Chapter 36:
Apparently, everything could go wrong when Raxiel planned such things as parties…
Everything went completely wrong that night…
The night that their future would begin…
Hers and his… together…
It had started out to be a great morning…
Everything was the same as usual. The past two weeks, Raxiel and Gaara's older sister Temari had been working out the plans and details for the party that Raxiel said would be …"cheap"…
Altogether, it had come up to…
Gaara didn't even want to think about the cost. If he did, he knew nothing good feelings would come out of it…
Besides, Raxiel seemed so happy planning this. It had been a while since he had seen her smile so radiant as it had been the past few weeks. Even though she had been sick for a few days, that did not stop her from helping Temari out with getting the party ready.
Now the day had come…
All of those darn plans were coming together…
His house hadn't been so clean since… he didn't know when. The furniture in the family room had been rearranged so that there was enough room for people to mingle and dance. Food had been prepared for the people and was sitting out on the tables. Surprisingly enough, Raxiel had even asked a pianist from another country to come and play so they would have music. Never had he thought that this house would look so… inviting.
Raxiel was only half of the problem with money. It also occurred to Gaara that Temari was just as bad... maybe even worse than Raxiel was. Raxiel had told her that she really wanted to make it a simple party, but when Temari gave Raxiel some of her ideas, it all took off from there.
Gaara wasn't exactly mad about the whole thing though. The place looked really spectacular, thanks to the two of them. He was sure that everyone who came here would say the same.
Maybe this whole party wouldn't be so bad…
As townspeople started arriving that night, all Gaara could do was stand back in one of he corners in the family room. He was too traumatized by how many people were coming, and since he was unsocial, it made him very uncomfortable when the whole family room was packed with people.
Gaara noticed that Kankuro and Temari, on the other hand, were having a great time. It looked to him as though they were used to this whole type of scenario, as though they had done it a thousand times. He couldn't believe how much different they were compared to himself. Were they actually siblings?
But there was one thing Gaara didn't see that was upsetting him even more than the fact that all of these people were crowded into his house…
Raxiel was nowhere to be seen…
He had searched the room everywhere, but still he couldn't find her. He even searched the dining room and the kitchen, but for the whole hour that party had been going on, there was still no sigh of her.
Gaara was beginning to get concerned. Surely, she was in the house somewhere…
He was trying to picture her in a dress somewhere…
That's what he had been looking for, since everyone else was dressed up, except the waiters…
Waiters…
Once Gaara's mind quickly switched over to picture her in a waiter's outfit, he quickly spotted her. She was in a waiter's uniform, serving glasses of water to the people while making small talk. Her hair was pulled back in a bun, and she looked like a mess.
Gaara quickly walked over to her, trying not to run into anyone, which was quite difficult. Once he had made it to her, he tapped her shoulder to get her attention. As she turned around, she quickly smiled at him. "Hey, Gaara. You look nice," she said, looking at the same outfit he had worn almost two years ago when he had taken her out for dinner.
"Cut the small talk. Why are you serving water?" he snapped.
Raxiel's smile faded. "One of the waiters said they were short on people. He asked for volunteers, and I agreed to be one. Besides, serving people lets you be able to talk to people while you're giving them the glass or whatever is on your tray."
"Raxiel, you look absurd. Go upstairs and put something decent on. You're not going to be a waitress."
"Gaara -"
"That's an order."
Raxiel sighed. She knew he wasn't joking. His glare that he had fixed on her was a sign to get upstairs quickly. "I need to give someone this tray first –"
Gaara pointed towards the dining room. "Put it on the table. People can get their own water, if they have to."
"I don't have a dress –"
"Borrow one of Temari's," Gaara stated surprised at the fact that she hadn't thought about buying one for this occasion. Finally, Raxiel was obedient and went into the dining room to set the water down on the table. Gaara kept his eyes on her to make sure that she actually did go upstairs to change.
She was not going to be a waiter…
Not while he was here…
Someone pushing a glass of water into his chest soon interrupted Gaara's thoughts. "You know, I think she doesn't give herself enough credit. You ought to tell her that."
Gaara shifted his gaze towards his other side to see Kankuro standing next to him "politely" giving him the wine glass that was filled with water. "Why don't you tell her that yourself," Gaara stated. He was getting annoyed at everything. "This party shouldn't have been…" he thought with disappointment.
Kankuro smirked at him. "Oh, come on, Gaara! Lighten up. She was just trying to make the whole affair be perfect. She didn't know you were going to get all mad because she didn't look the way you wanted her to."
"Kankuro…"
With an awkward smile, Kankuro lifted his glass up as if to say "cheers." "Besides, I've got something I need to share with you…"
