Chapter 134
Chapter 133: Settling ta
Sedona’s POV
My mother told me about the party on a Thursday.
The party was Saturday.
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“It’s just a small gathering,” she said, in the tone that clearly said this was a done deal. Not up for discussion and she was merely informing me to be aware.. “Family. Close friends. Just people who have been-who have been part of this p>
“How many people?” I asked, already dreading the answer.
“A manageable number.” She said, not giving me a specific answer, knowing how I would react to this.
“Mom.” I called out, half frustrated and exasperated.
“It’s not important to focus on the number Sedona. The important thing is that you’re home and you’re well and the people who love you deserve the chance to p>
“How many people p>
She arranged her expression into the look she used when a question was being asked that she’d decided didn’t require a direct answer. “Enough that it will feel like a celebration,” she said. “But not so many that it will feel overwhelming to you p>
“That’s not a number p>
“It’s a description,” she said, “which I decided is more useful than a number in this context,” and she went to discuss floral arrangements with the woman she’d apparently already called, which was how I learned that the party arrangements have been ongoing and planned longer than I anticipated.
I decided to let it slide because my mum would not tell me, but definitely someone else in this family wold and I would have to hunt them down.
Cameron, when I found him and asked, looked at his phone and said: “Forty-three p>
I
“People p>
r
“Confirmed. There may be a few more on the day. People RSVP at the point and may not show up due to unexpected issues, and some people who were not even invited might decide to show up, hearing about
it p>
“Forty-three people are not a small gathering p>
“It’s not a large one either,” he said, using logistics in a discussion that didn’t call for it. “The caterer’s threshold for small is sixty, for context p>
“There’s a caterer p>
“Mom is cooking as well. The caterer is supplemental p>
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Hooked at my brother who looked like he had been aware of this and had decided not to let me know beforehand and was acting innocent, his face calm and composed like he wasn’t also incriminated in this
party behind arranged behind my back.
“I would have liked to se consulted,” I said.
“You would have said no p>
“Yes p>
“Which is why,” he said, ‘you weren’t consulted.” He looked at me as he added with a softer tone. “You’ve been inside a hospital for two months, and news spread and we had to curtain those coming to see you, making it just family, yet Molly, Enzo and Dante were persistent enough we couldn’t turn them away because they helped. We have friends, cousins, aunts, relatives that are worried about you and have been managing the situation from afar. People who love you want to stand in the same room with you while you’re well. Let them p>
I let them.
Saturday arrived just as quickly as one would have expected. With me reluctantly giving my acceptance at a party, the preparations were no longer hidden as I could see each member focused on a particular aspect of the party preparations. Father was calling about the drinks, while my mum was in charge of the food.
My mother had been in the kitchen since six AM.
By noon, the house smelled like a restaurant that had prepared different kinds of foods, the caterer arriving to help with two assistants who were following my mum’s instruction and apparently had been given a list of what to prepare and what quantity was needed because they worked in a way that showed that everything was under control and would be ready in time for the party.
I’d helped where I could. This mostly consisted of sitting at the kitchen counter, which my mother had placed me to stay in, and be giving commentary about what I wanted and didn’t want, which was a compromise because it was either this or I would be back in my room resting and I was tired of resting.
“The salmon, my mother said.
“The salmon is perfect,” I said, because it was.
‘It needs another four minutes p>
“It needs another four minutes and it’s currently perfect. In four minutes it will be more perfect p>
She looked at me with the look.
“More perfect isn’t grammatically valid or accurate. Cameron said from the doorway, showing up where he wasn’t needed which caused an eyeroll from me, exasperate with him.
“Go away, Cameron,” we said simultaneously.
He went away, looking satisfied, which was Cameron tell of apparently being a nuisance to me, and going away after achieving what he had come here for.
Setting in
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People arrived starting at four.
Rachel and Enzo came first, because Rachel was always early to things, and had decided that she was not coming as a guest but as someone to chip in, Molly included and Enzo looked like he had been dragged out of bed and made to be here. My mum had sent him to my room to close his eyes for a moment while we looked after Molly who was babbling a lot and telling us what she thought of our cooking, while Rachel was helping dish out the foods, for the guests to have easy access to.
My father handled arrivals as a good host, He remembered everyone’s names, asked about the things they’d told him last time, and introduced people to other people, making it sociable for strangers to talk and laugh, while feeling at home.
I was hearing the noises coming from outside and I was not yet ready to receive them, I stayed in the kitchen, listening while trying to decide if my cloth was good enough or if I needed to change. I had already changed twice and my mum had told me, there was nothing to be afraid of.
Cameron arrived with someone I hadn’t met yet.
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Florence
A passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.