I walk into the kitchen on a bright, Sunday morning. Mom is seated at the table while Dad prepares whatever we're having for breakfast. The smell of roasted potatoes and eggs fill the kitchen. I'm wearing a pair of red and black plaid pajama shorts, and a tight, matching t-shirt. It's an outfit Mom has rolled her eyes at me for wearing in the past, but it's too comfy to not put on.
It's just the three of us in the house - and it's been that way for nineteen years. Mom and Dad met when they were in their early twenties, quickly got pregnant, and then had me. Now, Mom is forty-two, and still quite stunning. I definitely resemble her in our five foot, five inch height, long, dirty blonde hair, and our petite figures... though Mom has definitely put on a few pounds over the last few years from stress at her job. The only feature I inherited from Dad are his green eyes. Mom's are blue. Dad has always towered over both of us. He stands at a sterdy six foot, three inches. He weighs around two hundred and thirty pounds and is still in excellent shape from frequenting the gym and healthy dieting.
"Good morning," I say to both of them enthusiastically.
"Good morning, dear," Mom exhales under her breath.
"Hey baby, how did you sleep?" Dad asks me with bright eyes and a warm smile.
I am definitely a daddy's girl. Even now at nineteen years old, I know I can pretty much get anything I want from him -- though I use that privilege sparingly.
I take a seat at the table and respond, "I slept great! Weird dreams, but very well rested!"
Dad smiles and curiously answers, "Oh yeah? Weird dreams? Like what?"
Mom rolls her eyes and asks, "Connor, what does it matter? They were just silly dreams."
Dad and I exchange glances as he smiles and says, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Ready for some food, Raya?"
My name is Andrea, but they like to call me Raya (ray-uh) for short. Something Dad came up with when I was just a baby.
"Yeah, I'm starving! Bring it on!"
We ate breakfast almost in silence. There seems to be some kind of tension between Mom and Dad, which frankly, wasn't anything new. Since I had been back in the house from college, it's like I've slowly watched them drift further and further apart. I can't understand why. Mom always seems so stressed and upset, and Dad, so care free and jovial. Maybe it's a depression thing.
As we finish up, Mom thanks Dad and smiles at me, and then walks off from the table and goes downstairs to her office to dig into some of her work. She is most definitely a workaholic and almost seems most content while doing it. Dad and I do the dishes together as he looks over at me.
"So what do you have planned today, Raya? Anything exciting? Mountain climbing? Bunjee jumping?"
I laugh and respond, "No, no. Nothing that crazy. I was thinking of doing some shopping though. I still need a whole bunch of clothes. A complete closet overhaul."
Dad looks suspiciously at me as he solemnly asks, "And what about the money I gave you last week? Where did that go? I thought that was going towards this little overhaul."
I giggle and explain, "What, the fifty dollars? I appreciate it Daddy, but that only got me like... one top and a skirt. If I really want to bring in the new, I'll definitely need some more."
He looks confused again as he asks, "You need to get rid of everything? I can't believe that. There's gotta be some things you can keep."
I fold my arms over one another and smile as I respond, "If I want to look ragged, maybe. Seriously, it's time. I already went through all of them!"
As he dries off his hands, he walks over to the kitchen table and takes a seat and has a sip of his coffee. He then looks up and says, "Okay, maybe I'm just out of touch on prices for these things these days. What are you typically paying for all your clothes? How much are tops, jeans, shorts...?"
I walk over and have a seat across from him, folding my hands together as I explain, "Well... a pair of shorts is like thirty dollars. Tops are about twenty. A skirt... about thirty. Dresses are around forty to sixty. Jeans are like fifty..."
He interrupts me and exclaims, "Sixty dollars for a dress?! That's insane!"
I laugh and say, "That's not even everything! Even my underwear are expensive! Panties are like five to ten dollars per pair, and bras are fifteen to twenty."
He stops me again and says, "Okay, okay, I think I got it. Why don't we do this: You show me an article of clothing that, in your mind, needs to go, and I'll give you the money for a replacement. When we're done, we can tally it up and you can run off and get what you need. Fair enough?"
I smile and nod my head in agreement. "That sounds fair enough! You'll see. I'm in major need of some funds to replace all of this stuff."
He chuckles again and says, "Yeah, yeah. We'll see. Here, how about you go figure everything out and we meet in the living room?"
I stand up from my seat and say, "Okay, see you in there!"
I hurry down the hall into my room and walk over to my large walk-in closet. Thankfully, I had already done the hard work of going through everything and taking the stuff down that I didn't want anymore. I would just need to convince Dad that they needed to go, too.
I grab two pairs of jeans from the pile and walk back out into the living room where I find him sitting. I hold them up as I say, "See, remember these? They are so old. So it would be one hundred for these two..."
He laughs and says, "Nice try, Raya. You have to try them on! Then we can see if they really need to go."
I roll my eyes as I sigh and grumble, "Fiiiine," in a bratty tone. I walk back down the hall into my room and quickly strip out of the red shorts, down to a pair of full black panties. I pull up the light-colored jeans first, and struggle as I try my best to squeeze into them. My midriff is still exposed in the little top. I walk down the hall and round the corner as I dramatically say, "See? They're so tight. I can hardly breathe."
He laughs as he responds, "Okay, fine. Maybe those have gotten a little snug on you. I think I can help you there. What is that... fifty?"
I smile as I nod my head and turn back around to return to my room. Next, I remove the light colored jeans and pull up the darker jeans. Similar problems occur with how tight they are. They are so short they nearly fit like capris. I quickly move back into the living room.
As soon as I walk in, he says, "Oh, no way! It feels like we bought those for you a year ago. They already don't fit?"
I giggle and say, "It's been over a year now! And no, they don't fit at all. Squats are the culprit."
He laughs and says, "Are they snug in the back too?"