WHEN SHE WOKE UP, she heard Grandma Ruby scolding her father for treating her as if she was useless. Aura shook her head and stood up from her bed. She wiped away the droplet of water that came from the roof on her face and marched to the bathroom, hoping to not encounter any of her family members in the process.
Once she was decent enough, she walked out into the kitchen. Grandma Ruby stirred something in a pot on the stove with a hand on her hip. Her parents sat on the couch, watching the news, when they noticed her presence.
"Well, if it isn't the party girl," her father said, as if forgetting how she got there the night before.
Aura rolled her eyes. "Hello to you, too," she replied. She went over to Grandma Ruby and hugged her from behind. She gave her a peck on the cheek as Aura read the time on the stove clock.
"It's three o'clock?" she said incredulously.
"Yeah, guess you had a wild night," her mother said. Her tone was guarded as her eyes traveled Aura's body. She realized she was looking for any signs of misbehavior. She wondered when she would stop treating her like a child.
"It wasn't the wild you think," Aura pointed out. "I only had two glasses of champagne. I had a good, decent time, Mom." She faltered at the end, knowing well enough that it wasn't as decent as she would've liked.
Her mother huffed and turned back to the television. Aura shrugged, not knowing what else to do. Maybe she was still bitter about Aura not attending the barbecue like she had hoped.
"Hey, baby, I left a bit of breakfast for you in the fridge. A little something to wait until I finish here." She pointed back to the pot in front of her. Aura smiled and thanked her.
As she ate the small sandwich, she thought about Tyson. His words from the day before replayed in her head. He also didn't find Zachary to be a good one to be around. Her shoulders hunched as she recalled how bratty she was.
He was only telling her how Mrs. Smith had been wanting to see her.
Gulping her glass of water, she cleaned up her area and set out to find Mrs. Smith and Tyson.
When she crossed to their property, she heard the crackling of the radio and a faint grunt following it. Aura bit down on her lip and walked up the steps. The front door was shut, but the wide open windows let the wind calm the summer heat, no doubt.
She knocked on the door, feeling her small breakfast rise in her throat. She wondered if Tyson would forgive her. She had been so hard on him for no reason. She took out her anger on him unnecessarily. He did not deserve the type of treatment from her or anybody.
"Coming!" A silvery voice called out.
A large smile covered her face as Mrs. Smith opened the door. She gasped and placed a wrinkly hand over her mouth.
"Oh, my little Aura," she let out. Tears formed in her eyes as she spread her arms wide for her.
"Mrs. Smith, it's so nice to see you again," Aura said, stepping into her warm and familiar embrace. Her hands squeezed her before letting go. Mrs. Smith stared up at her, barely containing her smile as she inspected Aura's face.
"My, how you've grown," she said. "Come in, come in! And you know you can call me Teresa." Her arm pulled her inside their little house and she shut the door behind her. She complained about all the bugs that always flew in whenever she opened the door, never mind the fact that the windows were wide open, and then offered her a drink.
"Oh, no, I'm good." Aura smiled as Mrs. Smith wobbled around her kitchen.
Unlike Grandma Ruby's kitchen, Mrs. Smith's had a cool tone palette. The wooden cabinets were painted silver, which contrasted with the white countertops. Her fridge was one of those old designs with the freezer on top, completely white. Her other appliances were black, which played well with the color palette.
YOU ARE READING
Forever Glamorous
General Fiction"I put on makeup to express myself. I could care less about my so-called insecurities." Aura Chandler was so sure she had her life figured out. After securing a photoshoot gig with up-and-coming musician Lacey Redd, she was convinced she would get d...
