Artgirl

13// baby, it's cold outside

ARTGIRL 13:

"I remember when I lost my mind. There was something so pleasant about that place. Even your emotions had an echo, in so much space," Crazy by Gnarls Barkley

Zoey Willow Hunter

    IF HAPPINESS WAS A DRUG, then I needed rehab. I didn't know what it was, either magic or family, which brought my spirits higher than they'd ever been. Being around them made everything a little easier, a little better. An ocean's distance really did make a difference. Just when I thought that London was a mistake, I realized I was blessed with two gifts. I had a little family on opposite sides in the world, because being around my siblings and mother gave me an energy boost and endless laughter, and being able to make a job out of my art: something I made, weren't two things many people had the pleasure of tasting together.

Having hot temperatures on Christmas was a mess, it caused the hot chocolate to be too warm and become an iced drink. The only advantage that came out of it was the fact that the island was accessible. Even though years ago, the slight chill in the water would've prevented me from crossing through, the bridge built between two soils made my life much easier. I felt warm at the thought of going there on Christmas eve, I felt warm as I watched my mom try wedding dresses, I felt warm doing anything. Maybe it was the change of climate, but I was warm, down to the bottom of my core.

It was lovely. Perhaps just as lovely as Jessie singing holiday songs.

Nothing could match the fuzzy feeling I felt as mom changed into her fourth wedding dress. As most wedding stores were closed and her best friend was the manager at a wedding dress store, she brought ten wedding dresses and five potential bridesmaid's dresses over for a fitting. The latter was joined with an impromptu calm bachelorette party, to get all of the pent-up excitement about the wedding out one day before Christmas eve.

There was only one person who wasn't impressed by how beautiful my mom looked in each dress and ironicallyâit was her own mother. Grandma Hunter wasn't a fan of anything. At all. In fact, all she did was criticize how everyone looked in a French-veiled English. No one truly understood what she said, aside from my mom and Diana.

Mom stepped out of the guest bathroom to show us the fifth dress, a mermaid style that fit her perfectly. Julia cheered her on, while Skye and I did classic catcalls. We sat in oversized shirts that served as quick pauses between trying on the dresses.

Just as we were about to begin praising mom's aging beauty, Grandma pursed her lips together. "Non, non, non. It is too tight. What are you trying to do? Be a twenty-year old woman again? No, Amanda. C'est laid." (It's ugly.)

I looked at Skye, who raised an eyebrow. "Hey, Grandma," Skye said, "didn't you get married when you were thirty? Mom is only a few years older than you were at the time, and she looks pretty smoking."

"Sm-oking," added Julia, whose smile was brighter than the lights on the tree.

"I don't understand how you think you can talk to me like that. I am your grandmère. Have some respect for me. I know more in life than you, petite blonde." (Grandmère : grandma, petite blonde: little blondie)

Mom winced and cupped her hand over Skye's mouth, to prevent a full-blown fight from happening. "It is a little tight," she said. "I think the last one is the one, anyway. Can you girls go try on the last bridesmaids' batch? Jules already has her dress."

Skye and I grabbed the dresses from mom's friend and tried them on quickly. Meanwhile, Skye was loudly thinking of a way to kick our dear grandmother out before she snapped and destroyed something. We smoothed the edges of our dresses, which I absolutely loved. They were of a golden color, smooth and long. They complimented our figures differently but just as elegantly, showed enough skin to leave much to the imagination.