it.
It’s Friday night and our only plans are dinner together. Tomorrow is prom and I know Kathy and I are going to be on the go from the moment I wake up until Reed and I leave for the night. She has a whole day planned for us and I’m so excited I’m not sure how I’m going to be able to sleep.
“I got you these.” She holds up a shoe box and I already know what’s inside.
I hold up my hands in protest because I know they’re the ones she made me try on when we went dress shopping. She’d tried to buy them for me, but they cost more than my dress and I couldn’t let her do it. They matched perfectly and I felt like a princess when I’d had them on, but it was too much.
“Before you try and say no,” she says, already going into mom-battle mode. I might as well admit defeat now because when she gets that look on her face she isn’t stopping until she gets what she wants. “You’re like a daughter to me, and I only get this one prom. I want this to be perfect and that includes you getting these shoes.”
Wow, Kathy is going right for my heart. She’s talked to me a lot privately, and when we had the sex talk she told me that Reed was the only baby she was able to carry to term. She would have had a house full if she could have but getting me was like having the daughter she always wanted. Last week she asked me if Reed and I were having sex and then she gave me the safe sex speech. I told her that we weren’t and that was the truth. But that won’t be the case after tomorrow night.
“Thank you,” I tell her, because I know it would hurt her feelings to turn them down, and honestly I really love them and don’t want to. I move to give her a hug and she holds me tight. “I love you.”
She leans back and cups my cheek. “I love you, too, sweetheart. Like you’re my own.” She kisses me on each cheek and I feel like I could cry. “One day Reed is going to marry you and give you our last name, but you’re already a part of us where it matters most.” She touches the place over my heart. “And then, much later, you'll give me lots of grandbabies.”
A burst of laughter comes from me and it helps scare away the tears that threaten to break free.
“Much, much later.” She lifts an all too knowing eyebrow and I’m sure Reed already told his mom and dad we aren't coming home tomorrow night. My face heats and she smiles as she shakes her head. “Remember what I said about using protection.”
I nod quietly and stare at the box in my hands.
“Try them on, I want to see.” She claps excitedly and I sit down in the chair and slip them on.
They fit perfectly, and as I look at the shoes I can’t help thinking that tomorrow is the start of a whole new life. Reed and I graduate soon and we’ve been talking about getting a place together.
“Have you thought about what you want to do?” I look up at Kathy when she asks the question like she’s reading my mind. She’s always good at that, just like Reed.
“I’m not sure.” I shrug because I don’t want to say what’s in my heart. It’s silly for a girl my age to want it because I should be thinking about going to college and having a career, but my mind is on having a family.
“You know whatever it is you want, we’ll support you, sweetheart.” I stand in the heels feeling more confident with her reassurance.
“Thank you,” I tell her again, and not just for the shoes. She’s done so much for me for so long that I know I’ll never be able to repay her kindness.
“Us girls gotta stick together,” she laughs right as both Mike and Reed walk into the room.
“You’re going to fall in these things, Dimples,” Reed says as he picks me up and my feet dangle off the ground.
I rest my hands on his broad chest and it doesn’t go unnoticed that he’s really turned into a man these last few years. I don’t know if it’s normal or if it’s all that football practice. Either way he’s bigger than his father.
“Not