The Lavender Butterfly

Chapter 19

Belgian waffles, cheesy scrambled eggs, sausage links, diced hash browns, and a build-your-own omelet bar all laid out along an extended table. I was awestruck by the spread of delightful brunch fare. Or maybe I was just absolutely famished from dancing with Meredith early in the morning on an empty stomach. Either way, I loaded up my plate with some of every item on the buffet and sat down at the table next to Meredith. As soon as we started eating, Stella, Evan, and Chloe walked in to join us. “Good morning, everyone!” Stella exclaimed as she greeted us at our table.” “Hash browns!” Chloe yelled excitedly as she stormed the buffet. “Hey,” Evan calmly said to me. “Hey,” I replied. “You have to try these omelets, Evan, they are so good!” I continued, with my mouth still stuffed with food. “I think I’ll have to,” Evan replied as he started to chuckle and make his way to the buffet. I suddenly felt my heart freeze with embarrassment. Why was I suddenly so self-conscious about how I came off to Evan? I tried to avoid these feelings, but it’s hard to ignore them after the time I spent with him the previous night. He showed me a side of him I’d never seen before. He came off as a sincere gentleman, and I have to admit, I did enjoy how he was fawning over me. “Are you guys all packed up?” Stella said as she sat down at the table with her food. “Packed up?” Meredith replied. “We still have the gala tonight!” “The gala…” I thought to myself. I forgot about the gala. I had spotted my lavender dress in the closet up in the room earlier that morning, but the gala never crossed my mind. The thought of strutting around in that dress for all to see felt exhilarating, however it also made me a little anxious. It would be the first time I would present myself to the public in formal wear. Seeing myself in the mirror strutting around confidently in my beautiful dress the other day was one thing but wearing it in front of hundreds of gazing eyes was another thing. I had only a couple of days’ experience of being a girl behind me and now I was going to be thrust into the role of being a lady. I was getting nervous. My palms were getting sweaty just thinking about it. I tried to shake off any bit of tension by trying to start up a conversation. I turned over to Chloe, who was practically diving into a mountain of hash browns. “Hey Chloe,” I said to her. She turned to me and smiled. I always thought she was an adorable little girl. But I’d noticed the other day how quickly she had taken a liking to me. After all, I was also a girl who was only a few years older than her. “Hey Olivia,” she replied. “Are you excited for the gala tonight?” I said to her. “Oh yeah, it’s going to be so fun, we’re all going to dress up, there’s going to be some good food and games, and I get to do my dance again, too!” she said, visibly showing joyous enthusiasm for the event. “Awesome!” I replied. “I haven’t gotten to see it yet! I can’t wait to see it!” What I told her was a bit of a lie. I did see it back when I was Chris, but I wasn’t terribly worried about it. I was a different person now, and I had to play the role, at least until I had gotten more settled in to being the girl I had become. Chloe smiled at me again, even more than before. “You’re gonna love it, I promise,” she said to me. Stella interjected, “You know, there’s going to be six routines tonight. The 1st place platinum numbers from each age group will be performing tonight. No judges, no pressure. Just a bunch of dancers having fun. Right, Chloe?” Chloe said not a word but smiled again in reply. “I’m so proud of my little girl,” Stella said, playfully hugging her. “Also,” she continued, “There’s going to be a dance party afterwards. It will be a lot of fun!” Chloe had a mischievous look on her face. “Yeah, Evan can dance with his new girlfriend tonight,” she said, teasing her brother. “Shut up, Chloe!” he retorted angrily. “Evan, don’t tell your sister to shut up,” Stella said sternly to Evan. There was an awkward pause, before Stella broke the silence. “Is there something I should know Evan? Or someone I should know?” Stella said, purposefully trying to embarrass her son. “No, Chloe doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Evan stammered. The others laughed. I didn’t react at all. I knew they were talking about me. What I didn’t know was if they knew the same thing. Obviously, Chloe was picking up on it. She saw us the other night and she probably saw us warming up to each other. The question I had was whether Meredith saw any of it. I was worried about what she would think. I was her husband just a couple of days ago. Now I was a teenage girl who had a teenage boy seemingly falling head over heels for her, and I wasn’t sure how she would take it. I’m not so sure I had feelings for him. I wasn’t even sure I was into guys. However, I did feel different about a few things, now that I was a teenage girl. I feel like I had already developed a keen sense of fashion, I feel like I was more in touch with my emotions, and maybe it was my teenage hormones talking, but I was craving affection. Maybe I did like Evan. I didn’t want Meredith to see us show any form affection to each other, just in case. Then I thought about the possibility of Meredith finding another man. The thought of it made me very uncomfortable. Perhaps she would feel the same if Evan and I became an item. Either way, the conversation was making me feel uneasy and I suddenly wanted this brunch to be over, so we could leave the room. I would soon get my wish, as Meredith spoke. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m stuffed. I think Olivia and I are going to go back up to the room. I think we’re going to rest for a little bit before we get all dressed up and ready for the gala tonight.” Stella laughed as she replied, “Okay you guys get your rest, I’ll probably be doing Chloe’s hair and makeup for the next several hours, just like I did last time!” Meredith and I both laughed as we went back up to the room.