After most of the guests had left, Charlotte sat next to her mother on the couch. Her mother was a tall woman with short blonde hair, whom Charlotte had idolized for years. The two embraced, and her mother looked at her with adoration. "We're so glad to have you back at home with us Char. It got pretty lonely without you here."
Mary ran into the living room and tackled her sister in a hug. "I've missed you the most. What do you say we go get some sushi?"
Charlotte pulled away from her sister's embrace, and glanced towards the ground. "Actually sis, Danielle and I were going to get dinner with her family because um, ya' know, I'm back in town."
Mary couldn't stop disappointment from taking over her facial expression. She stood up, and smiled weakly at her sister, and fought the urge to glare at Danielle, who was helping the girls' father clean up in the kitchen. She turned her gaze back to Charlotte, who was checking her makeup in a pocket mirror. "Oh. oh yeah okay that's a good idea. Go have fun with Danielle. I'll... I'll call Freddie and see what he's up to."
Danielle, satisfied with the cleanliness of the kitchen, walked back into the living room to grab her car keys. "Charlie, we've gotta go pick up my mom and her boyfriend, cause you know they won't show up if we don't hold them accountable."
Mary was confused. "Charlie?" Charlotte hated that nickname. She ran to her room and watched her sister get into Danielle's car. Nothing was making sense anymore. Charlotte belonged to the smith family, not to Danielle. Mary could feel rage bubbling up inside of her, but she pushed it down, like she always did. She didn't want anyone finding out about her anger issues. Her parents would be so disappointed.
In Danielle's car, Charlotte touched her dress again. She searched the fabric for wrinkles or imperfections but found none. She smoothed it out anyway. She looked at her hair in the mirror by the door. It looked fine, but not perfect. She tucked a stray strand behind her ear. Charlotte checked her watch and rested her head to gaze out the car window. It was dark and warm. The perfect summer evening. She looked over at the driver and smiled. Charlotte studied Danielle's face. She couldn't find one imperfection, one flaw. Danielle was a perfect being, like a marble statue, regal, perfect, carved just for her. She caught her staring and reached for Charlotte's hand. They locked eyes, and Danielle breathed.
"You're so beautiful."
Charlotte blushed again. "Eyes on the road."
Danielle turned back. "Sorry," she laughed. "It's a little hard."
Charlotte hid her face. She was blushing a little too much now, and it was getting hot. She rolled down the window and let the cold air rush through her fingers. The cold metal of her rings made Charlotte's hairs stand on end. Or maybe it was Danielle. She wasn't sure. But her stomach fluttered. She felt sick, but in a good way, if that was even possible. Charlotte realized that they had passed Danielle's house then minutes prior, and began to worry.
"Dani?"
"Yes, sweet girl?"
"I know this is a surprise and all, but where are we going?
Danielle laughed. "You sure are impatient."
"No, I'm not. I'm good. I'm just curious. I'm chill. I'm cool."
Charlotte smiled and turned back to the road.
Audrey looked around at the scenery outside the window. It was dark, but she could only make out trees all around. She definitely didn't know where they were.
"PLEASE TELL ME!"
Danielle smiled. "Well, I have good news. We're here. Eyes. Close 'em."
Charlotte complied and Danielle led her out of the car into the cold night air.
Charlotte stepped delicately over small obstacles on the ground until Danielle stopped her. "Okay. Open"
Slowly, Charlotte opened her eyes. She was standing in grass, in front of her was a picnic blanket with candles and tea. Danielle stood behind her and rested her hands on Charlotte's shoulders.
"Look up."
Charlotte did. She could see a perfectly clear view of the starry night sky. Here, they were far from pollution and noise. The air was cool and crisp. Everything was clear. Everything made sense. She looked at Danielle.
Danielle smiled. Charlotte made sense. Not a lot of things made sense anymore, but Charlotte did. Danielle watched her love as Charlotte looked around her, taking it all in. Danielle was proud of her work. It had taken longer than she thought it would have, to set all this up, but Charlotte made it worth it. Charlotte was right.
After a few moments of sulking, Mary picked up her phone to call Freddie. He left early from the party in order to tutor his little sister, and she knew he was free in the evenings. Freddie was Mary's favorite person in the entire world. She adored everything about him. He knew way too much about video games, which always made her giggle, and he wasn't afraid to show emotion. He only lived two minutes away, and the two planned to meet on top of the neighborhood play structure
Freddie was already there when Mary climbed to the top, still in her white sundress. Freddie was laying down, looking at the stars, and Mary's heart fluttered as she lay down next to him. He examined her and stifled a laugh. "What did I do wrong this time?" she asked sarcastically. He just smiled at her and gestured to her dress, now stained with dirt and mud. "Oh," she chuckled and tightened her pigtails, which prompted Freddie to sweep his unbrushed hair away from his eyes. After a long silence, Freddie turned to her.
"Mary, do you ever wonder if fate is real?"
She thought about this comment for a while before nodding.
Freddie continued. "I just think, maybe there's a reason for everything. Like you and me. You understand me on a level that other people just don't. Why is that"
Suddenly, Mary couldn't contain herself anymore. She closed her eyes and grabbed Freddie's face. "That's because I love you," she whispered.
All of a sudden, she realized what she had done. "Now I've ruined a friendship, so I've gotta go cry to Char at home." She jumped off the play structure and ran away, leaving Freddie alone to calm the fireworks that had just gone off inside his brain.
