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December 23rd, 1987 — Salem, MA 7:12 PM, EST
Dinner at the Everett home proved to be a fancier occasion than Shelby had been expecting.
When Robbo had arrived at Shelby's room to walk with her downstairs for dinner, he was dressed in a blazer and a tie. Shelby, on the other hand, had been wearing the clothes she'd been wearing all day.
She quickly realized that she needed to change.
After ushering Robbo back out of the room, she tore open her suitcase, glad that she had remembered to pack at least one dress.
It wasn't like Shelby owned a lot of dresses in the first place.
She quickly changed into it, a pretty little blue thing that went nicely under her favorite wool sweater. She shoved her arms through the sweater and then opened the door once again, revealing the same well-dressed Robbo that she wasn't quite used to seeing yet.
Rob smiled at her. "Ready for dinner?"
"Sure." Shelby said with a smile. She wasn't quite sure what to expect. She followed the boy downstairs and into the dining room. A long, wooden table sat in the middle of the room, with Mrs. Everett seated on one end and a man, presumably Mr. Everett, seated on the other.
Robbo sat down on the side with two empty plates, so Shelby said next to him. Celia was seated across the table from them.
Anna, the Everett family's housemaid, had prepared chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner, and Shelby was extremely grateful because she was starving.
She quickly began to learn more about the dynamic of Robbo's family — his father, a lawyer, had gone to Harvard and was slightly upset that his son had not decided to do the same. Mrs. Everett spent her days planning events for different committees and watching soap operas. Celia went to an elite private high school, the same one Robbo had also attended, and she liked to cause mischief.
Besides the fancy clothing and the neater hair, Robbo didn't really seem all that different. He was still the charming, charismatic boy that Shelby saw at parties back at MIT.
"So, Shelby, Robert told us you will he working with NASA after graduation?" Mr. Everett asked as he neatly cut his piece of chicken.
"Yeah, I'll be headed down to Cape Canaveral a week after we graduate." Shelby replied with a smile. "I'm excited."
Mr. Everett returned the girl's smile. "Well, I would hope so. That's pretty impressive." He glanced over at his son, giving the boy a look. "Robert here has yet to hear back from anyone."
