We walk into Belles Choses and a bell rings softly at our entrance. The place is small but cozy looking, and there is only a few people inside considering that it's six in the morning now; the sun had just risen.
An old woman smiles at us, and when I look into her blue eyes that looked so young, it seemed like she had one of those old souls in her. An old soul that's meant to leave a legacy. I don't know... I guess I just see that kind of stuff in people.
"Hello," she greets us, her voice fragile yet soothing. "There's a table in the back that sits five; I'll be back with menus momentarily."
We thank her and make our way to the round table with five yellow chairs sat around it. I sit between Michael and Luke, and the woman returns with the menus she promised.
"I'll give you a few minutes," she says. "Would you like any drinks?"
We all order orange juice and she walks away. I recognized her accent as American and wondered how she ended up in a small diner in France.
"How do you like it so far?" Luke asks me.
"It feels home-like," I answered. "But it's cozy and I love it."
"Do you know why it's called Beautiful Things in French?" Ashton says.
I shake my head. "Obviously not."
The woman returns with the orange juices for all of us and smiles, obviously overhearing our conversation. "I've seen a lot of beautiful things happen in this diner. Kisses, happiness, engagements... Everything that has to do with love."
My mouth falls agape. "Wow... That's beautiful."
She grins at me and nods. "Happy Birthday."
I furrowed my eyebrows. "How did you know it was my birthday?"
"I just had a hunch," she winks. "Anybody ready to order?"
After our orders (I had gone with the classic pancakes) Michael whispers something to the woman, but I couldn't make out what it was. She nods at him and leaves, and Michael turns around and smiles at me as if nothing happened.
"So what are we going to be doing after this?" I asked to break the silence.
Calum rolls his eyes. "Geez Mia, why can't you just live in the moment and stop worrying about the future? The future is a secret, it doesn't want you to know about it until you get there."
"You have some wise words, Calum," I sighed.
"He gets it from me," Luke smiled.
"Nah, probably from me," Michael chuckles.
I take a sip of my orange juice when suddenly a plate of pancakes is placed in front of me with a lit candle on top. The words "I Love You -M" is written on the pancakes in syrup, and I look over at my boyfriend. His smile goes wider and I figured that this was what he told the old woman about when he whispered something to her.
"Happy Birthday!" all four boys said in sync.
I grin and blew out the candle, then we all dug into our pancakes. I nearly moaned from how delicious they were; they were probably the best pancakes I have ever tasted.
After we had all been done eating, I stand up from my chair. "I'll be right back, I have to go to the bathroom."
They all nodded and I walk towards the woman's bathroom. After doing my business and fixing my mess of hair, I turn around to leave but I bump into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry," I apologized.
I realized that it had been the old woman I knocked down, which made me feel more guilty. "Oh no, it's all right, Mia. I wasn't watching where I was going."
