A New Pair of Wings

Part 7

"Where's the dinner gonna be held?" Belle asks over the phone.

"Heather's Haven. You know, the one we went to together about a year back," Carson reminds her.

"Oh, that one!" Belle exclaims. She can't help but feel a little happy that he remembered all the times they spent together.

"The same place where I met Hailey," Carson adds.

"Oh," Belle's tone drops. She frowns as she remembers her failed confession. All because of her! She yells in her head.

"Uh, so how are we gonna eat?" Belle asks, changing the subject to food.

Carson chuckles. "Don't worry, I ordered an elephant sized meal," he assures her. Just like every other woman, Belle loves to eat.

"That's great!" Belle grins widely, "Who's gonna be there?"

"Well, there's gonna be Hailey," Carson begins. At this, Belle's smile droops a little, "...my parents, our highschool friends Tom, Susan, Blake and Drake, and Hailey's mother as well."

"Okay," Belle smiles, thinking back to highschool. Tom, Susan, and the twins Blake and Drake had always been their good friends. It was great to know that they were attending the dinner as well.

Back in highschool, although Belle and Carson had each other's company, they were still kind of lonely as a pair of friends. But soon after, they found themselves bumping into new people, who miraculously entered their lives. There was Susan, who encountered Belle while she was having trouble carrying her books. There was Tom, the captain of the football team, who always had motivational words for the team and for Carson. And there were the twins, Blake and Drake, who always attracted trouble. But eventually, Belle found the guts to talk to them and soon became their friend.

"And then of course, there's gonna be you and me," Carson finishes. Belle tenses up a little as he says 'you and me'.

"Alrighty then," Belle says, "What about the 'appreciation' part of this dinner?"

"Huh?" Carson interjects in confusion.

"You said this is gonna be an appreciation dinner, so where does the 'appreciation' part come in?"

"Oh, that? Umm...," Carson pauses. "Well, I guess the appreciation part is thanking everyone for their support in my life, how each one of them played a role to get me to where I am today."

"That's it?" Belle asks, a little confused herself, "Not that I want much out of it, but I thought that such a dinner would be more...thankful?"

"You mean, like, gifts?" Carson asks.

"Yeah. Kinda."

"This man over here is not very materialistic, I guess," Carson says with a light chuckle.

"Alright, if you say so," Belle says.

The day passes by very quickly , and before anyone realizes, it is Friday already, the day of the dinner.

Belle rummages through her selection of clothing, trying to find something worthy of an evening dinner. Dress, dress, I need a dress! She thinks to herself.

Finally, after about an hour's worth of searching, she pulls out a white laced, sleeve dress, with a skirt that reaches her knee. To pair up with the dress, she has a beautiful, intricately designed, light pink shawl. For her feet, she has a pair of white high heels. Finally, she tops it off with a light pink handbag. I'm ready for the night, she thinks.

  There are about 20 minutes left for the dinner. So she puts on her outfit and prepares to go out. She sets foot on to her porch and begins her journey to the restaurant. As she walks into the night breeze, she thinks back to her highschool years.