(Michelle POV)

Friday came and went rather quickly, as did Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Mother and I's plane flew into Florida on Friday night, and flew back Monday afternoon. We finally arrived home at 8 pm on Monday, exhausted and drained from the trip. Or at least I was. My mother was still shining in the glow of her "youth". My mother was 50, but looked 37. Surprisingly, her "youthful" face was all natural. She had never had botox, plastic surgery, nothing. My family just had good genes. Of course; my mother had refused against anything like plastic surgery. She always said that getting old was a natural part of life, not a blemish or imperfection. I always regarded this as one of the wisest things my mom ever said.

My dad, however, didn't want to grow old, and did everything in his power to prevent himself from looking as old as he was.

When my mother and I returned, our chef, a wonderful man named Ian, had fixed a large dinner for us. My mother ate calmly and slowly, while I just wolfed the food down.
"That's not ladylike, Michelle." My mother scolded.

"But I'm hungry." I whined, wiping my face with my sleeve. My mother had always tried to teach me manners, but I usually ignored them, especially if they made me uncomfortable, or caused trouble.

"Michelle."

"Ugh, fine. I'm sorry." I apologized, looking at my mother with wide eyes.

My mother simply sighed and rolled her light brown eyes. "I understand you're hungry and want food now, but you need to be polite and ladylike. What man would want a slob for a wife?"

"A man who didn't care about being too clean." I answered, pursing my lips. "And I won't marry a man who is too prideful. Men like that often end up being rude husbands."

"That is true." My mother agreed, nodding her head. "But still, Michelle, you must be ladylike."

"Screw ladylike. If I ever marry a man, he'll have to be fine with me not wanting to be ladylike."

"A man like that is hard to find." My mother mused.

"I'd much rather search through thousands of people to find one good person rather than take an awful person from a small crowd." I spoke, tossing my hair back. My mother looked me over with a slightly shocked and disapproving expression, but said nothing. I ate the rest of my food rather quickly, and walked away.

I went to bed that night exhausted yet refreshed. The jets in the bathtub had been fixed, so I laid in the bathtub for longer that I should've, just soaking in the jets and warm water. My mother had even gotten me a bath bomb, at her insistence. She had also gotten me a face mask to use, and had given me an extra $2,500 for a spa day, which she said to use wisely.

I went to my bed and laid under the soft red blankets, resting my head on the pink pillows. I took out a book and began reading, and I ended up falling asleep with the book in my hands.

Sorry for the long wait! But today is the first day of pride month and I finally remembered this story so I finished this chapter up just so I could give it to you guys. Here you go! I'll try to upload at least twice more this month
~ Liz