Sweetest Symphony

“You. Andie. Raphi. Corny. Shay. Gemma. It’s ridiculous and I’m in love with the whole gist of it.” She laughed. “That’s the trick, Ris; if I’m constantly in trouble then that means that’s my usual state of being and there are no problems after all.” Ari’s eyes brightened at the suggestion. “Although I can’t pronounce any of that, you know I can’t ever say no to a musical evening with you.”

“I guess there are more of us than I realized,” she grinned. “Leave it to you to find a way to explain away the act of always being in trouble.” Arista gave her sister a quick poke in the side as she laughed. “Oh, I doubt I said any of that right. I just guessed.”

Ellie bit her lip as she looked down on her bag, rummaging to it until she found a small notebook; she showed a page to the girl and smiled. “That does sound like a good idea; would you like to come to what fate chooses?” The girl nodded. “Undeniably so. I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying yourself as well.”

Arista grinned as her eyes skimmed over the list of things the girl wanted to see. “Sounds like a great adventure to me. I’m in!” Her shoulders lifted in a soft shrug. “I think it’s impossible for anyone to not have a good time here.”

Adella giggled along with her sister. “Perfect. Glad I got the score right.” She considered both options and shrugged. “We can choose as the day progresses. Maybe we can buy cute club clothes, change in the bathroom and do your bartender stashing the bags idea!” She said excitedly. “For now… Let’s get into it.” Della added, walking a little faster.

“Sounds good to me,” she grinned. Pointing across the street, she led her sister across the road so they’d be on the side they needed to be. “I mean, all it takes is us batting our eyelashes and the rest all falls into place.” Arista had used her feminine charm more times than she could count, although that number had dwindled significantly since starting to date Sulley. “I’m hoping they have something cute in red.”

“Oh, it’s been more than lovely.” She admitted with a small smile. “There is so much to do that I’m afraid it will be impossible to choose what to do first.” Ellie focused on the blonde. “How about you?”

“You could always make a list with everything you want to do on it and close your eyes and point...or number the items and use one of those random number generators and let fate decide.” She was enjoying the hustle and bustle of the city. “This is probably my favorite trip so far. It’s beautiful here.”

Adella giggled, pretending to hold a camera in her hands and take pictures of her sister. “I mean, a ten out of five, which would mean you’re actually a twenty out of ten.” She assured her with a laugh. “I heard that too! We can shop until we almost drop, then have some food and then go to a nice nightclub. Except what will we do with the shopping bags?….” Della wondered aloud, turning to smile at her favorite older sister. “Meh, we’ll figure it out, right?”

“Oh, that’s much better then,” she laughed. Arista had always taken pride in her appearance, though she never considered herself narcissistic for it. “I think we could probably get a bartender to let us stash the bags behind the bar? Or I guess we can take them back ourselves and change into something more...club appropriate?” 

“Yeah, maybe so,” she said with a small smile. Andrina brought the glass back up to her lips to drink. “You know I’ll have no problem slapping some sense into you if you become a bridezilla, not that I think you will be, but still.” She sighed a bit before looking over at her sister. “How did you know you wanted to marry him?”

“Somebody’s gotta. I think Adella’s too sweet to...Aquata might help you,” she laughed. At her sister’s question, she leaned back. Taking a drink of her champagne, she was quiet for a moment as she thought over her answer. “I think it was a lot of little things...I mean...he’s still able to give me butterflies when I see him but he still makes me feel calm inside like an ocean after a storm. With past guys I’ve been with, when I thought about the future it was like I had to make a place for them in it and they didn’t fit right...but with James...I think about the future and everything seems to fall into line. I can see lazy Saturday mornings curled up in bed with kids while we watch old cartoons or everyone sitting together at the dinner table. And those things fit. I don’t have to force them there. I don’t have to force him there because he belongs.” She shook her head, laughing a bit. “I don’t even know if that made sense.”

“That does sound great, honestly. Right now I’ve spent most of my money on trying to at least remodel my little living room area, so me and my roomie can at least entertain in fashion.” She chuckled. “So whenever you wanna visit my house, you’re more than invited, to that one room.”

“You gotta start somewhere. And it’s much easy to start with one room and work out from there...at least I think. It makes the most sense to me anyway,” she grinned. “Well, any time you decide to entertain, let me know. I’ve spent too much time cooped up in the house lately.” 

Maria nodded in unterstanding, she was hoping to do the same thing soon. “Right, so less futon, some mismatched “edgy” chairs and my aunt’s old dresser and more of an overall aesthetic for the whole place.”

“Exactly like that,” she grinned. “I mean...it’s comfy and cozy now but it’ll be nice to have some flow around the place.”

“Are you kidding!” Andrina shook her head, exasperated with her sister. “You’re the first of us to get engaged, of course we’re going to drop everything to help you. I’d think you’re crazy if you weren’t at least a little demanding.”

“The first of many of us. And I don’t expect you guys to drop everything...you know...until closer to time.” She took a sip of her champagne. “Let’s be honest, once it gets closer to time, I’m probably gonna be a monster and I give you full permission to yank me back to reality.”

Maria chuckled. “Listen, home decor is addictive, yet calming at the same time.” She said with a grin. “Can’t help but love it. Are you redecorating?” She asked curiously.

“Oh my gosh it is,” she laughed. Her shoulder lifted in a shrug. “Officially? No. I’m just trying to transition us out of the college student, thrown together look and into something more...put together if that makes sense.”