Take It to Heart

“Stop acting like a cow and get up. If we miss the train because of you, I’ll be well angry.”

It was too early for Anna to wake me up, but she was anyway. She had been in my room five minutes earlier and woke me nicely at half six. I just happened to roll over and fall back into a dream after she left, which must have encouraged her to smack a pillow across the back of my head repeatedly until I kicked a leg out of my blankets and into her thigh. She grunted, grabbed my leg at the knee, and pulled me towards her, making me slide across the mattress until I was nearly falling out of my bed.

“Up!” Anna yelled again. She gave my leg another tug, which sent me falling to the floor.

She could be as loud as she wanted, and she knew it. Mum, Charlie, and Naomi were gone for the weekend visiting Charlie’s parents. We celebrated my birthday yesterday night and I planned to lounge around and eat the rest of the cake by myself today. Obviously, that wasn’t going to happen.

I rolled onto my back and tried to ignore how cold the hardwood floor was against my back. “Why are you waking me at six on my birthday?” I questioned as I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “And what train?”

“It’s actually almost seven,” she corrected. I watched her hoist herself onto my dresser and sit against my mirror, causing one of the many pictures held up by the frame to fall. “And we’re going to London, I’m taking you shopping for your birthday.”

I hadn’t been to London in nearly two years, at the least. Even though it only took a full day to drive across England, whenever I did travel outside of Sheffield or northern England, I usually avoided the clusterfuck. I should have seen this coming, too. Anna had joked just a few weeks ago that we should go for my twentieth, and that she would even pay for the train, but I figured she’d forget while dealing with moving out.

“We could go somewhere other than London,” I mumbled. “Manchester, or something.”

Anna snorted a laugh and shook her head. “We are not going to Manchester to shop, don’t be daft. What’s this?”

Between stripping off my bed shirt and finding a new one, I glanced up to see what she was on about. In her hand was my brother’s wedding invitation. I don’t know why Anna even asked what it was since she was already opening it and flipping through the pictures.

“You’re brother is getting married?”

I shrugged. “Apparently so.”

“But you’re going, right?”

I shrugged again and looped a scarf around my neck before pulling on a pea coat. “I’m undecided. My mum isn’t going, so I’d have to make the trip alone and I’m not to keen on facing everyone alone.”

“Your mum going would probably be worse than alone,” Anna muttered under her breath. “Why don’t you take a date?”

This time, I snorted. “You’re well funny, you know. Why don’t you come with me?”

“Even though I would just love to, I’m going to Bristol to visit my dad’s side of the family. I’m sure you could convince a friend, or maybe that bloke that works at the library with you. Either way, you’re going. And we need to go to, hurry up.”

London was covered in snow, and light flurries were whirling around outside. Anna and I stationed ourselves in a coffee shop just outside of the center of the city. We’d already been to three different shops. I managed to find a new coat and knitted hat, while Anna practically had a new closet of things and was persisting that I catch up. Usually, I’m all for shopping, but not when it includes dodging in and out of stores because the snow won’t stop.

“Have you got anything to wear to the wedding?” Anna asked, stopping abruptly. I turned to look at her, but her eyes were glued to the window of the shop next to us. It was some boutique with stylish mannequins lining the glass.

I shook my head. “No, and I wouldn’t buy something here either. I wouldn’t even be able to afford a sleeve of one of those dresses.”

“I’ll get it for you.”

And then she disappeared inside, leaving me no choice but to follow. The store was simple and bare. Dresses hung on racks that lined the walls, leaving more than enough space in the middle for an oddly shaped sculpture decorated with glittering shoes. Anna was already sorting through one of the rows. I silently followed her around as she grabbed different hangers. I kept up with her in my mind, denying most of the ones she had in her hand.

Thirteen dresses later and I finally had to admit that one of them was as close to perfect as I would get. It was a deep plum colored dress that had one sleeve and fit my form until the waist, where it loosely flowed until just above my knees. “Happy birthday,” Anna sang as she handed me the plastic-covered dress. She kissed me quickly on the cheek and marched out of the store, saying something about lunch.

By the time we got back from London, the sun was setting. Anna turned onto my street only to find a black car already parked outside of my house, the tattooed owner walking back from the front door.

“Who on earth is that?” Anna questioned, leaning forward into the steering wheel to get a better look.

“I’ll tell you later, okay? Thanks for today, I love you,” I said in a rush and exited the car. She glanced skeptically between Oliver and me and gave me one of those I’m-watching-you motions before driving off.

I hadn’t seen Oliver in person since last week, when he tried to kiss me after his mate’s party. We had texted, I had fed his dog, but it was still strange seeing him trudge through my snow-covered walkway.

“Hi Oliver,” I greeted with a smile. I probably looked silly with my thick snow jacket, my knitted hat falling lopsided on my head, and my shopping bags all piled into one hand.

“Hey Rose, happy birthday, I thought I had just missed you,” he said and stepped closer to me. I could smell his aftershave and see the light stubble lining his jaw. “Need a hand?”

I felt embarrassed leading Oliver into my house. It was so different from his flat. Instead of modern, sleek furniture, we had miss-matched couches with quilts folded over them, wood that has been nicked over years of use, and a cliché family photo wall. He walked past the wall slowly and studied all the different photos. I pretended they weren’t there so I wouldn’t have to give him explanations of the people or the places. Instead, I tossed the shopping bags at the bottom of the stairs and darted into the kitchen.

“Want tea?” I asked. I already grabbed two mugs and started heating water, whether or not he wanted one.

“So, what’s this for?” Oliver asked lifting up the dress Anna bought me. He slowly unzipped the protective cover and touched the fabric.

I blushed and turned back to the kettle. I didn’t want to gauge his reaction on the dress. His opinion really didn’t matter in the end, but my subconscious felt like it did. “It’s for a wedding.”

He nodded and looked at it one more time before hanging it on a key hook next to the counter. “I like it.”

Across from me, he sat on a barstool and perched his elbows up. I could feel his eyes watch me pour steaming water into each mug and add the tea bags. As I watched the tea mix with the water, the awkwardness between Oliver and me dissolved. We began to talk and I listened to him tell stories about his brother and his mates. We probably sat there for an hour chatting back and forth.

“Seems like you get along with your brother pretty well,” I said when he had finished speaking. “I probably haven’t talked to mine in four months.”

“You’ve a brother?”

“I thought I’d mentioned that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I hadn’t. He’s five years older than I am and he lives in Reading with my dad, so I guess that’s why.”

The look on Oliver’s face was hard to figure out. “Did he not ring you today?”

I shook my head. “He hasn’t called me on my birthday since I turned seventeen; usually it’s just my dad. But I could really care less.”

He uncapped a bottle of honey and added it to his tea. “That’s a lie, you care.”

How is he always nonchalant while confronting me? I had no idea how to come back from that. I brushed him off and snatched the honey out of his offering hand. “That’s just how it’s always been, so there is no point in caring.”

“Oh come off it Rose —”

“I need a favor,” I interrupted awkwardly; it was now or never. Oliver raised his eyebrows. We were on good terms now, and if he really cared as much as he let on, I figured he’d be willing. “I, erm, sort of need a date.” His eyebrows scrunched together. “My brother is the one getting married and I don’t want to face that side of my family alone and I figured you might —”

"Say no more, I'm your man."