Only Hope

Chapter 3

Past

It was a Sunday on an August evening; the sky was a type of orange mixed with blue. It looked like an art piece painting. Looking outside a two-storey window you could see people on the streets, little kids playing on their front lawn or riding their rusty bikes, old people sitting on their swing seats on the porch and couples walking down the road hand in hand.

This day however was a special day for Serena. She had waited quite some time for her fifteenth birthday, not for the whole birthday theme thing though, she only was excited to see if this was finally the time Lucas would kiss her. It had been too long and she got aggravated sometimes when he used to pull back the last second.

Serena had only invited a small gathering for her birthday; she didn't like to go extreme on parties. The guest list only consisted of her parents, Cassandra and Daniel's parents, Lucas along with his parents and brother and sister, John and Christina plus their children, Mila, Jude and Maya.

Maya wasn't really invited though, the only reason Maya was coming to Serena's birthday party is because she is one of Jude's close friends in the group. On the other note Serena didn't invite Maya because she always known Maya had a crush on Lucas. Tonight everyone had wish for no drama between those two girls.

Looking at the clock it read 7:30 pm, the guests were meant to be over any minute now. Getting observed in her own thoughts about how the party was going to be, Serena looked at herself in the mirror, mindlessly fumbling with her red dress. Would Lucas think I look stunning in this dress? And can he just kiss me already!

Cassandra and Daniel were prepping the place, putting decorations everywhere, setting out the plates and cups, filling the plates with snacks. Cassandra had to slap Daniel's hands every once in a while, he couldn't keep his hands away from the chocolates that were laid out.

"Can you believe our girl is already fifteen?" Cassandra asked Daniel, quickly placing a chip in her mouth, teasing poor Daniel.

"Truth be told, I don't want her to grow up so fast. I can already tell that she's falling in love and getting moody most times. It's just that I still see her as my baby girl" Daniel whispered.

"Yeah, I get want you mean"

Serena knew her parents were trying to keep their voices hushed, but she could still hear them. The words they were saying bought a smile to her face. She loved them with all her heart and knew at times she could be grouchy and seem ungrateful, but Serena really did cherish them.

The official first guest to arrive was Grandma Delilah and Grandpa Fred, Daniel's rather wild parents. Grandpa Fred took one of the balloons already and started breathing in the helium, making strange voices and noises, causing Serena and Delilah to crack up with laughter. Soon after they arrived, Grandma Tasha and Granddad Joel joined in. Granddad Joel didn't really get along with Grandpa Fred; it was kind of a love/hate relationship between those two.

"It still seems like someone has matured yet" Granddad Joel remarked, giving a look of disbelief towards Fred.

"Oh Joel, just hush will you. You've been acting cranky lately" Tasha exclaimed.

"Maybe he's just going through menopause" Fred said.

"GRANDPA FRED!" Serena couldn't believe in what came out of Fred's mouth. Saying that though, she also wanted to cry of laughter from the look on everyone's faces, pretty much everyone wanted to hoot. Serena got up and walked to where Joel was sitting and wrapped her hands around him.

"Lighten up, Granddad. He's just messing around with you. Grandpa Fred does that to everyone"

"He only messes around with me because I'm better looking" Joel countered. This earned a "HEY!" from Fred and a giggle from Cassandra. The sounds of the bell chime coming through stopped them from arguing further.