C H A P T E R   T H I R T E E N
The Invitation

Arry Whitby was quite the boy, he spent most of his time looking after his friends because their parents were too busy to care for them. He was a free boy with plenty of time on his hands.

And then Delia Acker, the princess in her room came and tapped on his shoulder. Arry was shocked but he wasn't one to overreact, so he just gave her a curious smile.

That day they talked and talked while Arry tried to avoid trouble with the boys. They were little monsters, hyper dogs, they could run around all day and never get tired.

Delia was an undiscovered room that he wanted to explore but he couldn't find the key to open the door. Sure she was pretty, but she was quite shy and secretive, she seemed very closed off.

After a while of talking to her, she finally let him in on some personal topics and Arry made some snarky and dumb comments which caused them to refuse to talk to each other for a while. They made amends though and everything between them was alright.

It had been quite a long time after she and he first became friends and that day, Delia and him were talking as usual. The boys were in the fields while Arry was trying to cure his boredom and his insanity.

"Where do you live? I don't ever see you walking home by yourself." Delia asked, she was curious, friends knew each other's addresses, Arry didn't get that though.

"My home is none of your business, it's nothing exciting," Arry replied, leaning back on his brittle chair that he had brought with him that day.

"Everything is exciting if you make it exciting. You're just being a closed-off nymph like always."

"Delia Acker! That insult is absurd, how rude—"

"Delia! A letter arrived, the twins are causing a mess inside, I have to go quick." Mother Acker seemed to be in a panic, she was sweating and looked like a nervous wreck.

Once Delia took the envelope from her hands, she ran back into her home immediately. There was a smirk on Delia's face, her mother didn't look at this letter. She finally got the privacy she wanted.

Delia was sure her mother had cracked the code for the many letters that arrived from Massachusetts with only numbers written inside of them. She was a smart lady, though there was a possibility she simply didn't have the time to crack all of the numeric codes.

In the many, many days of her return to New Hampshire, Delia and her friends from Concord frequently exchanged letters. It seemed that they wrote one every day and so Delia's mail would be filled with many notes. This was something she had to entertain herself, her nostalgia and weak feeling. Her hands shook with excitement as she opened the envelope and took out the letter.

Surprisingly, this letter wasn't written in numbers but words from an excited human being. If it was written in words then surely it would be family-friendly, good news.

Arry walked up to her and watched over her shoulder. The first word he saw was "wedding" and that stunned him.

"You got married behind my back? I'm appalled." Arry joked, that line brought a smile to Delia's face. Her heart was pounding and the adrenaline was pumping through her veins.

"I knew that handwriting looked different." She cheered, jumping up and down in happiness, recognizing that Jo was probably disgusted by this wedding arrangement and didn't even bother to write the invitation.

"What is it?" Arry questioned, the boys gathered around the two with curious minds. Delia's house seemed quite crowded with the large crowd of males huddling around a girl holding a letter.

"Meg and John are getting married!" She screeched. Delia hadn't quite told her friend about her visit to Concord and all the details but Arry knew the rough outline of what happened. Delia couldn't believe her eyes, she had never read anything so quickly in her life.

"It's a marriage, so what?"

"I'm invited, silly! I'm finally going to see my friends! I bet Laurie's going to be there as well." She jumped and cheered and her smile was as bright as the sun. Arry felt his heart pound as he saw his friend happily celebrate her invitation.

"Who's Laurie?" Delia immediately stopped jumping around.

"Laurie... Laurie is a nickname for Laura. She's my friend, now if you'll excuse me, good sir, I have to go pack my suitcase." Delia explained and ran up her stairs and to her room, leaving Arry in the dust.

He couldn't help but notice how Delia said their name, Laurie. And how she pronounced friend in a strange manner. He was going to be left alone with the boys again, like old times. She wouldn't be gone too long, he thought. And that thought put him at ease.

"Yves, no kicking!" He shouted and ran out to pick Yves up, separating him from his friends. As Arry let this thought sink in, there was a sorrowful look that was cast down onto his face.

She couldn't be gone.

When Delia ran into her mother who was dealing with screeching children, she had the biggest smile on her face, possibly the happiest girl alive at that moment.

"Mother! I'm invited to a wedding!" Delia cheered, jumping like a bunny around the house holding the letter she received.

"Oh heavens! Whose wedding, Delia?" Her mother asked, trying to separate the twins who were fighting minutes prior.

"My friend's wedding, it's happening in three weeks' time," Delia informed her stressed-out mother, she finally noticed what her mother was doing and furrowed her eyebrows.

"What were you two doing?"

"Charlotte said a snarky comment about me!" Harriet yelled in anger.

"Remember your trip? You've taken one step back, little sister. We have to handle things with manners." The oldest sister taught her young wise one and she frowned when her eyes were cast upon Charlotte.

"I refuse to look at that horrid human being. Sisters can fool around and fight each other, we aren't in public!" Harriet responded to Delia's advice, her nostrils were practically fuming.

"You sound like a friend of mine..." Delia's mind wandered off somewhere, she thought of Jo and Amy always brawling.

"Who gives a damn about your friend? I haven't even met your so-called, friends!"

"Tell you what, Harriet. If you behave yourself these next three weeks, I'll bring you with me to the wedding." It was an offer too tempting to refuse and Harriet immediately nodded. Delia thought her sister might snap her neck from how quick she nodded and shook her head.

"You're quiet now, huh?" Harriet teases at Charlotte and a growling noise came out of her.

"Bring me along will you?" Charlotte said in an innocent child's voice, she almost convinced Delia but she caught herself.

"If you'll behave yourself as well." There was a devilish grin that crossed Harriet and she ran upstairs to her room, she knew she would be able to go. Charlotte followed her.

They seemed way too sure about Delia letting them go, Delia couldn't lie she couldn't leave her sisters behind her again, she wants them to meet her friends.

"Thanks for the help, Del. You should send a letter to your friends immediately, informing them of your attendance." Mother advised and Delia jumped up the stairs to her room as well, taking another sheet of her off-white paper and starting another letter.

"It'd be a pleasure to attend Meg and John's wedding. I'll arrive 2 days prior to the event. I haven't been to a wedding before in my life, I'm nervous just thinking about it." Delia wrote, she didn't want to overreact in a letter but she just couldn't resist the temptation.

She was going to see Laurie again after such a long time and she was going to witness one of Meg's happiest days of her life, it all felt surreal to Delia.

She always wondered how someone could settle down with their lover, maybe one day she would have the answer to that question.

Delia had started to run low on paper for letters, she had sent so many, she couldn't even count if you wanted her to. She would write in detail about practically anything out of the ordinary that happened in her life. She even wrote to Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy about Arry. They seemed to avoid talking about him in their response letters but Delia didn't mind, at least some people didn't freak out over boys.

Just like her sisters, Delia decided to pack her things early, if she packed the last minute, she could forget something, she thought.

She packed clothes for her few days stay and took the blue shoes and placed them in her suitcase, it was gifted to her from Meg, she hoped the bride would appreciate her wearing those shoes, a symbol of friendship? And of her leave.

Laurie's necklace stayed on her at all times, she never took it off, never when she bathed, swam, slept, ate, never. She could never bring herself to, besides Delia didn't see an issue with it.

Sentimental people wore their luxury things all the time, Delia wasn't wealthy, she appreciated the little things that came with her mediocre life. Even friendship was a big deal to her.

Every friendship must be celebrated unless the friends can predict the friendship will end in shambles.

Delia couldn't predict anything for her own good, she lived in the moment, or in the past, either or. The past was scarier to visit, some memories make her feel good and some don't at all.

"Delia! We can't fit all this stuff in our suitcases!" Charlotte called for her sister.

"Coming!" And so the eldest sister ran to her younger sister's aid, who were having trouble with their tiny suitcases.

* * * * *

To be honest, when Delia asked if Arry would go with her to Concord, Massachusetts for the wedding, he was completely shocked. She caught him speechless.

"I— I... I couldn't Delia, as much as my curious mind would want me to." Arry declined politely, he had stuttered every word and to himself, he sounded like a stupid little boy.

To his demise, Delia started giggling at her friend.

"I didn't mean it, silly. You don't seem like the formal type." Delia snickered.

"Formal type, huh? Is that your type of man?" Then soon after Arry's snarky joke, Delia stomped on Arry's foot with the heel of her shoe.

"Ow! Delia, the bloody hell!" Arry took his hands and pressed his shoe, then taking his leg and hugging it tight to his chest.

"My type of man is none of your business, Arry Whitby." And then she was gone again.

A U T H O R ' S   N O T E

Every line that Delia and Arry exchange make me laugh and I don't know why. Ahhh I love em

Anyway, let me know what you guys think! You guys already know I love y'all so much!! Thank you for reading this far! <3