Monday came much too fast.
I had invited Braxton over for dinner so we could announce our big news.
"Hello Mr. Jackson." he greeted my father with a handshake and a nod.
"Mrs. Jackson." He acknowledged my mother with a hug.
"Well, Braxton and I have some news that we'd like to share." I say over dinner.
My parents look at each other nervously.
"I bought a house in Winona, and we're moving in together." Braxton stops me.
"You're what." My mother said as more of a statement than a question.
We both nod and he grabs my hand.
"Where do you plan on getting the money to pay for this kind of thing? What about insurance and mortgage?"
"Sir, I'd like you to know that I've got this all figured out. I'm going to give your daughter the best life possible."
And with that, we finished eating and left for Braxton's house.
Not another word was spoken between me and my parents the whole rest of the night.
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Thursday around 11:00 am I woke up, still a little exhausted from the past few days. We had finally gotten all our boxes moved in to the new house, with the help of Jeff and his horse trailer. It was our first day in the house and I wasn't yet used to waking up in a strange bedroom.
Braxton went in to town to look for a job, so I was left alone in our new home.
I got up to make myself some breakfast, but I soon got distracted when my phone buzzed.
It was a text from Amy.
"I heard you live here now? What are you doing today?"
"Yeah, the trailer park just north of town. I don't have anything planned yet, do you guys want to get together some time in the near future?"
I continued to hunt for something to eat, but I again got off track when she responded quickly.
"Actually, Mike's working, but I got the day off. Can we meet up somewhere for a 'girls day'?"
"We can go out to lunch if you want. or what ever else there is to do in this town"
"Yes, let's go to lunch. What do you want to eat?" I read every message as if she's speaking directly to me.
"How about I go to your place and we'll go from there?"
She sends a thumbs up emoji and says to be there by noon.
I take a quick shower, deciding that breakfast was no longer necessary.
I walked from the bathroom to the bedroom naked, because I can do that now.
I stood in front of my full length mirror wearing only a plush robe, not sure of what to wear.
"What should I wear?" I text her. With no surprise, she replies almost immediately.
"How about we wear dresses? Just a suggestion."
"I'm fine with dresses." I respond. I put my phone down on the dresser in front of me, turn on some music, and go to the half empty closet.
I look in the way back to find my favorite sun dress. I pick it up and hang it on the mirror while I look for shoes. My shoes are still mostly packed away, but I manage to find my nicer pair of cowboy boots, and go to get dressed.
My dress was a pink-orange color with white stripes and it fit me good. I step in to view of the mirror and evaluate my choice.
I put on a pair of neon mismatched socks and pulled my cowboy boots on.
While I wait for my hair to finish drying, I once again go to the mirror and look over my outfit. The dress was low cut and a little shorter than I felt comfortable with, but it was the first time in forever I had worn something that made me feel good about the way I look.
I don't consider myself to be fat, I'm just not skinny at all, or very good looking in anything that goes up higher than my knees.
When my hair was dry enough, I put it in to two braids, one on each side of my head. Then I picked one of my cowboy hats. I decided to go with the black felt one. I feel like it completed my outfit.
