July 19, 2021

I woke up that morning and automatically went back to figuring out what I was gonna wear.

I didn't have any party dresses, just a few cute rompers, and one long dress but it was way too fancy for a back-to-school party.

I threw myself face down onto my bed in frustration. I had to look better than Wendy and the fact that she's a year older than us and her parents are loaded means that she has perfect party dresses and outfits. My dad and I aren't poor, but we're not loaded. It's more of just normal. We have a lot of nice things, but we don't live in a huge house like the ones on Phillips old street.

I didn't expect to be going to a party this summer so I didn't pack anything for one. At the beginning of the summer, I thought I would just be laying in bed all day scrolling through Instagram and complaining about how much I wanted to be in Texas with my friends instead of here. Now, I'm not even going back because of how much I fell in love with the people and the town. Honestly, if I had never met Benny or the rest of the boys, this summer would've been miserable. I've also met so many different people while working at the Bakery and I've learned all their stories. I love having conversations with the regulars and watching people's stories fold out. It's beautiful really. Sometimes I'd even draw a customer if they interested me. When Phillips worked there he said it was "creepy" but I thought it could be cool if I drew some of the customers or even the whole shop when it's full and hand them on the walls.

I figured that groaning while laying in bed wouldn't help me figure out what to wear, so I took a shower.

Jeans and a cute top wouldn't be good enough to beat whatever dress Wendy would be wearing, but the only dress I had was way too fancy. It was more of a church dress than a party one. I could wear a different romper but I already wore my favorite one on my birthday and now it has a bad memory tied to it.

When I got out of the shower, I put on Bennys sweatshirt and shorts, then put on a face mask so my skin would look clear.

I laid in bed once again trying to think of what to wear when there was a soft rock on the door. There wasn't a beat to it so it wasn't Dad's, but it wasn't too soft to where you could barely hear it like Grans.

"Come in, " I mumbled since I could hardly open my mouth due to the face mask drying.

"Hey, I-" Joe entered the room and looked around in shock, "Woah."

"Yeah, I have nothing to wear, " I said dramatically plopping my head back onto my pillow.

"I wouldn't say nothing, I mean that's like your whole closet, " she laughed.

"I mean to this back-to-school party, " I sighed, "I wanna go and make a good impression on everyone so I'm not just the new girl ya know?"

"Does this also have something to do with that one Wendy girl?"

I looked up at her confused about how she knew as she lightly pushed through the pile of clothes to sit on the edge of my bed.

"How do you know about, " I fake gagged at the thought of her name, "Wendy?"

"Your dad tells me everything. I think you have every right to straight-up smack that bitch." she talked as if she was the same age as me. That's what I loved about her the most, she could understand everything even though she was a lot older than me.

"That's what I'm saying!" I said still unable to move my mouth.

"I might have something you could wear, but all of my dresses are too formal, " she paused to think and then gasped, "oh my God! We should go shopping!"

I shot up out of bed and ran into the bathroom, nearly tripping over a shirt.

"What are you doing?" Joe laughed.

I poked my head out of the bathroom door with a small smile. "Taking this thing off my face. I can't go shopping with this on!"

"Right, " she laughed more.

Her laugh was pretty, it sounded a lot like my mom's, from what I can remember. Dad definitely had a type, I'm just glad it was a good one.

After ripping the mask off my face a fast as possible, I splashed water on my face in hopes that it would make my face, not as red. I didn't even bother putting mascara on since I was too excited. The last time I went shopping that wasn't over the computer was probably years ago.

I kept what I had on, put the necklace Benny gave me around my neck, then slipped on socks and Vans.

"Ready?" Joe asked as I walked out of the bathroom.

"Yeah, but there is one problem, " I said hesitantly.

"What is that?" she asked.

Dad was snoring on the couch, his wallet in his pocket which thankfully was easy to get to since he was sleeping with his face toward the back of the couch. I tiptoed softly in attempt to not wake him, then slowly reached for the wallet. He snored loudly once making me pause right where I was and turn my head as slow as possible towards Joe who was trying her best to not laugh and wake him up. I turned my head back around and reached for the wallet once again. Right before my hand touched his back pocket, Gran walked in from the kitchen.

"Breakfast is-"

"Shhhhh!" both Joe and I hushed her in unison, making Gran confused until she looked over and saw me paused in an awkward position; one arm reaching for his wallet, my other way behind me, and my legs spread apart like I was doing a weird yoga pose.

Gran slapped her hand over her mouth as she quietly chuckled and watched me go back to attempting to take the wallet.

I finally put my hand on it and began to slowly pull it out of his pocket, checking every two seconds to make sure he wasn't waking up. Finally, after getting it completely out of his pocket, I turned and sprinted away towards the front door. Joe quickly caught on and followed behind me and we both whispered "bye Gran."

We laughed uncontrollably as we stumbled to her car. We got in as quickly as we could but took a break once we were seated in the closed car to calm down from our laughing.

"You should've seen your face when he snored, " she paused to continue laughing. When she finally caught another breath she attempted to continue what she was saying but started laughing again.

I'm pretty sure we sat in the car for a good five minutes just wheezing and trying to get words out, but all the sentences sounded like gibberish from how hard we were laughing.

Finally, we both took a couple of deep breaths and she turned on the car. I buckled my seat belt as she scrolled through all the stations on the radio until she stopped at the station that always played TikTok songs.

We sang our hearts out and danced in our seats to all the music as we drove to the mall that was just out of Salt Lake City.

She was a lot of fun to be around when she wasn't being serious at the hospital. I was glad my dad found her, she's perfect for him.

I guess the only reason I'm so attached to my mom is because Dad never moved on either, but now that he has Joe, I feel like we have a whole family again. Even if they aren't married yet, and probably won't for a while, I still would love to have her as my mom.

We walked through the crowded mall, observing each shop as we passed it. We even got Starbucks from the food court before we decided on where to go first.

"Okay, " Joe said after taking a small bite of the chocolate muffin we got to share, "so I was thinking we could hit the Dillards upstairs, they normally have really cute dresses in the prom and homecoming section."

"Ooo, and then we should go to forever 21 or Hollister, " I said excitedly.

"Definitely, " she said matching my energy, "I might get a little something for myself with my own money too for if your dad takes me somewhere nice again."

"For sure, " I said taking a sip of my Carmel frappucino. Then I thought of something; "oh my gosh!" I gasped, "we should totally have a fashion show in the dressing rooms."

A huge smile came across her lips.

We finished sharing the muffin, then grabbed our drinks and walked as fast as we could to Dillards. We both tried on about five different dresses, but only Joe bought one. It was a beautiful velvet red dress that fit her perfectly.

"Dad will love that, " I said admiring her as she spun around. She could honestly pull anything off.

She paid for the dress then we went straight to forever 21. We strolled through the racks of clothes until we got to the dresses. A couple of minutes after we started looking, Joe gasped and held up a dress that I instantly fell in love with.

"That's perfect!" I smiled then quickly walked over to her.

She held it up to me by the hanger and wiggled her shoulders in excitement.

"It's going to look great on you!" she said handing me the dress then pushing me towards the fitting rooms.

I ran in and the nice lady showed me to an empty stall where I could try it on. It was the perfect size, color, and exactly what I imagined I would wear to my first high school party.

I stared at myself in the mirror for a little bit, checking myself out and making sure there wasn't any reason why it hasn't already been taken but there wasn't. We just got lucky because normally everything is always picked over here.

It was a pink fitted dress that made me feel super skinny and tan. It was silky and comfortable so it would be perfect for however long Benny and I planned on staying at the party.

As I walked out of the stall and back into the shopping area Joe automatically put the shirt she was looking at down and gasped.

"Ella, that dress looks amazing on you oh my gosh, " she said with the biggest smile on her face.

"I know, " I said confidently then flipped my hair off my shoulder.

I was a super confident person so I knew when something looked good on me, especially this dress. It complimented my curves perfectly and made the tan I got from playing baseball with the boys look amazing. It went well with my red hair too, which I would probably just straighten like always.

We rushed to the checkout desk and excitement coursed through my veins as the worker handed me the bag with the dress and a receipt.

"You're a lifesaver, " I said to Joe as we drove home after stopping at ten different stores in the mall before leaving.

"That's my job, " she winked then focused her attention back on the road.

We had been there for hours. It was already 4 which meant I had two hours before I had to meet Benny at his house.

"Okay now I just have to do makeup and hair and I'll be ready, " I said as we got out of the car and carried our many bags inside.

"I'll help with hair, I'm not amazing at makeup, " Joe said while struggling to get the huge bag from bath and body works out of the car, "I only wear mascara since half the time I'm only either cleaning up vomit or trying not to vomit, "

I laughed as I opened the door to see dad sitting on the arm of the couch facing the door.

"So I happened to wake up and my wallet was missing, " he said pretending to be mad but Joe and I both knew that he was just joking.

"I have no time for this, I need to get ready, " I said dramatically walking up the stairs with three big bags in one hand and two smaller ones in the other.

"Right, " he laughed, "just bring it down once you're done getting ready."

"We will, " Joe said after setting her begs down next to the couch and kissing him on the cheek.

We went up to my room where my clothes were still all over the floor and my bed. I tossed all the shopping bags onto my bed, then took out the dress and hung it on the top of the bathroom door.

My hair was fully dry from the shower since we were gone for so long, so Joe and I decided that she would do my hair while I worked on the makeup.

As she was clipping up the top part of my hair, I watched her in the mirror. She and my dad haven't even been together for that long, but I felt like she was already a perfect mother figure to me. She was nice, always helped Gran with cooking, had a great job, and most importantly, I knew she would always be there for me when I needed advice. I almost felt bad for thinking this, but she was filling up my mom's place, and I wasn't mad about it. I knew that if mom was watching us right now, she'd love how Joe was making dad and me happy like she used to. Joe was finally a good reason for my Dad and I to move on. Of course, we wouldn't be completely letting mom go, we could never do that. She would always be with us, but now Joe was here, and she was everything that made Dad happy.

"You know, I always was afraid of the day my dad would find someone new and move on from mom, " I said softly as I watched her brush the part of my hair that wasn't clipped up, "but I'm really glad he found you. You make him the happiest I've seen him in a really long time."

She looked at me through the mirror and smiled.

"Your dad has told me a lot of stories about her, " she said softly, "I know I said this when you were helping me get ready, but I want you to know that I would never try and replace her. I know she means a lot to the both of you and I will in no way try to ever get between you guys and her."

I loved how understanding she was about it. She wasn't rude about it like most people were, she was careful with the subject and always made sure I was okay with her and my dad dating.

"I like to think of it as you not replacing her, but Dad and I moving on, " I said trying to make sure I didn't sound rude because I really was glad dad met her, "I'm just glad dad met you, if I could ever ask for a stepmom, I'd want it to be you."

"I'm glad I met him too, even if it was during a rough time for you guys, " she said as she straightened my hair.

Once I had finally gotten over the moment, I started doing my makeup. I still had Bennys sweatshirt on because I always get dressed after doing hair and makeup. I went for more of a neutral look, but it was still eye-catching, of course.

When we were finally done, there was only half an hour left until the party, so I touched everything up, making sure I looked the best I could without making it look like I tried too hard.

Finally, I put the dress on and admired myself in the mirror for a while before putting my Vans back on and heading downstairs.

Joe had gone downstairs before me to make sure dad got his wallet back and that he wouldn't make me go back and change when he saw I was wearing a dress. I'm guessing whatever she said worked because instead of being overprotective, he just smiled and took a bunch of pictures for his Facebook friends to see "how grown up I am".

"Okay, I have to go meet Benny at his house, but we probably won't be there for a long time," I said as I put a hand on the doorknob.

"Have fun, " Joe said while waving me goodbye.

"But not too much fun!" dad said before I closed the door, "and don't forget-"

I poked my head back inside before he could finish, "nose, throat, balls."

"That's my girl, " he smiled proudly.

I gave him a soft smile before closing the door and walking over to Bennys house.

I knocked on the door which was quickly opened by Luis.

"Wow, " He said then turned to Anne who was holding a bunch of bags.

She dropped them all on the floor as soon as she saw me.

"Oh my gosh! Ella, you look amazing!" she ran up and hugged me.

"Thank you, " I laughed as I hugged her back. She led me inside with one of her hands behind my back.

"You look like a princess, " Lilly said from on the couch, which made me blush.

"Benny's still getting ready, but I made sure he didn't just wear a t-shirt and jeans, " she smiled.

"Are you leaving today?" I asked getting straight to the point.

"Oh, yeah." she sighed.

"Benny doesn't have to go if you want him to be with you, I know this wasn't the easiest decision you've had to make-"

"No, he's going to that party." she said stubbornly, "he can visit me whenever he wants, it's not far at all."

"Are you sure?" I asked, feeling bad that I was making him go to this party while his mom was going to Rehab.

"She's sure, " Benny said from behind me.

I turned around to look at him and my jaw almost dropped. He definitely didn't pick out that outfit, it was too... Not Benny. It wasn't super fancy of course, but it was still nice. He had on a white button-up shirt with nice jeans and his hair was still wet from the shower, but it looked good because it was kind of messy.

"Woah, " we both said at the same time.

He looked me up and down which gave me butterflies.

"You look-"

"Amazing? I know." I joked.

"Yeah, " he was basically speechless. I never thought I'd see him without something smart to say.

"You don't look too bad yourself, " I said walking up to hug him.

"Yeah well someone wouldn't let me wear a t-shirt, " he laughed as he hugged me.

"It's your first party, " Anne said, "you're not wearing a flannel."

"Are you sure you don't wanna be with her?" I asked once again, still feeling bad about him going to a party instead of being with his mom.

"Ella, we're going to the party," he said stubbornly.

I looked up at him to make sure he meant it, and he looked back at me with reassuring eyes.

We hugged Anne goodbye, and made sure she was gonna be okay with everything. She insisted we go to the party since we could come and visit her whenever, but I still felt guilty.

"I'll visit you every chance I get, " I said hugging her one last time.

"I'm counting on it," she said then picked her bags up.

The five of us walked out of the house and squeezed into Anne's car. Luis drove Benny and I to the party first and we waved as they drove away.

When we turned around to look at the house, there were people in the front, on the second-floor balcony, and even a couple of people on the roof. The music was loud as we walked inside and people were drinking all around us. The house was huge, people were all up around the grand stairs and in all the rooms. We found our way to a couch next to the bar and sat there for a moment trying to figure out what was going on everywhere.

After scoping everything out, we heard a bunch of loud yelling. That's when the rest of the sandlot boys came in. Smalls was the first to spot us.

"Hey guys, this is my first party, I'm kinda nervous," he said quickly.