Katie and I, along with Macy and another one of Katie's friends, Addison, drove up town in Macy's car. It was bigger and could sit six people if you folded down the inner console.
They had wanted to go shopping, and Mini, being the person she was, had slipped me sixty dollars before we left.
I had declined the money at first, but she insisted. "Get something nice for yourself, or Clara. Please, let me do this for you."
And so, I had accepted it, and thanked her, making a note in my mind to pay her back one day.
We had gone to the mall, a large tan, and outdated building in need of a remodel.
We had first gone to Sephora, where they had spent almost thirty minutes shopping, and then had gone to Bath and Body works.
There was a mix of floral, fruity, and musky smells that greeted you as you walked in, inviting and comforting. The air thick with fragrance, but not overwhelming.
I couldn't help but stop and smell each product, candles and lotions, and body sprays.
I had found one that smelled like pears, that familiar sweet and delicate fragrance, the aroma that was light and refreshing, like a subtle hint of honey.
There was a woman at the orphanage that smelled like pears, her hair thick with the fragrance. She was my friend, gentle and kind compared to the others.
I stared at it. I didn't know if I wanted it or not. To always be reminded of the orphanage any time I got a whiff of that smell, to be reminded of Ethel.
I put it back and instead found one that smelled like flowers, for me, and then one for Clara that smelled like coconut.
Katie and Addison had bought lotions and sprays and small round bath bombs that reminded me of planets with their splotches of color here and there.
We walked around some more and headed into a Victoria Secret. They shopped, looking at bras and underwear, some that you could see right through.
I looked away, feeling uncomfortable, and looked at different pajamas.
Finally buying a cheap pink tank top and shorts.
I added up how much I spent, only a little more than thirty, and even though the amount wasn't extravagant, I still felt almost guilty with how much I did spend.
We headed back, after almost an hour alone at Victoria Secret. Macy dropped Katie and I off at her house, and then the two had left, the music blasting.
Katie invited me inside, I followed her in, handing Mini back the leftover money.
"Oh..." she counted. "You didn't spend very much at all."
"... I'm sorry."
"Oh no, no, Violet, don't apologize for that. It's perfectly okay, I'm just surprised. If I had given Macy or Addison sixty dollars, they would have spent the whole thing."
Katie looked over her mom's shoulder, the two being exactly the same height. "Oh yeah, Macy spent like forty bucks today alone at Victoria Secret."
"Ugh, with how much that girl spends she's going to wake up one day with her bank account empty," Mini said, rolling her eyes.
I had stayed for another hour, just until Clara got off at five, and then had said I was going back. Katie had waved at me, asking if I wanted to come over tomorrow as well, which after a few moments, I had said no, almost guiltily.
Clara would be off tomorrow for the first time in weeks.
Katie nodded, "Oh, you're okay. We can hang out the day after," she smiled, and almost seemed as if she was going to hug me, but then stopped, and just smiled again.
"Violet," Mini said after Katie had left, almost awkwardly, "I want you to have this, okay? Please just take it, and don't you ever think about repaying me back."
She gave me the rest of the money, the money I hadn't spent.
"I want you to have it, okay?" She said.
I had the sudden urge to throw the money back at her and scream. 'I don't need your help! I don't need your money!'
We don't yell.
I looked at her instead, swallowing back the urge, and thanked her.
I left, went inside, and threw the money on the floor, suppressing back a scream.