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“We’ll show you to your room, but I want to warn you.” She gives me a sneaky smile. “You’ve got another surprise coming.”
As if the whole thing isn’t surprising enough.
“Okay,” I say, trying not to look as intimidated as I feel. We walk into the house, and it’s like something out of a catalog. Everything is pristine, organized, and impossibly chic.
“Your room is next to mine,” Kelsey chirps as we ascend a curving staircase that looks down over a handsome, beautifully appointed living room. “That way, I’m right there if there’s anything you want to talk about.”
“Here we are,” Uncle Tim says as he settles my lone bag on the floor of the spare bedroom they’ve set aside for me. It’s all I can do to keep the tears out of my eyes.
My whole life I’ve slept on a twin bed, but a double is waiting for me with a plush comforter turned down at the corner. There are bookcases brimming with things to read and a desk by the window with sunlight pouring over it. It has to be over double the size of my room back in Ohio, and I almost wonder what I’m going to do with all this space.
“Now for the surprise,” Aunt Rebecca grins, and I shake my head in amazement.
“You mean this isn’t it?”
“Brace yourself.” With a wink, she opens the closet door, and for a second, I’m not exactly sure what I’m looking at. It’s completely filled with clothes, and I step forward and pull down a stunning lightweight red top, eyeing it curiously. It’s only when I realize it’s my size that the penny drops.
“Wait,” I gasp. “Is all this forme?”
“I knew she’d love it,” Kelsey cackles, flopping down on the bed. “I helped pick most of it out.”
“I don’t understand,” I say, looking blankly at my aunt. She lays a hand on my shoulder.
“Your dad’s been putting money away for almost a year, and he sent it to us to get you some new clothes, so you’d be ready for school.”
“My dad bought all this?”
“Well…” She shifts her weight from one foot to the other, and I can tell something is up. “It was his idea, but your uncle and I figured we could help flesh things out a bit.”
“I don’t know,” I say uneasily, but my aunt squeezes my shoulders and looks into my eyes.
“Abby, you know better than anybody that my brother-in-law is a proud man. He knows how comfortably we live, and he’s never once asked us for a thing. It’s just not who he is. It was a big deal for him to call and ask if you could stay here, and I want you to know that we’re more than happy to do it. For both of you.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, trying not to dissolve in tears.
“It’s truly our pleasure,” Aunt Rebecca says. “And I want you to know—anything you need, it’s yours. We’re happy to give it.”
My tonsils slam together and a tingly feeling at the back of my nose tells me I’m about to start bawling any second. Instead, Kelsey sits up on the bed with a bounce and claps her hands so hard I flinch.
“Alright. Now thatthat’sout of the way…” She looks at me with so much excitement it’s a miracle she doesn’t levitate and sail out the window. “Makeover time!”
My aunt and uncle roll their eyes with an indulgent laugh.
“Take it easy on the girl, Kelsey,” my aunt says. “She just got here.”
“It’ll be fine,” Kelsey bats the concerns away. “Right, Abby?”
She looks at me with such unbridled eagerness that I’m powerless to resist.
“Sure,” I say, not having the faintest clue what I’m in for.
“See?” She shoots her mother a snarky grin, grabs me by the hand, and before I know it, I’m being dragged back down the stairs under the capricious guidance of my new, self-proclaimed best friend.
“Okay,” she says with total control as we buckle ourselves into a car that smells like it’s right off the lot. “There’s a nail salon not far from here where we can set you up with a full mani-pedi. While they’re doing that, I’ll text Brenda and see if we can get you in for a cut and highlight. It’d be tight to get you in for a wax before things close for the day, but I bet we can set you up for tomorrow.”
“Hang on,” I say, putting up a hand. “Wax?”
My head is spinning from all the other stuff she’s just rattled off, but that last one takes the cake.
