April turned over the ignition and lowered the volume on the stereo when it automatically came on. She typed a quick reply and then prepared to pull out of the lot and head home.
April:
my ring hit him in the face before I stormed out
Izzy:
I hope it hit him in the eye
Emma:
ditto
“How was it in town?” There was a knowing look in her mom’s eyes as April carried in her bags and set the ones with food onto the kitchen countertop.
“Is it always like that?” April still felt a little on edge after all the condolences that had been offered.
“Pretty much.” Kathy wrinkled her nose but brightened immediately as April began unloading snacks from the bags. “After a while you stop noticing it so much.”
Not likely. “Well, in the meantime, there’s always cake.”
“You get some good stuff?”
Choice could be scarce in a small town, but April had been surprised by just how many things she’d seen that she’d liked. “Yeah, actually. Although not a ton that I think I would have worn before.”
Her mom narrowed her eyes. “When you were with Tyler, you mean? I noticed you were different around him, but I thought you’d just started to grow up. Mature. Not that you were … repressing yourself.”
April shrugged. “I didn’t do it on purpose. It was small things at first. Like, he wasn’t a fan of my bangs, so I grew them out, and he thought three piercings in one ear was tacky, so I only wore one. Then, I guess I gradually just morphed into someone I didn’t recognize.”
“And now?”
She shrugged. “I’m feeling more familiar.” She scooped up the bags that remained on the floor and hesitated before she left the room. “Fashion show?”
It was something they’d done when she was a kid. If she’d been out shopping, or her mom had taken her for new stuff that actually fit after a growth spurt, she’d get home and “model” the clothes for her parents and Noah.
Sure enough, her mom smiled. “Can’t wait.”
It was strange how laundry could become exciting once you reached your late twenties. Wanting to make sure her new clothes were fresh before she wore them, April had found some fancy laundry detergent and softener at the grocery store and had been desperate to try it out once she’d got home.
Now that the majority of what she’d bought was dry, she alternated between folding the clothes and sniffing them to enjoy their fresh and fruity scent. She’d chosen something calledSpring Flingand her washing now smelled of blossom and berries.
Sometimes it was the little things in life.