As we drove down the street toward our next destination, Alex told me some of the plans we had for the day. The first stop was going to be a furniture store so we could get me a bed, nightstands, and other things I might need for my room. Next up we were going to stop by the store where I had ordered everything from last night so I could pick up some more clothes and everything I had forgotten yesterday. He didn’t see a reason to try different stores as that one seemed to be really good quality, had pretty much everything I needed, and a great staff from what he had seen in the short time he was there. Everything else we would just play by ear.

On the way to the furniture store, we talked about what we should get. Every room in the house had a good-sized closet and I didn’t fold my clothes so we felt a large dresser wasn’t something I really needed. We figured that I would need a desk and chair and some lamps along with the bed and nightstands. We could just browse around and see if anything else caught our eye.

Alex backed into a parking spot on the back row like usual and was about to shut the truck off when he suddenly stopped moving and looked back at me.

“Sorry, Sasha. Hang on a second and I will find a closer spot.” Old habits really die hard.

“It’s no problem, Uncle Alex. You can park here. Walking a little bit won’t hurt me you know, and I’m used to it. Dad always did the same.” I guess you could say that’s true? My actual dad didn’t usually back in, however, he did have the same habit of parking in the back. Because of that and the fact that Alex and I were essentially the same person it was my habit as well.

“Ya, that’s true. I think most people who work in the same industries as Zeke and I, do the same. If you’re sure about it.”

“I’m fine.” Unbuckling my seat belt I started to climb out.

“Hold on, let me help you.”

“I can do it. You don’t need to worry about me so much Uncle Alex.”

“I know, I know. At least let me get around to that side just in case.”

“Alright.” Sighing, all I could do is agree for now. When I got like this there wasn’t anything you could do about it. He would calm down eventually so I more or less had to let it run its course.

Crawling out of the back seat was easy and hard at the same time. Getting out was easy, making sure my skirt didn’t get caught was hard. I managed it somewhat gracefully if I do say so myself. Stop laughing… I’m not lying, I swear.

It was turning into a beautiful day and the short walk to the store was pleasant along with giving me time to collect my thoughts and ready myself for what was to come. Meeting my old crew and being around that many loud and fun-loving people did more good than bad and helped to ease my mind. I can do this. Everything still felt crazy and out of control right now, yet it wasn’t as bad as my fears made it out to be.

Once we made it through the doors a sales women made her way over to us.

“Good morning. I’m Cynthia. Can I help you find anything today?”

“Morning, I’m Alex and this is Sasha. We need to find her a bed and other things for her bedroom.”

“Wow, Your daughter is a beautiful young lady.”

“…”

“…”

Both Alex and I could only blink. Neither of us saw that one coming.

“Oh, sorry. That wasn’t supposed to come out.” Cynthia’s eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hand.

“Ah, no need to worry. She is very pretty for her age and she gets that a lot.” Alex seemed to gloss over the daughter part, which was probably for the best. Hearing that I got called pretty or beautiful a lot was disconcerting though. This is going to be a pain, isn’t it.

“I see. Thank you. May I ask how old she is and what kind of furniture designs she is looking for?”

“She’s ten. As for what she wants, I will leave that up to her. I was thinking maybe a queen bed?”

“Ten? My, she looks like she could be thirteen or fourteen. You’re going to have a hard time when she gets a little older. As for the queen bed, you don’t think that would be a little big? A twin would be a good choice, or if you want something a little bigger, a double would work as well. Why don’t we take a look at them and see what she feels comfortable with?”

“You have a point. I’m really not looking forward to that. Either way, what do you think about the beds Sasha?”

“That works for me. Thank you, Ms. Cynthia.” Cynthia’s smile when I answered could almost blind someone. Why do you look so happy? Oh, maybe it also had to do with their little “side” conversation. Another thing I hadn’t thought about. This one might give me nightmares though.

We walked through the store looking at various pieces and talking about what I was going to need. Getting to the beds I still hadn’t figured out what I wanted. A queen would be nice, although I somewhat agreed with Cynthia. Then again, I liked to be able to stretch out and not have my arms or legs hang off the sides. Contrary to popular belief, you could say I was a “messy” sleeper.

In the end, I chose the queen. The double was plenty big until I spread my arms out and stretched. Something else that I ended up with was a softer mattress than usual. I liked having a deep pillow top with a medium to slightly firm base before the change. Now? Same soft pillow top with a slightly below medium soft base so that I sank into it. I almost fell asleep as soon as I laid down on the one that I chose making Alex and Cynthia laugh and me blush. Crap.

Cynthia led us over to look at bed frames and headboards and my eyes instantly picked out a set that included two nightstands, a headboard, and a footboard along with sideboards. It also had a small trunk that I didn’t really need but looked good with the set. The biggest item though was a full wardrobe. You don’t see those much anymore and just like the headboard and footboard had carvings of wolves in them. All of it in a beautiful pecan.

Pecan is a light slightly reddish brown and white mostly straight-grained wood that you usually don’t see as furniture. The gun cabinet I made in High School was made of pecan and it was a nightmare to work with. Way worse than even oak. It was so hard that I burned up so many drill bits, sanding belts, and even blades for the planer, my teacher started complaining. The wolf motifs were just icing on the cake.

Walking over to it like I was in a daze, I ran my small hand over the smooth wood of the wardrobe and tried not to drool. It was all very beautiful and well-made. Alex looked like he was about to drool as well. We did have the same tastes after all.

“Do you like that set?” Cynthia was looking between Alex and me with a slightly confused look.

“Yes, it’s beautiful, though it’s probably too much. We should look for something else Uncle Alex.”

“Well, we haven’t had much interest in that bedroom set. The owner wanted to try and branch out and see if people were interested. The other full sets like it sold well, but no one seems to like the wolf carvings and the wood tones so it doesn’t get much interest. We might be able to work out a good deal on it if you’re interested.”

“We should look into it, Sasha. I know you love wolves and pecan is a beautiful wood.”

“So that’s what wood it’s made out of. Everyone working here had never seen it so they thought it was something exotic.”

“Well, pecan isn’t usually used for furniture from what I know, so you could say that it is a little exotic.” He answered Cynthia and then looked at me. “You have a closet at the house, but the Wardrobe has drawers on the bottom and you could hang your nicer clothes and school uniforms on the top. I think it suits you, Sasha.”

“In that case, let me talk to the manager and see what we can do. Is there anything else you need?”

“A desk and chair as well. I imagine it will be hard to find something that will go with the bed and wardrobe, unfortunately.” Alex answered.

“There might be something that works. Maybe something darker to offset the light tones of the bed and wardrobe?”

“That might work. Thank you, Cynthia.” Her smile brightened again after I thanked her. Do I have a charm attribute or something now?

We looked through the desks for a while before finding something that didn’t stand out too much. It was a little bigger than what we were looking for, although the rooms in the new house were all that you could consider “master” bedrooms so my room still wouldn’t be crowded.

The desk was about five feet long and three deep with drawers on one side and a space for a computer on the other. Not quite office style, It was still solid wood with a black stain that let the wood grain come through and made it almost look like a zebra, only more gray than white. That was the closest match we could come up with and it would still clash a little. I could live with that and it would break up the light tones of the other furniture.

“I talked with the manager and he agreed that you could have that bedroom set for cost.” Cynthia came back a short while after we finished agreeing on what desk I would get.

“Are you sure that’s Ok?”

“Yes, I’m fairly certain that he would cut the price more if he could. I think he is just glad that someone finally showed interest in it and wants it off the floor.”

“Awesome. We appreciate it. I think we will take this desk as well. That just leaves lamps and a chair.”

“Uncle Alex, I don’t need something so expensive. I can go with something else.”

“Nope, You don’t have to worry about that Sasha. I can tell you really like that one and even picked a desk out to go with it. Besides, I want to spoil you whenever I can.” The grin on Alex’s face looked like a kid that had gotten away with pulling a prank. Cynthia actually laughed and tried to cover her mouth to hide it. I could only blush. Dang it Alex, you smart-ass!

“O-Ok Uncle Alex.” So embarrassing. Why can’t I control this?

“Why don’t we look at some chairs that might work with that desk? The lamps are close by as well” Cynthia watched that little exchange with an oh-so-sweet grin after she controlled her laughter. Please don’t look at me like that Cynthia.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

We settled on a chair and lamps pretty quickly. Walking to the back so we could get all the paperwork done and make arrangements for delivery I spotted a huge beanbag and my ‘comfy’ senses flew off the charts. (Please don’t. Please just let me ignore how I’m changing.) My body started moving on its own towards that giant beanbag and I plopped down, snuggling into it with a giant sigh. In my mind I was so embarrassed I wanted to cry, yet my body was in heaven.

Alex started laughing so hard other customers and staff looked our way. There were more than a few chuckles from the men and women around us, as well as quite a few comments about how “cute” that was. I wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it if only to hide the giant blush that reached from my chest to my ears. I had to be beet red, I could feel the heat coming off my face. That just made Alex laugh even harder while Cynthia looked like she was going to hyperventilate trying to hold her laughter in. What a couple of Jerks!

“I believe that we need one of those as well Cynthia.” Alex was finally able to choke that out after a few minutes. I tried to stare at him to make him stop laughing but that seemed to make it worse.

“I think that would be a good bet. She seems so comfortable, and that little sigh was quite cute as well.” Cynthia covered her mouth and blushed at her own words. She looked like she was going to panic.

“Right? I wish I could have caught that on camera!” Alex didn’t seem fazed by what Cynthia said, only agreeing with her and making it even worse. No Alex! Please don’t say something like that!

Cynthia seemed to calm down when she realized neither of us was going to say anything about what she let slip. Both Alex and I had long since figured out that she didn’t have much of a brain-to-mouth filter and that she was extremely easy to read. It was kind of endearing, actually.

“So Sasha, we have a few different colors you can choose from. The book is right next to you on that table if you want to take a look.” Cynthia explained after she managed to tame her blush a bit more.

The beanbag I was currently sitting on was a mocha brown. Not a bad color that would go decently with the rest of my room. I still wanted to take a look and see what else they had. I ended up choosing a burgundy red that I thought was eye-catching.

“It matches your hair, Sasha.” Thanks, Alex. Thanks for stating the obvious.

“It really does. Such a beautiful color as well. I think this will go well with all the other furniture you picked out.” Please, not you too Cynthia.

“My hair is not that dark, Uncle Alex” I managed to mutter. Alex just shrugged and Cynthia laughed again.

Making it the rest of the way to the counter after that little disaster, we were handed over to an employee that handled the payments and delivery arrangements. We exchanged thank yous and good by’s with Cynthia and finished up. Walking out of the store around thirty minutes later. Alex had spent a lot of money here and it made me feel guilty, although the smile on his face helped me understand that he was happy about it and eased my tension.

“Alright Sasha, it’s not quite lunch yet. Do you want to go to the clothing store or get something to eat first? Your call.” Alex said as he helped me into the pickup.

“I’m not hungry yet Uncle Alex. If you are we can eat first. Whatever you want to do.”

“I see. I’m not hungry either. We’ll go to the store first and then we can see what later brings. Sound good?”

“Yep!” Ah, I’m over it. Just do whatever you want voice.

“Alright, onward!” I’m such an idiot. Did I… er Alex really just say that?

On the way to the clothing store, we talked about what was still needed. Alex seemed to be having a lot of fun for some reason. I never liked shopping for clothes before my accident so I wasn’t looking forward to this.

The strip mall was really crowded when we pulled into the parking lot and it took a while to find a parking spot my old dually would fit into. That’s another thing I hated about shopping. All the parking spots were for compact cars. That didn’t really matter in the long run since I was used to driving way bigger vehicles. It was still a pain.

Walking into the store I noticed we were getting quite a few stares and it made me uncomfortable. Instinctively grabbing Alex’s hand he looked down at me with a reassuring smile and gave mine a little squeeze.

It was scary how much better that made me feel.

“Hello again. Back so soon? I hope there wasn’t a problem with the order you picked up yesterday.” A pretty teenager was walking up to Alex as she spoke.

“No problems. We forgot to get a few things and wanted to get a few more clothes. We pretty much need a whole new wardrobe. If you could help Sasha with that I would appreciate it.”

“I see. What you ordered yesterday were all good choices though, so you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself. If you don mind me prying, I take it you’re a single father?”

“Uh, ya. I am. Sasha picked everything out so I can’t take any credit. I hate to ask, but if you could help that would really get me out of a bind. I have to admit that I know nothing when it comes to what she will need.”

“My name is Natalie by the way, and it would be my pleasure. I’m impressed though. Most people wouldn’t be able to admit something like that. I know my father would try to fake it and bluster around until someone stepped in then when my mom would hear about it she would smack the back of his head and scold him.” Natalie told us through her quiet laughter.

“Ha ha, that sounds exactly like my old boss and his wife.”

“Really? Do you mind telling me their names?”

“Kennith and Rebecca. Good people and I will miss working with them.”

“Small world. That’s my father and mother. Oh! You must be Alex. I was wondering why Sasha’s hair looked familiar. They said you were going to be at the shop this morning so she probably swooped in and stole Sasha then? Mom used to braid my hair like that too. She also told me about what happened when we talked last night. I’m very sorry to hear about your family.”

“It really is a small world, and thanks, Natalie. We appreciate it.”

“Of course. Now, how about you and I do a little shopping Sasha? You can come to Alex if you want to. We do have an area with benches if you want to wait though.”

“If Sasha is ok with it, I should tag along and see if I can’t learn anything. Hopefully, that will make things easier down the road if something comes up.”

“Again, I’m impressed. I think he’s going to take very good care of you, Sasha.”

“Mm. Thanks, Natalie.”

We followed Natalie through the store picking out more clothes than I thought I would ever need. She would only smile at me and wink, saying there was no such thing as ‘too many clothes’. I give up. Breathe and move forward, even if it’s embarrassing.

Picking out quite a few more dresses, skirts, and various shirts, Alex started looking like a moving clothes rack so we paused long enough to get a cart to hold it all. I was able to find a few pairs of pants and regular t-shirts as well. That made me happy, even after picking out a few more pairs of shoes with various kitten heels.

As things usually go, you have to take the good with the bad. Our next stop was finding some more underwear. Natalie was having way too much fun by this point and started picking out cute panties with little designs like paw prints and fairies, even a few with bunnies and other small animals. Alex even looked away and started staring off into space.

“Um, Natalie?”

“What’s up Sasha.”

“Sorry, but can we find regular underwear? I’m not comfortable with those kinds.”

“Really? They are so cute though. I bet they would look adorable on you.”

“Please? I don’t think I could wear something like that.”

“Alright. If you say so.” Natalie pouted. ‘A teenager is actually pouting. That happens in real life? I have to admit it makes her look cute though’. Agh. did I really just think that?

Ending up with a little over a dozen more (yes, over a dozen. I couldn’t believe it either) pairs I asked her for a few more pairs of sports bras. She told me they were really called “training bras”. They kinda looked like the sports bra’s that some of my ex’s had, so that’s what I was calling them. My bad. She included a few that had a lot of lace saying I could use them when I ‘dressed’ up.

We were browsing through the hose when Natalie asked me if I usually wore dresses and skirts. I told her “Yes” thinking it was kind of obvious, but she just smirked and pulled me to another aisle.

“These are knee socks. You’ll love them.” She told me, showing me a pair of really long and thick knitted socks. “They’re really comfortable and I wear them all the time. You can even wear them with shorts and when you hang out around the house. You can also get some like these that are perfect for when it gets cold.”

“Won’t they show below some of my skirts though?”

“If you’re worried about that, they have longer ones that come up to mid-thigh. I think they would be perfect for you.”

Oh, no. please no. Looking at what she was holding, my ‘comfy’ sense hit the red zone again. Somehow, I ended up with ten (yep. ten. I’m so ashamed right now) pairs of those as well. Add another six pairs of hose, two black, one more white, and three nude, a dozen pairs of ankle socks and all that was left was finding some nightgowns. Natalie raised an eyebrow at that. All I could do was shrug while looking down and trying to hide my face. Two light knee-length and two slightly heavier calf-length nightgowns found their way into our shopping cart that was about to overflow.

“I think that’s everything you said you needed. Can you think of anything you might have forgotten?” Alex spoke up for the first time since we started shopping. I kind of felt bad for him. He had an uncomfortable look on his face the whole time.

“Not that I can think of Uncle Alex. I couldn’t have done this without you.” I praised him a little. What? He deserved it.

“Well said Sasha, you have a great uncle for sure.” See? Natalie thought so as well. “If you’re ready, I can check you out back here.”

“That would be appreciated, thanks.” Alex looked relieved. “After we get done, want to take all your bags to the pickup and then wander around a little Sasha? We could grab a quick lunch and there are a couple of stores I would like to stop by as well.”

“That sound fun.”

“If that’s the case, I recommend the little cafe a few doors down on the other side of the street. They have great sandwiches.”

“Thanks, Natalie. Does that sound good to you Sasha?”

“Yep.” I’m going to punch Jacobus next time I see him…

We spent, well… Alex spent way more money at that store than I would have ever spent on myself. I could tell that he was happy about it again, so I left it alone and stopped thinking about it. Taking all my clothes to the pickup I thanked him again nonetheless. He just smiled and told me not to worry about it.

The little cafe ended up being really good as well and we both agreed to remember it. On a side note, their bathrooms were really well-maintained…

Taking our time and walking around to various stores and shops ended up being a lot of fun. Don’t ask, I don’t know why either. One stop was a computer store, which surprised me. I had built the computer at the house about eight months ago, and it was pretty high-end, so I was wondering what we needed.

Turns out I was going to need a computer for school. (I keep forgetting that kids need stuff like that now.) I figured something mid-tier would be fine. Alex had other plans and we left with a mid-tier ‘gaming’ laptop, a widescreen monitor, and some fairly high-end components to build me a desktop and all the accessories I needed. Seriously, how much money is he going to spend? I’m beginning to feel like this Alex is a lot different than I would be. No, that’s not it. He’s acting exactly how I would in this kind of situation. I’m the one who’s thinking differently.

Our last stop was a beauty supply store. Rebecca had told Alex that it would be the best place to get things like shampoo and conditioner, along with other supplies. She said that my hair would take a lot more to take care of than his and the employees could help us find what was best for it. Rebecca really was competent and thought ahead.

As soon as we stepped inside, it was like a celebrity had entered the store. The three ladies in the front started fawning over me as soon as they saw me. It got so bad that two more came out of the back to see what was going on and then joined in. Alex was literally pushed to the side.

That was by far the worst part of the day. They led me around arguing over what products would be best for my hair, what would be best for my skin, and so on for an hour. Thanks to Alex stepping in after the first few minutes, everyone calmed down… A little. It was still a crazy experience though. I did learn a lot about how to make sure I didn’t damage my hair, and what to do to take care of it, along with way more information on skin care than I wanted. We left with a lot of different products that they suggested, along with a couple of bottles of lip gloss that would “be just perfect for me.” I had no choice, I swear.

Heading back to the pickup I was exhausted, especially mentally, and Alex even looked worse for wear after that last store. A couple of the ladies had even started gushing about his hair as well. I’m not ashamed to admit, that was really funny to see. The expression on his face made me wish I hadn’t left my phone in the truck.

“Uncle Alex, can we stop by and talk to Natalie again?”

“Sure, did you forget something?”

“No, not really. I wanted to ask her about some kind of wallet and a way to carry it and my phone.”

“Good Idea. You will have a student I.D. for school, so you will need something to carry it around in.”

Once we found Natalie I started explaining what I wanted and she started to get a gleam in her eyes. Crap. Before I could even finish I was being drug towards the purses by an overly enthusiastic teenager. She was definitely Rebecca’s daughter.

Natalie was looking through the different purses and wallets firing off all kinds of questions about what I liked, disliked, and anything else she could think of. After Alex mentioned that I liked wolves she literally started jumping up and down and fished out a leather fold-up phone case/wallet with a howling wolf’s head and what looked like a full moon in the background. That didn’t seem like what you would find with a bunch of classy and pretty purses. Maybe my luck was finally helping or something. First, the bedroom set, and now this? Shut up, don’t jinx it.

Finding a small light gray and black handbag that also had a strap was lucky as well. I liked that it wasn’t cute or flashy and Natalie said the subdued colors would go with most outfits fairly well. We thanked her again and were finally on our way home after a quick stop to get myself a sonic toothbrush and a few other small things.

This day was way too exhausting. Breathe in and out. Just keep breathing.