Bethany's POV:
          Two weeks later, Bethany has her birthday party. She did not tell her mom that she invited Adrien to come to the party.  She wants it to be a surprise. Besides, if she told her she thinks her mom probably would have said no.

         The doorbell rings and Bethany rushes to answer it,  "I will get it."  She says.

           Bethany opens the door to see Adrien on the porch.  

            "Hi, come inside the party is just getting started,"  Bethany says.

               Adrien enters the place unsure if it was a good idea for him to be here.  He did not ask Marinette to make sure so now he wonders if he should have stayed home or not.

            Bethany closes the door after him.  She does not notice when there is a knock at the door.

               Marinette's  POV:

                  Marinette hears someone else knock after her daughter greats an adult. She goes to the door this time, but her jaw drops when she opens it. 

                    "Uh, hello?" Marinette says in surprise.

                    "Is the party for Bethany?"  The man asks.

                     "Yes, but  I have no idea who you are," Marinette replies.

                    "Go away, this is a child's party," Marinette yells at the man.

                         Marinette is about to slam the door when the man brushes past her. She can not believe this is happening.  It is her daughter's birthday and someone is about to crash it.

                     Adrien's POV:
                       Adrien hears Marinette's yells near the doorway. He exits the kitchen area to see what is the matter.  He sees the man walk towards the back room so he chases after him.

                     "Hey, you," Adrien says.

                    "Do not you when you are not invited?" Adrien asks.

                      The man takes one look at Adrien, sees how much taller he is than himself, and starts to run away.

                   Adrien picks him up and carries him to the front door, opens it, tosses him out, and shuts the door back after the person.

               "There, the trash is all taken care of for you Marinette," Adrien remarks.

                   Marinette's POV:                      

                      Marinette hears Adrien speak and smiles. She is not sure what brought him here but is glad he here just the same.  It seems he is the kind of guy to be helpful that is for sure.

                   "Adrien, thanks for taking care of that creep," Marinette says.

                   "Sure no problem, Mari," Adrien states.

                       Bethany pecks around the corner and giggles. She thinks it is cute to see how grateful her mother is right now to have Adrien around.  

                      "Bethany, do you know anything about all this?" Marinette asks.

                   Bethany's POV:

              Bethany enters the room and tries to act as if she has no idea what is going on now.

                 She smiles as she speaks up, "Mom, I just thought it would be nice to have Mr. Adrien here for my birthday party."

                  Bethany sees her mother frown as if she felt bad about not inviting him. She thinks well, that is that right.

                   Adrien's POV:         

                    "Marinette I would have told you I was coming, but Bethany led me to believe you already knew,"  Adrien explains.

                  Adrien thinks please do not be too hard on your daughter.  He is just glad to get spend time with them both. He hugs Marinette then pulls away.

                "Awe, Mom can not you see he is so good to us," Bethany says.

                 "Bethany, now it is not the time," Marinette responds.

                 "Marinette how about I help you with the party," Adrien says.

        Marinette's POV:

         "Oh, there is not anyone else coming other than my parents," Marinette says.

           Marinette thinks speaking of which why are not they here by now. She does not recall them ever being late for Bethany's party before then again they never came to their granddaughter's birthday celebrations since they lived far away.  She is glad she and Bethany are back in Paris now.

         She can tell Bethany smiles more than she did before they came here. She does hope it is because the girl gets to spend time with her grandparents, along with meeting such nice people.

         "Bethany the school year starts in 2 months," Marinette says. 

           Marinette sees Bethany scowl and laughs. "Do not scowl dear, you will be sure to make many new friends," She says.

            The doorbell rings one last time, so Marinette looks out the peephole.  She smiles as she opens the door once more.

          Marinette's mother and father enter the place. They are happy to see Adrien is here too. 

           Sabine and Tom's POV: 

             "Marinette, are there no children Bethany's age coming?"  Tom asks.

            "Your father makes a good point, you know," Sabine states.

                 Bethany beams when she sees them and hugs them at once.  "Grandma and Grandpa, you are here!"  She squeals.

              "Yes, we are our granddaughter, we would not miss this for the world," Tom replies.    

              "We are both glad to get to share your birthday with you," Sabine says.

                 Tom and Sabine wonder why Adrien is here while it appears that no other friends of Marinette's are present to celebrate with Bethany. They wonder if she finally took their advice. They can only hope so as they do wish to see her happy again. It is been far too long for her to go on moping about her dearly departed husband's death.  

              "Marinette, I see you came to your senses and asked him out," Tom blurts out.

            "I must say we approve," Sabine agrees.

          Marinette's POV:                                             

            Marinette rolls her eyes in annoyance at once. 

            "Mother, father I did nothing at all. Why I told you that Adrien and I are friends that is all," Marinette remarks.

            She can not believe her folks are under the impression she would ask a man out.  Least of all Adrien, her crush back in high school, who she moved on from when she was away in China.  Goodness, you think they shipped her with the guy or something. The whole idea is just ridiculous she thought to herself.

           "Bethany asked him to come," Marinette explains.

          "Yes, sure she did sweetie," Tom and Sabine say together.

          "She did she even told me as much herself," Marinette blurts out.

     Adrien's  POV:

     "Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, she is right, Bethany did invite me," Adrien says.

        Adrien sees the Dupain-Cheng's give Marinette a look of disapproval as if they are cross with her.  He does hope the night will not  be a disaster just because of his presence. He sure did not mean to cause any family refrets or anything.      

       "I would have left, but someone else came by uninvited and I escorted them out," Adrien explains.

        Bethany nods her head to show she approves of Mr. Adrien being here. She is so happy to see all the relatives she loves together in her home.

       "Ah, so you rescued them from the party crasher," Sabine replies.

        "It sure sounds like it dear," Tom responds.

            "I guess you could say that but..." Adrien starts to say.

     Marinette's POV:

      "Mom, Dad this is meant to be a simple dinner with you, Bethany and I to celebrate Bethany's birthday," Marinette says.

       "Since Adrien is already here he is welcome to join us as well," Marinette adds.

            Marinette sees her folks shake their heads if they think the whole idea is absurd to have Adrien stay when it does not seem like she wants him here.  She smiles over at all her guests.

          "Adrien, you will stay, will you not?" Marinette asks.

           "M-Marinette, I better go, this was a bad idea," Adrien mutters.

          "Nonsense, it is fine, I insist you stay," Marinette says.

       Adrien's POV:
        Adrien hears Marinette's personal invitation for him to remain.  He nods his head to show he is okay with the whole thing.  "Alright then, I will join you for the meal," Adrien says.

        Adrien sees Bethany smile at him, but he sees Tom and Sabine's scowl. He wonders what brought on such strange reactions from them. He always thought he was in good standing with them.  He supposes this goes to show you never can tell about people. Not even people you feel as if you have known for years.

      He takes a seat across the table from  Marinette.  He is glad her folks are seated beside Bethany with Tom to her left and Sabine to her left.  Maybe this will make things less awkward, oh he can only hope.

       Adrien sees Marinette leave the room, he watches her and sighs. He sees her return and set the plates full of food in front of them, along with silverware, napkins, and drinks.

      "Th-Thanks, M-Marinette," Adrien mutters.  He thinks I wish she would let me show I am serious about my love for her.

     Narrator's POV:

     The meal with the Dupain-Cheng's along with Adrien, Marinette, and Bethany goes by rather quickly.  The whole time Tom and Sabine seem to have their eyes in Adrien's direction like they wonder what his intentions are towards their daughter.

     After the meal, they all play a game, then after Bethany wins, she opens her gifts, gives thanks to them all, and gives them each a hug. 
      
   Everyone enjoys some cake for dessert, then Marinette's parents leave. Adrien leaves soon after this leaving Marinette and Bethany alone once more.

    Somehow, Marinette finds the place to be rather quiet and lonesome now that Bethany is tucked in for the night and fast asleep. Perhaps, she is lonely because she has not spent much time with her friends since her return from China. Maybe that is it, she thinks as she attempts to get some much-needed sleep.

       Find out more in Chapter  10

    -Summer out!