Part 2 - Chapter 35: Celia's Blessing Gala

Conor paced the banquet hall, his nerves getting the better of him. suddenly a small form darted from the entrance and wrapped around his leg.

“Mr. Conor!!”

“Hannah? What are you doing here?” Conor asked, bewildered, looking around for a parent. Instead, he spotted her older brother dressed up and looking sharp in a formal suit. Her parents waited patiently at the side. Conor looked back at Hannah and saw that she too was dressed in a black dress. Such clothes were far outside their price range, Conor knew.

“Eibhlin helped me get this!” Hannah said excitedly, pointing to her dress.

“Eibhlin, hu? Well I am glad you could make it then. Do you have a table?”

Hannah beamed as she pointed to a long table along the far wall that was starting to fill with kids and their parents.

Conor stared in amazement as he began to recognize many of the kids from the community center. Everyone was staring around wide-eyed as if this was the most impressive thing they had ever been to. Conor wondere