Love and dances - Joel Dawson

Benefit

Dear Aimee,

Today is finally the day. I hope you're ready. Because I... I am. I think?

"Joel!" Aimee beamed as soon as she noticed him walking over to her.

As soon as his name left her lips, Joel smiled as well, waving enthusiastically at Aimee as he mumbled a few apologies and excuses as he made his way across the rather crowded restaurant to finally stop in front of Aimee. She was looking absolutely radiant that night in a way Joel had never seen her before. She was wearing a silky green dress that complimented her skin tone so well and her hair was straightened, falling all the way down her back. Unlike Maple, she had chosen to focus her make-up in her eyes and wore a soft pink lipstick, but Joel didn't mind. He had always thought Aimee's eyes were one of her most beautiful features, so he was happy he could find an excuse to keep staring at her eyes whenever they talked.

"I'm so glad you're here!" She said, giggling a little at the way Joel stumbled a little on his way over to her, but was quick to reach a hand over to him and dust the shoulders of his jacket a little when he straightened himself up again.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Joel told her honestly, causing Aimee to smile up at him. "You look amazing, Aimee."

"Oh, thank you." Aimee nodded, looking down at herself for a moment as Joel just stared at him with a pleased smile. After all... Was that a blush in her cheeks? Had he made her blush? And if he had... Was that a good thing? It probably was a good thing, right? "You look great too. Is the smoking new?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "The tie too."

And, at his words, Aimee stopped for a moment, looking away from Joel to trail her eyes down a little until they settled in his tie, smiling at the pale red tone of the little piece of fabric. Nodding her head, Aimee tilted it to the side a little, a chuckle leaving her lips when her eyes found Maple, already sitting in a table across from them with an older man sitting beside her, making her laugh in between the sips she was having of her drink. When Maple threw her head back laughing at something the man had said and Joel noticed the way her curls of hair slipped back from where they had been laying over her shoulder, he grimaced a little, a pang in his heart that he couldn't quite comprehend, but, when Aimee moved to stand beside him with a hand on his shoulder, Joel decided to push it aside and deal with it later, choosing to, instead, focus on having Aimee so close to him again after so long.

"They met in the first benefit I've ever done and, every year, the two of them just always gravitate toward each other." She said, explaining to Joel the situation he already knew - because, yes, of course he remembered Maple fondly telling him all about Henry, the older man that had taken quite a liking to her and that always made her night whenever she was in one of Aimee's benefits. "Whenever he sees her, he keeps talking about her days on end. It's a good thing, though. His family doesn't visit much, so talking about Maple is a good distraction for him, I suppose."

"Do you know why his family doesn't visit?" Joel asked, as Aimee sighed, shrugging her shoulders a little.

"Not really." She admitted. "It's kind of sad, though... Most of the people from the retirement home don't receive many visits... I think their children just kind of put them there when they don't want to deal with it anymore and almost never come to see them. We email them whenever a birthday is near and they usually come then, but that's about it."

At that, Joel sighed, but nodded along with her words anyway because, as much as he couldn't relate to what she was saying or even understand any of it in any way, he was sensible enough to agree with her. They all seemed like very good people and never receiving any visits from family members was probably tough on them.