February 9, 2008

February 9, 2008
   
          Only a solemn sea of black was seen as Annabelle stepped into the church. In contrast to the ornate and colorful decorations, the sight was shocking enough to coax a small gasp out of her mouth. When her mother reached out to comfort her, Anna simple shook the usually comforting hands off. Stone-faced and staring straight ahead, she habitually moved directly to the seat where her best friend, Briget, and she always sat. 
          Briget and her family, Anna’s second family essentially, had gone to church each Sunday since their eldest son, John, was born twenty-two years ago. They wanted to have their children to have strong morals, and fully believed that church would bring out the goodness in them. Since Mr. and Mrs. Doleton, more fondly known to Anna as Mr. Chris and Ms. Cindy, weren’t extremely religious they brought all four of their children to the Unitarian Universalist Church, where the emphasis was more on spirituality than religion. It was important to the Doletons - church every Sunday and dinner there every Wednesday. 
          Family was also a huge part of their lives. John was the eldest child, and finishing up college at Columbia. His major was business, and he planned to run his own company some day. Belinda was the next oldest, and Briget’s only sister. At almost nineteen, she was slowly adjusting to the freedom of college. Last but not least was Jeremiah, Briget’s twin. He was taking the loss most harshly, since the almost-seventeen-year-olds were the kind of siblings who were really close, and told each other everything. He knew even more about her than Annabelle did, which was quite hard to fathom. 
          Aside from family and church, Briget had quite the list of extracurricular activities. This was partially due to her parents, but mainly just because Briget was the type of person who loved to be busy. Mondays alternated between piano, voice, and working in her dad’s studio. (He owned a recording studio that helped artists launch their careers.) Tuesdays were some kind of art, ranging from water colors to full sized sculptures to writing. One of her small town’s main attractions was the art studio downtown. It was geared only towards children and teenagers, and artwork from the students was scattered about the town to liven it up. 
          Wednesdays and every other Thursday were reserved for community service. Briget’s favorite place was the local food bank/soup kitchen; the most heart breaking were the veterinarian and the hospital. Sometimes Bee (Annabelle’s nickname for Briget) worked at less saddening places, such as the local theatre. The remaining Thursdays were meetings with her mother’s personal trainer. Briget was average sized, but always dreamed of dropping a couple of sizes to a two/three. 
          Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were always “free days”, but she filled them well. In a small town like hers, everyone was always invited to something. Most of the families in town were the rich stereotypical kind. While it might seem cliche, it was mainly true; even in a small town where everyone knew everyone else, there was a slum.  
          All, well most anyway, of this information was conveyed in the service. It was quite lovely, so Annabelle was told afterwards.