I pick up the pace back to the house from the park. I just landed myself a new job in this new town and I made some new friends. Well, friend. Potentially new BOYfriend? And I met a Trisha. So, all in all, I think I'm batting a thousand today. 

I decide to take a different route to the house. I have to get acquainted with the town that is about to experience the roaring thunderstorm that is Honey Vega. 

I walk out of the park and take a left down  a boulevard full of cute little boutiques and shops. I pass an ice cream shoppe (not shop), a hair salon, two Starbucks', and a pharmacy.

As I was about to pass my third Starbucks, I see her.

She was, by my calculations, 13 feet tall and absolutely gorgeous. Her hair was done up in space buns and she had a single daisy stuck in her hair. She was wearing these high-waisted mustard yellow jeans which made her long legs look even longer and the world's strappiest and most intricate bralette I had ever seen. 

The girl was standing outside a boutique and she was in the process of unlocking the door. She must work there, duh. Ah, a fellow working woman I see. I quicken my pace in order to A) take a quick peek at the boutique and B) take a quick peek at her. 

I speed-walk up to the store window and my jaw hits the floor. The mystery girl must have slipped into a back room or something, but what I saw inside that store was even prettier than her bralette. 

The store was filled to the brim with designer dresses, suits, handbags, and accessories. It was probably the only source of class and taste this podunk town has to offer. 

It was pink and frilly and there were fluffy pink carpets scattered around the store. Dresses and blouses lined the walls and seemed to go up to the ceiling of the cavernous store. The entire store was awash in rosy light coming from a giant pink chandelier hanging above the counter. That chandelier alone must have cost at least $200,000! Double spiral staircases wound their way up towards the second level of the store.

In the window display in front of me there were mannequins as tall as the Mystery Girl and about as skinny. One of them was wearing this keyhole minidress that, judging by the sequins and embroidery, must be worth, like, half of Mimi's Harry Potter garbage she has lying around the house. Next to that mannequin was another one wearing a salmon V-neck T shirt paired with sky blue ripped skinny jeans. That would look so cute on Jay. Pastels in general would look amazing with his skin tone. Another mannequin was wearing an outfit similar to that of Mystery Girl. Strappy bralette, high-waist mustard yellow jeans. Even the space buns- Oh. 

Mystery Girl was looking directly at me. She had really cute gold eye makeup on that really brought out her eyes, which were brown, but it was the kind of brown that turned into liquid gold when the sun hit it.Her quizzical look quickly morphed into that of pure happiness as her full lips formed a wide smile on her perfectly symmetrical face. She walked away from the window display and towards the front door. 

"Hey! Welcome to Blossom's! Did ya see anythin' ya like?", she asked, her voice was as loud as her bright pants. Her eyes crinkled as she flashed her smile again.

"Oh, uh, wow. Um. No not-", I stammered through my sentence. She had a pair of pink aviator sunglasses dangling from her bralette's neckline. Mimi would love those. 

"Oh come on! I saw ya lookin' at the display! You must've seen something you like. Come inside, I just opened for the day," she said, going back inside the store and holding open the door for me. I followed her inside, taking in the scent of her flowery body spray as I walked in the door. 

"I mean, I'm not gonna turn down an offer to shop! I'm Honey, bee-tee-dubs. I'm new in town!", I said, walking around the store, taking in the inventory. I suddenly know where I'm gonna be spending my first paycheck from Morgan.

"Haha, hiya Honey! I hope you're liking Sirena Falls so far. Once you get past the smell of fish and sea salt, it's not that bad. I just came here a year ago myself.", Mystery Girl says as she finishes up preparing the store.

"I mean, it's not exactly what I had imagined, " I say absent-mindedly as I pet a soft pink pashmina. 

"Oh yeah, I bet. Sirena Falls is like a tourist trap with all of the gentrification of an L.A. neighborhood with none of the subtlety."

"Oh, totally! You've been to L.A.?"

"Once or twice. I'm from California myself but I tend to steer clear of the cities and touristy places. Plus I really can't handle seeing the words 'acai berries' or 'avocado' anymore."

"Avocado?"

"THEY PUT AVOCADO ON EVERYTHING! Like, if I wanted baby vomit on my Caesar salad I'd totally let you know. Where are they even coming from? Are avocados even native to California? And then, they have the fucking NERVE to charge you, like, 2.75 for the avocado that you DID NOT ask for! Honestly, if California seceded from the Union, I wouldn't shed a tear. NOT ONE!", Mystery Girl slammed her fist on the marble countertop of the register twice to really drive home the fact that she really does not give a FUCK about California's place in the Union. 

"I'll toast to that, brother!", I slam my hand on the counter and wince. What is that? Real marble? 

Mystery Girl adjusts a curl that escaped from her space buns during her anti-avocado tirade.

"Sorry about that. I just get so passionate sometimes. I'm Emerald, by the way. In case you were wondering."

Emerald! Finally, Mystery Girl has a name.

"Oh, it's no big deal. Honestly, I get it. I could go off on the MTA for at least 6 hours", I say, hoisting myself unto the marble counter.

"The MTA? Mini.... Tragic... Accidents. No! Mentally Tired Adults!", Emerald says, her honey brown eyes lighting up.

"Close. Metropolitan... Transit... A-Association? No, Authority. Maybe," I stammer, putting a finger to my chin. Huh. Do I not know what MTA stands for? That's understandable. After all, I've only taken a bus, like, three times in my life. I mean, three times is all you need to understand how shitty New York public transportation can be.

"Oh! Metropolitan... Where did you say you were from?", Emerald says, going over to a display to straighten up some perfectly organized blouses. 

"I'm from New York. Manhattan, to be exact."

"OH, NO WAY! Wow, I've always dreamed of going to New York one day. The fashion. The glitz, the glam! Oh, it's all so marvelous!"

As she says "marvelous", Emerald drapes a thin scarf she had been folding over her head and strikes the classic movie star pose. How Audrey Hepburn of her.

"Oh puh-lease! Manhattan, while it is the superior of the four boroughs of New York-"

"Five."

"What was that?"

"Five. There are five boroughs in New York. You said four."

"Oh, baby, we do not recognize Staten Island in this household. If you were from New York, you'd understand," I say, hopping off of the counter and sashaying over to her, hips a-swaying and hair a-flipping.

I take the scarf off of her head and toss it over my shoulders like a feather boa. I give her the classic Honey Smoldering Eye Look over my shoulder as I attempted to walk away. 

I say "attempted", because at that moment, the heel of my peep-toe wedges decided to twist. I crumpled onto the pink plushy carpet in a heap.

Silence.

I'd never really understood what a cackle was until I heard Emerald laughing in that store. Her loud, high pitched squeals echoed off of the walls of the empty store. I swear, the pink Swarovski crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling swung a little. 

Hearing her laugh, made me want to start laughing. And so I did. I could have stood there, surrounded by expensive pashminas and Michael Kors bags, for an eternity. 

When the laughter finally subsided, Emerald looked at me. 

"Ah, Honey. You dumb bitch," she said, giving me her hand to lift myself up. 

"Aha, that's me. Honey Vega. Dumb bitch personified," I say, steadying myself. 

"Well, this was fun and all, but I have got to start gettin' this joint ready for the day."

"That eager to work, huh?"

"Psh, oh yeah, I'm pissing myself with excitement. I can't wait to get yelled at by some white lady for bringing her a pair of shoes in her actual size. I just have to get this place ready before my manager kills me," she says, going back over to the white marble counter and fishing out her name tag from somewhere behind the counter. 

"Right. I'll see you around, though," I start to get ready to leave. I reach into my pocket for my phone to text Mimi real quick.

"Oh, hey! Can I get your number? Unless, this is too soon, in which case I'll totally see you around," Emerald said, grinning nervously. 

I would be lying to you if I said that I didn't sprint over to the counter and type my number into her phone.