Willow's POV:
My mother takes forever to get ready. She wanted me to go somewhere with her and a friend, that man from the ice cream shop we were at the other day. She says were going to the fair that's in town for this week. Why she couldn't just go by herself? I didn't understand.
Sighing, I sat down on my piano bench and played while I waited for her. Finally deciding on I Can Only Imagine, I began to play. I loved how it started out quiet and slow, leading up to this fast-paced, loud, energetic song.
I played through more than half of the song before my mother finally stepped down the stairs.
"Wow, mom. All that for the fair?" I asked, my eyes wide. She looked amazing in her white sundress covered in blue roses, her curls straightened, and almost no makeup on. "We're not going to the fair with Jake, are we?" He's the only guy I've seen her dress up for.
"No, we're going with Eli." She says with a laugh. "Jake's coming over later tonight though," she said, a dreamy look beginning to form in her blue eyes.
"Mom, I'm not going to the fair if you're going to be all lovey dovey about Jake." I say with a smile, as I pulled my hair to the side, sliding a ponytail holder over it. Perfect.
"Go put something decent on," she says, a stern look coming across her face. We laugh, knowing that she's faking, and in no way is she stern.
"What, you don't like my barbeque-stained cut offs?" I ask, raising an eyebrow and shooting her a smirk.
"They're lovely, now go put on the dress at the end of your bed." She says, pointing up the staircase.
"Fine," I reply, rolling my eyes. I can't help smiling though.
It wasn't long before I heard the doorbell ring.
"Willow, come here!" Mom called up the stairs.
"In a minute. I'm almost ready!" I reply, sliding my feet into a white pair of flip-flops. I began to walk down the steps, and as soon as I see sight of the living room, I stop and sit down on the wooden step my foot is currently on. I see mom hugging a tall man with black hair. She must have just let him inside. I can't see his face, since his back is turned to me. She takes him to go sit on the couch. They still can't see me, but I can vaguely see them. The way mom is sitting makes me not able to see her face. I can see his face fine, and he still seems happy, but I can't see how my mom is reacting to this. I'm guessing that she is also smiling, though.
I can barely hear what they are talking about. Each word they mumble slips through my brain, and the longer I try to figure out what they were saying, I have lost more conversation. I almost don't hear my name being called a few minutes later. I stand up and finish walking down the stairs.
"In a second. I'm trying to catch Scout!" I call back as I see the sly dog in my peripheral vision. I silently creep up the stairs to find the poor dog, finally seeing him dipping his face into the toilet bowl.
"Scout!" I scold, as he leaps down from his stance and slides across the bathroom floor, paws slick with water. I try to get him to stay still and he lets out a surprised yelp as I accidentally step on his tail. I look up from the white tiled floor to see two pairs of feet. A set in white flip flops and a set in black converse.
My mother's face holds a look of embarrassment, but there is a smirk on the man's face. I focus on him; he is wearing all black, from his shirt to his jeans to his shoes; his black hair is a bit long; it makes his green eyes pop out. Hmm, now that I think about it, they are only about a shade apart from mine.
I stood up, looking down at my aqua-colored dress. It isn't exactly ruined, but there are a few drops of water on it. I try to rub out one of the little water stains, but result in no luck. "H-hi, mom." I try to smile, which gets the man to smile again.
"Willow," mom began. "do you want to go to the carnival with my friend, Eli? I'll clean this up and meet you guys there later."
"S-sure." I said. I walked downstairs and left the house with 'Eli.' The drive to the carnival was quick, and before I realized it, we were in line to buy tickets for the ferris wheel.