A Doll of Hope

Chapter 26

About a week later, Christie was able to leave the hospital. After picking her up, Matt brought her back to Bethany's house where everyone was waiting for her.

"I'm back!" She called out. Christie was surprised that there was no answer. She formed a confused look on her face.

"Where is everyone? This is where they told us to meet them, right?"

"That's what they said." Not sure what to expect, Christie headed into the house. As soon as she walked around the corner, a bunch of lights flashed on.

"Surprise!" Everyone shouted. Christie was startled as she grabbed Matt's arm. Looking around, she saw it was just all her friends. The whole room was decorated like a party house. Christie formed a shocked look on her face when she saw a big sign in the middle of the room that said 'Welcome Home Chris!'

"What...what's all this?!" She could hardly bring herself to say between laughs.

"Dummy, it's your welcome home party." Bethany said as she walked up and put a crown on her head.

"You didn't think we'd act like today was just another boring day, did you?" RJ asked.

"When we learned you were getting out today, we thought it would be a good idea to throw a little celebration." Sandra stated.

"So we put our heads together and got this place all fixed up for your return." Greta cheered.

"Of course, the girls did most of the decorating. Us men just helped from the sidelines." Benjiro chuckled.

"So what do you think? You surprised?" Bethany asked as she spread her arms across the room. Christie smiled a big smile as she could hardly catch her breath.

"Surprised?! More like blown away! I can't believe you guys did all this! I feel like I've walked into a fun house!" She laughed.

"That's the idea! This is a fun house! And what do we do in fun houses?!" Bethany asked.

"Party all night long!" Sandra and Greta cheered. Christie let out a laugh.

"Guys! I just got out of the hospital. I can't jump up and down too much just yet." Bethany smiled.

"Don't worry. We're not going to do anything too crazy. We'll just act like we will." Christie just shook her head.

"Okay, let's get this party started!"

"Yeah!" While everyone else cheered, Christie looked at Matt.

"You knew about this didn't you?" She asked with a grin. Matt shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe, who can say for sure?" Unable to come up with anything, Christie just punched his arm.

For the next several hours, everyone sat around playing games and eating junk food. Christie couldn't help but laugh and laugh as she had so much fun just being able to party with her friends.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Sandra finally said. Everyone looked at her as she rushed into the other room. A few seconds later, she came out.

"Look what I have!" She grinned. Christie gasped.

"Maria?!" She cheered as she took her from Sandra's hands and squeezed her tightly.

"Oh Maria. I'm so glad to see you. You look as good as new." She said as she looked at her shiny new fur coat." Sandra smiled proudly.

"That's because she pretty much is. All it took was a needle and thread with some fresh new fur. Oh! And I made a little something extra." Christie formed a confused look on her face.