The rest of that day, I spent with Alice and department stores in Port Angeles.
"Alice, you really don't have to do this," I argued as we sped down t highway at ninety miles an hour in her yellow Porshe 911 Turbo. "You already bought me so many nice clothes and—"
"Ah, ah, ah!" Alice said, butting her finger to my lips. "You're my new daughter so you're going to have to get used to it! Shopping is what I love to do and I simply cannot let a daughter of mine wear the same clothes twice!"
I hadn't argued beyond that point. I just smiled and nodded. Shopping always had been something I'd wanted to try but the closest thing we'd had to new clothes at the orphanage had been new scraps added to the skirt of the only dress we'd ever had. They'd give us one patched dress our first day at the orphanage and sewed more patches on as the years went by to form an appropriate length. The beautiful white silk dress I was wearing was a nice change. It was an unnaturally warm day in the Olympic Penninsula so it was safe to wear this knee length dress without freezing to death. It had a high, round neckline with sparkling beaded accents with a matching waistline. And, I have to say, the silver ballet flats were a nice change from no shoes at all.
At the mall, Alice dragged me to—what seemed like—every single store. She would pull things off the racks, hold it up in front of me, and, if she approved, she would sling it over her shoulder. Occasionally, she would pull something in and extra small for herself. After one store, my hands already had six bags and Alice had eleven. After two stores, we made a trip back to the car, put the bags in the back, and went back to shop more. By the end of the day, Alice was as perky and happy as ever, the bags filled every section of the car that Alice and I weren't using up, and I was exhaustingly happy.
When we got home, it was nighttime. The first floor was empty.
"Where is everyone?" I asked Alice. She shrugged.
"Asleep, I suppose," she murmured.
Alice followed me upstairs and into my room. She helped me hang up all my new clothes in my mansion of a closet. When she left, I stayed and admired my new collection of clothing. I picked up my favorite outfit and put it on. I slipped on the garment and looked in the mirror.
It was a metallic, crossover gold top with a slight capped shoulder. The jeans were a dark, navy blue with a boot leg cut.
I knew the outfit was drab compared to the amazing clothes Alice had bought me but this would always be my favorite. My mother wore something exactly like it in the only picture I had of her. I went back into my closet and dug the picture out of my bag. I taped it up to the mirror and compared. The resemblance was excruciatingly painful. I missed the mother I'd barely known so much. I heard Alice coming down the hall so I was quick to wipe away my few tears and put away the picture at the bottom of my bag. When Alice came in, I was sitting on my bed staring at the wall.
"Did you have fun today?" she asked me.
"Tons!" I said giving her a hug.
"You miss your real mom," she said looking at my face. It wasn't a question; she knew I missed my mother. But how did she know? How was Alice so sure? I hadn't mentioned my mom since I'd known her, I was sure of it. I nodded meekly.
"This outfit you're wearing reminds you of her." Another non-question. I nodded, surprised at Alice's knowledge. How did she know so much?
"You're easy to read, sweetie," she said answering my mental question. Alice caressed my cheek softly with the back of her right hand.
I sighed.
"Yes, Alice," I admitted. "I miss her. I just wish I'd known who she was, you know?"
"I know," she sighed.
"Alice… is there something you're not telling me?" I tried to take it back, but it was too late. I hadn't wanted to offend her, but I knew there was something she was holding back. I knew there was a way she seemed to know everything I was feeling, everything I was going to do or was doing. I just had to know.
"Yes," she answered. Alice looked away from me for a second, looking ashamed. I couldn't stand her sad expression. I threw my arms around her in comfort; tears were streaming down my cheeks. I hadn't wanted to offend her. Not Alice, I would never want to hurt Alice.
"Jasmine," she said sobbing tearless sobs. "You're my niece."