CHRYSALIS

16.

There are like, a lot of people here. I mean I guess I should have known that this would be a big event, I wouldn't need a designer gown to hang out with the band and a few friends, but damn, I wasn't expecting this.

The whole living area has been rearranged, to make more room for mingling, I guess. There are cocktail tables placed around the room with small bites to eat and a full bar has taken residency near the french doors that open up to the deck.

Speaking of the deck, it's beautiful. The lights that are always strung up are on and it gives almost a circus tent feel to the outdoor living space. There are also free-standing lights that are giving the most incredible soft blue and pale pink lighting around the deck and inside as well.

It's lively in this room. It's loud but in the best way, the loudness is made up of heartfelt reunions, exciting stories, laughter, and congratulations for Harry on his chart-topping album.

It's warm in here, leaving all of us just a bit dewy with sweat. I'm hoping it's coming off as sexy but knowing me it's probably not. I lost Harry ages ago, he's off mingling and chatting and drinking his disgusting gold tequila. I haven't seen him in well over an hour, I've been chatting here and there with the few people who have approached me as I move awkwardly from the bar to the deck to the food, making laps.

"Josephine!" I hear a woman's voice call out and I pivot quickly, shoving the incredible mushroom, puff pastry concoction that I was devouring into my mouth and trying to swallow it without choking.

Graceful. I know. I am truly a vision of elegance and sophistication. Oh fuck, did I get mushroom on my boob? Jesus Christ...

I quickly grab a napkin to rid my breast of mushroom whatever-the-fuck was in that puff pastry and turn back around in time to find Sarah and Mitch laughing very quietly behind me.

"You saw nothing." I deadpan at them and the two of them break out into much louder laughter which I can't help but smile at.

"How have you been!? I'm so glad to see you here, Harry's been hogging you, we haven't seen you in far too long." She stood up on her tiptoes to wrap me in a quick hug. It caught me off guard a bit, but I quickly squeezed her back.

"I've been good! What about you guys!? Staying out of trouble? Doing anything new and exciting?" Mitch came in too for a decent side hug, which seemed to fit his vibe.

"It's been pretty low key around here, we've been doing a bit of writing, lots of reading, nothing terribly exciting. Oh, I'm teaching Mitch to cook! That's been fun."

We stand and visit for another half an hour before we move to the bar to grab drinks. We talk about their holiday plans for Christmas, Mitch had me crying in laughter talking about his family and how none of them can grasp that he plays guitar for a living. His aunt is convinced he's selling drugs because she just cannot fathom making money from playing that "silly guitar" for "a couple of hours a night."

Sarah is telling me a particularly embarrassing story about Mitch when Harry suddenly appears, interrupting her story to greet them both with hugs and kisses on their cheeks. He looks incredible in his bright, baby blue blazer and the white gloves he picked out today. He came into my room earlier with these gloves and a neck scarf, he couldn't decide which one to wear but wearing both seemed like too much.

I was in the middle of putting my makeup on so I stopped and helped him decide and then he sat on the bed and watched me while I got ready in the vanity.