Record Me Saying I Miss You

Chapter 5: Better than Indifference

After climbing into Tessie's pastel blue Mini Cooper, I slammed the door close and let out a long sigh.

"Thanks for damaging my poor car." Tessie said, giving the window a pat, "Poor baby, you okay?"

"No, I'm pissed off." I crossed my arms over my chest and sunk into my seat.

"I wasn't talking to you." she said, "But what's up?"

"Everything was so bad today." I groaned, "Andrew texted me."

"Oh god."

"And then there was this whole exchange with Carl about finding a stylist."

"What? Stylist?"

I slipped the invitation out of my bag.

"I got invited to Carl's baby shower."

"Carl... who?"

"Carl Weaver, my director, boss, employer. Mentioned him to you a few times."

"The Carl Weaver? The one that directed-"

"Yes, you've asked me this already." I rolled my eyes, "Here's the invite."

"Open it! Open it!"

I flipped the envelope around and lifted the silver wax seal. I slid the invitation out and was immediately overwhelmed by its beauty. A butterfly laid on my lap, one of its wings pink and the other blue. Glossy black film outlined the details of the butterfly in swirls and spots. I flipped it open to view the information, written in matching calligraphy to my name.

"Hazel Harrow is hereby invited to Carl Weaver and Vicki Ikemoto's baby shower."

"'Hereby' is such a fancy word."

I skimmed the invite, "Apparently, it's a masquerade and has this secret garden theme. There's going to be food and drinks... and the whole gender reveal sort of thing."

"Oh wow, thanks for getting me jealous. It's going to be like a royalty's party. I bet the reveal is going to be them giving out kittens who are dyed either blue and pink."

I sighed and put the invitation back into my bag, "I don't think I want to go."

"Hazel, are you kidding me?" Tessie came to an abrupt stop on the side of the street and turned to me, "You got invited to this Hollywood exclusive party with all these fucking Hollywood actors, singers, celebrities, beautiful people, and you're not going? Imagine the possibilities. Maybe you could find someone, get to know them a little more, and fall in looove. You have to go, end of question."

"I'm just a voice actor. No one has any idea who I am. I don't mesh well with that kind of crowd. And plus, it's a bit too fancy for me anyway."

"It's a masquerade for a reason. Everyone's dressed well and attractive and you chat with your voice. No one knows each other behind masks."

"Tessie, people always chat with your voice."

"Stop being a smart ass and just go please."