"Alright, Brock. Go make sure the kitchen is cleaned up, I'll go double check the bathroom and the spare room. 10 minutes or less, they're never late." I ran to the bathroom to make sure everything was in place, then into the spare bedroom. The bed was made perfectly, there wasn't anything on the floor, everything was dusted. I looked in the mirror to make sure I looked okay, then quickly checked on the living room and the kitchen again, just in case Brock missed anything. I went to walk past him to go into the bathroom again, but he grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back.
"Would you calm down? You're makin me nervous…" I let out a sigh and stood next to him, right in front of the door.
"Are you sure everything looks alright?" I asked, looking behind me. He kept an arm around my shoulders and laughed.
"I know you want to impress them, but they really wont care that much. They'll just be happy to see you!" He reminded me. He had a point, I just want everything to be perfect.
"And you." I added. They did love Brock, they were impressed with what he wanted to become and they knew he'd take good care of me, which is all they ever asked for. I tried evening out my breathing and they showed up 4 minutes early, not enough time for me to even it out. I laughed nervously at my thoughts when I heard their car doors slam. Brock squeezed my shoulder and I shook my head, keeping a smile on my face. Brock let go and stepped forward to open the screen door for them. I was thankful he did it, I didn't want to move. Momma came in and I stood still, barely breathing at all. 'Was there toilet paper? Lord, I hope there is toilet paper…' I thought.
"Hi Momma." I said as she wrapped me in a tight, long hug. I hugged back, just as tight.
"Hi sweetheart." She moved her hands around on my back. "Oh, honey! You're so tiny… too tiny. Are you getting enough to eat? You're so skinny." She backed up and put her hands on my shoulders.
"Yes, mom. I eat all the time. I've always been small."
"I know that, but not this small!" I laughed and nodded. 'Yeah, mother, I have.' I thought to myself. Daddy came in and picked me up.
"I have missed you so much." he said as he put me down. I laughed.
"I've missed you too daddy." I said, smiling. I smiled even wider as I watched my mother give Brock a hug and my dad shook his hand.
"So. What's for dinner?" Daddy asked, patting his stomach. My mom elbowed him in the arm.
"JV… don't be rude, and we just ate an hour ago!" I smiled at my parents.
"Well, I was thinkin' pork chops. Sound good?" The three of them nodded and I nodded back once, then walked into the kitchen. My mom followed.
"Need help?" I shrugged.
"Only if you wanna." I got the pork chops out and washed my hands. "Brock, why don't you go get some of their bags and show daddy the spare room?" I heard him walking towards the door then watched out the window above the sink as he got some bags out of the car.
"You didn't have to make him do that." my mom said. She was now washing her hands and I was drying mine. I started to go to work on the pork chops.
"Don't worry about him, he really wants to impress y'all anyway. Could you start the corn?" She quickly started shucking and I watched as my dad and Brock brought bags in and set them down in their room. I heard them in the living room talking, but couldn't quite make out what the were saying. "I'll have to give you the grand tour after dinner." I told her. She just nodded and kept shucking.
"Momma? You okay?" She nodded. I quit seasoning and walked over to her. "No you're not." She stopped shucking and put the corn on the counter, then shrugged.
"I don't know… I just feel like we miss too much."
"What are you talking about?"
"Me and your daddy… we just miss so much. You finishing college, getting your first house, getting engaged!"
"You're apart of all that. You know whats goin on…"
"Yeah, but…" She paused. "We just don't have that good relationship anymore."
"Momma… I'm 22 years old. I cant always be your baby, you know." She sighed and nodded, then looked up at the ceiling to try to hold back her tears. I hugged her tightly.
"I'm so proud of you… for everything." She whispered. I smiled and pulled back to look at her. "I did a good job." I nodded.
"Sure did!" I agreed and we both laughed. We got back to dinner and it was finished before we knew it. We brought it out and the guys were just about drooling over it. We ate and sat around at the table to talk for a little while. I decided to show momma around the house. I showed her the spare bedroom last. She seemed to like it. We made our way back to the living room to talk some more.
"So. When're we goin dress shopping?" Mom asked. I thought about it and laughed nervously.
"Uh… We don't have a date or anything, it's still pretty soon. And we don't really have the money right now." She waved her hand like it was nothing.
"We can help with the money situation, and who knows? You guys might want to get married soon." She said, grinning. I looked at Brock for help but he looked at me, clueless. I rolled my eyes.
"I don't know, momma. When do you wanna go?"
"Oh… I don't know… Tomorrow." She already planned on saying that. My eyes widened and I took a deep breath.
"Okay. Looks like I'll have to give Lori Ann a call" I stood up to walk over to the phone.
"She's goin?" I nodded
"Yeah. She's been lookin forward to helping me out with it." She rolled her eyes and I smirked and narrowed my eyes. "What?"
"Nothin', its just that… well, she can be a handful." She admitted. Brock snickered.
"You can say that again…" I shot him a dirty look, then looked back at my mother.
"Well, its my day. Shes my best friend and I want her to be there." I said, crossing my arms. She threw her hands up in defense.
"Fine. I don't care, I was just sayin'…" She trailed off. I rolled my eyes and walked into the kitchen. I quickly dialed her number and she picked up.
"Hey Lori Ann…"
"Hey girl! Parents in town yet?" She asked.
"Oh yeah… So, my momma wants to go dress shopping…" I paused, waiting for her to interrupt. She didn't. "Tomorrow." I added.
"Tomorrow?!" She gasped.
"Yeah. I'm sorry its so last minute, if you cant make it we can reschedule."
"No… It's fine. What time should I come over?" I thought about it.
"How bout… 9?"
"Sounds good. Guess I'll see ya tomorrow."
"Alright… bye bye." I hung up and walked out with a sly grin.
"Can she make it?" Momma asked.
"She'll be here at 9 tomorrow." She rolled her eyes.
"Splendid…" She said sarcastically.
"What has she ever done to you?" I asked her.
"She's just not the best influence, I don't think." Brock put his hand up and started to say something but I cut him off.
"Brock… not now. Mom, I know how to make my own decisions, I know what she does is bad. Just because she does it doesn't mean I'm going to automatically wanna do whatever it is that she does."
"Lord I hope not…" Brock said quietly. I shot him another dirty look. "What? Reba, the girl gets around…"
"So she has a reputation… so what?"
"I've gotta have your mothers side on this one. You wouldn't want our daughter hanging out with the girl who sleeps with every man she meets." I widened my eyes.
"Every man, huh?" He jumped up and put his hands out.
"No. No, no, no… Not me. God no." I rolled my eyes.
"And the only reason you're taking her side is because you and Lori Ann just don't get along." I argued then looked at my innocent, quiet dad. "Sorry daddy." He looked up at me and shrugged.
"It's good to hear your arguin' voice again, carrot top." I smirked and shook my head.
"Ask Brock what he thinks about my 'Arguin' voice'…" We all laughed, except Brock. He just shook his head and rolled his eyes.
"Well… I think its time for a shower and bed." Momma said, then yawned. I looked up at the clock.
"Momma… It's 8."
"And by the time me and your father get showered and settled in it'll be 9." I shrugged.
"Okay…" I gave my mother a hug, then hugged daddy and gave him a kiss on the cheek and they went to shower and go to sleep. After a 7 hour drive from McAlester to here I'm sure they were exhausted. I went and plopped down getting kind of tired myself. All the cleaning and cooking today really wore me out. I closed my eyes, for just a second, and next thing I knew Brock was picking my up and bring me to our room
"What time is it?" I asked while yawning and resting my head on his shoulder.
"About 11." I closed my eyes again, only to be set on our bed. "Are you going to change, or just sleep in that?" He asked. I rubbed my hands on my legs and remembered I was wearing jeans… I'll regret that later on tonight.
"Could you just throw me a tee-shirt?" I asked. He threw me one of his oversized shirts and I threw my shirt off and laid down on the bed to take my pants off. I put Brocks tee-shirt on and walked to the small bathroom we had in our room to brush my teeth. I threw my hair up and started brushing. I felt my eyelids getting heavier and heavier, then I heard Brocks laughter. I jumped and looked at him surprised in the mirror. He was standing a few feet away from me, laughing. I spit and watched him in the mirror as I started brushing again. I finished, rinsed my mouth and wiped my mouth on Brock tee-shirt as I walked by him.
"Thanks." He said, then followed me to the bed. We both started unmaking our bed, then laid down, keeping our lamps on the night stands on. I rested my head on his shoulder and yawned.
"I'm tired." He laughed quietly.
"I know." He reached over to shut off his lamp, then I turned to look at my lamp. I sighed because it seemed so far away. I decided to just fall back asleep and let Brock take care of it. "Reba. Your layin on me so either way you're going to have to move." I rolled my eyes and scooted over to turn off the lamp. I stayed on my side. "You can come back over here now…"
"Nah…" I heard him sigh and roll over. I smiled to myself. I woke up the next morning to the sound of my parents in the kitchen.
"OW! Son of a bi-"
"Well obviously its gonna be hot, JV, its coffee!" My mom yelled. I took a deep breath and braced myself. I got out of bed, put on some pajama pants and my robe over it and walked out.
"What in Gods name is goin on out here?" I asked, squinting because my mom had opened every curtain in the house.
"Sorry honey, did we wake you?" Momma asked.
"Yeah!" I said in a 'duh' voice. "Sometimes screamin tends to do that."
"Good because it's almost 8. You guys just sleep your whole day away around here?" I poured myself some coffee and joined my parents at the table.
"Can't."
"Whys that?" She asked. I turned and gave her a dirty look.
"Parents are in town." I raised my eyebrow and she rolled her eyes.
"God sure did bless me with a daughter just like me." She said sarcastically.
"Pay back." I said into my coffee. I heard Brock come out, mumbling stuff under his breath.
"Whats that dear?" My mom asked him.
"Why's it so bright?" He asked, making the same face I did when I came out.
"Y'all need a mom in this house. Sunlight is good for you, y'know."
"Yes, mom, we know. Don't you think we get enough sun living in Houston?" I asked.
"Well, it really makes the house look a lot better." She said looking around. I shook my head and ignored her. Brock poured himself a cup and sat down next to me.
"Reba, go get ready. Lori Anns gonna be here is just an hour." Mom said.
"She'll be late." I said, shaking my head.
"Have you talked to her?"
"Mom, she's been my best friend for years. Any occasion we go to together we end up late. She was late last year for my surprise birthday party for cryin out loud!" She waited for me to make my point. "She had Terrys key to the bar… everybody was outside and I'm always early, I arrived the same time everybody else did." She nodded, understanding now. The phone started ringing and Brock got up to answer it.
"Hello?" pause and a sigh. "We were just talking about you, although, you probably don't wanna know what we're saying." I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Great! I'm lookin forward to seeing you." Sarcasm. "Bye." He walked back over and stood behind my chair. "She's gonna be late, she just woke up." I grinned and looked at momma.
"Told ya." I took the last drink of my coffee then walked back into our bedroom. I quickly grabbed an outfit and headed for the shower. I showered, got dressed and wrapped my head in a towel. I walked out to see what they were doing. Momma was getting ready and Dad and Brock were talking… fishing? I don't know… I went back into our bathroom to do my makeup and hair. 20 minutes later I walked out and checked the clock. 9:17. Momma was sitting at the table waiting. Brock turned and gave me a whistle. I smirked and shook my head. I went to stand behind his chair but the doorbell rang.
"About time…" I mumbled under my breath. I opened the door and smiled. "Not bad for you." I said as she stepped in.
"Sorry." She leaned down in my ear. "I had to get a guy outta my house, it wasn't easy." I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
"Is this a new one?" She nodded
"Yeah… I met him a few days ago and we've been hanging out."
"And by 'hanging out' you mean him coming over at night and leaving first thing in the mornin'? She nodded again and I laughed. "What am I gonna do with you?" She walked over and said hi to momma and daddy. When I walked over to them Brock and Lori Ann were giving each other dirty looked. I stepped between them.
"Guys. Could we not? Not today, please?" I looked at them both. They were both just staring.
"I know opposites attract, but Reba, you could've at least found somebody good looking." I gave her an annoyed look, then glared at Brock before he could respond.
"Lori Ann… Please?" She sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Are we ready?" I nodded and motioned for momma to hurry up. We quickly said goodbye and headed out. The store we wanted to go to was about a half hour away, but I think I could get us there in less time. I sped until we got further into the city. About 20 minutes later we arrived. We shopped around for a while, nothing really catching our eye. I tried on a few, but none that I liked. Lori Ann tried helping me, but apparently she forgot who she was shopping for.
"Lori Ann… I'm not a skank." I whisper-yelled.
"Reba… I would wear this."
"Exactly." She ignored me and kept looking around. Mom tried helping as well, but she forgot it was the 80's… not 60's. She finally brought one out that was decent looking, and after 2 hours of this I was just about willing to accept anything.
"This isn't really in our price range…"
"Honey, don't worry about it. I'll pay what you can't."
"Mom, I'm not gonna make you do that. We can just keep looking."
"I like this one… do you like it?" I nodded. "Go try it on, at least." I did as I was told. It was white, obviously, had short sleeves, tight around my torso and flowed off my body. Scoop collar… I liked it. It'll do. 'Reba! You only get married once… you gotta put some thought into this.' I yelled at myself in my head. I looked at my self some more. I did really like it… I walked out and gave my best smile. Momma put her hands up to her mouth.
"Oh… its beautiful." She said. I looked at Lori Ann.
"I love it… It really fits you. Maybe you could borrow one of my bras for the wedding?" She asked and pushed her breasts up, gesturing that I needed to show more cleavage. I ignored her and smiled, happy I got both of their approvals. I nodded,
"I like this one." I agreed.
"Is this the one?" Momma asked. I turned and looked in the mirror. I thought about saying 'I guess.', but decided not to.
"I think so. I really like it."
"How much is it?" Lori Ann asked. I sighed.
"About $500..."
"Can you really afford that?" I shook my head.
"I can." Momma butted in. I shook my head again.
"No, mom. I cant have you get this…" I argued.
"Well, you pay what you can, I'll get the rest. It isn't a huge deal." I sighed, but agreed. She gave the lady her half and I set up a payment plan with her. I didn't have my half on me at the moment… The woman said she'd have it fitted and finished in just 2 weeks. What was the rush? I thanked her and finally, we left.
"Are y'all hungry?" I asked them. They both nodded so I stopped at the first restaurant I saw. Thank God this day was over…