ALASKA
Today's the day! My day to be precise. I'm officially 19 and legal. Well at least legal in Toronto, however, I'm still a baby in the U.S.
My mom made me my favorite breakfast, gave me a necklace, and then left me alone for a while before suggesting that we go shopping. I agreed because this was one of the rare occasions she suggested that we do something together. She even told Tom off when he asked to come with us. She claimed that this was strictly a mother-daughter day; no boys allowed. I was surprised with how normal she was acting. And when I say normal, I mean she was acting like she did back home: genuine and fun.
To make matters better, she wore clothes that didn't make her look arrogant fifty-year-old mother of four. She also didn't act like it when we got to the mall; she almost acted younger than me, running from store to store, making fun of the absurd clothing for sale.
We did a little shopping, getting a few things here and there, but never spending a ton on unnecessary things. A weird sense of nostalgia hit me as we bargain shopped and scarfed down pretzel bites from the food court. This was exactly what we did back home when we were short on money and were still incredibly close. In fact, we were practically best friends, telling each other everything, making inside jokes, and spectating different celebrity gossip.
But as soon as she met Tom, everything changed. Suddenly, she wasn't there every night for me to vent to. She wasn't there to take long drives with or go on late night ice cream runs. Instead, she would be out with Tom, living the lavish life we would always make fun of. At first, I could tell how sorry she was that she wasn't around as much, and I felt happy for her. But eventually, she didn't even bother telling me she was sorry for leaving, and I started to confide in myself instead of my distant mother.
Since then, I've wished that something would change between us, and this shopping trip has given me more hope than I've had in the past two years.
My mother must be feeling the sudden nostalgia as well because she keeps cracking jokes and laughing about literally everything. It brought me so much joy to see her this genuine and happy. I would easily take her and our bond over any birthday present.
Perhaps her wildest moment came towards the end of our shopping spree, about an hour before I had to head to dinner with Steph. We were walking back towards the car, bags and coffee in hand when she stops and stares at a gleaming storefront with a devilish smile. I stop beside her, eyes settling on the giant sign on the window that reads 'tattoos' in big block letters.
"I'm scared to ask why we're stopped in front of this place," I tell her, still staring at the upscale tattoo parlor.
"Then don't," she says, marching up to the front door and swinging it open, setting off a little welcome bell. Given no other choice, I catch up to my mother and follow her inside the shop. A short man with a full sleeve of tattoos greets us at the front desk with a skeptical smile.
"What can I do for you ladies?" he asks professionally, glancing at me. I remain silent because I honestly have no idea what we are doing in here. My ever so subtle mother leans on the counter before confidently answering.
"I think we're going to get tattoos," she says, motioning between herself and me. I give the man a shaky smile, but he nods and motions for us to follow him. He leads us through the sparse shop, past a red head in the process of getting a tattoo, finally stopping at a large leather chair and table. He motions for us to sit on the stools at the table as he takes a seat a chair on the other side of the wooden table.
"So, you're both getting tattoos?" he asks, pulling out a tablet of paper and pencil. My mother glances at me and I give her a small nod in confirmation that I'll be going along with her crazy plan.
"Yes, I think we're going to get matching ones," my mother says, folding her hands together and resting them on the table. The man smiles, seemingly genuine and nods.
"Awesome. Do you guys know what you want?" he asks, preparing to sketch on the blank page before him. My mother and I look at each other with clueless expressions then shake our heads.
"Well, what's something special that you share together? It could be a date, symbol, number, or anything really," he says, gesturing to the walls which are filled with pictures of tattoos and art alike.
We sit there in silence for a minute or so, gazing around the room for inspiration to the soft hum of the throwback station playing in the background. It's only when John Travolta's voice comes over the speakers and begins singing one of my mom and my favorite songs from one of our favorite movies. My mom picks up on it and starts humming along to the chorus, mouthing the words 'greased lighting' to herself. After the song registers in both of our brains, we turn to each other and smile.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I ask with a hopeful smile.
"I don't know, are you thinking about getting matching lightning tattoos?" she asks, beaming. I nod eagerly and turn to the man sitting across from us who was also smiling.
"Where do you guys want them?" he asks, ushering us through the process I'm relatively familiar with. I already have two tattoos and my mom has one as well, so at least we know what we're in for.
"What about the inside of the wrist?" I ask my mom, pointing to the area I'm describing. She holds out her wrist to visualize it and then nods after a few seconds of hasty evaluation.
"I'd like it pretty small, though, yeah?" she says while asking me confirmation. I nod, glad she isn't envisioning something huge. The man nods, acknowledging our requests and then begins sketching out the design carefully. Once he's satisfied, he holds it up for our approval. Both of us nod, eager for him to continue.
I volunteer to go first which my mother shows no objections to. I take a seat in the leather chair and rest my left arm on the armrest. The tattoo artist, whose name we discovered to be Jared, gets everything set up before sterilizing my wrist and the tattoo gun. He asks for confirmation one last time before beginning to ink my skin.
A few painful minutes later, it's my mother's turn. She goes through the same process as me while I admire my new ink. Somehow, she seems to take the pain much better than I did, even though I didn't think it was that bad, to begin with.
Once we are both done and given cleaning instructions, we follow Jared back up to the front of the shop to pay. Jared makes sure that we are satisfied with our tattoos before my mom hands him some cash, leaving a nice tip as well.
The realization that we just got tattoos doesn't set in until we are sitting in the car, driving to the restaurant I was meeting Steph at.
"So, we just got matching tattoos," my mom says, breaking the silence. I nod in the dark, a smile still on my face.
"Yes, we did," I confirm happily.
@alaskamay: cool mom alert
4,839 likes | 60 comments
@stephlachancee: so that's where you get it from
@carlyyvalentine: this is so cute omg
@marner_93: I thought we were getting matching tattoos :(
@alaskamay: @marner_93 we totally are
@williamnylander: ^I want in too!
@marner_93: @williamnylander no... just no
@43kadri: @williamnylander no worries Willie, we'll get matching ones
@williamnylander: @43kadri luv u
@austonmatthews: woah, you must be edgy or something
@alaskamay: @austonmatthews nah that's my mom
@stephlachancee: real talk: are you still coming to dinner?
@alaskamay: @stephlachancee: of course, be there in 10
@marner_93: why wasn't I invited??
@stephlachancee: @marner_93 girls night :)
As I told Steph, I arrive at the restaurant, a little Italian place downtown, exactly ten minutes later. My mom dropped me off at the front and drove home, leaving me money in case I need to take a cab home. Following the instructions Steph texted me a little while ago, I tell the petite hostess that I'm joining Steph. She smiles and begins leading me through the main dining area, packed with the dinner crowd.
My eyebrows furrow when we've passed through the majority of the room, leaving me wondering where we're going. Just as I'm about to ask the hostess where she's taking me, we round a corner, revealing a long table filled with all the Leafs and Lady Leafs. To top it off and make their intentions obvious, they all chorus a 'surprise' when they see me.
My mouth turns up into a big smile at the sight of all my friends. Steph stands up and pulls me into a big hug which I gladly return.
"I hope you don't mind, I invited a few other people to our girls night," she says, nodding in the direction of everyone else.
"I don't mind at all. In fact, you guys didn't have to do anything," I say, pulling away from the bubbly blonde.
"Of course we did! It's your nineteenth birthday for crying out loud! You're officially legal!" she exclaims motioning towards the assortment of champagne and beer sitting on the table. I laugh and take another glance around the area which had been decorated with gold and silver balloons and streamers.
"Wait, how'd you know it was my birthday?" I ask her, just now comprehending that this is a birthday party. Her smile widens as she glances in Auston's direction.
"Your boy toy told us. You weren't even planning on telling us, were you?" she asks. I shake my head with a smile and she rolls her eyes, mumbling something along the lines of 'typical Alaska.'
"Well, don't just stand there! Let's sit down and get some food!" she says, plopping back down beside Mitch. I smile and take the last available seat which was next to Auston. However, I don't mind sitting next to him tonight, knowing that he was the one who came up with the idea to do something for my birthday.
Once I'm seated, I glance at Auston with a smile. He smirks at me with rosy cheeks while leaning back in his seat.
"How'd you know it's my birthday?" I ask him after everyone's gone back to talking amongst themselves. He shifts in his seat and crosses his arms over his chest, still holding the smirk on his face.
"You mentioned it in the cafè the other night," he says simply. I nod, not really remembering saying that, but deciding to go along with it anyway. I'm still surprised that Auston, even knowing that my birthday was today, suggested that we do something. I really appreciate it, but it just seems out of character.
"So, how does it feel to be nineteen?" Mitch asks from across the table in a way that makes me seem younger than everyone else. I eye his smirk before smirking myself.
"I don't know, you tell me," I say, noting that he himself is only nineteen as well. Mitch scoffs, acting offended, then turns back to Steph. I shake my head, chuckling at the silly boy. Then, my eyes land on a shining bottle of champagne sitting in the middle of the table. I hesitate at first but regain my confidence when I remember that I am now legal and able to drink whenever I so choose.
With my newfound confidence, I grab the bottle, pouring the bubbly liquid into the glass at my place setting. Once it's filled to the top, I lean back in my seat and sip at the golden drink with a satisfied smile. Unlike what I was expecting, no one smothers me with unusual attention or anything, just talking amongst themselves over the Italian dishes that were just served. I happily sit back and watch everything unfold, nibbling at my tortellini and sipping champagne.
My social interactions were kept to a minimum until Carly came over and wiggled her way onto the edge of my seat. She then presents me with a medium sized box, wrapped in colorful paper. I shake my head no and refuse to let her give it to me.
"Goddamn it Alaska, just let me do something for you!" she exclaims, pushing the box into my arms. I sigh but go ahead with unwrapping it anyway. Beneath the paper, lies a now visible shoebox. I carefully open the box and shuffle through the tissue paper before I see a pair of all black Yeezys. I gasp and fling myself onto the brunette happily.
"I can't believe you got me these!!" I say, squeezing her out of excitement. She smiles, surely happy that I like them.
"Well, you are a decent friend and okay human being, so I thought you deserved something special," she says, rolling her eyes. I smile at her response, pulling her in for another hug. Before she returns to her seat, I thank her again for the amazing and unwarranted gift.
Next, comes dessert in the form of a birthday cake that is set down in front of me. But, much to my dismay, the whole table erupted in song, yelling the words to Happy Birthday. I can't help but smile as I make a wish and blow out the candles. However, as soon as the candles are out of the cake, hockey players dive into the chocolate dessert. I feel myself have a miniature panic attack when I realize I didn't get the chance to take a picture of the cake. Steph seems to notice because she smiles at me from across the oak table as a text from her pops up on my phone. It's conveniently a picture of me and my cake, effectively ending my anxiety attack.
@alaskamay: wouldn't want to celebrate my legalness with anyone else
5,290 likes | 71 comments
@carlyyvalentine: happy birthday bestie :)
@stephlachancee: damn who dat birthday girl
@marner_93: how's your first drink taste? ;)
@adamvin: happy birthday baby
@sydneyesiason: so beautiful!
@austonmatthews: better slow down on that champagne there
@alaskamay: @austonmatthews I'm good, thanks!
As the night starts to wind down and people start to mention leaving, Auston nudges me from the side. I turn my attention to him, meeting his large brown eyes with a small smile. Without breaking eye contact, he reaches into his coat pocket and removes a small box, tied with a bow. He then hands me the box, causing my face to distort in confusion.
Auston motions for me to continue, so I slide the bow off the box and remove the lid. Then, after a bit of rummaging through the tissue paper, I feel a smooth material. Praying it's not what I think it is, I unfold the tissue paper to reveal exactly what I didn't want to see.
There in the box lies the black lace thong I left in his hotel room when we were in LA. Attached to the lace material is a note that makes my heart flutter and drop at the same time.
Thought I'd return these so you could wear them on our date tomorrow night.
See you then,
Auston
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Author
GUYS I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS CHAPTER AND THE NEXT ONE!!!! EVERYTHING IS COMING TOGETHER AHHHH!!
But, seriously, I hope you guys had as much fun reading this chapter as I did writing it! I also hope you guys like the plot so far and the plans for the next chapter because as you can see, I'm clearly psyched for it!
Aaaaannnd, I want to thank you all so so much for over 11.5 THOUSAND reads!!! Never in a million years did I think this story would get that many, so I'm so thankful for each and every one of you who takes time out of your day to read, vote, and comment on this story! It honestly means the world to me!
Wishing you all a safe and speedy work/school week!!
xx- Emily
Quick Question: would you guys prefer shorter, but more frequent updates or what I'm doing now? I don't know if the shorter and more frequent updates will necessarily work out, but if that's what you guys want, I'll try!