Mama's Boy

♊05♌

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Aiden woke up the following morning feeling refreshed and renewed. She flipped the blanket back and stood up, stretching and yawning. Scratching her lower back, she walked out of her room and into the bathroom across the hallway.

She didn't bother looking in the mirror as she flipped the light switch and sat on the toilet. After releasing her bladder, she flushed it before standing in front of the sink. She looked up and frowned at her reflection. Her blonde hair was a tangled mess, her eyes were a little pink and contained eye boogers, though they were wide open, and there was a trail of dried saliva on the left corner of her mouth. The effects of a good night's sleep, she thought to herself.

She reached an arm out to the towel rack and grabbed her dark green, cotton, face rag. She turned the tap water on, warm first and then hot, and cleansed her face. Afterwards, she brushed her teeth and hopped into the bath tub to take a quick morning shower.

Shivering, she wrapped herself up in a beige, beach towel and made her way towards her bedroom. Aiden ditched the towel, tossing it onto her disheveled bed, and strutted over to the elongated, elliptical mirror posted up on her door. She stared at her body, not at all ashamed of her petite frame. Her butt was just fat enough to grip, her breast were big enough to cup, her hips were wide enough to grasp and that's all that mattered to her. Everything was just right and her body was beautiful. She removed her cell phone from its charger and began to take pictures of herself, meant for her owns eyes, just because she wanted to do so and, well, because she could.

"Aiden Jean, you are one beautiful, glamorous, fantabulously stunning, young lady. Don't you ever forget it," she said to her reflection. And to herself, she replied, "AJ, you're too kind. Oh, and don't you worry your pretty little head off. I won't."

She gave her reflection an air kiss before, reluctantly, moving to put some clothes on. For her undergarments, she wore a black lingerie set; again, only because she wanted to. As her outfit of the day, she wore a black, loose-fitting, boat-necked, long sleeved, dress. It could also pass for a shirt but she didn't want to wear it in that way. She put a pair of simple, black heels on her pedicured feet to complete the set. And finally, with a touch of lip balm, some eyeliner and a flip of the hair, Aiden grabbed her shoulder bag, along with her phone, and left her room.

Besides the sounds of the floor creaking and the persistent click-clacking of her heels, the apartment was quiet, indicating that her sisters were still asleep. Aiden basked in the silence, loving that she wouldn't have to hear her sisters' voices first thing in the morning. She loved them dearly, but their negativity was agonizing. She liked to stay confident and positive at all times and their attitudes always brought her mood down.

She hummed Katy Perry's song, Roar, to herself as she shimmered into the kitchen and popped a Jimmy Dean's breakfast croissant into the microwave.

She peeled the plastic, clear seal off of the streaming croissant and wrapped it a paper towel, not wanting to eat it while it was scolding hot.

Leaving the kitchen, Aiden strutted through the living room to the front door. She turned the bottom lock on the door before she left out, heading for the gallery.

•••••••

Aiden stepped of the bus and tossed the paper towel into a nearby trashcan. Still chewing her breakfast, she swiped away the crumbs on her hands. Her shoulder bag in tow, she walked confidently down the sidewalk.

Unlike the second time she'd went to the gallery, Aiden knew the directions. She took her time walking, looking around at her surroundings. She was surrounded by small boutiques and shops. She peered at an off-white wedding gown displayed in a window of a dress shop. It was pretty but it wasn't what she would want to wear on her special day.