Chapter 4

     "Please, please, please! Can't you really sell it to me for 400 dollars?" I begged Danna, trying to fake teary eyes as best as I could.
     "Look, Lisa. I'm glad you helped with the shop for these 3 days, but I'm already doing too much by giving you 400. I'm sure you can find one of these corsets in Jersey, maybe even cheaper than here."
     "But I don't know Jersey! Let alone their shops! What if they are owned by freaky old women with hate in their eyes?"
     "Then deal with it. Now, I'm sure you have stuff to pack, and I have a shop to run." She said, half pushing, half guiding me to the exit. "Send me a postcard when you arrive! Or not."
     There. Doors closed. Dreams shattered. I want my f*****g corset. I slammed my way back into my house, and my family smiling like a trio of retards didn't help with my mood.
     "Oh, good thing you arrived." My father said. "Me and Jonah will go to the market to get some food for the trip. Help your mom with the packing, will you?"
     Once again, doors closed. No more dreams to shatter though.
     "So, did you get what you wanted?" Mom asked as she packed an old lamp.
     "No. The shopkeeper refused to sell it cheaper." They had no idea what I wanted to buy.
     "Well, your father said he will lend you the rest, didn't he?" She asked and sat on the sofa "Ah, my back! Age's taking it toll..."
     "He did. But I'm pretty sure he will be mad and ground me if he knows what I'm buying! Let alone give me the money."
     My mom smiled a bit.
     "What's so funny?" I wasn't in the mood for jokes. At all.
     "I just find it interesting for you to try and hide it so bad. I once had something I wanted too, and couldnt tell anyone."
     "Oh yeah? What, a hairpin?"
     "Ha ha" She said flatly. "No. Ahm...well..."
     "Well...?"
     "A d***o."
     "Ha ha." My turn.
     "Seriously! I had about your age too. And it's not the kind of thing you tell your parents. Or anyone, for that matter." She blushed a little. Guess it must be true then, eh?
     "That was unexpected. So, did you buy it?"
     "No, your grandpa found out. Hit me right in the face and sent me to church, to 'get rid of such lascive thoughts'."
     "Ouch."
     "That is why I decided to give you the money myself. You don't have to tell me what it is for, after all a girl has her secrets."
     Before I go on and on talking about how happy I was and such and such, I want to make an interjection to explain a little something. You see, my mom is one of those women who will try to haggle over just about anything. Everything to her seems overpriced, and if something costs more than $5, she'll make damn sure it doesn't.
     "Lisa?" Mom asked. Then I noticed I'd probably had my mouth open for a good minute, and the drool was about to overflow. Very unladylike.
     "Oh, sorry." I said, gulping it all down.
     "You really, really need to work on your manners, you know that?"
     "Working on it, mom." She reached for her purse, and took a small envelope out.
     "Here, go buy your thing before we leave." I'd like to say something, but I don't think I can put my feelings into words at the moment. But I'm happy...or something remotely related to that.

     I was happy. Really, so happy I was even humming, which is something I pretty much never do. That is, until I got to the shop. You see, destiny has this thing with me. The little prick likes to play tricks on me, and I have to say, this time it went too far. When I was about to open the shop's door, someone else did from inside, and the door went right into my face.
     "Oh, s**t. Are you all right?" A male voice asked.
     "I...guess so." I said back, massaging my nose.  
     "Uh, ok then. Sorry, again. Really." The man sounded a bit desperate.
     "It's fine, really."
     "Ok. Goodbye, Danna. Marvelous shop, as always." He went into his car and left.
     "Thanks for coming!" She waved goodbye and turned to me. "You ok there, ginger?"
     "Yeah, yeah. I got the money, and I want my corset." I almost screamed 'now!', but I'm not that far gone.
     "Well, then you better run...cause it just went away with that guy."
     The pain in my face faded away. The one in a nose became just a little bother, like a mosquito had landed on it. I looked up to the skies, as if expecting some divine answer to come to me, but all I could think was:
     Really?