Since Gabriella’s family was in town, the long white banquet table was set-up to accommodate the larger crowd for Monday night’s Pack leadership dinner in the dining hall. On another table aside the wall, hooded stainless steel serving trays steamed out a tantalizing aroma, promising a delicious buffet of food.
Gabriella had only attended the Monday dinner the one time in the month she had been here, so a clinging awkwardness attached itself to her immediately upon entering the room. Seeing familiar faces, like Anne, helped; her family being there helped, but she hadn’t ever spent much time with Blaez’s parents before. They seemed like nice people, always smiling, their blithe demeanors naturally enveloping anyone they spoke to into intangible embraces. Instantly, they drew to Ga
