“What could you possibly mean?” he flirts.
“Nothing left to the imagination, is there?”
“Mark Watford, it would be a crime to hide that ass from the world,” he claims.
“You’re trouble,” I laugh.
Olsen winks as though he’s proud of this.
“Pair it with the blue shirt, I think. Fuck, you look edible. It really makes your eyes pop.”
???
As the years dissolve, the coat hangers on my side of the rail increase.
I discover thrifted or discounted items that give me a more professional edge.
“Just because we're broke students, doesn't mean we can't turn heads,” he grins.
I kiss his hand as we take our seats in the lecture hall.
My fashion sense isn’t the only thing to evolve.
For my twenty-first birthday, I sign the papers to bid my old name farewell.
Marco Adams, reads the official document when it arrives in the post.
“Love it,” Olsen applauds. “New name, new chapter.”
It feels so empowering to let go of the old version of me.
I’ve also done it to keep my online presence clean as I start my own company.
Don’t want any ghosts from the past interfering with my success.
I’ve chosen Marco, in honour of the boy who survived.
Then Adams as a last name, to carry a little piece of Beth with me wherever I go.
And Louis as a middle name.
Short for Louise, the mother who raised me despite her demons.
The woman I’ll never forget.
I whisper my new identity over and over in front of the mirror.
I create a different signature, experimenting until I find one that I like.
To celebrate this new chapter, I splurge on a weekend getaway to Lake Moogerah.
Dark sky sanctuary, says the website.Paradise on the edge of the Scenic Rim.
“Come with me,” I smile as we wake the next morning. “Let me show you what real stars look like.”
“Tonight?” he yawns. “Babe, it's almost two hours away.”
Not the response I’d hoped for.
