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Fiction Short Story

by Candace Elmore

Growing Pains

This was not going to be a good day. Shannon woke with her arms, her knees and her back aching. The mere attempt at rolling on her right side brought even more throbbing pain.

“Whoever said ‘No pain, no gain’ was a fool,” Shannon muttered, trying not to disturb Tim as she carefully inched herself into a vertical position.

Don’t disturb Tim, thought Shannon. There was only one word to describe Tim: strong. ‘Ripped and cut’ was how the teenagers described him. He was one of the most athletic people in town. Not only could he outrun most of the kids on the high school track team he coached, he also ran cross-country in the park every night, training for a marathon. It was Tim’s strength, and his obvious love for his wife, that had quietly nagged at Shannon to consider exercising. She knew she could do it; she just didn’t want to.

Tim rarely said a word to her about her lack of exercise. Oh, occasionally he’d invite her out to the park with him while he ran, but after Shannon refused several times, he stopped asking.

If the way she felt this morning was any indication, Shannon might give up her new-found exercise program, just as she had every other time she’d tried. Shannon’s idea of extreme exercise was carrying dozens of sacks of groceries in from the car. Or shopping at the mall for hours. She did lots of walking at both places. Surely that counted for something.

But Monday’s trip to the mall was the final straw that sent Shannon to the gym.

Shannon had needed a new outfit but always put off clothes shopping until the last minute. Buying size 18 clothes was getting more and more difficult. Shannon made sure she had her debit card and credit card. The phone rang as she opened the back door.

“Can you watch Haley for a couple of hours?” It was Kelly, Shannon’s younger sister. “I’ve got a dental appointment, and Haley’s regular sitter has the flu.”

“Sure, if you don’t think she’d mind going to the mall,” joked Shannon.

Shannon didn’t need to be asked twice to spend time with Haley. She adored her niece. Haley was a bright, sweet little girl—more like a daughter than a niece. At three years old, Haley was always fun to be with. You never knew what she'd say.

“Just promise me you won’t let her eat too much junk food. Last time you two went to the mall, Haley wouldn’t even touch her supper. She claimed the cinnamon rolls—not one roll, but two—had filled her up.”

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll both be perfect. I was just on my way out the door. I’ll be there in 10 minutes.”

When Shannon arrived at Kelly and Bill’s house, Haley streaked out of the house, her golden blonde hair flying in the breeze.

“Aunt Sannon. Go to mall!” squealed Haley.

“Ah, a niece after my own heart. Let’s go, Haley-Baley.” Shannon gave Haley a big hug, enjoying the freshly showered little girl smell. She wished that special scent would stay with Haley always. Shannon hoped that when she and Tim finally had children, they’d have a daughter. There was something special about a daughter.

The first thing Shannon and Haley did at the mall was make a beeline to the food court. It was their little secret, or so Shannon had thought.

“Hmmm… what shall we have today? Cinnamon rolls or soft pretzels?” asked Shannon.

“ ‘retzels, ‘retzels, ‘retzels,” chanted Haley.

Hand in hand, they made their way to the Aunt Sue’s Pretzel stand. Haley picked the cinnamon sugar pretzel, without the icing, while Shannon chose the same pretzel, with the icing. While they enjoyed every morsel of the pretzels, Haley filled Shannon in on the crucial details of a three-year-old’s day.

As they licked the last bits of cinnamon and icing off their fingers, they decided what to shop for first.

“I need some new clothes,” said Shannon. “How about we take turns buying clothes? We’ll pick out some things for you, then it will be my turn.”

“Okay,” said the ever-agreeable Haley.

Finding cute clothes for a three-year-old was not difficult. The hardest part was not buying everything in the store. Shannon helped Haley try on the clothes. After nearly filling the changing room, they settled on a skirt and two pairs of shorts, with tops to match.

“I hope you don’t outgrow these before summer. Maybe we should get one size bigger so you can grow into them,” said Shannon.

“No. Wear them now,” demanded Haley. Shannon had a brief flash of Kelly at five with her hands on her hips. Haley was a lot like her mom.

Shannon never could refuse Haley, just as she couldn’t refuse whatever Kelly asked for.

“Okay, you win. We get the clothes that fit right now.”

“Your turn,” said Haley as they left the brightly colored children’s store. Haley’s three outfits weighed almost nothing in the shopping bag.

Shannon and Haley cruised the mall, stopping and looking in the store windows, thoroughly enjoying each other’s company.

When Shannon could stall no more, they went into her favorite store. Shannon was not really excited about this part of their trip. Aunt and niece wove between the tightly packed clothing racks. Shannon dreaded trying on the clothes. Yet, if she didn’t try them on, she knew she’d just end up returning them. Without getting on the scale, Shannon was almost certain she’d added a few pounds. The last pair of jeans she’d bought had been almost too tight. With a few extra pounds, who knew what size she would need.

About two-thirds of the way into the store, Shannon saw the perfect outfit. It was a soft lavender v-neck shell, matched with a purple big-shirt, paired with white capris.

“Bootiful,” proclaimed Haley.

“I’d love it, but these pants are too big. I don’t see any that are close to my size. Oh, well, there’s sure to be something else,” sighed Shannon, hesitating just a moment longer, touching the soft fabric, imagining how comfortable this outfit would be.

“Aunt Sannon,” lisped Haley. “Why don’t you get those pants? Maybe you can grow into them by next year.”

***

Tim rolled over towards Shannon, propping himself on his elbow.

“Sore?”

“Unbelievable. Now I know why I don’t exercise,” grumbled Shannon.

“How about I go with you tomorrow, and we’ll start you off a little slower,” said Tim as he sat up and gently rubbed Shannon’s aching back.

“I don’t know. I must be meant to be fat,” Shannon whined.

“First, you’re not fat. But you do need exercise. We all do,” explained Tim. “I don’t expect you to keep up with me, but let’s work together and see what we can do, okay?”

Shannon rolled over, groaning as she settled on her back. She looked up into Tim’s dark, brown eyes. “Okay. But do you mind if I just lay here and moan for a while?”

Tim gently stroked Shannon’s hair and then tenderly kissed the base of her throat. Shannon reached out to touch Tim’s arm, groaning as she did so.

“Relax,” said Tim. “Let’s see if I can help you work out some of those kinks,” he said as he started gently kissing her neck.

Maybe it wasn’t going to be such a bad day after all.

Copyright © 2004 Candace Elmore

About the Author
Candace Elmore is relatively new to writing, but has been observing and eavesdropping for many years. She is currently supervising a computer lab at an elementary school in Marshall, IL. The wife of a former pastor and the mother of a 16-year-old, Candace has gone back to school to be a teacher. Growing Pains was inspired by a conversation at the local WalMart between a grandmother and granddaughter.