𝒮𝓃ℴ𝓌 ℴ𝓃 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝒷ℯ𝒶𝒸𝒽－ ᶜᵒⁿʳᵃᵈ ᶠⁱˢʰᵉʳ.

𝓈𝒽ℴ𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝓇𝒾𝓅¹¹

Belly returned to the beach house and made her way to the kitchen, where she found Laurel and Steven engaged in a lively conversation. Laurel offered her a bowl of cereal, and Belly took a seat at the table as Florence and Conrad entered the room, still laughing about something.

"Do we really have to physically sit for our portraits? Can't she just, like, look at a picture on her phone or something?" Jeremiah whines from the living room, where he sat in a pose behind the easel while Susannah painted him.

"She needs to see you in the flesh in order to capture your essence. While you're still young and full of hope. Her words," Laurel jokes as her and Jeremiah laugh. Florence takes a seat beside Belly in the kitchen while Conrad goes to plop down on the couch beside his mom in the living room, still suffering from the hangover, although it had gone down because of the aspirin Florence had given him last night.

"Well, Conrad does not have hope, actually," Jeremiah teases his brother as he gets up from his spot and walks into the kitchen to pour something from the blender and into a glass before heading towards Conrad again, "He's hopeless, but my hangover smoothie... it cures all."

"You haven't painted us since we were kids, Sue. Why all of a sudden now?" Florence asks, her curious eyes fixed on Susannah, who turns to face the redhead with a smile. The room is filled with the lingering scent of paint and the soft sound of brushes being placed down.

Susannah hesitates for a moment, her gaze shifting as she contemplates her answer. Finally, she responds with a soft smile, "It's just... I think it'd be nice to have these portraits for when you're older. To capture this moment, this phase of your lives."

Steven, always one to inject humor into any conversation, chimes in, "when I'm older, I'm sure there'll be, like, like, holograms or something I can watch of myself, you know?" His comment elicits an eye roll from both Belly and Florence.

Susannah chuckles and playfully brushes off Steven's remark, turning her attention back to the topic at hand, "just sit for your portraits. I don't see Conrad complaining," she says, a hint of mischief in her voice.

Jeremiah, who has been observing the exchange, adds his own humorous comment, "he'll complain when he's conscious and it's his turn to sit in a chair for hours."

Conrad, hearing his name being mentioned, rises from his spot, reaching for the glass containing Jeremiah's famous hangover-smoothie.

As Jeremiah and Steven bid their goodbyes and rush out of the house to attend their work at the country club, Susannah puts away her painting supplies and joins the others in the kitchen, checking through a stack of papers. Her eyes landed on a specific one as a grin spread across her face.

"Oh, my God! Belly is gonna be a debutante!" Susannah exclaims, unable to contain her delight. The announcement catches Laurel's attention, prompting her to inquire her daughter, "You said yes?"

Belly, feeling a mix of nervousness and excitement, nods in response.

Susannah's joy is infectious as she begins listing the upcoming events, unable to contain her enthusiasm, "just you wait. There is, uh... there's the tea, the auction, the ball, of course, the rehearsal. I got to write this down. Oh, we need to go shopping!" her excitement fills the room, permeating the air.

However, Laurel's hesitant voice breaks through the excitement, "this sounds... expensive."

Florence, sharing Laurel's concern, nods in agreement. While she had already agreed for Susannah's sake, the financial implications still weighed on her mind.

Susannah quickly reassures them both, her voice laced with determination, "oh, don't worry, Laur. It's on me. It was my idea, after all. I'll take care of it for both our girls. And we still need to style you for your book party, so..." she trails off, already noting down the additional shopping errands.