Things End, Deal With It

twenty six

Nash and I spend sometime together before I decide to go home.

"So, I'll pick you up tomorrow?" Nash says as I'm about to get out of the car.

"Hmm?"

"For your birthday surprise thing I've planned."

"Oh yeah. Okay, what time?" I ask.

"At like noon. You don't have to dress up or anything." He smiles at me and takes ahold of my hand. He kisses the back of it, and I smile at him. "Just look as you usually do; beautiful." I shake my head at him.

"Fucking cheesy."

"But seriously. No dressing up because I know you hate it. Be ready by noon. I"ll be here." We kiss, and I open the car door. I lift my puppy up, trying not to wake him, and get out of the car. I try to quietly shut the door, but it still makes Axl jump a bit in his sleep. He doesn't wake up.

I get his toys out of the backseat, tell Nash goodbye, and go up to the house. As soon as I walk in the door, I smell something good. I put Axl's toys in the living room and carry him into the kitchen. He's my little baby.

"What are you making?" I peer at the stove where Mom is flipping chicken. "Ohh."

"Why are you carrying that dog around?" Mom asks, laughing.

"He's my baby." I laugh and stick my tongue out at her. I hug Axl, and he picks his head up off my shoulder. "And he was sleeping." I kiss his head and put him on the floor. He lays down beside my feet and puts his head back on his paws. "Do you need any help?" I ask, and she shakes her head.

"It's fine. It's almost done anyways. You just go relax. It is your birthday after all." I smile.

"Thanks, Mom. But seriously, if you need anything, just ask. I don't care that it's my birthday." She smiles back. "Okay. I'm gonna go find a good movie we can watch while we're eating." I carefully step forward, making sure to signal I'm going to start walking to Axl so I don't trip over him. He jumps up and follows me into the living room. I look in the cabinet the TV is sitting on and see what movies we have. I pull out one of the Cinderella movies, which I've had since I was younger, and set it on the coffee table. I sit down on the couch and take off my shoes. I'm surprised I hadn't already taken them off.

I try to put Axl on the couch, but he's in a playful mood. When Axl's in a playful mood, all he wants to do is run around. I get back off the couch, get his tennis ball and rope, and sit on the floor.

"Axl! Come here! Come here!" I call him over to me, and he jumps on me. He licks my face and jumps back off. He bites the rope and runs off. I wait a few minutes for him to come back, but I hear a scream instead. "Mom?" I get up from the floor and go into the kitchen. Mom is just looking at the floor, holding her head, and Axl comes out from behind the island with a piece of chicken. I start laughing, and Axl lays his chicken beside my foot and starts eating it. Mom sighs. "Hey, you got the dog."

"I know, Cheyenne. I'm just stressed." She takes her hairband out of her hair and then pins it back up. She runs a hand over her face and sighs again. "Kenny and I are going through a little rough patch." I walk over to her and give her a hug.

"Oh, Mom. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, honey. Let's just eat." And that's what we do. We eat, and we watch movies. Nash and I text a little bit, I play with and feed Axl, and then Mom says she has a surprise. "I hope you like it," she says as she hands me the small box. I open it up slowly and take out the pieces of folded up paper that are inside. I give her a confused look, and she nods. I unfold the papers skeptically and start to read them.

"Job Application for Splatter of Paint: Rosie's Art Shop" the top of the page reads.

"I'm still confused." I look at my mother. "Are you telling me I need to get a job?"

"Well, kind of. What I'm saying is I already filled one out for you and sent it in. You have a small interview at the new art shop that opened in town," she explains.

"Are you serious? I could actually get a job."

"Yes, and at an art shop. Isn't that amazing?"

"Oh wow, that is. I can't believe this. Ah, thank you so much." I stand up and hug her.

"Your interview is tomorrow at three." My eyes widen, and I pull away from the hug.

"Mom, I'll be with Nash. Tomorrow is when we're celebrating my birthday."

"Oh, honey. I'm so sorry. You'll be with him at three?" she questions.

"Well, at noon, but I don't know what we're doing and for how long."

"Okay, okay. Well find out, tonight or tomorrow, and then maybe Nash can take you from wherever to the art shop for the interview. Then you can get back to whatever you were doing."

"Okay." I nod. "Oh, what about my nose piercing?"

"How about we just go the day after tomorrow? You have a lot going on." I nod my head. "Now, let's finish this movie then I'm going to bed. This has been a long day." I smile at her and sit back on the couch. She goes over to the recliner, and I snuggle up with my tired puppy.

I end up watching a movie after Mom goes to sleep and fall asleep on the couch.