The Sinclair Brothers ✔️

(38) Something To Dream About

On Saturday morning, Carolynn woke up Makennah with a tray of fresh fruit, oatmeal, and orange juice. 'A light meal' she called it, because they were going shopping for a homecoming dress today and she didn't want to be bloated.

The shops they intended to visit were so fancy that they required appointments. Miraculously, Carolynn squeezed her in and informed Makennah to prepare for a day of homecoming festivities.

Carolynn was eating up every possible second of this. She screamed when Makennah came home and hugged her endlessly. From the second she received the news about her nomination, Carolynn made calls, planned big things, went shopping for food (Makennah still didn't understand why that was a necessity), among other wild things that Makennah didn't understand or even try to comprehend.

Because she figured these shops were pretty bougie, Makennah was finishing up her fresh fruit cup in the car after she hurriedly got ready and dedicated most of her time to curling her hair and donning a little bit of makeup. She dressed classier than usual and wore some jewelry.

"So what color do you think you want your dress to be?" Carolynn asked as she drove her mini cooper to the main shopping center.

Makennah shrugged. "Hadn't thought about it much."

"Do you want to color your hair before homecoming?" She asked.

Makennah munched on a piece of pineapple. "Um...I guess I could." She hadn't really thought about it.

"Great, you don't have a game on Wednesday night, right? I'll schedule it then. Give it a day or two to settle before Friday night. Have you thought about the gown you'd like for the grand march?"

Makennah finished off her fruit and downed it with a bit of orange juice. "Grand march? What's that?"

Carolynn gasped. Makennah suddenly thought of Grace. She was surprised that Grace wasn't invited along for the sheer stark resemblance between Grace and Carolynn. They would get along great...both so dramatic. "Did you even read the packet?!"

She barely refrained from rolling her eyes. "No, not really."

"Makennah! There's so much you have to do! So much you have to know! So much you have to prepare for! Making homecoming court is a big deal!"

Yeah, she was starting to grasp that.

One of Carolynn's hands danced over to her side of the car and tapped a little beat on Makennah's knee. "But no worries. I'm here to help!"

"Thank you," she said with a smile, because she really was grateful that she had someone like Carolynn. Not for the first time, she compared Carolynn to her biological mother, Candy. She was rather unimpressed with her mother's terrible shortcomings. But a piece of her still felt guilty accepting all that Carolynn offered to Makennah as a foster mom. But how could she turn down shopping and the food and the fun and the advice. Much as she tried to deny how much she liked all of the other Sinclair's, Carolynn fell into that category too.

"Here we go!" Carolynn swerved into a parking spot and turned the car off.

Gulping past the lump in her throat, Makennah and Carolynn walked into the store. Immediately, there was a woman at her side to take her coat. Makennah was thrown off but Carolynn led the way and Makennah caught on.

Soft music played in the background and Makennah focused on that instead of the price tags she couldn't see but knew they were astronomical. In all her life, Makennah never stepped into a place to splendid...like heaven. And it smelled wonderful too. And the dresses were so breathtaking that she couldn't focus on anything but their delicate fabrics, handwoven details, and sparkling beads.