Chelsea was already in my apartment by the time I got back unpacking a garment bag of clothes and neatly laying them on my bed. My bed had at least 10 different outfits. Two flowy sundresses caught my eye as I waved and headed into the shower. Knowing Chels, she had a billion questions, and would want me to try everything on and do my makeup. 

Ten minutes later, I emerged from the shower and a puff of steam escaped the bathroom. I had decided to wash my hair and was regretting it when I saw that the clothing options on my bed had grown tremendously. Chels was lost in thought staring at my shoe options. She sighed and chose plain white strappy sandals.

“Mel, do you need me to take you shopping? I get it. You’re one of those rich people that love saving every penny. But you have way too much money for so little shoes Mel. I was okay with you choosing the tiny apartment because I know how you feel about ‘character’, but this is ridiculous!” She huffed as she fell back on the bed dramatically. She stared at me upside down as I stood on the other side. 

“Well, I’m actually going shopping today. So, I’ll try to remember to buy more shoes,” I stated. She sat upright and turned around to face me on the bed. “Wait! We’re going shopping today? You should have told me. I would have worn shorter heels,” she whined. 

“I’m going shopping, Chels,” I looked away to avoid her gaze.

“You’re going shopping?” she squinted at me and pointed a well manicured finger. I should get my nails done more often. They weren’t in bad shape, but the paint was chipping on a few of my fingers.

Chels snapping brought me back to the conversation. Sighing, I answered, “Yes! Can we please pick something already? My hair is soaking wet and I need to paint my nails.”

Chelsea’s mouth hung open and she quickly asked, “Mel. Are you going on a date?” Clasping her hands over her mouth she gasped, very dramatically. I hit her with one of my pillows, before hiding my face behind it. 

“Wow Mel! With gray sweats?” she asked, grabbing a short flowy dress and holding it up to my body. “Gray sweats?” I echoed. 

“The guy you were making out with that one night Remy and I walked in on you. Your co-worker, right?” Recalling that night, Theo was wearing gray sweats. I dropped my towel and tried on the dress as I replied, “Theo. His name is Theo. But yes. He wants me to go shopping with him today. His brother and his brother’s fiance are gonna meet us.” 

Chels hit me with a pillow, “What? But I can’t come?” She tied the back of the dress up and I smoothed the sides as I looked at myself in the mirror. Chels knows me so well. It was short, but not too short where if I sneezed everyone would get a free show. The mint green looked amazing on my darker skin. I turned around to view the back and fell in love instantly. The criss cross open back made the dress look casual, but fancier than usual. 

“They kind of invited themselves and we just went along with it. Because you chose the perfect outfit for me, I guess I’ll let you tag along. Plus I’ve been wanting to update you, but Theo and I have been spending so much time together I haven’t gotten a chance to,” I squeezed her hand and smiled. 

Chels was the total opposite of me. When our parents passed I internalized everything at first, and became more introverted. Chels became terrified of being alone. She always wanted to be surrounded by friends and be in relationships. Now that she’s married to Remy, I sometimes forget that she still needs her big sister’s company from time to time. 

I filled her in on everything about Theo, Rayyan, and Malaki that I knew as she got me ready. She decided to change as well into an off the shoulder white blouse with wide legged jeans. We both finished our outfits with our signature jewelry. For me it was my rose gold necklace dad had bought me for my sixteenth birthday. Chels wore mom’s wedding ring. 

Chels turned the ring in circles around her finger with her thumb. I sat next to her on the bed and leaned my head on her shoulder. “You okay Chels?” She sat silently staring at the ring turning around and around. “Mel, you don’t need to keep saving, you know. You took such great care of me after they passed. You’re allowed to treat yourself Mel,” her voice cracked as she spoke. I held her as a few tears escaped.

When mom and dad passed, I was in charge of our inheritances. Chels was rebelling a lot, so I held hers until her 21st birthday and only used mine for the necessities. We were both left with $375,000. I worked part-time in college and got a job right after graduating. The only time I spent money on unnecessary things was for Chelsea’s sake. 

I took her on trips over the summer and always went above and beyond for her birthdays. I invested a lot into the stock market and was able to grow both of our accounts. By her 21st birthday she had a little over $650,000 and I had around $480,000. 

Tickling her ribs, I was able to stop the tears from flowing. “Chels, I don’t need a bunch of stuff. You know I prefer to travel the world,” I smiled. “I know, Mel. But I’m okay now. Remy and I could buy you a penthouse apartment in any building you want. Let me spoil you sometimes,” she adjusted a curl that fell out of place on my head. 

“Okay then. Let’s go to Milan for my birthday.” Chels perked up and I could see her planning the trip in her head. Chelsea loved Milan and wanted to take me for a few while now. 

Chelsea’s driver pulled up in front of my building as she was trying to bargain with me on how long we should stay in Milan. We slid into the car and set off downtown to meet everyone.