It's December 2013, you're a pretty decent looking girl,
you've got a better job than most people your age, a pushover boyfriend and a chef for a roommate.
you're not happy with your boyfriend and you realize that your job is chipping away at your soul one day at a time.
You help the poor at the cost of high interest rates and empty promises.
it's days before Christmas and you've already racked up enough commission to take a month off work... if you weren't the assistant manager.
Besides, why would you?
All you do when you're at home is get stoned or drunk, or both.
You've got money, this is the first time in your life you've lived above the poverty line.
You're enjoying the ability to buy a big TV and healthier food,
anything. You can buy everything you always wanted for when you were growing up.
You have savings,
You feel like this is the top.
Your apartment has roaches that won't die.
The TV begins to be the only thing that keeps your attention, you're not happy living in an area where your car gets broken into, but you're distracted.
It's the 21st, and in a single day you've already made over $500 in comissions, nothing can bring you down from this high- a man walks in
Handsome. lean. confident. Your coworker makes the sale, and boyfriend or not, you're flirting with your glances, and so is he.
He eventually sees your business card and recognizes your name, which is actually very uncommon.
you discover that he has met your alcoholic mother, younger sister, and dated your crazy step aunt that you never claim as family.
You're intrigued, how did you not meet him when your mom and sister did?
Of course he knows that crazy bitch, her reputation preceeds you everywhere you go these days, and she's not even blood.
You talk, you give him your number, and make plans to go on what could easily be described as your perfect date.
A few hours and a few beers later, you're falling for him and you're not sure if the beer is the catalyst or your unhappiness is, but you haven't had sex for teo months with that impotent pushover that was perfectly fine signing a lease, but not with actually moving in.
You're on a perfect date with an out-of-towner.
"Love at first sight isn't real," you plead with your heart, it's the beer talking.
Either way you both know you're getting a hotel room and it's going to be awesome.
He's in town for a few weeks for Christmas, he's staying with his parents.
You spend Christmas with them days after meeting him.
Your grandmothers best friend is there, too. You've known her as long as you can remember.
You can't shake the feeling like you've fallen into place by mistake, and you've really gotta break up with your boyfriend.
This new guy works in Fort Worth, gets a lot of time off for the holidays, and you don't. eventually he has to go back, and he can't drop by the shop anymore, so now you're spending hours on the phone when you get off work every evening, and he's showing up at your door as often as he can. You're both falling. You've finally snapped back to reality.
it's January 28th, you've been demoted at work despite having the best numbers, your pay has been decreased because your boss opened a new location, and you've been exciled to the store no one knows about yet.
You're a soul sucking, 21 year old Pawnbroker making $50,000 dollars a year and you're miserable.
You call in to work to tell them you've burned out completely. You try to Sublet your apartment but no one else wants to live in that shithole, so you take the eviction.
You're going to find happiness in Fort Worth.
Cowtown holds a dream for you. You find unbelievable happiness, a perfect answer to piece your soul back together, you find work as a model, which is 40 hours a week of scheduling, and 10 hours of in front of the camera. Freelancing gives you the freedom to be a house-girlfriend, and you love it.
For six months you live your perfect dream.
You cook, you clean, and fall asleep in his arms every night.
You enjoy what little work you do because it comes natural. The lease is up at the end of spring, and with nothing left of your savings, and no plan for the future, you both move back home seperately,
only luckily your parents live very close to each other.
You go back to dating, Holidays roll around and you know more of each others families, your second cousin is married to his third cousin.
He hates it when you start to sing "It's a small world"
He turns 29, you turn 22.
The stress of living with your mother, working in a night club, and a boyfriend who needs to be around his friends constantly pushes you to the bottle, and partying, and eventually, a breakup.
Your new boyfriend is Crown Royal and without it, you shake.
Four months as a drunk party girl keeps you either drunk or happy enough to live another day,
when one day that old flame calls from Fort Worth, he's been drinking and reminiscing.
you stay on the phone for hours.
a week later you're back together.
the four months vanish, it's not like you want to remember them, after all.
The depression doesn't leave, but this second chance is going to be all or nothing, either you move in together or you forget each other.
You're sober in a matter of days,
so you lease a house,
You look at rings,
you get a puppy,
you struggle,
he holds you,
he accepts that you have a lot of new tattoos,
time goes on.
One night at work a little old lady that you quite adore gives you her phone number, and a message she says is straight from god. He's looking out for me this time, she says.
He finds it in your purse a week later,
asking "How do you know Helen?"
he can't believe his eyes.
His family has gone to church with her for decades.
To paraphrase,
' Of all the pawn shops, in all the towns, in all the world,
he walked into mine. '
Whether we're meant to be forever, or just meant to be together for now, fate brought us here.
