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"Honey, you know good and well he was nothin' but pure evil. The second he found out I was carryin' you, he up and left without a second thought."
And you've never let me forget it.
"I'm sorry I'm such an inconvenience." I spoke sharply. "But I'm old enough to make my own decisions. I understand you may not agree with them, but I hope you'll care enough to respect them, anyway."
"Junie, now you listen to me—"
I hung up.
Oh, I’d never hear the end of this. But I’d deal with her temper and tears tomorrow. I knew she meant well.
But even I got tired of being made to feel like I was responsible for her never getting married.
All I ever knew about my dad was that he was super rich, and his folks told him he could either be livin' in the boonies with my mom or he'd have to leave her and return to his roots.
No points for guessing what he chose.
I wanted to make peace with it. But that was damn hard when the topic kept cropping up like an unrelenting tide of heat poking like nails on my skin.
My phone rang again. I just flipped that switch to silent and high-tailed it outta there.
I reckoned I needed to blow off some steam, so I went to dump a bucket of ice-cold water over my head.
By the time I got out, it was already sundown. The buttery glow of the last rays of amber sunlight had melted into soft pinks and purples against a deep blue sky.
My invite said I needed to be at the party by nine, so I took some time to gussy up.
Hell, I’d be a Southern belle ready to stir up some trouble at that party.
I slipped into a ruby red cocktail dress, feeling like a hot tamale in a sea of ice cubes.
The entire next hour saw me hurling a tirade of cuss words as I tried my best to coax my curls into shape. I managed to tease my hair up high and let it fall in loose, beachy waves around my shoulders.
I could have sworn Dolly Parton would be proud of that hairdo.
The figure smiling back from the mirror was all curves, gentle, swaying, and redolent of summer scents. And I loved it.
I loved every stretch mark woven like lightning on my skin, each freckle and meander and wrinkle.
It had taken me years to come to this place where I was learning to fall in love with myself. I'd spent two decades on the other side.
Then, two heartbreaks and a side of controversy later, I realized I could spend all my life at war with myself, but it would never make living any easier.
And I didn't want to remember myself that way. When I turned gray and crocheted my way into retirement, I wanted good memories.
This was me making those happen.
I finished by adding just the right amount of sparkle to make my eyes pop and my lips pout. With that, I strode into the living room and immediately regretted my decision.
You ever been around an introvert?
You know, that special breed of people who get excited to make plans and then immediately run out of social battery the second the plans are about to begin?
Yup, that was me.
Too late to back out. My Uber had already arrived.
I stepped out of my apartment, suddenly feeling like a toad in a dress. Thankfully, my Uber driver, Hank, was an angel.
