𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 • Steve Harrington

Chapter 19

TWO WEEKS LATER
( Tuesday, March 12th 1985 )

WHEN Julie walked into the kitchen that morning, Scott was scrambling eggs at the stove in his shirt, tie, sweater vest and slacks ensemble. He had been around more often since they had pizza with her mother and Steve. He was a respectable, well-intentioned man that Julie could see her mother dearly loved.

There were already streaks of bacon layered on a plate across the counter.

"Morning, Scott," she greeted amicably, holding onto the messenger bag strap hanging from her shoulder.

"Good morning, Julie," he replied in his usual chipper manner. He was the kind of person that woke up on the right side of the bed everyday. It was a refreshing energy to have around the house. "D'you sleep well?"

"Like a log," she leaned her back against the counter.

"Good on you."

She picked up a streak of bacon and asked, "When do you leave for work?" before taking a bite.

"Eight." Switching hands to keep running the spatula through the eggs, he checked the watch on his wrist reading 7:29am. "I'll probably be a little late but one day out of a thousand won't hurt anyone, especially on a day like this."

Julie's eyebrows pushed together. "What's today?"

"The day a certain someone finds out if all their dreams will come true," Eileen said ominously as she entered the kitchen with an envelope in her hand.

Julie pushed herself up from the counter. "Is that...?"

Her mother's slanted smile was worth a thousand words. "You tell me."

She stopped right beside Julie, pressing her hand on the counter and shifting her weight onto it as she held out the envelope.

Julie pinched it from her hand, noticing the Stanford University stamp and choking on the bite of bacon she was chewing.

Her mother quickly asked if she was okay, to which she could barely form words of assurance.

"How could I head to work and miss a reaction like that?" said Scott as he turned off the stove.

Eileen glanced at him with a smile, but Julie couldn't take her eyes off the envelope, entranced.

She swallowed down the last piece of bacon. "Holy hell."

"Open it. The suspense is agonising," Eileen teases lightly.

Julie turned the thought over in her head for a moment, unable to get herself to follow through. "Actually," she looked over at her mother, "I want to wait... if that's okay?" At her mother's look of concern, she jumped to explain. "Just so I can open it with Steve."

Eileen smiled warmly at her daughter. "Whatever you want, sweetheart."

Julie couldn't express her relief more, so she simply nodded once. "Sweet. Then I'll motor." She headed towards the kitchen door, slipping the envelope in her bag all the while. But she got only as far as a metre away from the threshold when her mother called out to her.

"Wait," Eileen uttered.

Julie turned enough that she could glance over her shoulder.

"Are you wearing lipgloss?"

Julie's face paled instantly as she clutched her bag to make use of her hands. "Why? Does it look bad?"

"No," Eileen assured softly. "I like it. It's just new."

"But a good new?"

"The best new." She rubbed her chest, clutching her necklace and smiling. "You look very pretty."

"Okay," Julie shouldered her bag. "Thanks, Mom." She regarded the man beside her mother, "Scott, nice bacon."

"You can stay for breakfast if you'd like," he gestured towards the stove.

"Can't. Lipgloss." She offered them both a final smile before leaving the kitchen. But as she made her way down the hallway and across the foyer, she found herself halting at a glimpse in the wide mirror instead of heading straight out the front door.

Her loose drawstring blue blouse with tassels, her denim flares and her hair that she had chosen to half-pin back. She had been doing that more frequently, she found, ever since Steve said she looked nice that once after school. Some days she whipped out the usual bandana to tie across her head and others she'd braid two plaits or the singular one down her back, but today wasn't one of those days.

Not a wisp of hair was out of place, her face and her small gold hoop earrings open to see.

Her eyes ran over her gloss-covered lips, stepping up towards her reflection to wipe the edges with her thumb in case of any smudges the naked eye couldn't see. Then she rubbed her lips together a final time.

Today wasn't any other Tuesday. It was the Tuesday that would determine whether or not she was worthy of the thing she wanted more than anything.