Banner by thank you for the beautiful banner

Aleysa and Jai are sitting in the kitchen whispering. They are also looking at me which I can gather from the whispers they are planning something for tonight.

Walking over to my little sister I hug her. "Happy Thirteenth Birthday, Aleysa." I pull a small box out of my pocket and give it to her.

She tears the paper off and she opens the box.

Inside is a necklace with the number thirteen on it.

It's similar to the one that my parents gave to me when I was her age.

I'm glad she made it to Thirteen.

She rises and walks over to me. "Thank you, Chloe." Tears begin to fall down her face. "I miss Mom and Dad."

"So, do I. How about when we go home we visit them?"

A smile spreads across her face and she wipes away the tears. "I'd like that."

Nate walks into the kitchen. "What would Aleysa like?"

"To see Mom and Dad."

He sits at the kitchen table. "Why would you want to see a gravestone with dirt and grass on it." He crosses his arms. "It's not like Mom and Dad can hear you."

Aleysa hits our brother across the face. "Don't disrespect Mom and Dad like that. Yes, they are dead, but I believe they can hear us." She walks over to the door. "You're not going to visit me when I die are you?" She doesn't wait for him to reply and she runs out the door.

Idiot.

I look at him. "Seriously, Nate. You had to say something like that?" I shake my head. "I'm going to find Aleysa." I turn to Jai. "Can you take care of him?" I open the door and walk down the stairs to the swing.

Aleysa is sitting on the swing and she pushes the sand around with her shoes. She turns towards me. "I'm sorry, Chloe."

Sitting on the swing next to her I start swinging. "You don't need to apologise. Nate's being an idiot."

She laughs. "I agree." She sighs. "He does have a point about..." she cuts herself off.

I lift her chin so she's looking at me. "You don't have to feel bad for being upset about what Nate said. You want us to visit you when it's your..." I rise and lean against the pole. "Come on, Aleysa. How about you and I head to the stores and meet Veronica there."

She smiles. "Yes,"

I see the limo pull into the driveway. "I'll meet you at the limo. I'm going to get my bag and tell the boys that we're leaving." I run into the house.

Jai and Nate look at me as I put my handbag over my shoulder.

Clearing my throat, I yell. "The limo is here. Aleysa and I are going shopping. What time do you want us back?"

"At five, will do. We have a reservation at seven."

I kiss Jai. "I'll see you later. Have fun with Nate." I head to the door. "Tell your Mom that we'll meet her at the Joan of Arc statue." With that, I walk out of the house.

***

There are heaps of stores on the side of the road and I come across one that has Wedding Dresses on display.

Aleysa stops next to me. "Can we look in there?" She brushes a strand of hair out of her face. "I want to see you in a wedding dress. I might not get the chance to see you walk down the aisle."

Veronica stops at the store as well. "Are we going in there?"

Aleysa grabs my hand and opens the door. "Yes, we're going to buy Chloe a wedding gown."

Looking at her, I say. "I'm not engaged..."

Aleysa says quietly. "... yet,"

I heard her say that clearly.

I knew she was up to something with Jai and I have a feeling that the secret will be revealed tonight and I'm looking forward to it.

I walk over to a section of dresses and I go through them until I find one that I like. I show the dress to Aleysa.

Her mouth drops. "That's beautiful." She claps her hands. "Hurry up and try it on."

Veronica walks over. "Did you find anything?"

"Yes, I'm going to try it on." I open the curtain for the change room. "Veronica?"

"Yeah, sweetheart,"

I peak out of the curtain. "I'm going to need your honest opinion on this dress."

She nods. "I will tell you the truth, Chloe."

Good! I thought. Knowing Aleysa she's going to love me in everything and that's going to be hard for me to chose a dress for something that's going to happen in a couple of years anyway. I just hope that I would still be able to fit in the dress if I buy it today.

I take off the jeans and shirt that I'm wearing. I put on the dress. It's a simple white gown that flows right down and it hugs my body nicely.

There's a lace at the back that needs to be tied.

I open the curtain. "Veronica, I need your help tying this up."

Veronica walks over to me and she asks me to turn around and I do. She ties the lace. She steps back and a smile spreads across her face. "You look absolutely beautiful in that dress."

Aleysa nods. "You do." She crosses her arms. "You don't need to try another dress on. That's yours there."

Looking at the price tag, it says €5000.

Damn, I can't afford that. I'm going to have to put it back.

Walking back to the change rooms, I quickly take the dress off and put it back on the coat hanger.

Veronica looks at me. "What are you doing?"

"I'm putting the dress back. I can't afford something as beautiful as that."

She shakes her head. "I'm not going to let my future daughter-in-law leave this store without the dress that was made for her." She whispers. "My son would kill me if I let his girl walk out of this store without buying the dress."

I look at the ground. "I can't let him continue to pay for things for me. I feel like I'm mooching off him."

Veronica places her hand on my shoulder. "You're not like the other girls he was with. All they cared about was getting the newest fashion. You hardly ever spend his money even though he's given you some credit cards and told you to buy whatever. Yet, you keep the cards in your wallet to gather dust."

"How do you know?"

"Jai, hates accountants, he nearly got robbed a few months back and he asked me to take over the job. I have noticed that his accounts keep rising and there's no money being taken out. She walks over to the counter and pays for the dress.

Aleysa stands next to me. "This was the best Birthday ever."

I put my hand on her shoulder. "The day isn't over yet. It could get better or..."

Aleysa covers my mouth. "Don't you dare say it, Chloe?"

We exit the store and spend the rest of the day looking around at the shops.

***