Chapter 4: SURPRISE pt. 2

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8:15 PM
Amaryllis Restaurant

The room was beautifully lit with low hanging domed lights and several small sconces lined the walls around the elegant dining hall, each one holding a small candle that cast its eerie glow around the room. The table was a large, oval, oak wood with a polished finish that made it gleam. Sitting across the table from her guest, she relaxed and listened to Emma chat with Seiya. The encounter in the foyer of the restaurant left her a little unsettled. Something seemed a bit off but she couldn't place her finger on it and she tried to work it through her brain while she waited for the rest of the party to arrive. She was beyond annoyed that Amy and Mina were late, as always. It shouldnt really surprise her, as its basically their MO but they knew how important this night was to her so it stung that they couldnt even arrive on time.

"So. Seiya Kou" Emma chirped "The one and only. Greatest male singer on the planet. You're a huge success, like, everywhere! Hundreds of thousands of fans, international fame. Basically the works. Basically like god" she laughed

Seiya laughed, the sound washing over both women like hot liquid. "It's been a while since I've recorded anything. I focus on different things now a day. Although, from time to time I do find myself sitting down and jotting notes onto paper for songs." He smiled wide, his easy manner and overall content demeanor made it a little less stressful to be around someone so famous.

"What exactly do you do now, Mr. Kou?" Lita questioned, breaking into the conversation and narrowing her eyes, pinning him with a strong look.

He stared back at her, still smiling. "Seiya, please. Mr. Kou was my father. I represent several small businesses, and a few larger ones. We buy, break down, and sell companies piece by piece. We are also an investment firm, with several multi-million dollar companies under our wing." he supplied, his gaze sharp, unswerving as he answered her question "My family also owns several oil platforms across the sea's. I dabble in a bit of everything." he shrugged, laughing a bit.

"So then we will cut to the chase. Are you interested in buying my restaurant?" she met him, gaze for gaze. "because it is NOT for sale." she said, standing her ground.

"No, Lita." he said, eyes flashing "I am here at the request of an associate. Any other questions you have about this visit will have to wait until that person arrives." he said, evasively "however, if there are any other questions that you have for me, not related to the particulars of this visit, I will be happy to answer them to the best of my ability"

Several moments passed in silence. Admitting defeat, for now, Lita smiled at Seiya and nodded her head. "Very well. It just seems weird. This establishment hasn't been open long so forgive me if I seem standoff-ish, this restaurant is my baby and Ive worked hard to build it up to where it is now.

"I understand." he said "It's not a problem at all and I am glad that you can be so open about it. Not many people speak their minds these days and everyone seems to think its better to just bite their tongues. I'd rather have honesty than passiveness."

"You and I can both agree on that one."

"Seiya " Emma asked, grabbing his attention "Can I get you anything to drink? Anything to eat?"

"Just a water for now." he said as Emma nodded and turned to Lita

Lita shook her head "I'm fine, thank you."

Emma nodded happily, before turning to leave, her stiletto's clicking softly on the wooden floors. Lita glanced at her watch just as a familiar sing song voice echoed into the room, catching the attention of both Seiya and herself, who looked in the direction of the voice. Once again she thought she saw a brief glimpse of recognition in his eyes.

"Did we miss anything? Sorry we're a tad bit late " Mina said apologetically, her arm wrapped happily around Amy's as they stood in the entry way to the dining hall. "Blame Amy, she couldnt decide what to do with her hair, even though its short and not much to work with" she nudged her best friend in the side playfully.

"Oh please Mina, you were the one who got into a fight with the clerk at the dress shop! I had to drag you away by your hair, practically" she defended herself "I mean, honestly, who fights with someone over nail-polish? And you're not even wearing any now"

"Shut up. That lady was rude. Red nail polish would have looked awesome with this outfit. She said red was for whores! Red is not for whores. Red is the color of passion. That lady was an idiot" she huffed, crossing her arms like a 4 year old would do in a tantrum.

"I'm pretty sure you started it" Amy said under her breath "So, what do you guys think?" she said, doing a twirl to show off her dress while grabbing Mina's hand at the same time for a twin twirl.

Mina wore an elegant two-piece suit. Her top was a wonderful ivory colored tank top that she accentuated with an ivory colored, sheer lace shawl. Her shirt was tucked neatly into her high waist slacks that emphasized her impossibly tiny waist and voluptuous hips. On her feet she wore black, pointed toe stiletto's that peeked out from under the hem of her pants. Her long blond hair was left to fall down her back, and she wore light make-up. She had the largest smile plastered on her face, clearly happy and in a good mood.

By her side stood Amy, dressed in a seductive dark blue cocktail dress. It had no straps and hugged her breasts tightly. Like Lita's it too stopped just before the knee. She wore her blue hair curly, with a few strands pinned back to emphasize her bone structure. On her feet, she wore simple black stilettos with lace black straps that wound around the ankle. Both women were to die for. They both stood there, looking the very epitome of fashion. And both girls eyed Seiya curiously.

"Mina. Amy." Lita caught their attention "I'm glad you two made it. Have a seat, would either of you like anything to drink?" she asked, as both girls took a seat on opposite sides of her. Now, she didn't feel so awkward. She had reinforcement, and her girls looked flawless.

"I would" Mina chirped, turning towards the young girl who had entered the room "I'd like a Shirley Temple, clean, please." she said, smiling at the young girl who nodded and turned to Amy.

"I'll have the same. Thank you" Amy said, inwardly smiling at the fact that her and Mina had the same guilty pleasure drink in common. Turning back to face Seiya, who still sat across the table from the three of them.

"I recognize you. You're Seiya Kou. " Amy remarked, staring at him with wide eyed curiosity "Wow, you're here! This is awesome. Wait, why are you here? Are you buying Lita's restaurant? But what would that have to do with us?" she turned to Lita "so, why would we need to be here? You practically threatened murder if we didnt show"

"Amy I swear you have the attention span of a goldfish. How about you let him answer one question before you bombard him with another?" Lita quipped sarcastically.

"Yes, I'm Seiya" he said with a laugh "and I am not here to buy the restaurant. I'm just waiting for the last of our guests to arrive" he finished, watching as the young waitress wandered over to Lita and spoke quietly into her ear.

"Are you still the collaborative designer for Harpy?" Amy questioned after taking a quick sip of her drink "I absolutely love that clothing line. Those designs are amazing!"

"I am. For the last few years that has been my main venture. 90% of my time is dedicated towards the creative team. It's a time-consuming process, obviously, but I enjoy the day to day grind." he shrugged.

"Harpy?" Mina questioned "you mean, that clothing line in London that like, EVERY fashion icon is trying to get their hands on? I mean, everyone is trying to get an endorsement with them. That company keeps putting out one amazing trend after the other. Their untouchable in the fashion world." Mina looked at Seiya, a bit cross eyed "And YOU work with the creative team?"

Seiya nodded "I'm also the collaborative director for the shows. The one thing I dont like doing is working with some of the models. Not to sound like an ass, but those girls are way to catty, needy, and rude for my taste. I'd much rather direct the shows instead of handling the behind the scenes stuff."

"Man, I cant even imagine what that must be like. I know women can be catty, but to deal with so many in such a stressful and high energy environment? Man, I'd kick some ass and I'm not even a violent person." Amy said "but seriously, crazy hair and makeup. Impossible cat walks. I mean, the girls are so done up that you can't recognize who they are. No one even knows what the designer herself looks like. She always takes to the runway at the end of every show, but she's like a phantom. She's there, you just don't know who she is because her makeup is so extravagant." Amy said, daydreaming.

Seiya chuckled lightly and nodded. "Rena is a force unto herself. She is a creative genius. She's compassionate, loyal and hard working. Everything she has done, she's done by working hard for it. None of this was handed to her. Harpy is her life." he said, admiration thick in his voice. "she chased her dream with everything she had in her and when all her hardwork payed off it was an absolutely beautiful moment to watch her take everything in. So much had happened around her and coming to terms with it and letting everything sink in, well...I think her brain must have short circuited for a breif moment in time" he laughed loudly, his joy infectious to the girls listening raptly to his story.

"That's how Lita is." Mina said, looking at her brunette friend with love. "She worked so hard to get through Culinary school. She graduated with top honors. But it wasn't easy getting this place started up and running and all. But she wanted this, it was her dream. And her happiness meant the world to us, so we helped in any way we could. We all gave our blood, sweat, and tears for this place and seeing it all come together, man, I'm sure we all short circuited a bit too."

"Thank you Mina" Lita said quietly, a bit teary eyed. "I wouldn't have been able to do it if it wasn't for the support of you and Amy." she said, placing her hand on top of Mina's "Long nights, barely any sleep, and a whole lot of crankiness managed to get us all through that. But man, I did enjoy using you two as my guinea pigs. It was great."

Mina grumped "I dont know...I dont really like being poisoned by food. I like food, a lot, but when I start to question whether I should eat it because it once made me vomit for 3 days when my culinary genius made it for me..."

"It wasnt that bad! It was a handful of times!" she defended herself "it cant be perfect all the time"

"Lita, it was cupcakes for Christs sake. Cupcakes. Really yummy, beautiful cupcakes" Mina shot back "How does someone mess up something as basic as cupcakes?"

"Whatever" Lita murmured to herself.

"ANYWHO" Amy said "you know, every weekend, Lita opens this place up as a soup kitchen. Everyone can come and have a nice hot meal for free. She's generous and charitable, giving back to her community." she said, glancing at Seiya.

"But then...it's not really a surprise is it? She always been a generous person" came a new voice, one that hadn't been heard in over four years. "She has always been that way. She helps in any way she can, for the people who need it."

Four heads turned in the direction of the newcomer's voice. A small gasp rang out.

"Serena..." Lita gasped, eyes wide. "It can't be... You're... You're here!"

"Serena..." Mina whispered, her green eyes full of sadness and longing.

"My god..." Amy choked, her eyes teary.

Seiya simply stared at the young beauty that was standing before the group. Finally. I was beginning to think she knew I was coming and ran. Again.

There she stood in ethereal wonder. Their best friend who'd been gone for four years wearing a dark red halter cocktail dress that hugged her body from breasts, all the way down to mid-calf, where it stopped and was accentuated by a sweeping ruffled hemline. It hugged her body like a second skin and had a daringly low plunging back, stopping just below the waist, that exposed adorable back dimples. Her hair was no longer held up by two mustard colored pigtails. No, she'd let her natural color grow out. Long, platinum colored strands cascaded down her back and around her shoulders, in gentle waves. Her skin was flawless and glowing, and she wore stiletto's the same crimson shade of red as her dress. She looked like divinity evolved. A queen to worship.

This was the beginning of a new life. For all of them. Serena had returned, just as she promised.

The room was blanketed in silence as Mina, Amy and Lita all stared at their beloved friend, their sister.

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The time is now. I can do this. I'm home, finally home