No Holding Back (11 page)

“
Oh believe me, baby-girl.
I’m
the lucky one. If he hadn’t helped me start my business, I wouldn’t be here!”

Chris
’ eyes widened. “This…this is
your
store?”

Tracy beamed and gestured to the rows of endless clothing racks.

“Welcome to
Southern Comfort
, sug. Where it is my pleasure to introduce a little south to the north.”

She made a small graceful bow to Chris before returning to a statuesque standing position. Chris covered her mouth and laughed at Tracy
’s aged beauty. She suddenly loved the gaudy leopard scarf she wore and the black diamond-studded glasses she kept snug in the soft curls of her gray and white perm. She covered her wrinkled little lips in too much red lipstick, but Chris thought that if she could choose what to look like when she was older – she would take the little old woman’s style hands down.

But after a few prodding compliments
about Chris’ ‘hidden beauty’, Tracy found a way into her stubbornness when trying on clothing. And what followed was a connection that Chris didn’t have from many other women.

Unlike the other employees in the store, Tracy didn
’t seem to notice or even care about Chris’ appearance as she hummed southern tunes all while her heavily manicured fingers flew past hangers with unnatural agility. 

More often than not, Chris
was treated differently because of how she looked and dressed and for the most part, she was used to it. But the more time Chris spent with Tracy, trying on clothes and shoes, she couldn’t help but ask a nagging question.

“
Tracy…why are you being so nice to me? No one else would even talk me when I walked in the store,” Chris admitted as she fumbled with a price tag.

Suddenly, Tracy
’s expression turned foul as she looked off into the distance at several of her employees.

“
I noticed that too, sug. I think I may need to ‘reacquaint’ my staff with a little…southern hospitality.”

Tracy winked a heavily-
mascaraed eyelid and Chris could feel her face go red. She didn’t want to get anyone into trouble, but she stopped and took Chris by the shoulders with a gentle strength that almost brought tears to the old woman’s eyes.

“
…and because you remind me so much of my own daughter, hun. So beautiful, yet she chose to cover it up with dark colors…and a mood that could scare a gator!”

Chris laughed outright and her tension lightened tremendously.

“So, you finally got through to her, huh?” she guess.

“Oh no
, sug! I had nothing to do with it,” Tracy said as she moved a dark strand of hair out of Chris’ eyes. “All it took was for her to realize that she didn’t need to hide behind those things to be beautiful. She was always beautiful.”

Tracy stiffened and smiled firmly before she let Chris go with a gentle squeeze. Chris
’ eyes started to well with moisture and she was thankful when Tracy cleared her throat and went back to digging through the petite sizes. An odd feeling came over Chris as she took in her words. She felt happy and uplifted that a complete stranger saw beauty in her whereas others may have seen a freak. To silently repay Tracy for her kindness, she no longer objected to the dozens of outfits that she wanted her to try on. She felt a new kind of energy take hold of her, and with Tracy’s help, they tore through the store like a hurricane.

Chris never knew her own
mother, only what her father told her - the few times that he was home anyway. But she took to Tracy’s ruby red lipstick, smile, and laughter with childlike endearment. To the average shopper, the two didn’t looked just like a mother and daughter out on a shopping spree.

Soon, time got away from Chris and when she asked Tracy for the time, she gasped.

“Holy shit! It’s almost four?”

“Mind your language now, sug. Y
ou’re too beautiful for ugly words.”

Chris laughed.
“Heh. Right - sorry! Thanks so much for all your help! I hope I didn’t keep you from doing something important-.”

“
Oh you hush now, sug. Ain’t nothin’ more important than a helpin’ a child who needs a little T.L.C.!”

Chris
chuckled and looked at the steel shopping cart that followed them around. In a short about of time, Tracy talked her into five braziers, dozens of lace underwear, several cute tank tops, eight tees, four short summer dresses, five frilly shirts, three shorts, two khakis, at least five pairs of form-fitting jeans, and Chris counted at half a dozen shoes and twice as many ponytails, barrettes, and Scrunchies. She would have objected to the heels she was in, but despite her inexperience in walking in them, she loved the way the thick ribbon wrapped around her calves. She looked one last time in the mirror that hung up in the dressing room and loved the dark ensemble that Tracy raved about.

“
Oh, honey! You are going to drop some jaws, darlin’!” Tracy squealed as she took a step back to observe her fine work.

Chris couldn
’t remember the last time she wore shorts, but she topped it off with a sleeveless black shirt that wrapped around her neck and exposed a large portion of her back. At first, Tracy disagreed with so many dark shades, but when she found that it went well with Chris’ natural caramel skin, she had a change of heart. And with Chris’ sleek, black hair dangling off her shoulders, for the first time in forever, she almost thought herself pretty.

As Chris was checking out at the cash register, she rang up a pretty high bill
even with Tracy’s ten percent discount, but Wade’s allowance more than covered it. Still, when the total rang up, the southern debutante gasped.

“
Oh my. I-I’m sorry, darlin’. Sometimes, I just get so carried away anymore-!”

“
Are you kidding?” Chris laughed, handing the clerk several large bills. “You’re officially my new shopping buddy!”

As Chris pon
dered how she would get all of her stuff back to the bus, a feeling of dread sunk in. After all, walking back in high heels across town with several heavy bags made her feet hurt just thinking about it.

“Do you need any help out to your car, hun?”

“Maybe,” Chris perked up and took a chance, hoping that she hadn’t worn out her welcome. “I’m parked about half a mile from here.”

“Oh dear…”

“I don’t suppose you could call a cab for me?”

“A cab?!” Tracy burst out.
“Absolutely not! I’ll load you up take you wherever you need to go! I’ve got plenty of room in my SUV!”

Chris
’ relief came through in waves and she felt the warmth of the older woman’s kindness more than anyone she’d ever known in her life.

“Wow…I-I can
’t thank you enough!”

“Don
’t mention it, sug! We can’t have you ruin those heals already, now can we?”

Chris replied with laughter and as she and Tracy loaded up her Suburban, but she grew somewhat disquieted knowing that the fun time she had was coming to a close.

“Well, I’ll be a possum on a gator farm!” Tracy remarked as she pulled up behind Heretic’s bus. "Is this yours, hun?"

Chris laughed
aloud at Tracy’s southern expressions, but she didn’t exactly know how to explain away such a ride. Somehow, saying that she was a drummer for one of the most famous rock groups in America wouldn’t fly over very well, but said nothing more as she pulled her vehicle to a stop and put it in park.

“Well,
sug. It’s been so wonderful meeting such a fine young lady. Can I help you with your bags?”

Once again, Chris thanked Tracy when she
came through for her.

As they both
piled her belongings in front of the bus door, Pete slid them open for her. Chris hated goodbyes but couldn’t avoid it any longer. Tracy’s arms opened wide and Chris laughed and gave her a warm embrace, not caring if her blood-red lipstick got on her new clothes.

She squeezed her tigh
tly and hugged her as a friend - not a stranger - and patted her gently on the back.

“I can
’t thank you enough for everything, Tracy.”

“Oh stop-.
”

“No, really. I don
’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t met you in that store today.”

“Well, ya
’ll just come back anytime now, y’hear? I need to take you by my husband’s restaurant. He makes the
best
BBQ north of the Mason-Dixon Line!”

Chris laughed at the irony of it
and took up a bag in each hand.

“
Sounds good. Goodbye, Tracy. And thanks again!”

After Chris bade Tracy farewell, the little old woman hopped back into her SUV, waved, and took off down the road.

Chris smiled to herself and took a deep breath as she prepared to walk up the steps of the bus. She didn’t stop to think for a minute about how ridiculous she might look in front of the guys. Already she could feel her face flush with warm blood as she mentally nudged herself into taking her first step.

She took a deep breath and walked up the steps, determined not to trip and make a fool of herself.
But when she finally reached the top, she wasn’t prepared for Heretic’s reaction.

Silence greeted her as she stoppe
d mid-stride to her room. She saw Joe on the floor playing Halo, but he paused altogether while he held the controller and stared up at her, wide-eyed and slack-jawed all while an alien killed his avatar. But he appeared to take no notice to his own demise and soon, absent-mindedly dropped his controller.

Os was still in the same spot
as she left him, strumming his guitar, and his expression wasn’t far from Joe’s when he stopped playing and looked at her fixedly. And finally, Wade’s look of shock hit home most of all when he quit jotting in his notepad and looked at her.

“Jesus,” he said, looking over her several times.
“For a sec there, I didn’t know who the hell you were.”

Chris blushe
d and stood there awkwardly, clearing her throat as they all continued to gawk at her, but after a few moments, the silence became too much.

“Hey -
uhm, Joe? I could use your help with the rest of my stuff. I’m just a little too scared that I’ll break my ankle going down those steps again,” she said, attempting to shrug off the unwanted attention.

But Joe did nothing and only continued to ogle her.

“Uhm…Joe?” she said again but he never once blinked in acknowledgment.

Finally, Wade
got up and as he walked past Joe, he slapped him on the back of his head.

“Hey! Numb nuts!”

“Ouch!” Joe yelled, snapping out of his delirium. “The fuck was that for?!” he groaned while he rubbed the back of his head.

“You act like you
’ve never seen a girl before!”

Joe got to his feet and as they walked past her,
Chris was sure Wade’s gaze lingered a while longer over her clothes before he disappeared with Joe down the steps. But she shook her head of it, chocking it up shopping burnout.

“Not a
hot
one!” Joe blurted causing Chris to blush further.

As they unloaded off the bus and busied themselves with her bags, Chris looked at Os, but this time, he deliberately looked back down at his guitar and pretended she wasn
’t there. Chris just rolled her eyes and shuffled back to her room as best she could.

She put her clothes on the floor beside her and sat down on the bed. Chris laughed when she realized that she proved herself wrong today. She
did
have a good time and she wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to do so again if Wade allowed it.

Soon, she heard the unmistakable shuffle of Wade and Joe as they
clumsily made their way to Chris’ room. Joe was the first to come in, brandishing one of the biggest smiles she had ever seen. He beamed down at her proudly as if he had been the one who do her complete makeover.

“Thanks, Joe.”

“No problem!” he said happily, setting her things on the floor.

Soon, Wade followed filed in and placed the last remaining bag
s in whatever space he could find.

“Let me know if you nee
d anything else!” Joe said in an upbeat fashion.

Wade stepped out of her already crowded room and attempted to get Joe to leave with him.

“Will you get the hell outta here? The last thing she needs is to be ogled by a band member.”

Wade shoved Joe away and stood blocking the door trying to prevent him from coming back inside. But despite Joe
’s advances, Wade was much bigger and easily filled the doorway with his muscular frame.

“Chris, we need to talk.
” Wade began.

“Oh?”
Chris grew nervous at once, knowing that nothing good ever came from those words.