hadn’t noticed how huge the neighborhood is when I first arrived. Since I’ve spent the last weeks being a hermit, this is my first real opportunity to see where I’ve been living. Each home is huge and completely different than the next. Some are brick, others wood. Whatever the materials are, it’s clear that they are all custom, made to order homes. There is nothing cookie-cutter about this neighborhood – nothing but, perhaps, the neighbors.
When we arrive at the shopping area I see a Borders bookstore, which I am eager to go in. There are also shops I‘ve never heard of. Either they are independently owned, or they are too expens ive for my blood…or both. It’s July so the winter clothes aren’t out yet, but I promise Claire I’ll be a good sport.
We both try on clothes, which actually turns out to be kind of fun. Claire looks good in anything that she puts on, of course. I stick with shorts and skirts since everything is always too long on me. Claire offers to have anything shortened, but I don’t want to be an inconvenience. Gram always shortened my pants for me, so all the pants I have are already exactly the right length. We shop a little more and I settle on a two tops and a skirt. I stopped looking at price tags after the fiftieth time Claire told me to not worry. “I’ve never had a sister…or a teenage daughter. Let me have my fun, ok?” she’d say.
I don’t really need new clothes right now, but I’m grateful. Not for the clothes necessarily, but for the time she’s given me to be alone these last weeks, and for the time she’s giving me now. This month has brought a lot of reflection on the things I had given up over the last five years. I didn’t look at it like a sacrifice at the time because it was what I had to do. I spent the majority of my time with my grandparents so I didn’t do shopping or movie outings with my friends. Maybe shopping was my thing and I just didn’t know it. At any rate, I’m allowing myself to enjoy being with Claire.
We grab a late lunch at another place I’ve never heard of. I get a salad with chicken, cranberries, and Gorgonzola cheese. I feel so exotic.
“How’s your salad?” Claire asks. She’s staring at me as I lift the fork to my mouth, excited to hear my answer.
“It’s good. I didn’t know I liked Gorgonzola.” How could I know that I liked it? Gram never bought it, so I didn’t either. The extent of eating out with Gram and Gramps was limited to the early bird dinner at Denny’s on the occasional Sunday. “How’s yours?” I look at her salad and think I recognize some nuts and berries in hers, too.
“Delicious! I get the same thing every time I come here. I really should try something else, but it’s just so good! Do you want a bite?”
“Oh, no, but thanks,” I pause to take a sip of my Diet Coke. “Do you mind if we go into Borders before we go home? I just want to look around for a little bit.”
“Sure! I could spend hours in a bookstore. How do you think we ended up with so many books in the loft? Luke gives me a hard time because I bring books home and never get around to reading them.” She chuckles like it’s become an inside joke between the two of them, something I’m sure he now considers cute and quirky about her.
We finish lunch, talk about the clothes we bought, and debate if we should go back so Claire can get one of the tops she put back. It’s almost three o’clock and we both want to go to Borders, so she decides the top can wait until another trip and we head to the bookstore.
There’s something about a bookstore that is so calming. It’s a place where I feel like I belong, like everyone there is part of a special family or fraternity that other people don’t understand. Avid readers are a breed of their own, and we’re often accused of being heady. I don’t care. I love books and can devour one in a whole day if I’m allowed.
Claire and I split up and saunter each in our own direction.
When we arrive at the shopping area I see a Borders bookstore, which I am eager to go in. There are also shops I‘ve never heard of. Either they are independently owned, or they are too expens ive for my blood…or both. It’s July so the winter clothes aren’t out yet, but I promise Claire I’ll be a good sport.
We both try on clothes, which actually turns out to be kind of fun. Claire looks good in anything that she puts on, of course. I stick with shorts and skirts since everything is always too long on me. Claire offers to have anything shortened, but I don’t want to be an inconvenience. Gram always shortened my pants for me, so all the pants I have are already exactly the right length. We shop a little more and I settle on a two tops and a skirt. I stopped looking at price tags after the fiftieth time Claire told me to not worry. “I’ve never had a sister…or a teenage daughter. Let me have my fun, ok?” she’d say.
I don’t really need new clothes right now, but I’m grateful. Not for the clothes necessarily, but for the time she’s given me to be alone these last weeks, and for the time she’s giving me now. This month has brought a lot of reflection on the things I had given up over the last five years. I didn’t look at it like a sacrifice at the time because it was what I had to do. I spent the majority of my time with my grandparents so I didn’t do shopping or movie outings with my friends. Maybe shopping was my thing and I just didn’t know it. At any rate, I’m allowing myself to enjoy being with Claire.
We grab a late lunch at another place I’ve never heard of. I get a salad with chicken, cranberries, and Gorgonzola cheese. I feel so exotic.
“How’s your salad?” Claire asks. She’s staring at me as I lift the fork to my mouth, excited to hear my answer.
“It’s good. I didn’t know I liked Gorgonzola.” How could I know that I liked it? Gram never bought it, so I didn’t either. The extent of eating out with Gram and Gramps was limited to the early bird dinner at Denny’s on the occasional Sunday. “How’s yours?” I look at her salad and think I recognize some nuts and berries in hers, too.
“Delicious! I get the same thing every time I come here. I really should try something else, but it’s just so good! Do you want a bite?”
“Oh, no, but thanks,” I pause to take a sip of my Diet Coke. “Do you mind if we go into Borders before we go home? I just want to look around for a little bit.”
“Sure! I could spend hours in a bookstore. How do you think we ended up with so many books in the loft? Luke gives me a hard time because I bring books home and never get around to reading them.” She chuckles like it’s become an inside joke between the two of them, something I’m sure he now considers cute and quirky about her.
We finish lunch, talk about the clothes we bought, and debate if we should go back so Claire can get one of the tops she put back. It’s almost three o’clock and we both want to go to Borders, so she decides the top can wait until another trip and we head to the bookstore.
There’s something about a bookstore that is so calming. It’s a place where I feel like I belong, like everyone there is part of a special family or fraternity that other people don’t understand. Avid readers are a breed of their own, and we’re often accused of being heady. I don’t care. I love books and can devour one in a whole day if I’m allowed.
Claire and I split up and saunter each in our own direction.
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