Chapter 4:
The atmosphere was a lighthearted one, and Maria smiled at the good result of the hard work she'd put in. The gathering was a small one and she liked it better that way. It was her mom's anniversary party and the only people that needed to be there was immediate family. There were a couple of Amy and Jim's local friends, Kyle, Liz, and Sean. It was great, seeing them all again. She hadn't laughed so much in a long time, maybe because there was no one to laugh with. She went by the desert table and looked at Liz.
"Hungry? We have a variety of foods available for your consumption. There's the extremely unhealthy section especially made for people like Kyle, or people who need to gain a ton of fat and cholesterol. Then there's the all veggie section, made for those picky eaters who don't particularly mind the green stuff. And then there's the snack bar, made for those expert snackers who know just what size sandwich and how many chips to eat without spoiling their dinner." Maria smiled at Liz and she couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh shut up!" Liz put her head down and smiled at Maria's silliness. The party was all ready, and her mom and Jim were expected to arrive any time soon. It seems they suspected nothing, but it wasn't sure yet. And Maria was flipping out at Kyle's absence. Just as the door opened, Maria hushed the crowd, and then waited expectantly for the surprise looks.
"I'm sorry I'm late!" Kyle came rushing in, a huge gift in hand, and his blue eyes looking into Maria's apologetically.
"You dork! Great, you messed up the whole surprise! Now we need to do a second surprise which will never come out as good as the first!" Maria began to go on when Liz heard a car drive up. She listened intently and realized they were home.
"They're here! Hurry, get in place!" Maria looked up and ran to the backyard. Kyle threw the present on the table and turned off the lights. The door slowly opened and the excited vibes filled the room.
"1... 2... 3!" Kyle whispered and everyone yelled unanimously.
"SURPRISE!" Liz laughed feeling like a small child again. Kyle laughed and hugged her.
"Hey Lizzie! What's up?"
"Nothing much! What about you? Mr. Big Shot football star." Kyle rolled his eyes flattered.
"Oh I try..." They laughed and made their way to the back yard. Maria stood out with a small karaoke machine she'd brought and sang for her surprised parents. Amy and Jim smiled in surprise and hugged and thanked all their guests.
"Your love is better than ice cream, better than anything else that I've tried / Your love is better than ice cream, everyone here knows how to fly / It's a long way down, it's a long way down... it's a long way down to the place where we started from."
The mood was festive and Liz smiled and laughed for the first time in years. Maria looked at her friends and the party and knew this had been a good idea. When she finished singing she hugged Amy and Jim and wished them a happy anniversary. They smiled and hugged her and thanked her endlessly for planning this from Nevada. Then they saw Liz. Jim walked over to her first and looked at her sadly. She had been smiling and her smile slowly faded as she saw his statement.
"Don't say it Sheriff..."
"I'm not the sheriff Liz. And you're not sixteen. You can call me Jim." Liz smiled shyly and hugged him.
"Happy Anniversary... Mr. Valenti." He laughed at Liz's manners and thanked her.
"So how have you been doing? You ok? Kinda far out there without any friends."
"It's not too bad." Liz put her head down and looked up shyly at the Jim.
"Why don't you consider moving in with Maria. Or coming back to Roswell, for good."
"I just..." Before she could finish her sentence Amy walked over to her and hugged her tightly.
"LIZ! Sweetie, it's so great to see you, and for my anniversary! Oh! It's been too long! And to think, I didn't even expect for you to come! This is so weird..." Before she could finish her sentence, Maria walked over and interrupted her sentence.
"Hey, how's the party? Oh, Liz, Kyle wants you to go over there." Liz politely excused herself and walked over to Kyle who was 'munching' on everything. Maria looked at her mom and shook her head in disapproval.
"She just got here Mom. If you tell her, she'll go straight back home. Let's just give her some time. Then, we'll break it on her. Let me see if I can make her stay a couple of days longer. Ok?" Amy nodded in agreement and she and Jim walked away as Maria looked around hoping no one had heard.
The atmosphere was a lighthearted one, and Maria smiled at the good result of the hard work she'd put in. The gathering was a small one and she liked it better that way. It was her mom's anniversary party and the only people that needed to be there was immediate family. There were a couple of Amy and Jim's local friends, Kyle, Liz, and Sean. It was great, seeing them all again. She hadn't laughed so much in a long time, maybe because there was no one to laugh with. She went by the desert table and looked at Liz.
"Hungry? We have a variety of foods available for your consumption. There's the extremely unhealthy section especially made for people like Kyle, or people who need to gain a ton of fat and cholesterol. Then there's the all veggie section, made for those picky eaters who don't particularly mind the green stuff. And then there's the snack bar, made for those expert snackers who know just what size sandwich and how many chips to eat without spoiling their dinner." Maria smiled at Liz and she couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh shut up!" Liz put her head down and smiled at Maria's silliness. The party was all ready, and her mom and Jim were expected to arrive any time soon. It seems they suspected nothing, but it wasn't sure yet. And Maria was flipping out at Kyle's absence. Just as the door opened, Maria hushed the crowd, and then waited expectantly for the surprise looks.
"I'm sorry I'm late!" Kyle came rushing in, a huge gift in hand, and his blue eyes looking into Maria's apologetically.
"You dork! Great, you messed up the whole surprise! Now we need to do a second surprise which will never come out as good as the first!" Maria began to go on when Liz heard a car drive up. She listened intently and realized they were home.
"They're here! Hurry, get in place!" Maria looked up and ran to the backyard. Kyle threw the present on the table and turned off the lights. The door slowly opened and the excited vibes filled the room.
"1... 2... 3!" Kyle whispered and everyone yelled unanimously.
"SURPRISE!" Liz laughed feeling like a small child again. Kyle laughed and hugged her.
"Hey Lizzie! What's up?"
"Nothing much! What about you? Mr. Big Shot football star." Kyle rolled his eyes flattered.
"Oh I try..." They laughed and made their way to the back yard. Maria stood out with a small karaoke machine she'd brought and sang for her surprised parents. Amy and Jim smiled in surprise and hugged and thanked all their guests.
"Your love is better than ice cream, better than anything else that I've tried / Your love is better than ice cream, everyone here knows how to fly / It's a long way down, it's a long way down... it's a long way down to the place where we started from."
The mood was festive and Liz smiled and laughed for the first time in years. Maria looked at her friends and the party and knew this had been a good idea. When she finished singing she hugged Amy and Jim and wished them a happy anniversary. They smiled and hugged her and thanked her endlessly for planning this from Nevada. Then they saw Liz. Jim walked over to her first and looked at her sadly. She had been smiling and her smile slowly faded as she saw his statement.
"Don't say it Sheriff..."
"I'm not the sheriff Liz. And you're not sixteen. You can call me Jim." Liz smiled shyly and hugged him.
"Happy Anniversary... Mr. Valenti." He laughed at Liz's manners and thanked her.
"So how have you been doing? You ok? Kinda far out there without any friends."
"It's not too bad." Liz put her head down and looked up shyly at the Jim.
"Why don't you consider moving in with Maria. Or coming back to Roswell, for good."
"I just..." Before she could finish her sentence Amy walked over to her and hugged her tightly.
"LIZ! Sweetie, it's so great to see you, and for my anniversary! Oh! It's been too long! And to think, I didn't even expect for you to come! This is so weird..." Before she could finish her sentence, Maria walked over and interrupted her sentence.
"Hey, how's the party? Oh, Liz, Kyle wants you to go over there." Liz politely excused herself and walked over to Kyle who was 'munching' on everything. Maria looked at her mom and shook her head in disapproval.
"She just got here Mom. If you tell her, she'll go straight back home. Let's just give her some time. Then, we'll break it on her. Let me see if I can make her stay a couple of days longer. Ok?" Amy nodded in agreement and she and Jim walked away as Maria looked around hoping no one had heard.