Melody's Muse ✓

18. Schubert - Waltz No. 6 in b minor, Op. 18.

It's bizarre seeing him like this. Sort of...fragile and hesitant. Someone who looks like they need reassurance that everything is going to be ok. It's a stark contrast to the usual Cole I've gotten used to. It gives me an uneasy feeling in my stomach, an even worse one than just a moment ago.

"Alright," I say, "but we have to go over some conversation topics and questions that are off limits."

-----

Mr. Carter and I step into the elegant, fine-dining restaurant. As much as it bothers me, a sense of normalcy sinks in. Most of the restaurants I go to back home are like these. The dim candlelight, white tablecloths, classy décor, and polished silverware with multiple forks and spoons at each seating. Once you've been to one, you've been to them all.

The host is a bubbly young girl with jet black hair and dark brown eyes. "Flynn for six thirty?" I ask when I approach the podium.

"Perfect, the rest of the party just sat down!" She leads me into the dining room.

Mr. Carter gets himself a table near the side of the restaurant. "Good luck Ms. Aria," he whispers and gives me a gentle pat on the shoulder. "If they're anything like Cole, you're going to need it."

I roll my eyes and laugh - feeling the anxious knot in my stomach untwist. I don't know how I managed to function during the four years between losing dad and mom hiring Mr. Carter.

I quickly catch up to the host. Cole's family is seated at the corner of the restaurant right by a large grand piano. There's a man dressed in a suit playing some popular classical songs. He's currently playing Moonlight Sonata. 

"Hey Mel!" Cole quickly stands up to pull my chair out. He touches my lower back and mumbles quietly into my ear, "thanks a lot for coming."

He's wearing a light blue dress shirt tucked into black slacks and his hair is styled. He clearly looks uncomfortable, even in semi formal clothing. After years of long fancy gowns, semi formal is a breeze for me. The air against my bare legs in a short dress feels so liberating compared to the feeling of drowning in silk and lace.

"Hi! I'm Trisha." The girl sitting to my right almost immediately extends her hand to shake mine once I've sat down. She gives me a very tight and enthusiastic handshake. Her expression looks strange, sort of like the way someone looks when they're trying to suppress a cough. I feel slightly guilty, I presume she's holding in tons of things she wants to say. The corners of her lips keep pulling upwards as she tries to stop an exuberant smile from spreading across her face.

Her resemblance to Cole is uncanny. Slightly wavy brown hair, olive skin, and stunning blue eyes. "Nice to meet you, I'm Melody."

"I know," she squeaks in a tiny, high pitched voice, barely concealing her excitement.

"Calm down Trish," Cole says sternly.

"It's nice to meet you Melody, I'm Charlotte." Cole's mom gives me a friendly grin. She's wearing a black dress with a white blazer on top, her brown hair is perfectly smooth and shiny, and her makeup looks skillfully applied.

"I'm Jim," Cole's dad says. He's dressed just as sharply as her; a grey sports jacket with a white dress shirt underneath. Unlike the three of them, he has dark brown, nearly black, hair and chestnut brown eyes.

I'm starting to understand where Cole got his looks from. His parents look like they stepped straight out of a fashion magazine - it's almost intimidating how perfect they look. I'm sure they were even more attractive when they were my age.

"I'm Isabelle." The girl sitting diagonally across from me gives me a cheerful wave. She looks just like Cole's dad.

I politely greet them and settle into my seat. I place the dark ruby cloth napkin on my lap and take a sip of water. "So what's the occasion tonight?" I ask curiously. Cole still hasn't told me. I couldn't tell whether he actually didn't know what was happening, or he just didn't want to tell me. I assume the latter.