Sixteen the Hard Way -18.2- Closet

Once home, I had the task of putting my new clothes away. Not that I really wanted to, but I couldn’t just throw them on the bed and expect someone else to do it. For the first time in my life, I contemplated what it would be like to be a truly spoiled princess. It kept my mood from going sour, and I grinned as I decided there would probably be drawbacks I hadn’t thought of.

Linda was underfoot, dashing in and out of my room with four-year-old energy. She had rushed back home from the neighbors’ as soon as Mom got the car stopped, and we opened the doors.

“Joni gots new clothes!” she squealed more than once.

I actually did dump everything on my bed temporarily while I tried to figure out where I might put it. Looking at my closet in its current state, I decided I should do a cull of things that were not going to fit. Hardly any of my shirts would work with my new figure, but I should still be able to wear some of the pants, and the shoes would still fit.

Linda ran in again about then, squealed something I didn’t catch and ran out. Had I ever had that much energy? I’m not even sixteen yet, and my baby sister makes me feel old. Still smiling, I pulled my winter coats and dress shirts out of my closet and lay them on the far end of the bed. Some of the pullover shirts I might still be able to wear, but any top clothes with buttons or zippers went into the sorted-out pile.

Linda was in again with something comprehensible to say. “Momma says you should try everything you got on again to show me!” she babbled.

“No, she didn’t,” I countered. Linda always used shoulds and woulds and coulds when she was lying about something someone else had said.

“Okay, she didn’t,” she agreed. “But would you? Puh-lease, Johnny? I mean Joni?”

“Not just yet,” I stalled. It occurred to me then that Mom and Donna would almost certainly want me to model things again for Dad when he got home. I mean…. I felt myself blush down to my toes. What was Dad going to say when he saw me in some of this really girly stuff?

I turned around and sat down on the only chair in my room. All of my sand had suddenly ran out, and I didn’t think I could stand up.