Chapter Seven
Dee came to the Chrysler apartment to help get things ready for the baby shower later that evening. Polly was grateful for the help. After a few minutes of setting up purple (the baby's color theme) decorations, Sonnet and Silas started to help get food around. Sonnet had thought the baby shower would be a little awkward for her if she hadn't invited anyone, and so Polly let her invite Silas, partially because she wanted Ariel to feel better about the small group.
The decorations were modest, but they still gave a nice touch to the Chrysler apartment. There were purple balloons and centerpieces, and little cards and a banner that said "Congratulations, It's A Girl!". Polly had ordered a medium sized, two layer confetti cake with lavender icing on it. Dee was very satisfied with everything when she took a step back. There was a knock on the door and Dee went to it. She looked through the peep hole and saw Donald and another woman with him. The woman was holding a purple sparkly gift bag with tissue paper and Dee tried to remember if she had seen her before. She opened the door for them and gasped when she got a better look at the girl.
"Um...Donald, who is this?" Dee asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.
"This is Arabella. She's living with me until she can get her own apartment," Donald replied as he took her hand. Arabella smiled and gave a little wave before walking in, led by Donald. Dee stood there, frozen in her place. It's just like what the book said, Dee thought to herself. He even wrote about the part about her not recognizing me. Dee finally found herself back in the Chrysler apartment and out of the past, and she decided to join the little party before Ryan got there with Ariel. She decided to keep a low profile and try not to catch Arabella's attention any more than she already had.
There was another knock and Polly shushed everyone as she went to the door. She looked through the peep hole.
"It's them! Shush!" she hissed. Everyone got quiet and waited for Polly to open the door. She opened it slowly and Ryan led a blindfolded Ariel into the living room.
"It doesn't smell like our apartment, Ryan..." Ariel said. Silas nudged Sonnet in the side and they stifled laughter.
"Ok, you can take the blindfold off now!" Ryan exclaimed. Ariel reached up behind her head and untied the knot. Slowly and carefully she took the blindfold off her face, like she was expecting something bad when her eyes were no longer covered. Her face lit up when she saw the banner and decorations.
"Surprise!" everyone shouted. Ariel covered her face with her hands and Ryan pulled her into a hug while he laughed.
"Oh my goodness," she said into her hands and Ryan's chest. "You don't even know me!"
"Yes, I do!" Donald replied, pretending to be offended.
"I mean...I've never been in here. Why would you guys do something like this for me?" Ariel asked.
"Because we want you to know that we're neighbors and neighbors should be happy and sad with each other," Polly replied. Ariel wiped a tear away.
"Sorry, it's the crazy hormones..." she laughed. Everyone else laughed and Dee smiled at the whole scene. This was the first time she had seen all of them gathered like this...and she decided she liked it. Then, she remembered Arabella and her smile disappeared. She hadn't seen her for so long and wasn't sure she was ready to see her again.
*****
Ariel felt so confused yet overjoyed that she had someone other than Ryan to celebrate the birth of her beloved baby with. She knew Donald would give her a gift or something, but she hadn't expected a surprise baby shower where more than two people showed up. None of her friends from school talked to her ever since she dropped out and really started to show that she was pregnant. She sighed when she thought about her mom and dad. She almost wished they hadn't kicked her out sometimes, but when she looked around, she smiled and was thankful for this small group of people that were willing to welcome her into their lives.
