I – Adoration
The days were going by slowly; the mere feeling of boredom could kill her. Elsa decided to get out of the house and head to the San Antonio Public Library. She wanted to hang out with her friends, but unfortunately they all moved on to other states, forgetting the Lone Star. She figured she had her ward friends, but most of them probably want to be left alone especially when the holidays fast approached. Elsa couldn't wait to go back to BYU. She thought going home for a visit was a dream come true, but it became a nightmare. True, that her classes were hard this year, but the university is where she felt she belonged. Nobody told her what to do, what to say, or who to marry. Yes, she was twenty one, an adult- where you can do whatever you wanted. But in her case, twenty one meant to find a husband and start a family soon. Her mother Laura and her brother Hans never really had a problem with her doing what she willed, but her father was the problem.
James Bassett, a fifty seven year old man who grew up in a very conservative Mormon home, taught his children the same thing. As a young boy, he did everything a good member of the LDS church would do. He went to Sunday school, went to Argentina on a mission for two years, finished his doctorate degree in being a nurse practitioner at the University of Texas at Austin, and married at the age of twenty five.
But she was not her father. She was her own woman, her own identity. She had her own dreams, and her determination to make them come true fueled her to study even if she was on break. None of her classes had given her work to do, but she figured some extra knowledge never hurt anyone.
Elsa majored in American studies, wanting to explore the depths of the homeland. She hoped someday of becoming a college professor, teaching students about ideas she knew. Kind of like the time she went on a mission, spreading the word of God.
She parked her car in the parking lot, and proceeded to enter the huge building. The place is full books, and it has clearly been a while since she visited the library. She headed toward s the front desk, and approached the clerk, typing on the computer. "Excuse me?"
The clerk looked up and Elsa found her to be very young. Not like a child, but probably about eighteen. Definitely younger than her, for sure. She had red hair tied in two pigtail braids, freckles spread across her cheeks, and insanely light blue eyes that matched the sky.
"Hi," The girl smiled. "How may I help you?"
Elsa realized she stared at the girl for a complete minute. "Oh, I need help on finding a book."
"Sure thing, now if you would just give me the title, then I can look it up on the catalog."
"It's called Mormonism in American Experience."
The clerk nodded, while looking at the screen, typing the words in complete speed like a pianist playing the piano.
Elsa saw the girl's name badge pinned on the left side of her shirt, and it said ANNA.
'Cute name,' Elsa smiled at her thoughts.
"Why, thank you!" Anna beamed with joy.
The blonde's eyes widened. How on earth did she say her opinions out loud? "N-no problem."
"Okay, so we have the book in stock. It's in the back near the American Religions section. Here, I'll show you." The redhead stood up, hinting at the librarian sitting inside the room behind the front desk, and lead the way to the back.
Elsa examined the girl in front of her. Anna was dressed simply and casually, wearing a camo print shirt, faded light blue denim jeans, and the clanking sound she made with every step she took meant she was wearing a pair of cowboy boots.
"Here you go." Anna handed her a thick hard covered book with the title she wanted.
"Thank you so much," Elsa gave her a grateful smile. "Do you mind if I borrow this?"
After scanning the book, Anna passed it back to the lovely lady in front of her. "You know my name, I might as well know yours?"
"It's Elsa." Elsa received the book with a small blush on her pale cheeks.
"Elsa, would you mind if I asked you a question?"
She shook her head as Anna continued.
"Are you a Mormon?"
"Yes, why?"
"Well judging from the book, I thought you were either that, or you're really just interested in religions."
Elsa pursed her lips. "It seems to me you're the one who's interested."
"I guess, since religion is an important aspect in my life." Anna responded.
"What's your affiliation?"
"I'm Catholic."
"Oh."
"What do you mean oh?" Anna cocked a brow.
Elsa shrugged. "Nothing, I'm just curious how you guys find coffee interesting."
"Coffee is amazing, Elsa." The redhead glared.
"That's certainly not what I was taught of." The blonde countered.
Anna bit her lip to suppress her laughter. She found Elsa to be interesting. Not only because of how gorgeous she looked, but also because of her sassy attitude. "I know, I know. But hey, do you at least drink hot chocolate?"
"Duh," Elsa rolled her eyes. "Like who wouldn't drink that?"
"Good, then I'll see you at the chocolate shop down the street tomorrow at three." Anna said as a statement, not as a question.
She was beyond shocked and annoyed, anywhere in between those two. "Who do you think you are?"
"For starters, I'm Anna And I'm just a girl, whom like you said, is very much interested in religion."
"What makes you think I'm going to show up for your curiosity?"
This time, Anna knew she had Elsa right where she wanted her. "Because nobody can say no to chocolate."
The taller girl raised a brow. Anna couldn't help but think how those eyebrows made Elsa look like an angel. She had everything! Perfect hair, a perfect face, and a perfect personality (well she doesn't really know for sure, but based on talking to her, she seemed really nice with a pinch of saltiness). Elsa was an epitome of how wonderful the Lord is to His creations.
"Fine, you got me." Elsa sighed with a small grin forming in her face. Chocolate was the love of her life, how could she say no to that? Plus, she did spot that chocolate place Anna mentioned while driving to the library. "I'll see you tomorrow, Anna…?"
"Roberts, Anna Roberts." She reached her hand out for a shake.
"Elsa Bassett." The blonde too it with her own and shook it.
"Kristoff where are my keys?!" Anna screamed when she noticed her truck keys were missing. Her brother always loved to borrow her truck ever since his got admitted to the shop for customizing.
No answer.
"Kristoff!"
"Jeez, calm down!" He appeared in the doorway of his room and threw the silver keys to his sister for her to catch. Good thing Anna had been amazing at softball.
"I told you to get a Chevy instead of a Ford. Now look at you, always borrowing mine because your F150 isn't 'enough'." Anna held up her fingers in quotation marks.
The blond boy scoffed at her. "For your information, my F150 is way much better than your Silverado. I told you, she's still in the shop."
"Look," Anna approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I really need my baby today."
"I know, I'm sorry. I'll just borrow dad's Tundra." Kristoff had big plans tonight with his friends, going out to Cowboys Dance Hall to hang.
Anna grinned. "Awesome! I'm telling you, never underestimate the power of a Tundra. I drove that monster a lotta times and you ain't wanna mess with it."
He laughed. "You're right, well aren't you supposed to be going somewhere?"
She nodded and headed towards the door. "Just a little word of thought though, no matter how many times you wanna customize your Ford, my Silverado will always be the best."
She winked and closed the door.
Kristoff crossed his arms and grunted. He hated to admit it, but his sister's Chevy is one of the best customized trucks he's ever seen.
Elsa parked her silver Prius in front of the chocolate shop. She checked the time on her dashboard.
2:50 p.m.
She exhaled. She was bewildered how she got at the venue in time. Traffic was just horrible in the weekdays, especially with people rushing to malls and shops for Christmas shopping.
She got out of her eco-friendly car when suddenly, the sound of a huge engine roared and almost made her fall to death. She looked to see a GIGANTIC sleek black truck park next to her.
Elsa couldn't help but stare at it. The wheels were clearly lifted to about six inches, making it bigger than it already was, the exterior was shiny black, and she could see her still shocked expression. The door had the words TEXAS EDITION in silver, and yes, this was proof that everything was bigger in Texas.
"Oh, hey Elsa!"
A familiar voice echoed, as Anna went around the truck.
"This is your truck?!" Elsa's jaw dropped to the ground. Anna was definitely full of surprises, and this one by far was the biggest. No pun intended.
Anna nodded. "Yeah, a beauty, isn't it?"
"It's humongous!" Looking back to her Prius, it was nothing compared to the monstrosity beside it. It might as well be a speck in the horizon.
"C'mon," Anna giggled at Elsa's expression. "Let's go inside."
She followed Anna to the store and once again, she caught herself staring at the girl in front of her. She got too distracted, she didn't even notice how amazing the place smelled like. Anna's cowboy boots clanked again while walking, and she wondered why she found it amusing. It revealed how much of a country girl Anna was. The freckled lass wore darker colored jeans and a camo hoodie today.
"You like camo, don't you?"
Anna turned around to face her. "I love camo! It helps me with hunting, and the print is just…wow." She sighed in wonder and went to order.
Elsa was once again, as you guessed it, shocked. She stood there, mouth slightly opened and eyes wide. She didn't know Anna was a hunter.
"Hey Elsa, you just want hot chocolate? Or do you want some cupcakes, cake, or muffins to go with that? My treat." Anna snapped her out when she called out to her.
The blonde quickly walked towards her. "Anna, I'll pay for mine. You don't have to."
"Nonsense. I invited you, so let me treat you to this."
Elsa gave up. "I'll only have hot chocolate, please."
Anna grinned. "Don't forget, I'll be asking many questions so prepare!"
"Yes ma'am!" Elsa gave her a small salute in return.
They both laughed and headed towards a table for two in the corner of the shop.