CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: ATHENA

The next morning, Vera insisted we go dress shopping because we didn't have anything appropriate to wear to the party tomorrow, and because she, too, needed a dress for the party and needed shopping buddies to accompany her because Uncle Jerry doesn't know how to shop for clothes.

"You guys should take my card because I don't want you to use your money," Uncle Jerry said as he led us to the car that would take us to the mall. "I'm talking to you Sophia," he added.

"I can buy a gown for Athena and myself, Jerry; you don't need to give us your card," Sophia stated, refusing to use his card. I didn't want him to buy me a gown either, because I didn't want to bother him. I'm sure he has better uses for the money than buying us gowns we'd only wear once.

"Please just this once, I never really get to do these things for the two of you, so please agree to use my card to buy the dresses you guys want," uncle Jerry begged, giving us his best puppy dog eyes.

"I hate when you beg because it makes me feel bad and I have to give in," Sophia said, a frustrated sigh leaving her lips as she turned to face us, "so what do you guys think? Should we use his card?"

"Let's put him out of his misery; trust me, he won't give up until we say yes," Vera said as she gazed lovingly at Uncle Jerry, who had a determined look on his face.

"Athena?" Sophia turned to face me, a questioning expression on her face, and Uncle Jerry's gaze fell on me, a motivated expression on his face, so maybe giving in just this once will be okay because I don't want to hurt his feelings.

"Perhaps just this once," I said, and Uncle Jerry smiled widely as he pulled out his black card and handed it to Vera.

"Buy whatever you want, no matter how expensive." Uncle Jerry said with a triumphant grin.

"You sometimes act like a child," Sophia said as we all started laughing at Uncle Jerry.

"Daniel, take care of my girls; nothing should happen to a hair on their heads or else."

"Don't scare the poor man, Jerry," Vera said, smacking him on the arm.

"Ouch, that hurt," Uncle Jerry said with a pout, clutching the arm she had hit.

"Baby," Vera smirked as she shut the car door.

"See you later, girls," uncle Jerry said as he waved to the car pulling out of the driveway. He waited for us to leave before entering.

When we arrived at the mall, Vera instructed Mr Daniel to wait in the car until we returned. We didn't want an escort; we just wanted to shop like normal people.

"Come on guys, a coworker of mine recommended a store, and she said they had beautiful dresses we would absolutely love." Vera explained, and Sophia and I both agreed because she was more familiar with this mall.

As we walked in, I was shocked by how lovely the dresses that surrounded us were. The shop is elegant and classy, and I felt out of place in my hoodie and sweatpants, so I was quite self-conscious.

"Damn, these gowns look like they're out of my pay grade; thank God Jerry's paying for them," Sophia exclaimed, causing Vera and I to laugh, she wasn't lying they did look quite expensive.

As we browsed the racks of dresses, I noticed the shop owner watching us closely, but I paid him no mind. I was having a lot of fun with Vera and Sophia as we tried on different dresses.

But eventually I couldn't ignore him any longer because he kept following us around the store and staring at us oddly.

Vera and Sophia didn't seem to notice him, and if they had, they probably would have said something by now, so perhaps I was just overthinking things.

We eventually found the dresses we were looking for. Vera chose a golden mermaid dress to compliment her eyes, Sophia chose an emerald green dress to highlight her curves, and I chose a red skater dress that fell just above my knee.

We then proceeded to the counter to pay for the gowns, and when Vera handed over the black credit card, the shop owner hesitated for a moment before accepting it. He looked at us up and down, as if sizing us up, and then he looked at the clothes we chose with a disapproving smile.

Vera seemed to notice his strange behavior because she spoke up after a few seconds had passed and the man did nothing.

"Is there a problem, Sir?" Vera asked, a frown forming on her face, while Sophia glared at the shop owner whose name was Carson.

"Can you tell me where you got this card?" Carson questioned, and my blood began to boil. Why was he asking where we got the card? Is he under the impression that we stole it?

"Pardon me?" Sophia said as she moved forward to join Vera at the counter.

"I asked where you got the card because it clearly does not belong to you." Carson said as he stared at us with disdain.

"Wait, you think we can't afford these gowns or have a black card because of the way we're dressed?" Sophia asked, and the man did not even bother to deny it.

"Well, you all are dressed like you came from the ghetto, so you might have stolen the card," Carson said, making me want to punch him in the face.

"How can you still judge people based on appearances in the twenty-first century?" Vera said, her tone angry.

"I'm not prejudiced," Carson said quickly, as if he were guilty or something, deepening Sophia and Vera's frown.

"No one said you were, sir," I said, and he gave me a disapproving look.

"Keep quiet little girl, no one is talking to you." Carson said this in a disapproving tone, which caused me to clench my fist by my side, or else I would have punched him right there and then.

"I dare you to speak to her in that manner again," Vera said, slightly raising her voice.

"If you don't stop yelling, I'll contact security."

"She wasn't yelling, you're the one acting like an asshole, Sophia and Vera, I think it's best we leave, we can get the gown elsewhere," I said, not wanting the situation to escalate.

"You're not leaving until we figure out where you stole the card."

"We didn't steal shit, it belongs to my brother," Sophia said, her voice filled with pure rage.

Following through on his threat, Carson picked up the phone and dialed security. After a short while, two hefy security officers entered the shop.

"What is going on here, Sir?" One of the guards asked, and I looked at their name tags, which said John and Tyler.

"I think these girls stole this card, because look at the way they are dressed, it surely does not belong to them." Carson explained as he glared at us

"How did you get this card, ladies?" Tyler asked as he faced Vera, who looked like she wanted to murder someone.

"It belongs to my boyfriend; we can call him and confirm."

"Don't believe them; the person they're calling may be part of their scam." Carson added, "Seriously, we didn't steal anything, it belongs to my uncle," I said, trying to move closer to Sophia because I was scared.

"Stay where you are or I will taze you, little girl," Tyler warned, and a familiar voice spoke up from behind him.

"I dare you to touch her, and I promise you that I will end your career and put you in jail for assault before you blink." Uncle Jerry said as he walked in with Dane, his bodyguard, and he looked like he wanted to kill the guard that threatened me; I'd never seen him this angry before.

"You're Jerry…" Carson was about to say something when Uncle Jerry interrupted him, "You better not speak, because I'm this close to punching you in the face," Uncle Jerry said as he approached us, pulling the three of us into a hug and kissing each of our foreheads.

"How did you know we were here?" Vera asked.

"I had Dane follow behind because I knew you'd ditch Daniel," Uncle Jerry said as he tightened his grip on us, "I'm so sorry you went through that, girls, I should've been here with you."

"It's not your fault, Jerry; it's that idiot's fault for passing judgment on us because we don't dress like his usual customers." Sophia said and I could see it in Sophia and Vera's eyes that they were both scared as they tightened their grip on Jerry.

"I will make this right, Dane, stay with them," uncle Jerry said to the bodyguard who accompanied him.

Dane approached us with an apologetic smile, standing in front of us, shielding us from the guards and Carson.

"Now listen, these women you just harassed are my family, and you just disrespected them; what do you think I should do, huh?"

"I'm sorry." Carson tried to apologize, but Uncle Jerry was not having it.

"You think if you apologize, it will all go away, that fucker threatened my niece with a tazer" Uncle Jerry's said his voice was slightly raised, and you could sense the anger in his voice.

"We apologized sir, it's standard protocol," Tyler said, which irritated Uncle Jerry even more.

"Using a taser on a customer is not standard procedure." Uncle Jerry yelled and I could see he was trying to hold himself back.

"Uncle Jerry, please let's just leave; I don't want to be in here any longer." I said as I walked to his side, holding his arm to calm him down. When he turned to look at him, his expression softened, and I'm sure Vera and Sophia were thinking the same thing.

"All right, little butterfly," he said as he kissed the back of my hand, which was still holding his arm.

"We're leaving, but that doesn't mean this is over." Uncle Jerry said as he walked over to Sophia and Vera, Dane took his card from Carson, and we left the shop.

Uncle Jerry and Dane led us to the food court. As we took our seats, I noticed Uncle Jerry had a guilty expression on his face.

"What's up with that look on your face?" Sophia asked, a small smile on her face. She noticed it as well.

"This would not have happened if I hadn't forced you to use my card."

"Don't make him hit you," Vera said.

"You're not angry, I wanted to kill that mother fucker who pointed the taser at Athena." Uncle Jerry said anger was evident in his eyes.

"We didn't say we weren't angry, but it's not your fault the owner only judged on appearance," Vera said with a small smile.

"I would have paid to see you punch him though," I joked, and it worked because everyone laughed.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It's okay, it can happen to anyone," Sophia said.

"Where will we get our gowns now? Because I'm not going back there." Vera said

"There's a schoolmate of mine who owns a shop here; I'm not sure if she's still working here." Sophia explained

"Let's check, and if she's not here, we'll go to another mall if we can't find what you're looking for in another store," Uncle Jerry said.

"Don't you have an interview?" Vera asked.

"You think an interview is more important than you guys?" Uncle Jerry said as we rose to our feet "After what happened, I'm not leaving you even for a second,"

People couldn't stop staring at Uncle Jerry and Dane as we walked by, I was surprised people haven't recognised uncle Jerry yet, since he was famous MMA fighter and all

When we arrived at the new store, it was just as lovely as the previous one, if not more so. "Sophia?" Someone called from behind us, and Sophia turned to see who it was; it was a woman her age, with a big smile on her face.

"Hey, Maria," Sophia said as she walked over to hug the woman.

"Long time, what are you doing in New York?"

"I'm visiting family, and I see your shop is doing well."

"Yes, it is, and we thank God."

"I'm glad it's going well; we came over to look for three dresses for a dinner party. Do you have any recommendations?"

"Let's see, I might have a few, have your seat, are the gentlemen with you?"

"That's my brother Jerry and his friend Dane."

"Oh, I didn't know you had a brother"

"Long story"

"Okay, and who are these lovely ladies with you?"

"This is my friend Vera and my adorable niece Athena."

"You're embarrassing me," I said, a slight blush on my cheek.

"Isn't Vera cute?"

"Yes she is," Vera responded with a smile

"Don't encourage her Vera," I said and we all burst out laughing; this store was far superior to the sleazy establishment we had previously visited.

The staff were much friendlier and offered assistance in finding our dresses; we eventually found what we were looking for, and Maria said they were all handmade by her.

I chose a red off-the-shoulder vintage floral lace hi-lo gown, while Sophia chose a blue off-the-shoulder mermaid gown and Vera chose a golden off-the-shoulder low back gown with a flowing skirt.

"Thank you so much, Maria, these are all beautiful, I will make sure to tell all my friends about your store, it's far better than that Serena dress store," Vera said, and Maria smiled gratefully.

"You met Carson, that guy is a jerk to anyone who doesn't dress to his standards," Maria said, frowning.

"He's more of a jackass," Uncle Jerry remarked, and we all laughed.

Even when uncle Jerry offered to pay the full price, Maria refused and gave us a discount. We left the mall after Sophia had collected Maria's phone number.

Uncle Jerry wanted to scold Mr Daniel, but we jumped to his aid, claiming that we were the ones who told him to stay. It took a while, but he was persuaded and let Mr Daniel off the hook.

We were all watching TV at 8:00pm when the news about the Serena store being charged with tax evasion came on. We all turned to Uncle Jerry, who had a huge grin on his face.

"Is that you're doing?" Sophia asked as she raised her brow, giving him a questioning ook.

"Yes, no one messes with my family, and it's not a false complaint; all charges leveled against that store were true; I just brought them to light."

"Even if vengeance isn't always the best solution, thank you for protecting us and making him pay for disrespecting us," Sophia said, kissing his cheek.

He also got a kiss from Vera and me, and he said, "If I get to be loved like this, I should get revenge on all your enemies."

"Hold on buddy, this is enough," Sophia said as we all laughed and continued to watch the news about Serenas.

We returned to our movie after watching the news; because the party was the next day, we all went to bed earlier than expected; who am I kidding, Uncle Jerry chased us to bed. I quickly showered and went straight to bed; it took a while for me to fall asleep because I was so excited for tomorrow because I would be able to be myself around my family.