replied as the call concluded. “What are you going to tell her when we see her? How do we explain what happened?” I said. Meredith replied shakily, “I…..have an idea. Just play along and we’ll be fine.” I replied, “Is it a bad idea?” Meredith chuckled. “Probably, but I think it might be the only option we have,” she said nervously as we drove away.