Chosen by Fate, Rejected by the Alpha

1023 Chapter 8- Trinity – A Day Out with Talia (VOLUME 6)

~~

Trinity

~~

I try to get a day out with all of the kids every so often. It was a little difficult with there being so many of them, but I still managed it. Usually, I took them out one on one to get some lunch and to do something that they wanted to do. It could be a movie, shopping, an arcade, anything that was a single day, or half day, activity.

Today, I was taking Talia to the mall. She wanted to get some new clothes and go to the salon. She had told me that she wanted to change up her look a little. Something that she felt represented her a little more. I didn’t mind, and since it was her body, it was her choice. She was allowed to wear what she wanted, as long as it wasn’t revealing and slutty. That was the only rule. And it wasn’t just Reece who enforced that one.

I didn’t want to see my children wearing clothes that would overly sexualize them when they were still so young. When they were adults, they could wear what they wanted, even if it was revealing. I wouldn’t be happy, but I wasn’t going to stop them. Thankfully, so far, Rika hadn’t wanted to wear things that were see-through, too short, or guaranteed to make her look like a hooker. I felt like I had to have done something right with her.

The first place that I went with Talia was to the salon. She wanted to get her hair cut, and she wanted to actually have the experience of going there. She was getting her hair done, her nails and toes done, and a facial. We were both doing the full treatment and enjoying a mother daughter day.

“Hey Mom, what do you think of this color?” Talia asked as we were looking at the polish for our nails. She was looking at a dark purple color that was close to black.

“Ooh, that’s really nice. If you like it, then I say get it.”

.....

“Mom?” One of the nail techs looked up at me and Talia with a raised eyebrow. “Is she your stepmother? Or were you adopted?”

“Neither.” Talia looked a little confused by the words.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to expose the secret.” The woman looked at me with apologetic eyes. “Y..you hadn’t told her about the adoption then.”

“She is not adopted.” I glared at the woman. “Look at us, we’re too similar not to be related.”

“Oh, yeah, that is true. So, what are you, her older sister? You got custody after your parents died or something?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but not. I am her mother. I carried her in my belly and delivered her fifteen years ago.”

“Th..that’s just impossible.” She looked between us. “You’re not that old, so how could you be her mother? What, did you have her when you were five?”

“No, I was twenty-three.”

“There is no way.” She was shaking her head. “What’s your secret? Immortality?” She laughed and that just annoyed me.

“Just good genes.” I told her in an angry tone. Thankfully, she wasn’t the one that was going to be doing mine or Talia’s nails, so we didn’t have to talk to her anymore after that.

Once our nails were done, Talia was getting her hair cut. At the moment, it was down to her lower back. Just a little shy of being long enough to sit on if she wasn’t careful. Her hair was beautiful, but it was still Talia’s choice to do with it what she wanted to. And she wanted it cut.

The style that Talia was going with right now was much shorter. It was going to be about to her chin maybe, but it wasn’t a bob or anything like that. And with her naturally wavy hair it was going to look even better. The layers that were put into it made it so that it would have some volume and playfulness to it. I loved the look on her and I was happy that she was doing what made her happy.

I noticed that Talia’s hair looked darker now. I didn’t know why, but she looked like she had black hair now instead of the dark brown that she used to have when she was younger. Or even just when the summer started. Was that a result of her shift? Or was it because of something else? I mean, I had noticed that my hair darkened a little as well over the years, after the kids were born, but Talia hadn’t experienced that at all. So why had her hair turned black instead of the mahogany brown?

Well, no matter what it was, Talia was still beautiful. No matter what she looked like, she was my beautiful daughter with a sweet, sweet soul. And now she was being more true to that soul inside of her.

Thankfully, we didn’t have any more awkward moments after that nail tech tried to ask me how I had a daughter that was fifteen years old. We were able to move on from there to get some lunch and then start shopping for the clothes that Talia wanted.

We went to one of the restaurants that were in the mall. They had several nicer establishments that were in there and allowed us to have more than a diner experience. I thought that Talia would like that, and she chose to go to a place that was called Paradise Dynasty. It was a traditional Chinese restaurant that was quite popular around the city. I liked it a lot myself and I was happy that she had chosen to go there for our meal.

We ordered a lot of food, getting a variety of things that we wanted to sample for the day. It was a great lunch and it allowed me to talk to her about her new friends that she met at the party two weeks ago. She had even gone with those friends when we took Zachary, Zander, Zayden and Zaley out trick or treating on Halloween. I was happy to see that she was finally acting like a normal teenager. She needed to have these experiences, or she would end up regretting it all later.

After we finished eating, I let Talia lead me to wherever it was that we were going. She was the one that was getting new clothes here, so it was her choice for the stores that we went to. And I was surprised that it had nothing to do with the dresses and pretty things that she used to go for. Or was it just that she was catering to what we thought she liked? Had we influenced her decision and now she was being more of herself? I wasn’t sure what the truth was, and I hoped that I hadn’t held her back or anything.

Talia had taken me into a store that had dark walls, anime and manga themes, and loud music. There was a more grungy or punkish style about the place, but I liked it. There was a lot in here that I would wear as well, and I thought that maybe, while Talia was looking for something that she wanted, I could get some things for myself. Then I remembered that it wouldn’t fit me for a long time and just figured that I could come back later.

I let Talia go off on her own. It’s not like I couldn’t see her, smell her or hear her. So, I didn’t have to worry about her being kidnapped or anything. I mean, we weren’t here with guards, so it was up to me to protect Talia. Not that I wasn’t completely sure that she could protect herself. She was amazingly strong, and I knew that she would be safe no matter where she went. She had killed the leader of the Ancient Ones after all, I think she could protect herself after that.

I was picking out a pair of earrings for Zaley, a fun looking pair with animal shaped skeletons. Given her interest in zombies and things like that, I thought that she would love them. And I could give them to her on her next day out with me. Just as I picked them up, Talia came walking over with an arm full of clothes. They were mostly black and other dark colors. I Saw jeans with rips and tears, hoodies, and various types of shirts. There was also a pair of black boots with silver buckles. She was definitely going with a different style, wasn’t she?

“I am all set.” She smiled at me. Her short hair bouncing around her face.

“Alright. Let’s go.” I told her and headed toward the register.

“Is that it?” She looked and sounded confused.

“What?” I looked back at her. “Was there more that you wanted?” I tilted my head. “I thought you said you were all set.”

“You didn’t even look at the clothes.”

“I looked. I just didn’t see anything wrong with them. You want a new style, that’s fine. And those aren’t things that are against the rules. So, what else did you want me to say? I am not going to stop you from wearing what you want to, Talia. You’re a big girl, and you can make your own choices.”

“Thanks, Mom.” She smiled and looked relieved now. “I..I just wanted to be more true to what I felt on the inside. I didn’t want to look bubbly when I didn’t particularly feel bubbly. Not that I am not happy. I am happy, really happy. I..I just want to look more like me.”

“And I love that about you, sweetheart. You go and be you. And I will support you no matter what.”

“You really are the best, Mom. You and Dad both. I couldn’t have asked or hoped for better parents than the two of you.”

“We’re not perfect, Talia, but we want to do our best. Now come on, let’s go and pay for that. I have a hankering for some ice cream. It seems like your baby sister prefers ice cream and garlic, thankfully, not combined though. That would be utterly disgusting.”

“Eww. Don’t ever eat those together Mom, I am begging you. That sounds totally evil.”

“Ha ha ha. No worries. I don’t plan on doing that any time soon.”

We paid for the clothes and other items that Talia had gotten, the earrings for Zaley, and then went to get the ice cream. It was delicious and hit the spot and visited a few more stores. However, the truly best thing about the day was that Talia was happy. She had done all the things that she wanted to, and now we were heading home.