Folklore

James: 2 Weeks Before

"Come on!" I yell up the stairs to Betty. Her parents stand behind me with cameras in hand. My hands are shaking, causing the baby's breath in the bouquet I bought Betty to fall to the ground like confetti. I can't wait to see her. 

"Are you ready?" I hear her ask from her room.

"Ready!" I yell, and so do her parents.

I hear footsteps. At the top of the stairs appears Betty in a beautiful gown.

I am speechless at the sight of her. She's so beautiful; she glows like the sun. I have no words to even compliment her, just my wide-eyed gaze. 

She walks down the stairs so elegantly, lifting her dress above her ankles so she won't trip. I realize that I have seldom seen her in heels, so I might have the perfect excuse to hold her hand all night long. 

"Ahhhh," her mom squeals seeing her. She and her dad hug her when she gets to the bottom of the stairs. "Oh, my little Betty, you are so beautiful!" 

Betty looks at me, exchanging a glance that we both understand to mean, "here we go." Betty finally gets out of their hug and comes up to me. I look in her beautiful brown eyes as I hand her the flowers. She takes them and smiles. "Thank you." She says.

"No, thank you," I reply.

"Okay, picture time!" Her parents direct us to face them, and I am immediately blinded by a flash. Betty and I look at each other as we submit to the process and pose for some photos. 

"It's only a small part of this," she whispers in my ear without moving her teeth. I laugh, which gives her mom a good photo opp. 

After I've heard more shutters than anyone should need, I begin to step away. Betty follows. "Okay," she tells her parents. "That's enough."

"Oh, come on, one more." Her mom holds up her camera again.

"Mom, you know James hates photos," Betty brushes my hand with her fingers as she holds it. 

"Fine." Her mom lowers the camera. "But take plenty tonight!"

"We will!" Betty pulls me in excitement, something she does often. I reach to open the door.

"Now remember, James!" Her dad says. "Home by one AM, and no drinking!"

"Oh, just let them go!" Her mom tells him.

"Got it, of course, sir!" I acknowledge as I lead Betty out the front door. When they think we're gone, I hear an, "I've always loved that kid."

I open the door to my dad's old Mustang convertible. I then jump over to the driver's side and rev off. 

We enter the restaurant just in time for our reservation. In Betty's mind, "on time" means five minutes early. The hostess greets us, I give her my name, and she takes us to a table.

I pull Betty's chair out for her and sit down across from her. "Gosh, I love this place," she says.

"Your aunt's not here right now, you don't have to puff it up." I tell her.

She laughs. "Yeah, I know we're here because she gives us free steak and lobster anyway." She rests her hand on her chin like she's deep in thought. "James, are you a cheapskate?"

I put my hands up like I'm surrendering. "I'm just utilizing what we have. And Becky likes you, not me."

She laughs again. Gosh, I love hearing her laugh. "Well," she says. "I'm okay with it. I just love you, monetary habits and all."

I grab her hand, and a waitress drops off two iced teas with lemon wedges. 

Betty takes a sip. "We should move to Europe so we could order wine before prom."

"They don't have prom in Europe."

"In some countries!"

I laugh and sigh. "When we get older, we'll go to Europe, and you can order all the wine you want."

"Hmm," she sips again. "I bet there's nothing in that for you."

"Hey, you said it, not me."

We both laugh. She glances away and then looks at me. "Aunt Becky is coming."

I look and see Betty's Aunt Becky coming our way. Based on Betty's face, she is pretty indifferent about seeing her. 

"I heard my favorite teen couple is here!" Becky approaches us. She reaches her hands and rests them on both sides of our booth.

"Hey Aunt Becky," Betty says.

"Hey, Miss Becky."

"I heard it's time for your prom?" Becky looks at Betty and notices her dress. "Oh, and you look beautiful."

Betty smiles. "Thanks, auntie."

Betty's Aunt Becky is the owner of this restaurant, and- in Betty's words, not mine- "the crazy aunt". The first time she met me after I officially became Betty's boyfriend, she told us that she will forever give us free dates, and we should "just say the word" if we want alcohol. Then she gave me two hundred dollars and told me to take Betty someplace nice. 

"So, is this a typical 'pre-prom' romantic date? Or are you guys taking it easy? I know how different my niece and future nephew are, I wouldn't put it past you guys to just drink those teas and leave."

Betty holds my hand under the table, and though Aunt Becky can't read her eyes, I know they're telling me to just go along with it. "No, we're gonna eat meals."

"Okay, well, I'll get you two some gourmet meals on the house and leave you alone." She takes a step away and then immediately steps back. She kneels next to me. "Do you kids want me to sneak you some beers? I won't tell anyone, I promise. Just your fun Aunt Becky."

"We're good, thanks." I turn to Betty. "How many times before we turn twenty-one is she gonna ask us that question?" I whisper as she gets out of sight. 

"Just let her be," Betty says. "It'll haunt her on her own time. Natural selection."

"I can see the headline now. 'Rebekah Harkness relapses into her old habits, illegally gives alcohol to minors.'" 

"She's friendly," Betty says. "We both know that. Besides, everyone knows that crazy aunt equals fun aunt." We clink our glasses. I run my hand through Betty's hair.

"You know, I'm really excited for tonight," I say. "And you should know how much I love you, that I'm willing to dance all night long."

"I'm not crazy for dancing either," she tells me. "But tonight is gonna be magical."

"Ah yes. Teenagers smuggling alcohol and getting it down to rap songs. Magic if I've ever heard of it."

"If you can't find magic in the mundane, you'll be miserable within the magic."

I grin. My girlfriend is amazing.