Halloween party : Young men, young women, old couple
The Thompson’s Mansion, 1.30 pm.
“Sweetie? Hurry, darling!” Miranda called up the stairs to her youngest daughter, Sachita. “Belinda’s arrived.”
“Tell her I’m coming”, Sachita yelled from inside her room, “I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
“Sorry, but that’s my girl,” Miranda explained apologetically to the young woman standing at the porch. “She may have turned eighteen, last December, she still acts like 15, never aware of time!”
“More like twelve.” Kevin appearing at the top of the stairs jeered. “The way she acts sometimes. Hi Bel, how are you doing? How can you get along with that little brat?”
“Oh, she has qualities you don’t see,” Belinda laughed, “and she can act very adult when she wants” she added, thinking of the teasing games they sometimes got into.
“Please come to the living room,” Miranda invited, “can’t have a guest waiting at the door.”
“Thank you, Mam,” Belinda answered, using the same endearment that Sachita used with her mother.
Leading the way for Belinda, with Kevin following because of his interest in his sister’s friend, Miranda queried
“So, you will all be meeting at your place? Who’ll be there with you?”
“The same bunch as usual, Mam,” Belinda answered good-humouredly, as she sat on the three-seater, Miranda and Kevin taking place on the loveseat facing her. “Gaëlle, Cassandra and us two.”
“Oh, the two foreign students will be with you? Only you four, no boys? And you’ll be partying at your house?” Miranda couldn’t help acting mother-hen with respect to Sachita, still seeing her as a little girl. The fact that she was in her third year at university at eighteen, having skipped two classes at secondary level, and moving with people two years older and more mature, did nothing to lessen her concern.
“No,” the young woman answered, “we intend to go out, you know it’s Halloween after all, time for fun.”
“Nothing too unruly, I hope?”
“No, not really, just the four of us sticking together and having fun, but as a squad, keeping each other out of trouble until we go back to Cassandra and Gaelle’s for a sleepover. Then we’ll spend the day together until dinner. I’ll bring Sach home, safe and sound, at latest 9.30, tomorrow evening.”
Miranda smiled, her heart set at peace that Sweetie’s connections at university would be looking after her. They seemed a responsible bunch while still being fun.
Just then, they heard a car honking.
“Oh, that will be Jean Paul,” Kevin assumed. He rose up, picking up the bag he had put at his feet and kissed Miranda, “Bye, Mam.”
“Bye, my boy, take care.”
“Sure, Mam,” Kevin answered, as he kissed to Belinda on both cheeks.
“See you, Bel. We should go out together some time, have a coffee or something.”
“Why not?” Belinda answered. “We can get to know one another.”
“The hell you will,” Sachita said, standing at the patio in front of the door, between the stairs and the living-room, looking very innocent in her white polo shirt and mid-thigh shorts. “She’s my friend, leave her alone. You have enough girls on the Campus to chase around not to have to run after Bel.”