Karmenās betrothed had been so good at planning dates this year that when it came time for her to plan a date for them for the picnic basket auction, she of course had to go all out with aĀ feast of her favorite foods, books to read to DJ as they sat on a nice blanket, and a beautiful tandem bike as the piece de resistance. The lovely basket sheād made wasnāt the most exciting part of the day, nor was the planning and execution of her outfit and makeup that she felt particularly attractive in; it was the fact that when it came time for the bidding, DJās first bid on her basket actually gave her some butterflies, which was a very good sign for the progress theyād been making.
Then another bid came, almost comically high, and her basket was officially sold to someone else. And not just anyone else, but to Mister Carter La Bouff, the pen pal sheād been trying notĀ to have feelings for so long now. She hated that her heart could simultaneously be disappointed not to get to spend the day with the fiancĆ© she was genuinely feeling things for while also beating a mile a minute at the very idea of Carter. Adding to her confusion, DJ chose then to text and apologize for not bringing the admittedly inordinate amount of money that the La Bouffs brought to such events and to assure her that she should go and have a good time, that heād buy another basket for charity and the two of them would still get their special Valentineās Day tomorrow. DJ really was something special.
And he was right too, someone else had outbid him fair and square, and charity was what this event was about, and they would have their date tomorrow, and it was armed with all of those excuses that Karmen found her way to Carter, trying to calm herself enough to greet him.Ā āHello, Mister Carter! Fancy meeting you here. Itās really very nice to see you.ā And it was. Despite being confusing, it was undeniably nice too.
Although Big Grandaddy was always ensuring the La Bouffs had a constant stream of spending money, Carter rarely took advantage of his grandfatherās generosity. The basket auction was one of the few times that he did, and though he knew the amounts that he bid were ostentatious, he rested easy at night knowing it was for a great cause. Sometimes, he just saw a basket and knew it was right; todayās event was no occasion. Heād hardly paid attention to who else was bidding, tossing out an exorbitant amount of money that put other bidders out of the race right from the start.Ā It was only afterĀ āSoldā andĀ āKarmen Inkaā had been called out that he really processed the fact that DJ Cygnet had been the one to cast the first bid, and he blushed heavily once he did.Ā
Still... it was no surprise that none of the other baskets stood out to him the way Karmenās had. He was always feeling that tug towards her, that sense of rightness that came whenever they talked or wrote to each other. In another life, maybe... But it wasnāt another life,Ā and in this life she was engaged while he was seeing other people. At least in this life it wasnāt a crime to spend time with a friend, and he smiled warmly at her when she greeted him.Ā āItās very nice to see you too, Miss Karmen,ā he told her, wondering where her fiance had scurried off to. Was it good manners to ask if sheād rather go on this date with him? Perhaps, but he knew Karmen well enough to know that she wouldnāt, not after the amount of money his family had just donated, sort of in her name.Ā āI should have known youād be the person to put together such a nice basket.ā
