3 Small Words

Have you ever watched a Disney princess movie and wondered if everyone would still be excited if the Princess decided to get with someone other than the gorgeous prince. Maybe she just wanted to get away from the typical guys and find someone that went against the norms, maybe even a villain's henchman or something. All my life I had been told that the only way I could get a happy ending was if I ended up marrying my own Prince Charming.

The only true happiness that I could receive was settling down with someone who had money and raising a family of my own. My mother, the Cinderella story herself, instilled in my sister and I that marrying for money was much better than marrying for love. She would tell us that as long as you are living a comfortable life, the love between a husband and wife will come eventually. I guess that’s why she’s been married three times….

I was never one to listen to what my mother had to say to begin with but watching my own sister take her advice and marry someone that turned out to be a complete and total monster was the end for me. Most of the men that had some sort of wealth or a fancy sportscar were nothing more than trash on the side of the road. All they thought about was themselves and God forbid you talk about yourself for more than a second; all hell might actually break lose. It was as if the normal guys were living in a different realm and the only men left were the douchebags that frequented the country clubs during the day and flaunted their riches at night. I never really had time to deal with any of that. I was too focused on school and getting everything done instead of focusing my attention on the boys around me. I had dreams of my own and bringing a boy from Lake Acres into the mix was not going to get me anywhere.

When I did finally graduate with a degree in business, my mother started shoving every available bachelors close enough to my own age in my face. She set me up on so many dates that i’m pretty sure I became a serial dater. None of the guys she set me up with were even worth five minutes of my time. All they talked about were themselves and their so-called amazing lives. It was more like their so-called, “I’m riding my parent’s coattails,” life.

I always tried my best to be corcal towards them but once they started throwing hints about sex into the mix, it was over and done with. I tried to tell my mom that I wasn’t interested in playing matchmaker but she never listened. Her reply would always be, “You’re not getting any younger, Charlotte!” I was only 24 years old and owned my own business, what more would she want from me? I had accomplished more things than her and my sister combined at a young age. When my mom was 24, she was too busy kissing the asses of those around her to actually do any work. She had two children under the age of five and had multiple nannies because Kimberly and I were just too much for her to handle. My father was always away on business and was hardly ever home but that didn’t stop my mother from hanging out with his friends and making it known that she lived in a gated community and a four car garage. When my sister found out she was pregnant with Matilda, she turned into Sarah junior. She began hiring different nannies for different times of the day because she just couldn’t be bothered by her own flesh and blood. She needed to be at the country club so she could catch up on the latest gossip and play a few rounds of tennis. I won’t even go into detail about her husband since I just spent an hour talking about the type of men that my mother set us up with; i’m sure you get the picture!

All I wanted out of my personal love life was to find someone that was normal. I could care less if they lived in the best or worst places on earth. I didn’t care about how much money they made or what stock they decided to put half of it in. And I could really give a rat’s ass about who they knew or who they were related too. I wanted to find someone that I could just talk to about anything without them having to jump in every second and talking about their own problems. I wanted to be able to go out somewhere without having to make a reservation at the ritziest place the city has to offer. I also wanted to find someone that I knew would stand by me no matter what. I needed to know that they would stay faithful and always honest even when they know i’m not going to like what they have to say. I’ve watched too many women in my family go through these scenarios and come out thinking that everything is okay. I’ve also sat through multiple divorce court proceedings to know that staying with these men were not worth it. I just wish that whoever controls cupid’s arrows in the off season would make up his mind about my love life and shoot me in the ass when the times right….

“Okay that will be $23.56.” I watched as the older lady reached into her bag and pulled out her credit card. I quickly swiped the card before giving it back to her, along with the receipt she needed to sign. She was one of my regulars, coming into the store every other week to buy her regular order of a dozen Peanut Butter Fudge cookies. Frankly, those and the Mint Chocolate were the most popular since I have to make several batches throughout the day. “Mrs. Nicholas, I hope you have a good rest of the day and enjoy those cookies.” I told her with a smile before she walked back out the exit. Having my own business was the one thing I was most proud of. My mother of course was less than thrilled to hear that I had opened my own bakery. She told me that the only people I needed to bake cookies for was my husband and children. Cooking for other people was a servant's job and she did not raise a servant; her words, not mine. The one thing that neither my sister, nor my mother realized was that I enjoyed what I did. I enjoyed seeing the smiles on the faces of little kids when their parents decided to buy them a huge cookie. It warmed my heart even more when I got to surprise people with cakes that their loved ones had ordered or making someone’s wedding cake. I just loved to make people happy!

“Knock knock!” My head shot up from my gaze on the counter to find my sister walking through the front door. Even though she didn’t appreciate the job I have, she spent more time in the shop than any other people I know. “Hello Kimberly.” I mumbled as I moved from around the counter. She looked like she was about to hit the club, which was probably true since that’s what she did on a nightly basis. “Are you coming out with us tonight?” She asked, taking a seat in front of the truffle case. “Michelle said that the club we’re going to is the prime spot for the hottest guys in town.” I rolled my eyes as she went on about the types of guys that would be crawling around tonight. She had only been divorced for less than a year and she was already on the hunt for husband number two, like mother like daughter. “So are you gonna come with us or not?” I just shook my head. I didn’t have time to go out and dance around to music that I didn’t even like. All I wanted to do tonight was have a glass of wine and watch a rerun or two before heading off to bed. Kimberly and her friends didn’t need me tagging along with them tonight. “Oh come on party pooper! I know you want to get out and have a little fun for once.” She somewhat shouted as I just continued to shake my head. “If you don’t come with us then I will never speak to you again.” I gave her a disbelieving look. “Okay, well I won’t talk to you for a week!” I knew that if I didn’t agree to her offer, she would just keep bugging me about it until I finally did crack. “You know you can’t handle not talking to me for a whole week, Charlie.” She said using my nickname. I stood there for a few seconds before letting out a defeated sigh, “Fine, i’ll go with you-” She started clapping her hands together while I huge smile spread across her face. “But i’m not going to be hanging around all night while you girls make total fools of yourself.” She just nodded her head before jumping up from her seat, enveloping me in her tan arms. “We’re gonna have so much fun!”

An hour into the club experience, I was more than ready to go back home. Before we even arrived at the place, the girls had appointed me the designated driver. They couldn’t be trusted to drive themselves back to their respected homes, so I was brought along to make sure they didn’t end up killing themselves or going home with strange men. I watched with annoyance as my sister and her best friends danced along to the house music that blared through the room, grinding up on random men who I suspected had money. “Can I get a water with lemon, please?” I asked the bartender before taking a seat. He nodded his head and went to work making my simple beverage. About a minute later, my drink was sitting in front of me, along with a shot of whiskey. “Oh, I didn’t order this.” I told the bartender before he could service another patron. He looked at me confused, “I didn’t order this drink.” I told him again before he pointed towards a heavily tattooed guy that was sitting at the end of the bar. “He ordered the drink.” I looked back at the guy and saw that he was just minding his business, nursing whatever type liquor he decided to drink. I simply thanked the bartender before getting up and walking towards the mystery guy, toting the brown liquid along. “Excuse me?”

His head turned in my direction, “I really do appreciate the offer and everything, but you didn’t need to buy this for me. I’m not really a big drinker, that’s more of my sister’s job, but thankyou anyway.” I set the drink in front of him and started to walk away when I heard him finally speak. “I’m Andy.” I turned around again and saw a sly smile was shown on his face. I couldn’t help but start smiling back.

Notes

REPOST since I can't get into my other account. Please let me know what you think; I love hearing from you all!!