Shorts to Jump Into - 1. A Day Out (Exhaling the Past)

Prompt #435—List of words: the zoo, a spider, a policewoman, an ice cream cone, and a mime.

A Day Out

I can't believe I'm standing here. In a girl's clothing shop. A trendy, expensive girl's clothing shop. On a Saturday. At the zoo also called a mall.

No wonder Ryan and Shane had ducked out of spending the day with me, my niece Emma and her friend—Ashley. Even the lure of new clothes couldn't get Ryan to agree to go shopping today, not with two tween girls. My adoptive son said he'd rather eat a spider, and my partner said he'd eat a whole bowl of them first. I didn't understand what would cause Ryan and Shane to be so melodramatic—until now.

"Oh, my Goooosh! Isn't this just the bomb?" Emma squealed, hitting pitches I was sure a 12 year old shouldn't be able to reach.

"EEEEE!" Ashley shrieked her agreement, bouncing on her toes.

Okay I was wrong, that was a pitch no one should reach.

"That would look sooo awesome on you!" Ashley turned and grabbed a bedazzled pair of pants. "And with these, it would be perfect!"

I clicked off the price in my head—$45 for a shirt, $60 for the pants. I wasn't sure why I'd even let myself be dragged in here, but apparently this was THE place to shop. This tween boutique flouted outrageous outfits with exorbitant prices. Hell, no wonder there were sale signs for 10% off everything. No one would come in without the lure of a deal—and even then, the prices were still ridiculous.

"Come on, come on, let's go try these on!" Emma pulled her friend toward the line at the dressing rooms.

I stayed where I was holding up the wall, trying to ignore the incessant chatter the two girls managed to keep up. They talked about singers I'd never heard of, which actor was the hottest in some TV show I'd never seen, and who was dating who at school.

They were twelve—there shouldn't be any 'dating' happening in my opinion. I mean, really, where were they going to go on a 'date'—the playground?

Of course, half of what they said was lost to me in how fast they were talking too. I swear my middle-age brain wasn't meant to process the light-speed chatter of twelve-year old girls. I must have rolled my eyes because a couple of moms chuckled and nodded their sympathy. I think I'd rather be sitting in my patrol car bored out of my mind than here. I made a mental note to buy my sister ear plugs for Christmas.

"Ta-da!" Emma bounced out of the dressing room to show off the pants and shirt. I squinted trying to determine how this shirt was different from the one I'd seen in Walmart last week. And—was there a rip in the pants? What the hell was that about?

"What do you think, Uncle Colton?" Emma asked sweetly. "It's cool, right?"

I guess with the holes in the pants it'd be pretty chilly, so I nodded. Ashley thought it was perfect of course.

"Soooo, can I get it? Please, please, please, pleeeease, Uncle Colton." And of course, she batted those cute little eyes at me. Damn it.

"How about I get you the shirt—" I saw the pout start before I even had a chance to finish. "—and I treat you both to an ice cream cone at the food court?"

Emma glanced at her friend, who looked excited at the prospect of the treat. And I think Emma was smart enough to realize odds were low that I was going to buy both articles of clothing anyway.

"Okay," she agreed and headed back to change.

They both returned, Emma handing me the sparkly purple shirt, and we got in line. Ashley had decided on a gem-covered diary from the litany of 'accessory' items the store sold.

"Isn't this so cute?" Ashley held up the book with an A in green gems on it. "I can't wait to write all about Jared! Isn't he the hottest guy ever?"

"No, no Caleb, you know the one in our science class—"

"Ooooh, yeah!"

"Brittney says he's hers, but she's just talking out her—"

"Em..."

Emma's eyes shot up to mine, apparently abruptly aware that I was glaring down at her, wondering what she was going to say. She threw me a bright grin before leaning in to whisper to Ashley whatever she was going to say.

I was so glad when it was our turn at the register. Ashley paid for her sparkly journal with the money her mom had sent with her for the day, and I forked out the $42.37 for the 'cool' shirt my niece wanted.

We squirmed our way back out through the crammed racks of clothing. Once free of 'teen and sparkly,' I breathed a sigh of relief. Emma and Ashley led the way toward the food court, bantering back and forth about God knows what—again, light-speed chatter—with giggling.

I wondered how my sister put up with the constant noise. I knew Ashley visited Emma at her house a lot, even stayed over sometimes. I don't remember my sister being like this when she was Emma's age. But I was probably avoiding her as much as possible as older brothers often do.

Of course, now I understood why my sister was so excited when I offered to take Emma to the mall to shop for her birthday. I figured it'd be easier to just take Em and let her pick out her own birthday present, rather than try to pick one out. When she asked if her friend Ashley could come along, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

Hell, I can practically hear Shane laughing his ass off at me right now, the bastard.

Next time, gift card.

I followed the buzz of their gossip to the frozen yogurt shop, where they proceed to pick out flavors by how bright the color was—marshmallow yellow and cotton candy blue. I stuck to basic chocolate.

We found a table, and I settled back into my chair as Emma and Ashley's conversation morphed to what they were planning to wear for Halloween. I sat back and focused on my ice cream.

"Hey, Colt, fancy seeing you here," a voice, not of high-preteen pitch, drew my attention.

I looked up at my fellow policewoman with a broad smile. She had a couple bags in her hand from various specialty shops.

"Hey, Janet, how are you doing?"

"Good, just getting in some early Christmas shopping."

I rolled my eyes. "It's not even past Halloween yet."

"I know. I know. But I caught some good sales, plus I got to spread it out over a few paychecks," she reasoned.

Which made perfect sense. Maybe Shane and I should try that sometime, instead of waiting until the last minute.

Her eyes glanced at the two giggling girls. "So what are you doing here?"

"A day out with my niece, Emma, and her friend, Ashley," I introduced.

"Nice to meet you girls." Janet smiled warmly. "I work with your uncle."

"Oh, so you're a cop too?" Emma asked in awe.

"Yes, I am."

"Oooh." Ashley nudged Emma. "That would be a great costume."

Emma considered it. "Maybe."

Janet was nice enough to join in. "What else are you thinking of being for Halloween?"

"I'm thinking Katniss or a pirate," Ashley spoke up.

"I thought about a leopard or maybe Taylor Swift, but she'd be hard to do. I thought I could bring along my Ipod and play it while singing with it though!" Emma added excitedly.

I groaned in my head—more noise. I'm sure it wouldn't bother me as much once I had some distance from today's excursion...but still...just the thought of my niece singing at the top of her lungs had me cringing.

"Those sound like cute ideas. I remember my dad used to make all these odd costumes when I was little. I was a TV one time, with working lights," Janet chuckled.

The squeals of delight nearly made me drop my cone. Shit.

"EEEE! That sounds so cooool!"

"What else did he make?"

"Well," Janet pondered, "I was a camera once. And a bag of jelly beans. Oh, and an apple tree."

"Those are so awesome! Maybe my dad will help me with something like that!" Emma gushed as she looked over at me. I prayed she didn't expect me to make a costume. I was so not creative like that. "So what do you think, Uncle Colton? What do you think I should be for Halloween?"

I didn't have to think too much about what I'd like her to be—maybe right now.

"A mime," I said, crunching the last of my cone.