A Doll of Hope

Chapter 27

Before long, it was time to get ready for the big trip to the beach resort. Everyone gathered at Benjiro's house the night before as planned. As they all sat down to enjoy a delicious dinner, Benjiro raised his glass.

"Well my friends, shall we purpose a toast to this joyous occasion?" He asked. RJ grinned as he lifted his glass up.

"Yeah, here's to Chris's success at moving forward with her life." Bethany grinned and raised her glass too.

"I'll drink to that." She chuckled as the two of them made their glasses clash. Christie blushed as she smiled.

"Guys, knock it off already. You're embarrassing me." Greta smiled as she raised her glass.

"How about to the hopes of getting to swim with the sea turtles this week?" Sandra smirked.

"If you get anymore excited about that, you'll end up scaring them away." Greta scratched her cheek. Matt shook his head and looked at Christie.

"What do you think we should toast to, Chris?" Christie thought for a second. Then with a smile, she picked up her glass.

"How about to happy futures for all of us?" Everyone smiled and raised there glasses high.

"I'll definitely drink to that." Bethany stated.

"Here, here." Benjiro agreed.

"I'm sure that is one wish that will definitely come true." RJ stated.

"Absolutely." Sandra agreed. Greta smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Cheers!" They all stated as they clapped their glasses together. The room became filled with laughter as some maids brought in plates of food.

"Dinner is served. Dine to your heart's content, my friends." Benjiro stated. Sandra's eyes twinkled.

"Wow, I feel like I've become a princess." She squealed. Matt rolled his eyes.

"Like you didn't think that about yourself in the first place." He muttered. Greta giggled.

"If things turn out well, you might be one for real one day." She teased. Sandra's face turned bright red.

"Greta!" The others let out a laugh.

"I believe she already has become one. She certainly has the beauty of a fair maiden both inside and out." Benjiro stated. Sandra looked at him. Forming a surprised look on her face, she tried not to blush. Matt rolled his eyes.

"On the outside maybe. But the inside could use some work." Sandra flashed him a glare.

"What was that?!" The others struggled to hold in their laughter.

"Hey Ben, your home is so lovely. Would it be alright if we took a look around after dinner?" Greta asked. Benjiro smiled.

"But of course. My home is your home. Feel free to do as you please." Greta clapped her hands together.

"Yeah! I've always wanted to take a look around a giant mansion like this."

"Wait till you get a look at his library. You'll think you walked into a book museum." RJ stated.

"Not to mention his art gallery. There are some very impressive paintings in there. All it needs is one of Chris's paintings to top it off." Bethany added. Christie smiled and blushed.

"That painting you were talking about is in there too, right? The one that was done by the same artist running the college Chris's going to?" Bethany nodded.

"It really is an amazing painting. But compared to Chris's, it's got a ways to go." Christie let out a fake laugh.

"Come on, Beth. You don't need to set me up that high. I'm not nearly as skilled as the professionals. For one thing, they can use several different kinds of tools. I can only use pencils." Bethany grinned.