Later that evening, at 6:00, the Franklin family headed over to the Hughes residents for dinner. Deidre got out of the car with her father, while Huck stayed behind in the car, napping in the back.
Deidre was born in Rockwell, and lived there with her father until she was three, when Henry Franklin, who was at the time a Air Force pilot at the time, had to be stationed in South Korea. Deidre couldn't go to South Korea though, so she had to stay with her uncle Herman in Oak Wood, Maine. In 1952, Henry retired the Air Force heart broken when his best friend, Hogarth Hughes sr. (who was the husband of Annie Hughes, which they were going to visit.), was killed in the Koran war. There they lived in Oakwood until recently, when they decided to move back to Rockwell.
Deidre and her father walked toward the house. It was two story and big, yet looks humble and cozy like their house.
"Deidre, I know that you met Mrs. Hughes and her son Hogarth before, don't you remember? Mrs. Hughes would babysit you and as toddlers you and Hogarth played together."
Deidre couldn't remember that at all. "Not quite at all, dad."
"Well, of course you were very young then. I was great friends with Mrs. Hughes late husband growing up, basically my whole life. We were even in the Air Force together.
That's sounds cool, but of course I'll always remember you a an astronomer."
"Oh, honey." Mr. Franklin pulled his daughter close to her and playfully nuzzled his hair, making Deidre laugh.
"Dad, cut it out! Your messing up my hair."
They had made it to the door and Mr. Franklin ringed the door bell and waited for a answer. A second later the door opened and a young woman with aburn hair and green eyes smiled warmly at them.
"Henry! Deidre! Welcome back to Rockwell! I'm so glad to see you all after so many years." Annie looked down at Deidre and smiled. "You've grown up to be a beautiful girl, Deidre. I sure your mother would be proud."
"Thank you, Mrs. Hughes", Deidre said politely.
"Well, come on in, I've made dinner for both of you."
"Don't have to tell us twice!", Mr Franklin chuckled and him and Deidre entered the house.
Deidre then saw a young man with black hair and a slender build. He greeted Deidre, her father, and shook Deidre's hand
"Hello there, young lady! You must be Deidre. It's nice to meet you. You, too Henry."
"Hi, nice to meet you, too." Dean and Mr. Franklin shook hands. While they talked, Deidre sat on the couch and studied the living room, feeling awkward.
Meanwhile, Hogarth was on the stair case, hearing the Franklins arriving and them greeting and talking to one another. He did heard Deidre's voice and knew she was there, but she was being silent. A small part of him wanted to stay upstairs for the rest of the night, but the huge majority of him wanted to see Deidre. To be near her Hogarth decided to follow his urge and go downstairs. He just hopes that he doesn't embarrass himself infront of Deidre and her father.
"Alright, I guess I should go over there now", Hogarth said to himself. He took a deep breath and quietly went down the stairs into the living room. There he saw his mom, Dean, and Mr. Franklin having a conversation, laughing like old friends. Then he spotted Deidre, quiet, sitting on the couch with her hands folded on her lap, facing towards the floor.
Almost instantly, Hogarth's stomach stared to flutter and that warm, tingly feeling flooded into him once again. He wanted to get c
Annie spotted her son walk into the room.
"Hey, Hogarth! I see you've come down. Come and see Mr. Franklin and Deidre."
"Alright, sure, mom," Hogarth said timidly. He went over to shake Mr. Franklin's hand.
"Hi, Mr. Franklin. Do you remember me?"
"Why, of course. I known you as a toddler. You've grown up to be a handsome young man."
"Thank you, sir. So, how is your work as astronomer?"
"It's more than great, getting to study all the objects and wonders in our night sky, you could discover anything at anytime."
Hogarth half listened to Mr. Franklin, sneaking a glance at Deidre every couple of seconds. Deidre looked up to see a boy her age listening to her father. He had auburn hair and blue eyes, and wore a scarlet jacket with a black open collar and lower half over a blue Turtleneck shirt, with rolled up blue jeans and red sneakers. This must be Hogarth, Mrs. Hughes son.
"He seems like a good kid, though I don't remember him form my past", she said to himself. What she noticed, though, was that Hogarth would glance at her bashfully for a few seconds then quickly turn back towards Deidre's father. did this several times within a minute. Deidre even swore that he could see the boy blush.
"Maybe he might like me", Deidre thought to herself. She never imagined a boy would like her, due to the fact that she acts a little different from most girls. But she quickly pushed that assumption aside.
"Alright you all, Dinner time", Annie called out and everyone headed towards the table.