Brandy Bryan

"I can't believe this! What can I possibly do with this? I don't even think I can make it around the block with only two dollars. I am quite sure that I could have scraped up this much change from the bottom of my purse. This is utterly ridiculous. Who created that man? I just know that I will barely be able to get a gallon of gas with this."

"Well, don't be to upset because he did the same thing to me just last week. You remember when I had to go out of town to that conference and needed the gas card because I was flat broke?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well, when I told him that I needed enough gas to make the trip there and back, he denied me the gas card and instead gave me ten dollars for the entire trip. I told him this would not be enough money for a trip that was over two-hundred and fifty miles each way, and he said, 'you'll make it.' The only place I was going to make it to was the house around the comer. I don't think that I have asked him for any money in over three years. I guess that asking for the gas card was just too much. I mean, heaven forbid that I actually put enough gas in the car to make the trip!"

"So what did you do?"

"Oh, I just asked Craig if he would fill up the tank for me and explained the situation. He understood because he knows how that man can be and he joked that if we got married, we definitely would be getting married at the courthouse because he knows that man probably won't want to pay for our wedding. Craig was laughing but I wasn't because I told him what happened with Bethany and how her two-hundred person wedding became a fifty-person wedding, how her wedding at Chateaux Park became wedding at the Brown's backyard, and how her sit-down dinner became Brown's hot wings buffet? And of course that man justifies his actions under the label of conservatism.”

"Well, I think you and Craig should start saving now if you are serious, because that is the only way you will get anything that you want. I wish that I had saved earlier for this prom. My dress and shoes alone will cost three-hundred dollars not to mention I have to get my hair, nails, and toes done. I know that I can't ask him for any more money because he already made a big fuss about paying for my six college application fees. He told me that I should just apply to the two state schools because to him, out of state means out of his pocket! I just rolled my eyes and took the money."

"You know, if you need any money for your prom, just call me and I will see what I can do even though the bills for this new apartment are kicking my butt!"

"Oh, you are so lucky to have your own place. You no longer have to be told to do jumping jacks in the house when you get cold as opposed to turning on the heat which he would say costs money. You no longer have to reuse paper bowls, cups, and plates so that you can get as much economical value out of them as possible. But most importantly you can enjoy those luxuries in life such as cable television and call waiting on the telephone. Wow, I wish I were in your shoes."

"You forgot that I no longer have to eat generic groceries. I mean maybe he thinks they taste just the same as the real thing but I don't prefer to eat Flaky Frosts, drink juicy-aid, and wash my clothes with a box that just says -detergent- ."

"Hey, don't rub it in."

"Okay, I'm sorry but don't worry about it too much because you will be gone in a few months. Just make sure you choose an out of state school."

"Oh, I will. The only thing that bugs me is the fact that I know he is sitting on a pot of gold because he has been holding out on us for so long."

"Girl, don't even worry about dad and his gold. Just bask in the joy of knowing that we will want to have the finer things in life because we have been deprived so long. I look at it like this, I am just happy we did not turn out like him."

"Yeah, you are right. I could not imagine going through life needlessly depriving myself of something I could have. And speaking of depriving ourselves, why don't we stop right now by going shopping."

"Okay, where do you want to go?"

“Let’s head over to Wal-Mart. I have some coupons and I know prices are dropping over there like crazy."

“"Sounds great to me. I needed to return some of the clothes I bought there two days ago anyway so that I can buy them back today while they are on sale. I just love splurging sometimes."

"Me too.”