𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙴𝙽𝙳 || Original Story

thirty-two | comfort

Towards the end of the night, I saw my parents, who were annoyed to have been late due to my Uncle Rodney's "insufferable rambling" and Aunt Diana's "inability to stop offering snacks". I simply laughed and told them they should have gone sooner or not at all. But, of course, my mother had to change the subject and make a fuss over me.

"Katelyn, darling," Mum had cooed after shaking off her irritation. "You look so beautiful! What a stunning dress."

Embarrassed, I smiled. "Thanks, Mum. You look lovely as well."

And she did. She was wearing a lilac dress with a thick pearl necklace and her greying hair clipped up with diamanté pins. My dad also looked very smart in his brown tweed suit, despite him constantly fiddling with the top button of his shirt. He began to complain about their tardiness and I quickly excused myself.

I was thankful to see Douglas (albeit for a disappointingly short period of time) and just long enough to have a dance with him, whilst Edgar, Bryony, and Jack continued conversation over another round of lemonade and some snacks that Jack had scavenged.

Douglas looked ever-so handsome in his navy checkered suit that made him look smart and distinguished- more so than usual. He gazed at me so adoringly and it flattered me to such an extent that I could barely look him in the eye in case I turned bright red from embarrassment.

We danced together for a short time, perhaps to two or three songs, and when it was time for us to depart one another's company, Douglas turned to me with his usual gentle smile.

"Thank you for the dance, Kate," he uttered, then pecking a kiss to my cheek. "I'm sorry it has to be a short one."

"That's okay," I replied, blushing. "I'd better head back to Edgar. He'll be bored out of his mind listening to Bryony and Jack."

Douglas laughed, saying how nice it was to see Edgar out of his comfort zone and enjoying himself.

"It's about time," he added.

I even managed to see Maya for an even briefer period. She looked stunning in her fuchsia-pink dress and with her thick hair tied into a braid that was decorated with little pink flower pins. She hugged me tight and I didn't want to let her go. Maya would soon be leaving for Edinburgh, so I hoped that her last Maplebrook fête was as magical as she was.

When Maya dashed off, I returned to the table to find that Jack was in the middle of telling Edgar one of his terribly corny and unfortunately infamous jokes. He laughed whilst Bryony groaned in annoyance, finding it to be hilarious rather than what it really was- awful.