“Chop, chop.” She claps her hands. “The parade judges will be sitting right in front of The Shop. I need to get my booths set up and the food stand going.”
“I’m going. I’m going.” I wipe the sleep from my eyes.
Mom grumbles something to herself as she walks away from the door. She gets like this every time there’s some big annual celebration in town or an event at The Shop. She may love us kids and my dad like no other, but this town is her heart and soul. It’s the place where she healed, grew, and thrived. It will always be her first love.
I hustle through a shower and decide to tie my damp hair up in a messy bun, forgetting make-up. Cut-off shorts, a black tank, and my white Chucks will do. Curiosity gets the best of me as I begin to walk out of my room. I grab my Macbook and fire it up, strumming the top of my dresser, waiting for it to come to life.
It all happens at the same time. The screen glows bright and the notifications flow in. I tap on the text messenger app, bite on my bottom lip and dive in. And now I know Mom wasn’t overreacting last night.
Braxton: Thanks for last night, baby. I’m missing you tonight.
A dick picture follows.
Braxton: Can’t wait until you get off work. I have something for you.
I don’t bother reading what Mom wrote. I don’t need to. The cheating son of a bitch. My roommates warned me about this. They couldn’t stand him, but I was in love, or thought so. I didn’t think much heartbreak could come my way, but it does. It’s not for me this time. It’s for the innocent baby growing inside of me. Guilt could consume me if I allowed it. I’m no fortune teller, but I know he wants nothing to do with us.
Me: You’ve made your intentions crystal clear, Braxton. I won’t ask anything of you or continue to reach out to you. I sure thought you were a different man. I was so very wrong.
And with that, I shut the lid on the Macbook and walk away. I want nothing more than to curl up in my bed and sleep away the rest of the day, avoiding my reality. It’s not an option today, so with my chin held high I walk downstairs to find Mom, Lacey, and Willow waiting at the table for me. All three of them glance over at me at the same time. With these strong women at my side, I crack wide open.
I clear my throat and let it all out. “I’m pregnant. Braxton, my boyfriend of over a year, is a cheating son of a bitch who sent me a dick pic last night meant for another woman. He has ignored me being
pregnant. This is me.”
I throw my arms out wide, exposing all of me. Tears sting and spill over and I’m wrapped by all of them in a matter of seconds. No words are spoken as they embrace me, sharing their love and support. My situation isn’t perfect, but it is what it is and now speaking the final part out loud took a one-ton boulder off my shoulders.
The kitchen door slams and we all glance over to it. Dad walks in and freezes when he sees the whole situation. He doesn’t say a word, walking over to the cabinet, reaching in and pulling something out. He sets his phone on the iPhone speaker dock. Stuck Like Glue by Sugarland thumps throughout the kitchen and that’s when I see the container of sprinkles in Dad’s hands. So, so many childhood memories flow back in. Dad always had sprinkles, good music, and his dance moves on shitty days. It was magic brightening any dark day. Today isn’t any different.
“Milly, my daddy will cook you mac n’ cheese whenever you want it. When you are having a really bad day, Daddy even sprinkles magic dust on your mac n’ cheese to take away all your sadness. He does it for me all the time.”
I give Dad a serious look and say, “Daddy, you better get those special sprinkles.”
Dad makes his way across the kitchen and comes back with a bottle of sprinkles. He opens the lid, then does a funny little dance, wriggling his hips and spinning around, while sprinkling my and Milly’s mac n’ cheese at the same time. He even tosses some over his shoulder, spraying us with sprinkles. That’s my favorite part. Daddy always makes my really bad, bad days great ones.
“You now have magical mac n’ cheese! Enjoy!” Dad says and then bends over, kisses my forehead first then Milly’s. Today is the best day ever.
“Twust me, it works, Milly!” I place a finger on my lips. “Don’t tell anyone, it’s magic.”
Sprinkles spray in the air over his shoulder toward us girls as he busts out his moves. His hips sway and head bops. He reaches out, grabs my hand and tugs me with him, raining sprinkles down over us as he dances me around the kitchen. Laughter rings out with nothing but love and joy surrounding me. And this is exactly how I’m going to make it through everything ahead of me.
6
Pork sandwiches have sold out, the parade is long over, and the sun tingles my skin. I’m exhausted. Hell, I feel like I’ve been saying that every hour lately, but this exhaustion is good in a great way.
“Where do you want this?” Weston rounds the corner of The Shop with a large box of Solo cups in his bulging arms.
“Um—” I cross my arms. “Mom said to put everything we didn’t use back in the storage room.
“Got it.” He nods.
Everyone has a weakness and Weston was always mine. The way my body is reacting, it seems he still might be. His black trucker hat sits backward on his head, that white t-shirt hugs his chest, and don’t even get me started me on his worn blue jeans.
I follow with him with the last box of bows and tutus that were for sale during the parade. Everyone has now made their way down to the pond where the dance and more vendors are set up. This community takes corn very seriously. It’s our livelihood and the main commercial product of our community. This celebration happens the same weekend every summer and has for years.
Weston turns around when I enter the storage room. “You going down to the lake?”
“Yeah.” I nod, setting the box on a shelf. “Been wanting a damn footlong corndog all day.”