A/N-HTML still not working! Still need help...PLEASE! I know, I'm pathetic,
but still...I'm allowed to be :-D Actually, I think I might have it now, so
if it doesn't work, THEN I need your help! I was sooo happy with the
reviews I got for this story. You know people like it when the reviews
start with "my goodness", "goodness" "woah" and "wow". Heehehehee! You
guys made me so happy and I can't wait to hear from y'all again! Yes, her
nickname is Lexi, and Alex. Full name being Alexandra, but we'll get into
that later. I wrote this story because, like you Jaws, I too think it
happens to often in this day and age. Too many tragedies that don't have
to be tragedies. Your brother must truly be blessed to have been in so
many accidents and still be healthy(he is, isn't he?). My brother's gotten
into three, but they've all been minor. I'm still juggling with the idea
of a CC, depends on what direction I want to take things in... Uh, I think
that's all I have to say for now. So, have a GREAT weekend and...
CHAPTER 2
iSometimes I think
Something's wrong with me
Because I was never one to believe
In anyone or anything.
And I don't want to say I'll ever change
Because things always change./i
-Less Than Jake-"Big Crash"
The week dragged by slowly, filled with tears, relatives, and completely cooked casseroles, the only good thing of this dreadful week. First there was the wake, with tons of people constantly coming up to me to offer their apologies and tell me "I'm so sorry Alex, it's such a shame". Yeah, well I'm sorry too, and it is a shame but honestly, it doesn't do any help. Then came the funeral, which was even worse than the wake was. I really didn't need all these people talking about how wonderful Suzanne WAS. Am I in denial? Yes, yes I am. I only stayed through half of the funeral, before breaking down and having to leave because I felt it wasn't fair to all those people there to respect my mother to have to listen to me sob for an hour. I'm normally a pretty calm person but I guess I have an excuse to be a wreck.
The only person I saw who wasn't a relation, immediate or obscure, was Leslie. She didn't know my pain, or exactly how to handle it, but she was there to comfort me and that's what really counts. That's what friends are for of course. My dad kind of moped around the house, doing random chores and muttering to himself. Just watching him in such a state was painful.
Finally, it was Saturday. Not that things were any brighter, but the relatives had finally left and our fridge was jam packed with half eaten casseroles. I got up and went downstairs, extremely surprised to see my dad sitting at the kitchen table, looking a little bit more like himself, working on his laptop.
"Morning Lexi" he said, looking up from the screen.
"Hi dad" I pulled a chair out from the table and took a seat. He was way too cheerful and I was suspicious.
"Well, I've got some news" he began. "I don't know if it's good news or bad news, but it's news. I've been offered a job in New Orleans and I accepted it. We're moving."
"NEW ORLEANS?!?!" I exclaimed. "LOUISIANA?!?!? DAD!" he cannot just spring this on me. It's not fair. I've had a huge tragedy in my life and expects me to just pick up the pieces of my life, which are scattered all about, and just move, to Louisiana, of all places. How can he expect that of me. How can he do it?
"I know it's a different environment..."
"Dad, it's a different world. I'm a cold weather gal. I go skiing or snowboarding on my free weekends, snow and freezing rain are my best friends. I. AM. A. NORTHENER." I stated plainly in a passion.
"And what am I?" he asked and then let out a sigh. "It's for the best that we move."
"How's that?" I choked out in shock. Goodness, I was just getting curveball after curveball thrown at me this week, wasn't I?
"Everything about this city" Dad began. "Everywhere I go...everything reminds me of your mother. When I pass the campus on my way to work, I think of when we first met. And then there's the church, where we married...just everything."
"But it always seemed like you guys hated each other" I said honestly. "I thought you did.
"We didn't. True, we didn't get along. We just weren't compatible" my dad blinked away a tear. "We feel in love when we met, but we were so young then, we were barely adults, let alone college students. The love was immature love, and it disintegrated as the marriage went on. You're right Lexi, if you think we didn't love each other. I may not have loved her, but I respected her and I miss her. She was a good woman" by now, I was crying. I don't know if it was because of what my dad was saying, hearing the truth, or remembering my mom, but I was crying. My dad took me into his arms, like he did when I was younger and had had a bad dream, and held me as I cried. I lifted my head up and looked into those eyes I always found comfort in.
"But why do we have to move?" I whined.
"Sometimes it's the best to just forget."
"You can't forget mom!" I shouted, jumping up. How could he say such a heartless thing? How could he just push aside something that had dominated his life, maybe not in a good way, for the past 18 years?
"Lexi, calm down" he said softly. I sat back in my chair and waited for his explanation. "I can't forget Suzanne. But I can leave this city, leave the pain I'm facing. In New Orleans, you can have another chance. Change is usually for the better. No more fights...no more silence Lexi. We can start a new where no one knows us" I hate it when he's right. I really, REALLY don't want to move, but maybe it will be for the best, like he said. "I've already found us a new house down there, online" he turned the screen towards me, showing me the picture of a cozy looking two story, single family home with a garage. "We're moving in two weeks" my jaw dropped as my dad picked up his laptop and left the kitchen. Two weeks? That's all the time I have? All the time to patch everything up, pack everything up and move? Well, ain't life just peachy.
I rushed upstairs, stripping out of my PJ's and changing into a T-Shirt from one of the schools plays, a pair of jeans, and sneakers. I then thundered back downstairs, grabbed my letter jacket and the keys off their hook on the wall.
"I'm taking the SUV" I called out. "Be back in a few hours" I can't say if it's a good thing or not, that I have to share a car with my dad. I mean, before...before the accident, I shared my mom's Toyota at times, but now we were down to one. So, that's all we've got. I climbed into the black Ford Explorer, and drove off, heading towards Hartford, my city.
NU Salon was situated pretty much in the heart of the city. It was my mom's salon too. I parked the car around back in the reserved parking and then headed inside, where I was greeted by a chorus of hellos.
"Alex!" Natalie, mine and my mother's hair dresser called out cheerfully. "How wonderful it is to see you. I was sad to hear about your mother" Natalie pulled me into a hug. "She will be greatly missed" she then let go and examined me. "What are you doing here today? You no appointment."
"I'm moving" I stated. "In two weeks. I was wondering if you were free. I want to get my hair cut before I go, preferably today."
"You are lucky, I am free" she said with a smile, leading me to her station, plopping me down in the chair and draping one of those cover things around me. "The usual trim, yes?"
"No" I said, with determination. I don't know what led me to do this but maybe my dad was truly right. Maybe it was time for a change, maybe we need to change. I took down my long, waist length, light brown hair. "I want something..." I smiled before saying the last word, which felt so liberating. "...different."
CHAPTER 2
iSometimes I think
Something's wrong with me
Because I was never one to believe
In anyone or anything.
And I don't want to say I'll ever change
Because things always change./i
-Less Than Jake-"Big Crash"
The week dragged by slowly, filled with tears, relatives, and completely cooked casseroles, the only good thing of this dreadful week. First there was the wake, with tons of people constantly coming up to me to offer their apologies and tell me "I'm so sorry Alex, it's such a shame". Yeah, well I'm sorry too, and it is a shame but honestly, it doesn't do any help. Then came the funeral, which was even worse than the wake was. I really didn't need all these people talking about how wonderful Suzanne WAS. Am I in denial? Yes, yes I am. I only stayed through half of the funeral, before breaking down and having to leave because I felt it wasn't fair to all those people there to respect my mother to have to listen to me sob for an hour. I'm normally a pretty calm person but I guess I have an excuse to be a wreck.
The only person I saw who wasn't a relation, immediate or obscure, was Leslie. She didn't know my pain, or exactly how to handle it, but she was there to comfort me and that's what really counts. That's what friends are for of course. My dad kind of moped around the house, doing random chores and muttering to himself. Just watching him in such a state was painful.
Finally, it was Saturday. Not that things were any brighter, but the relatives had finally left and our fridge was jam packed with half eaten casseroles. I got up and went downstairs, extremely surprised to see my dad sitting at the kitchen table, looking a little bit more like himself, working on his laptop.
"Morning Lexi" he said, looking up from the screen.
"Hi dad" I pulled a chair out from the table and took a seat. He was way too cheerful and I was suspicious.
"Well, I've got some news" he began. "I don't know if it's good news or bad news, but it's news. I've been offered a job in New Orleans and I accepted it. We're moving."
"NEW ORLEANS?!?!" I exclaimed. "LOUISIANA?!?!? DAD!" he cannot just spring this on me. It's not fair. I've had a huge tragedy in my life and expects me to just pick up the pieces of my life, which are scattered all about, and just move, to Louisiana, of all places. How can he expect that of me. How can he do it?
"I know it's a different environment..."
"Dad, it's a different world. I'm a cold weather gal. I go skiing or snowboarding on my free weekends, snow and freezing rain are my best friends. I. AM. A. NORTHENER." I stated plainly in a passion.
"And what am I?" he asked and then let out a sigh. "It's for the best that we move."
"How's that?" I choked out in shock. Goodness, I was just getting curveball after curveball thrown at me this week, wasn't I?
"Everything about this city" Dad began. "Everywhere I go...everything reminds me of your mother. When I pass the campus on my way to work, I think of when we first met. And then there's the church, where we married...just everything."
"But it always seemed like you guys hated each other" I said honestly. "I thought you did.
"We didn't. True, we didn't get along. We just weren't compatible" my dad blinked away a tear. "We feel in love when we met, but we were so young then, we were barely adults, let alone college students. The love was immature love, and it disintegrated as the marriage went on. You're right Lexi, if you think we didn't love each other. I may not have loved her, but I respected her and I miss her. She was a good woman" by now, I was crying. I don't know if it was because of what my dad was saying, hearing the truth, or remembering my mom, but I was crying. My dad took me into his arms, like he did when I was younger and had had a bad dream, and held me as I cried. I lifted my head up and looked into those eyes I always found comfort in.
"But why do we have to move?" I whined.
"Sometimes it's the best to just forget."
"You can't forget mom!" I shouted, jumping up. How could he say such a heartless thing? How could he just push aside something that had dominated his life, maybe not in a good way, for the past 18 years?
"Lexi, calm down" he said softly. I sat back in my chair and waited for his explanation. "I can't forget Suzanne. But I can leave this city, leave the pain I'm facing. In New Orleans, you can have another chance. Change is usually for the better. No more fights...no more silence Lexi. We can start a new where no one knows us" I hate it when he's right. I really, REALLY don't want to move, but maybe it will be for the best, like he said. "I've already found us a new house down there, online" he turned the screen towards me, showing me the picture of a cozy looking two story, single family home with a garage. "We're moving in two weeks" my jaw dropped as my dad picked up his laptop and left the kitchen. Two weeks? That's all the time I have? All the time to patch everything up, pack everything up and move? Well, ain't life just peachy.
I rushed upstairs, stripping out of my PJ's and changing into a T-Shirt from one of the schools plays, a pair of jeans, and sneakers. I then thundered back downstairs, grabbed my letter jacket and the keys off their hook on the wall.
"I'm taking the SUV" I called out. "Be back in a few hours" I can't say if it's a good thing or not, that I have to share a car with my dad. I mean, before...before the accident, I shared my mom's Toyota at times, but now we were down to one. So, that's all we've got. I climbed into the black Ford Explorer, and drove off, heading towards Hartford, my city.
NU Salon was situated pretty much in the heart of the city. It was my mom's salon too. I parked the car around back in the reserved parking and then headed inside, where I was greeted by a chorus of hellos.
"Alex!" Natalie, mine and my mother's hair dresser called out cheerfully. "How wonderful it is to see you. I was sad to hear about your mother" Natalie pulled me into a hug. "She will be greatly missed" she then let go and examined me. "What are you doing here today? You no appointment."
"I'm moving" I stated. "In two weeks. I was wondering if you were free. I want to get my hair cut before I go, preferably today."
"You are lucky, I am free" she said with a smile, leading me to her station, plopping me down in the chair and draping one of those cover things around me. "The usual trim, yes?"
"No" I said, with determination. I don't know what led me to do this but maybe my dad was truly right. Maybe it was time for a change, maybe we need to change. I took down my long, waist length, light brown hair. "I want something..." I smiled before saying the last word, which felt so liberating. "...different."