The Society

Chapter 6: We're Not a Couple

HALE

"No, Duchess. Stay," I said, sliding through the smallest opening I could in the back door in attempt to keep her from following me inside. I had been tossing her tennis ball in the pool for over an hour, and her fur was dripping wet. If she ever managed to get inside on the hardwood floors—or worse, the furniture—my mother wouldn't let me live to see my next birthday.

Duchess pawed at the glass to be let in, leaving a streak of mud down one of the window panes. "No!" I yelled with a stern expression, shaking my finger at her. She hung her head and trudged over to her little dog house on the porch.

It was a wonder my neat-freak mom had put up with a dog for so long. When I was younger, I had begged them for years for a puppy, and they finally got me one for Christmas when I was 12—on the conditions that I alone took care of her, never let her make a mess (or cleaned it up when she did), and let my mother name her—hence Duchess. It was supposed to be my dog, but my mom fell in love with her just as much as I had; she took Duchess on daily walks and even let her sleep in their bed occasionally.

I walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of water, and glanced down at my watch. It was already 6:00, and I hadn't heard anything from my mother or Ella yet. I was beginning to get  worried that my mom had kidnapped her, but then I heard the front door open, along with the sound of multiple shopping bags rubbing against one another.

I entered the foyer to find my mother and Ella trying to squeeze through front door while carrying about ten bags in each hand. Ella looked slightly overwhelmed, while my mother seemed as exhilarated as ever. After they finally made it past the doorjamb, they plunked all of them down at the foot of the staircase, making a sea of brightly colored paper  bags stuffed to the rafters with random objects.

"Hey..." I started. "How was—"

"One second," my mom interrupted. "I'm going to get the rest!" She raced back out the open door.

My eyes widened. "The rest?!" Leave it to my mother to go overboard.

Ella sighed heavily. "Yes—the rest. Apparently I need to have a fully stocked wardrobe ready for any season, even though summer just started." She put her hands up signaling she had no idea why, and chuckled a bit.

"Well, did you have fun, or was my mother complete torture?" I raised my eyebrows questioningly.

"No, it was fun," she said sincerely, nodding her head. "You're mom's insanely nice! It's just that shopping with her should be considered an Olympic sport."

We both laughed; that was entirely true. She had dragged me shopping on a few occasions, and I had needed a few days to recuperate afterwards.

My mother burst back through the door with another full load in her arms, then placed it with the other bags. She stepped back and placed her hands on her hips, looked over the mass of purchases, and let out a big breath.

"I think we did fairly well," she said, nodding her approval.

Ella and I exchanged a glance and tried to hold back our laughter. If this was my mother trying to make up for never having a daughter, she was doing a too good of a job. She hadn't looked happier in years, though; it would be nice for her now that Ella was around, and she could have someone to talk to.

"I'm glad you guys had fun," I told my mom.

She beamed. "It was great! Oh, and before I forget; we ran into Julie at the mall. She said that Parker and everyone are going to see a movie at 7:00 if you want to join."

"Um..." I glanced over at Ella. I couldn't leave her alone with my mother for the rest of the night. That would just be cruel. Plus I kind of wanted to hang out with her and get to know her a bit; my mother had already spent more time with her than I had. "I think I'll pass tonight. You know, since Ella just got here and—"