Happy Saturday, everyone!

Thank you for joining me for part 5 of my first Saturday Story: Rags to Riches! If you’re new to my blog (welcome!), you can read parts 1-5 of Rags to Riches here.

Please let me know what you think by commenting below, and be sure to check back for part 6 next Saturday.

Have a great weekend!

Give your life the green light. It’s A Go!

Amber Green

………

Part 5:

To Riches:

The sun was shining. It was a warm, beautiful, picturesque day.

My sister, Priscilla, and I sat at a chic café, enjoying a delicious lunch. Though I hadn’t worked as a manager at the diner for many months, I still found myself critiquing (and ultimately admiring) the quality of our food, the care of the chef and their team, and attentiveness of our server.

Bags- filled with an assortment of beautifully designed clothes- proudly adorned with luxury brand names surrounded our feet. We had been shopping that morning.

Priscilla and I have always loved shopping together. Whether we were having fun (like today) or delving into a little retail therapy, there was nothing a little sister time couldn’t solve. (And if we went home with a new purse or pair of shoes by the time we were done, all the better!)

……

From Rags:

“I’d say that that was another successful shopping trip!” Priscilla announced, as she looked down, surveying the many plastic shopping bags that were gathered at our feet.

Priscilla and I were enjoying dinner out on a Saturday evening. The food had arrived quickly, and the server (a man we knew from high school) invited us to join him and a few of his friends for a drink that evening. My sister politely declined, but I thought it could be fun, and agreed to join them. I ordered a coffee after eating to give me a little pick-me-up (it was at times like these that I missed the endless energy I had in my twenties). It had been a busy day. I  worked in the morning and had picked my parents up from the train station that afternoon.

Whenever I compared my definition of a ‘busy day’ to my sister’s life, I felt grateful to have so much time to myself. Priscilla (busy with a successful career, a loving husband and three young sons at home) was savouring her burger and fries as if it was a gourmet meal at a fancy restaurant.

“What?” she asked me, after catching me grinning at her.

“You look like you’re enjoying that, that’s all,” I smiled.

“I am! I didn’t have to cook it, AND I don’t have to clean up afterwards.” (So that was it, I thought.) “Luke and the boys are eating pizza and playing video games right this very minute. CJ is probably yelling at Nicholas that he’s taking too long to win whatever they’re playing.” she said, as if telepathically connected to her children.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I said, laughing.

“Me, too!” she said in agreement. “It was a good day. I saved 40% on Luke’s new work boots. That was a steal.”

“Yeah,” I smiled, “I’m glad that you spotted them. Chris will appreciate the new pair I bought for him.”

Priscilla nodded. “We’ll take them to him after I finish my burger. I wanna see dad’s car before he returns it to him tomorrow.”

“I’m sure that it will be fine. Chris said it looked good.” I assured my sister. “How will we give Chris his boots? He won’t be at the repair shop,” I asked my sister.

“He told me that he’ll be picking up Dad’s car later tonight, so we’ll leave the boots in the car. I have a spare key,” Priscilla answered, confidently.

Twenty minutes later, we’d finished dinner and paid the bill. We drove down Main street to the auto repair shop where Chris’s friend worked.

I turned into the driveway, and parked alongside our dad’s car.

“It looks good,” Priscilla said, approvingly, after she circled the car and I put Chris’s new boots in the backseat.

“Thank goodness,” I said, relieved, as I walked back to my car.

“Hey, Chris is here,” Priscilla said, motioning to the window.

I looked into the window and saw my brother, looking down as he was focused on waxing a car parked in the shop.

I looked at my sister, who was still examining our dad’s car. “We should go say hi. Tell him how good the car looks, and congratulate him on getting away with more nonsense,” I grinned, looking back to my sister. Priscilla’s smile faltered; I followed her gaze back to the auto repair’s window.

A man stood behind our brother, his face buried in Chris’s neck, kissing him as he stroked Chris’s hair. Chris was smiling with his eyes closed, too caught up in the moment to notice his two sisters gaping at him from outside.

My sister and I stared at each other, wide-eyed in disbelief. She silently motioned to get back into the car. I slid behind the wheel, and Priscilla got back into the passenger seat. Careful to avoid looking into the window, I started the car and drove off, acutely aware of how loud the engine was. I silently prayed that Chris wouldn’t see us driving away. I don’t know if he ever planned to tell us about this part of his life, but I knew that if he had, this was not the way he wanted us to find out.

………

Continue reading Rags to Riches: Part 6 here.

*This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

© 2018 Amber Green