Single Wide Female: The Bucket List Mega Bundle - 24 Books (Books #1-24) (32 page)

When I parked in the parking lot of my apartment building, I was still giggling. I locked the doors to my car and headed toward my apartment.

“Samantha!” a voice called out before I could reach my door.

“Yes?” I turned to see the social worker that I’d been working with to qualify as a Big Sister.

“Sorry, I tried to catch you at the police station,” she said. “I wanted to let you know that as long as everything comes back clear on the background check, then you’re approved to be a Big Sister.”

“Wonderful. But you came all the way out here to tell me that?” I asked.

“Well, to be honest, since I think we can both be fairly certain that there’s nothing you’re hiding about your past, I was hoping you might want to go with me to meet the Little Sister I have in mind for you.”

“Really? I’d love to!” I said.

I was so excited by the idea that I would be meeting my Little Sister that day that I almost hugged Shelly. Luckily for the white sweater she was wearing, I remembered what had happened to Officer Paul.

“Let me just clean up first.”

I showed her my smudged fingers from the business card. “Do you want to come in?”

“That would be great,” Shelly said.

As soon as I invited her in, I regretted it. My mind raced with what might be hanging around for her to see. If she saw something that she didn’t like, she might not approve me to become a Big Sister.

As I walked through the living room I didn’t notice anything too incriminating.

“Would you like a drink?” I asked.

“Just some water if you don’t mind.” Shelly sat down on the couch. “Nice place you have here.”

“Thanks. It’s not much, but it does the job.”

Once I had washed off the remainder of the ink that I had picked up from the business card, I reached into the cabinet to grab a glass. When I did, I nearly knocked over the extra bottle of wine I had stored there. I caught it just before it could roll off and shatter. Carefully I stowed it back inside the cabinet. I filled her glass with a cold bottle of water and carried it out to her.

“Here you go,” I said.

“Thanks.”

She took the glass of water and then looked at me. “I’m going to be honest with you Samantha. The girl I have in mind to be your Little Sister has been through a few Big Sisters. We have a policy when a child is uncooperative to stop trying to match them with a Big Sister. But Charlotte’s case is dear to my heart, and I just can’t turn my back on her. I was hoping that you’d be willing to give her a shot.”

“Of course.” I said. “There’s nothing wrong with a kid having a little spunk.”

“Spunk—yes,” she said. “Charlotte has plenty of that.”

Chapter 3

Shelly gave me the address and we drove separately, as she had a meeting to attend after.

When I pulled up to the small house with the dingy shutters and the sagging porch, it reminded me of my own childhood. I hadn’t always had everything I wanted, but I had always been loved. I had a feeling that Charlotte might not have gotten off as lucky as I did.

The little girl that sat on the front stoop had her nose buried in a book. Her bright red hair was braided tightly on either side of her head. I felt as if I was looking back through time as she peered shyly at me over the top of her book. I had spent many hours reading as a girl, especially when it was pointed out to me that I did not look the way others wanted me to.

With confidence, I stepped out of the car. I was certain we were going to end up being best friends. As I walked up to her, Charlotte watched me.

“Hi.” I tried to infuse my voice with warmth.

The young girl simply stared at me.

“Charlotte, this is Samantha,” Shelly said. “She’s going to be your Big Sister.”

“I think my mother might argue that point,” Charlotte said. She lowered her book. Her bright blue eyes scrutinized me. I could tell that she was very intelligent, just from the way she studied me.

“Alright, Charlotte, this is a good thing, remember?” Shelly asked.

Charlotte nodded. She didn’t look very convinced to me.

“We’re going to have fun, Charlotte,” I said. “We can go to the park, or play dolls.”

“Play dolls?” Charlotte asked. She sighed and looked over at Shelly. “Is she for real?”

“Just give her a chance, Charlotte.” Shelly looked at me over the top of Charlotte’s head.
Stubborn
. She mouthed the word. I nodded. I was familiar with being stubborn.

“Okay, well, what are some things that you like to do, Charlotte?” I asked.

She lifted the book back up in front of her face.

“I love to read too.” I sat down beside her on the stoop. “Is that your favorite author?”

“It’s just a book.” She tossed it down on the stoop beside her and stood up. “I want to go to the mall.”

“Charlotte, be polite,” Shelly said.

“Look, am I going to get to go to the mall or not?” Charlotte asked.

“I’ll take you,” I said. I could see that Charlotte was going to be more difficult than I had anticipated. I didn’t mind. I was always up for a challenge.

The mall was crowded. Not just a little busy, but packed wall to wall with people. Maybe I had missed a memo about a big sale, or maybe it had just been so long since I’d been to a mall, I didn’t realize how popular they still were. With so many shops in walking distance of my apartment I rarely felt the need to go to the mall. Okay—maybe I avoided it. The mall was a place I never really enjoyed as a teenager. The shops all seemed to be designed for the pretty girls, and I didn’t see myself that way. I would feel nervous about going inside some of the stores, especially if there were other kids around my age to see me. I braced myself, expecting Charlotte to feel the same way.

“Now we don’t have to stay long if you don’t want to,” I said.

“I could live at the mall,” Charlotte said.

I was a little surprised by her words.

She took the lead and we began to stop in every store that we passed. I noticed that Charlotte loved jewelry, purses, and make-up. As I watched her try on a shade of bright red lipstick, I tried not to grimace. Times certainly had changed since I was her age.

“Do you want me to get that for you?” I asked.

“I have my own money.”

“I’m sure you do. I was just offering.” I smiled at her through the small round mirror.

She smacked her lips. She had the ability to give stink-eye at a moment’s notice. I was actually fairly impressed by it.

Charlotte stood up from the chair she had perched on and began looking through the purses.

“How about some clothes?” I asked. “Would you like to get a new outfit?”

“Outfit?” Charlotte scrunched up her nose as if I had said something terribly offensive.

I raised an eyebrow.

“My treat.” I smiled, hoping that she would smile back.

To my surprise she did smile.

“Okay,” she said. “But only if I get to pick one out for you too.”

“Deal.” I was starting to feel like a good Big Sister. It wasn’t exactly guiding her to solve world hunger, but it was a start.

“I know the perfect store,” she said.

We stepped back out into the crowded corridor of the top floor of the mall. There were all kinds of temptations around me—from the scent of cinnamon buns to the draw of the flashing pretzel sign. I didn’t give in. I was there to be a role model to Charlotte, not to teach her to give in to tasty treats.

“Here it is,” Charlotte said. I looked up at the sign over the door.

Spurs and More.

“Are you sure?” I asked. The entire shop seemed to have a western theme, complete with mannequins riding on the backs of horses.

“Yes, this is what I like. You don’t think I’m weird, do you?” Charlotte asked.

“No, of course not. People have different tastes.”

Chapter 4

Charlotte smiled and held the door open for me. I stepped inside. The store smelled like leather and dirt. I tried not to wince. My displeasure was eased a bit when a clerk dressed as a cowboy sauntered up to me. He was a bit young, but wore his cowboy hat very well.

“What can I do for you lovely ladies?” he asked. His smile was quite charming.

“My Big Sister wants to try that on,” Charlotte said. She pointed to a mannequin that was wearing a skintight corset and leather chaps.

“Uh—no,” I said.

The cowboy was blushing.

“That’s from our intimates collection,” he said.

“That’s what she wants to try on,” Charlotte said. “You said I could pick it out, remember, Big Sis?”

“No, no,” I said.

“Why not?” Charlotte asked. She turned wide innocent eyes on me. I had a feeling she was not so innocent in all of this. “I think you’ll look really pretty. Is there some reason why you won’t try it?”

I cleared my throat. “Well, they probably don’t have it in my size.”

“That’s not true, is it?” Charlotte asked the clerk. “Don’t tell me that your store would discriminate against women of size by not having larger sizes in your collection.”

“Actually, we have all the way up to size twenty-two,” he said. He smiled at me, as if he should be rewarded.

I wanted to reward him with a punch to the jaw, but I restrained myself. Charlotte was a young girl who was growing up in a body-conscious world. I wanted to be a good role model. I thought maybe this would be a good lesson for me as well, since I obviously couldn’t see myself looking beautiful in that outfit.

“Alright, but we’re going to have to add some tights or something,” I said.

“It comes with leather panties,” the clerk said.

I shot a glare in his direction.

“Oh, well thank you. You’ve been
so
helpful.”

“I do try,” he said.

I wasn’t sure if he had caught my sarcasm or not.

“Please? Will you at least try it on?” Charlotte asked.

“Charlotte, this is not something that you should be choosing for me to wear. This is more of an adult outfit.”

“Okay, then how about that one?” she asked. Charlotte pointed to a frilly pink dress that should have belonged in a nursery rhyme. It was paired with a big fancy white hat.

“With or without the hat?” I asked.

“With.”

“Ugh.”

“What will it be?” the clerk asked.

“Alright, if I try the one with the chaps, it’s just between you and me, okay, Charlotte?”

“Absolutely.”

The cowboy nodded. He retrieved the outfit in my size and then handed it to me. I held the garments awkwardly as I stepped into the dressing room.

As I shed my clothes piece by piece I willed myself to look at and appreciate my reflection. Not long ago I had despised looking into the mirror. All I saw were my flaws when I did. Since I’d been working through my bucket list, I’d gotten closer and closer to feeling secure and even proud of the way I looked. I was getting to know my body in ways that I didn’t think were possible—that included learning to love the way it looked in the mirror.

As I adjusted the corset, I thought about Charlotte. I was proud of myself for doing as she asked and trying the outfit on. I hoped that it showed her that women of all sizes could wear anything they chose to. Although, this particular outfit was
not
something I would normally choose to wear. Once I had wrangled it on, I turned to look in the mirror again.

I tugged the corset a little tighter. It really did give me a little bit more of a shape. I certainly wouldn’t want to wear one, though, as tight as it was. The leather panties were snug as well. The chaps were rather fun. I felt a little uncomfortable, but as I gazed in the mirror I didn’t look as ridiculous as I’d expected to. In fact, I might even say that I looked good.

For the heck of it I snapped a picture of myself in the outfit. Then I tried a different pose, then another. Pretty soon I had worked up a sweat. When I went to pull off the panties and change back into my clothes, it seemed as if they had shrunk. I couldn’t get the band down over my hips, no matter how hard I tried.

“Miss? Are you okay in there?” the clerk asked.

I shoved at the panties. They wouldn’t budge. I tried to loosen the corset, but I had tightened it so much that I couldn’t get to the ties to loosen it. I was starting to panic.

“Miss?” he asked.

“I’m stuck,” I said. I knew my voice was probably too quiet to be heard.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” he asked. His voice was so loud that I was sure everyone in the store had heard it—if not the mall.

“I’m stuck,” I said again. “I can’t get the outfit off.”

“What?” he asked. “I mean, I heard you. But how did that happen?”

“I’m not in the mood to give you a detailed explanation,” I said.

“Okay, I’ll get some scissors,” he said.

Chapter 5

After a moment the sales clerk returned and knocked lightly on the door to the fitting room. “Got them.”

I opened the door slightly. He started to pull the door open all the way.

“Stop!” I said. “What are you doing?”

“I was going to help you.”

“No thank you, I can do it myself.”

“Are you sure? It might be difficult to maneuver.”

“I’ll be fine.” The sharpness in my voice matched the sharp edge of the blades on the scissors. I snatched them from his hand and closed the door once more. I tried to slip the scissors between my waist and the corset. When I did I felt a deep scratch.

“Ouch.”

I tried again, but this time it hurt even more.

“You know what, forget it,” I said. “I’ll just buy the outfit.”

“Okay, let me just scan it.”

“No, use a different tag.” I pulled my clothes back on over the corset and chaps. This only succeeded in making them tighter.

When I stepped out of the fitting room, Charlotte was waiting for me with a very amused grin.

“So you liked it?” she asked.

“No, I did not.” I walked over to the register and paid for the outfit.

“Then why are you buying it?” Charlotte asked.

“Because I can’t get it off.”

“What? So you’re wearing it now?” Charlotte asked. She began to laugh. I glanced over at her, then turned back to sign the receipt.

“Uh—all sales are final,” the cowboy said.

“Great.”