"That's Miss Alvin," whispered a voice in my ear and I nodded, staring at the woman. She was a plump lady but seemed very friendly and childish with her ways, especially her dress. Her movements seemed over exaggerated as she waved her hand around talking very animatedly.
I decided then and there that I liked her. She didn’t seem like she fit in, just like me, but at least she made it look fun. I looked back at the table and saw the pastries Margaret mentioned about and smiled. You can tell they were made by her by the uneven crust and the uneven coloring of the pastry but they looked absolutely adorable. Kudos to her effort.
It was hard to believe these things were poisonous.
"Darius my man!" I looked up as a younger man came around the table and hugged Darius. I was surprised. People hug him? People talk to him? People actually like him? Calm down, Ivory, that was a bit harsh.
"Whatcha up to, couz," he said as he looked around Darius and flashed me a toothy grin. "And this must be the beautiful wife. Sorry, I would have come to the wedding but I wasn’t invited," he said as he grabbed my hand and placed a kiss on it, a very long kiss, and I pulled it out of his grasp as it felt uncomfortable.
"That's Al-Go-" he looked at me and I sighed.
"Ivory," I said, trying not to roll my eyes.
"Beautiful name for a beautiful lady. I am Adrian," he replied with a wink. He sat on the other side of Darius and I watched them both talk, listening in every now and then.
"No girl this time?" asked Darius, a smile on his face. I hadn't seen one in ages. Actually, I don't think I have seen one on him at all. He was always grumpy or glaring or emotionless at home, at me anyways. The last time he looked this happy was when he thanked Margaret for dinner.
"Nope, I think I'll pick up some lovely lady," he said, smiling and looking around. "There seems to be plenty here," he said, winking at me. Darius shook his head like he was used to all this and I raised an eyebrow, looking away.
I smiled and greeted the people as they stopped to say hi to us and made small talk as the rest of the table was filled up. I was glad both Mr. and Mrs. Cartwell were in my table. They were two people I got along with in the other parties.
"Oh, Ivory, it's so good to see you!" said Alicia Cartwell, practically running to our table and hugging me. I could smell her flowery scent as she sat down. Mr. Cartwell smiled before he joined the boys on my other side and I turned to Alicia.
"My, you look wonderful in that dress. I bet he hasn't been able to keep his eyes off you all night," she said, winking, and I laughed uncomfortably and looked away. That would be if he even looked at me to begin with, not that I wanted him to look at me.
Alicia had hazel hair and bright blue eyes that matched her bubbly nature that I seemed to get along with. She was the Rose of this world.
"Oh, tell me about your orchids. Have they blossomed yet?" she asked. Darius looked over at us briefly before continuing his conversation and I tried not to roll my eyes. I hadn’t run away yet; he had to stop looking at me like I was some sort of criminal.
“Not yet,” I replied and she frowned, tucking her hair behind her ears.
"Oh, they will soon!" she said, more excited than me. She was thrilled when I told her about my little garden. She thought of starting one herself with tulips and an apple tree. A shadow fell upon the table and we looked up to see Miss Alvin staring down at us with a smile so huge it was showing her gums, and I felt happy smiling back. She had that happy aura about her that just made you smile back.
"Isn't she just beautiful!" asked Alicia and I was about to reply when Miss Alvin beat me to it. Oh, the question wasn't for me.
"She is. If only I had a daughter-in-law like you. A lucky man you are, Darius," she said.
"Indeed so, Miss Alvin," said Darius, standing up and shaking her hand.
She looked at our plates and sighed loudly, shaking her head. "You can't keep the girls hungry, here," she said, leaning over. My eyes widened as she abruptly leaned over her bosom in my face. Any closer and I would have gotten a mouthful of that material. Alicia laughed when she saw my face as Miss Alvin moved back and I cleared my throat.
"Eat up, girls. I shall be right back," she said, turning around and leaving and I looked at the pastry on my plate.
Alicia and I turned to look at each other. The pastry was small and looked harmless but apparently she was warned about it too as she stared at me worriedly.
“Do we have to eat it?” she asked leaning over and I shrugged looking at it. Well, it would be really rude if she came back and the pastry was untouched. Maybe I could smash it into pieces, so it looked like I ate a bit.
I stared at it a bit more till a hand grabbed it and I watched as Darius placed it in his pocket. Wasn’t he afraid it would ruin his precious suit?
Alicia kicked me under the table and I looked at her.