Jen: I’m meeting with someone tomorrow. Can you video chat with them Sunday night?
Duncan: No problem. Get me their Skype name and let me know what time. Anyone I know?
Jen: It’s a surprise! ;) I’ll let you know.
Taken aback, Duncan looked down at his phone. A surprise? What was Jen up to?
The next day was Saturday. At a quarter to two, Aurora walked into the local coffee shop, Beans, on Beth Street. She shook off the chill. Riverton had fickle weather at best, but especially in March. Aurora had grown up and lived in this city next to the Ohio River her whole life, so she was used to it. Hot chocolate would hit the spot. She scanned the ebony tables while she waited for her drink. There, in the corner, was her classmate. Jen looked exactly as Aurora remembered. She was thin with chocolate brown hair, piercing blue eyes, and a dainty, pointed face. As Aurora grabbed her hot drink from the barista, Jen peered up from her phone.
“Roar! It’s so good to see you!” Using Aurora’s old choir nickname, Jen charged in for a hug.
“Hi there, Jen. You haven’t aged a day.” Aurora stiffened and patted her on the back.
“Oh, please, I have wrinkles.”
“Maybe from the dryer.” Aurora scoffed as they walked back to Jen’s table and sat down.
“I should have known Katie was yours; she looks so much like you.”
“Thank you. She’s the light of my life.”
“What are you up to these days?” Jen’s eyes probed over her coffee cup.
“I work at The Women’s Clinic downtown.”
“Really? I thought you were going to go to law school, not medical school.”
Aurora’s mouth dropped open. “You remember that? No, law school didn’t happen. I ended up with a Master’s in Health Administration. I’m their finance director.”
“Awesome! How long have you worked there?”
“About ten years now. I started as a biller.” Aurora tested her hot chocolate and set the cup down immediately. She’d almost burned her tongue. “How long have you been teaching at our dear alma mater?”
“It’ll be five years this year. I was teaching in Riverton City Public before that. I was so happy to come home.”
Jen set her cup down and pulled out a binder. “Let’s get down to business. I’m sure you’re very busy. What did Katie tell you about the gala?”
“She mentioned something about a red carpet and paparazzi, but not much else.”
“Okay.” Jen pulled a paper packet out of her binder and passed it to Aurora. “This is what we have so far. We booked a ballroom at the Four Winds Hotel downtown for the seventeenth of June. That’s a Saturday.”
Aurora nodded as she paged through the information.
“The theme is Red Carpet Reunion. It’s a full black-tie affair—dinner, dancing, the works!” Jen was squealing. “What I need help with is decorations. The person I have working on decor lives in California and can’t make it out here very often, so you wouldn’t be working alone.”
That would mean less of a time commitment than Aurora had feared. The knots in her shoulders started to loosen.
“The room block information is in there, but it’s totally up to you if you stay overnight. We’re discussing staying the night before, so we can decorate the ballroom, if they’ll let us in.”
A couple of nights in a hotel room sounded lovely. She could arrange for Katie to stay at a friend’s. Overall, this sounded like a good time. Maybe Katie was right, and this would be fun.
“When are the meetings?” Aurora asked.
“The third Thursday of every month, at seven in the meeting room at the library. The next one is in a week and a half.” Jen looked hopeful. “Is that a yes?”
“Yeah, I’ll do it.” For Katie. Aurora tucked the papers into her purse.
Jen clapped her hands with a smirk.“Great! I’ll set up a video conference with your partner for tomorrow.”
