“Rise and shine!”
Michelle groaned as her maid burst into her bedroom and opened curtains and blinds to her windows. She rolled right over in her bed, facing away from the windows, and squeezed her eyes closed.
“Up and at ‘em, sweet cheeks!” Phoebe said as loud as ever.
Michelle groaned again in response. She held onto her blankets tighter. She had a feeling that Phoebe was going to attempt to pull them off of her. Michelle really wanted to pull the blankets over her head—the sun was just too bright—but she knew that if she did that, Phoebe would most definitely pull the covers off of her head. She found pleasure in that for whatever reason.
“Oh, come on. It’s seven o’clock. It’s not like I’m waking you up at the crack of dawn.” Phoebe scoffed.
“The sun rises at 6:30 now… It’s close enough.” Michelle muttered immediately biting her tongue. Now that she spoke, Phoebe was definitely going to know that she was awake. Well, she already knew that anyone, but it didn’t hurt Michelle to keep trying to pretend to be asleep.
“Well, whatever.” Phoebe deadpanned. “You have to get up.”
“But it’s Saturday.”
“Good job,” Phoebe said sarcastically with a smile, “it’s also November 12. The sun is shining and there is a light, fall breeze. The air is a bit nippy, but it’ll warm up as the day goes on.”
Michelle grunted at her maid being fresh.
“Do you remember what else is going on today?” Phoebe asked.
Michelle felt the side of her bed behind her sink a little as Phoebe sat down. She was probably staring Michelle down.
Michelle didn’t respond. She kept her eyes closed willing Phoebe to shut the blinds, turn the light back off, and go away.
“It’s your father’s wedding.”
Michelle’s eyes shot open. She sat up in her bed, squinting at the light, but she blinked rapidly trying to adjust her vision to the sudden brightness.
“Ah, that got your attention.” Phoebe smirked. She stood up and walked around to the other side of the bed.
Michelle stretched and then pushed the blankets off of her. How could she forget her father’s big day? Well, she hadn’t forgotten, she just didn’t realize that the date had come up so soon.
“I’m sure you remember the rehearsal dinner we had last night?” Phoebe asked opening Michelle’s closet.
Michelle nodded even though her maid wasn’t looking at her. She remembered the dinner, yet it felt like a dream at the same time. She wasn’t entirely sure what she thought about her father getting married. She liked Jennifer, of course, but it was still weird that her father was marrying someone after all these years.
Michelle’s parents had gotten divorce not too long after she was born. Being a mother wasn’t exactly her mother’s specialty. Once she had gotten a taste of motherhood, she wanted out. She wanted to continue partying, wanted to continue dating random guys she picked up at the clubs.
Her parents had found out they were going to be parents fresh out of high school. They never got married. Instead, they decided to save up all the money they could to pay for diapers and baby things. Which, oddly enough, ended up being more expensive than a house.
After a few weeks of having a newborn around, Michelle’s mother was too overwhelmed. She wanted to give Michelle up for adoption, but her father wouldn’t hear of it. He didn’t want to let his little girl go. Not long after that, her mother gave up her parental rights and her father got full custody.
Michelle had just turned 16 a couple months ago and her father had dated a few women here and there over the years. He had been dating Jennifer the longest, for a couple of years now, and Michelle liked her the best out of all of his past girlfriends. She was like a mother to Michelle, but it was still an odd feeling that her father was going to be a husband.
Michelle also knew that her father hired Phoebe to help around the house while he worked and to also be a mother figure to Michelle. Now that Michelle was going to have an actual mother, what did that mean for Phoebe?
“Are you okay?” Phoebe asked.
“Phoebe,” Michelle dangled her legs off the edge of her bed, but didn’t get up. “Are you still going to stay with us after Jennifer is officially moved it?”
Phoebe blinked in confusion, but then she smiled sweetly. “Of course. Your father and I already talked about it. I mean, someone is going to have to stay with you while they’re on their honeymoon.”
“After the honeymoon, I mean.”
Phoebe walked away from the closet and sat down on the bed next to Michelle. “Yes. I will be here. I will always be here. I asked your father about it a few weeks ago letting him know that I can start looking for a new job, but he refused. Apparently, I’m part of the family now so you’re stuck with me,” She grinned.
Michelle chuckled. “Good.”
“I’ve just been demoted to big sister status now.”
The two of them hugged tightly for a couple of minutes. Finally, Phoebe pulled away. She stood up from the bed and pointed to Michelle’s closet. “Are you ready to start getting ready now? The hair and make-up ladies are going to be here any minute. You need to prep yourself up for your maid-of-honor duties while I have the pleasure of prepping myself to be a bridesmaid.”
Michelle leaped to her feet, suddenly awake and feeling more confident than ever. She nodded and Phoebe wrapped her arms around Michelle’s shoulders. They both walked over to the closet together to prepare for the big day.
Sunday Morning
An abandoned house. A heist. A new puppy. Lost Love. From unbelievable to true-to-life, this flash fiction collection will take you to many places and get to know various characters. With no two stories alike each is thought-provoking, emotional,...