Two In One

The Thrift Store

Ryder and I waited to down until Saturday so we aren't caught up in the mix of everyone getting settled in. But he had the bright idea to leave at four in the morning, seeing as it is a 12 hour drive. So this oughtta be fun.

He called me at me 3:30 to wake me up.

"You're a half an hour early."

He laughed on the other end.

"I didn't know how long it would take you to get ready."

I sat up and pushed the covers back.

"I'm not getting ready. What're you talking about? I'm getting in a car with you not the Queen of Sheba. I'll be out in like five minutes."

I hung up and put my shoes on before grabbing my bag and phone and going down to Mom and Dad's room.

"Guys I'm leaving right now I'll see you tonight."

They both nodded and swatted me away.

Ryder got out of the car and grabbed my bag for me.

"Well, ain't you a sweetheart?"

He threw the bag through the back window and turned to face me.

"Of course it's my job."

He put his hands on my cheeks and kissed me for a few seconds before pulling away and opening the passenger door.

"When is your family leaving," he asked me while turning the radio on.

"Around 7:00. They're taking the train."

I turned the volume knob on the radio and started tapping my foot. He grabbed my hand and set our hands down on the center seat.

"Can I ask you something?"

I nodded a bit nervous.

"Do you not like Arsen?"

I knew this question was coming. I was just hoping it would be much later. So I came up with a quick lie.

"It's not that I don't like him. I just don't adjust to some people easily. I'm not an easy adapter."

He looked at me funny.

"You sound like you're a forest animal."

I wish I was.

"I'll probably be used to him at some point. He's just opposite of me. It takes time for me to adjust to new people."

He laughed through his nose.

"It didn't take long with me. I must be special."

He smiled proudly at his own words.

"No you and I had something in common. We just didn't know it yet."

At 6:38, we stopped at McDonalds for breakfast in Maryland. SInce were were moving a lot faster than we thought we would be, we stopped at a thrift store that Grandma used to bring us to when she lived here.

"Look, we all grabbed the nearest thing in here and stood lined up right along this wall. It was Edney, Freddie, Miranda then I was right here in the middle and we just had a little photo shoot with Grandma."

This is where Freddie bought me my bowler hat. This is where we found out Mom was pregnant with Deacon. This is a memory.

I found another hat I decided to add to my collection and went to the cash register.

"That's $18." I looked back at the male cashier, who didn't look too happy, seeing as it was 7:00 in the morning.

"Are you serious?" He widened his eyes at me. "This is a thrift store. I've been shopping here since I was a little kid. I've never bought any individual item over $10."

He turned to the cash register.

"Well, store policy has changed. If you want to keep shopping here, it's gonna be $18."

I was about to walk away from the rude guy before I felt a hand on my back.

"The lady's right. It's a thrift store. Now we're here just as early as you are. You wanna be a gentlemen and lower the price or lose some customers all together?"

Ryder had a stare down with the guy for a few seconds before he turned to the cash register and lowered the price to $9. I handed him a $10 bill as I put the hat on my head and we walked out.

"You're a good bargainer," I said to him as we walked out of the store.

"Just had years and years of practice."