#9. The Party, Part II

#9. The Party, Part II

“Yes, m’lady?” Derek replied to Susan.

“I’ll have what he’s having,” she said, glancing over at Patrick.

“Right away, miss,” Derek replied.

“And I’ll buy the gentleman’s drink,” she said, smiling.

“Very well. Let me just scribble this down – yes, here’s your bill, miss,” Derek said, holding up an imaginary slip of paper.

“Put it on my tab, will you?” Susan replied.

“Of course,” Derek said, and handed her the reddened glass. “I daresay your word is as perfect as the face God gave you.”

Susan smiled brighter. “You schmoozer.”

“I’ll not deny it.”

Patrick cleared his throat. “Hi there,” he said.

“Hey. Didn’t know if you’d be coming,” Susan replied.

“I wasn’t sure either, today,” Patrick said. As his heart beat faster, fueled by the perfume filling his lungs, he was determined to say something about his wife immediately. “April’s sick. I was going to stay home with her, but she said she’s feeling better and told me I should come.”

“Oh,” Susan cooed. “That’s too bad she couldn’t make it. Sweet of you to want to take care of her.”

Patrick puffed up. “Well, I try.”

“Hey,” Susan said, excitedly. “You have to check out the deck.”

“Do what she says,” Derek said. He spread his arms. “Enjoy my sanctuary.”

Susan started away from the bar and Patrick followed, hearing Derek shout from behind him, “Bar’s open, folks!”

Patrick glanced down at the drink he was holding. “That was all joking about the tab, right?” he asked over the music, which was increasingly loud as they approached the back of the house. “I mean, does Derek want to get reimbursed at all?”

“I sure hope we were joking,” Susan replied, looking back as she led. “But party tips help well enough, I’m sure.”

“Party tips?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you mean?”

They walked through the open patio doors onto the deck, around which Derek had set up tiki torches and on which stood four large beach umbrellas with fiber-optic lights underneath them. The effect was the appearance of a dance club, as the colors fluctuated beneath a dark canopy.

“Isn’t this awesome?” Susan said, gazing up and around her.

“Holy crap,” Patrick said, looking all around, feeling his chest pound with the subwoofers stationed on either side of him.

“You don’t know what party tips are?”

Patrick shrugged. “I can’t say I’ve ever been to a party like this. I mean, not since high school, really. And those were pretty lame by comparison.”

“Yeah, no kidding. Anyway, it’s just a few bucks to give to the host as a thank you for throwing the party, defray the cost a little.”

“Oh, sure. Good idea.”

They stood and sipped their drinks as they watched people dance across the deck and out on the lawn. It was a warm night and everyone was having a good time.

“So where’s your boy toy tonight?” Patrick asked.

“Oh, I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Well, I mean that guy you were seeing.”

“How do you know about him?”

“You told me. That night, at the restaurant.”

Oh, she mouthed. “Right. Him. Tony. I . . . don’t know where he is tonight. Probably at home.”

Patrick nodded with raised eyebrows. “Not too keen on Tony, then?”

Susan sipped her drink. “I don’t know yet. Just seems a little shady, is all.”

“Shady?”

“Yeah. Calls a lot. Like almost every day. He brought flowers to my apartment once, after we’d only been on a few dates and said, ‘I was hoping these were your favorite.’ They were lilies. I told him they were very nice, and thanked him, but then he said, ‘Are they your favorite?’ Like he wouldn’t drop it. And I said, ‘Do you want me to tell you honestly?’ and he said ‘Yes’ so I told him I like lilies very much, but my favorite is actually white roses. He seemed really embarrassed then, almost upset.”

Patrick looked at her incredulously. “Okay . . .”

“Yeah, like all that mattered was that he’d gotten it wrong, and he wasn’t paying attention to the fact that I actually appreciated the gesture. Eventually I convinced him that he was sweet to bring me flowers, and it was okay after that. We’re still going out. It’s just that little things like that are still coming up. He tries to order for me in restaurants and sometimes he gets it wrong, so for his sake I had to ask him to stop. Just a little awkward, you know?”

“Sounds like it, yeah,” Patrick replied. “But you like him? You’re still seeing him?”

“Hmmm, yeah,” Susan sighed. “I’m not sure how long it’s supposed to take before sparks fly. For that reason I’ve never been good at knowing when to pull the plug.”

Patrick nodded musingly. “Don’t ever go into nursing.”

Susan laughed. “Doesn’t the patient’s family usually decide that sort of thing?”

“Never start a family.”

“Ooo, harsh,” Susan said, laughing still.

Patrick put up his free hand. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Sorry I went the morbid route.”

“Sometimes things just slip out when you’re nervous,” Susan said.

Patrick looked at her. “Am I nervous?”

Susan pursed her lips. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me. I still haven’t gotten to know many of these people yet.”

“Oh, right,” Patrick said, lowering his eyes. “Well, I could introduce you to a few people, anyway.”

“That’d be good. If I do recall, I believe the last time I had the chance to meet people from work, you monopolized my time all night,” she said, pointing at Patrick accusingly.

Patrick put a hand to his chest. “I sincerely apologize. I don’t even like Monopoly.”

It wasn’t funny, really, but Susan laughed anyway. Patrick smiled and began taking her around to meet their coworkers. The introductions went on rapid-fire for about an hour, until Patrick found they couldn’t seem to sustain a three-way conversation, as Patrick and Susan would hit on a good topic and the third wheel would inevitably drift away. When they got to talking about their favorite drinks – both settling on Long Island iced teas as decidedly in their top five, if not top three – a giddy smile appeared on Susan’s face and she said, “Let’s go find Derek.”

She grabbed Patrick’s arm. It was the first time she had touched him all night – and ever, for that matter.

They passed through the crowd searching for their host and found him as drunk as they had expected he would be. Patrick clapped him on the back to break him free of the conversation he was in with two other guys. “Hey Derek,” he shouted over the din.

Derek’s head swiveled from side to side as he tried to figure out where the voice was coming from. “Eh? What’s that, now?”

“Turn around.”

“Yessir.”

“Do you know how to make Long Islands?”

“That I do not,” Derek said, putting a finger in the air. Then he lifted his arm over the crowd and pointed back toward the bar. “But Bruno does.”

“Bruno?” Patrick said, looking over the crowd to see a 250-pound linebacker type standing behind the black countertop. “You mean Tim?”

“Yeah, Tim, whatever,” Derek replied, and turned back around.

This time Patrick led Susan to their destination. They pushed between the now occupied bar stools and ordered. Tim was an actual bartender on the weekends, but had taken the night off for the party. Patrick was impressed at the ease with which Tim eyeballed his pours, gracefully combining the liquors, sweet n’ sour mix and Coke. He produced their drinks in well under a minute.

“I feel like I should tip you,” Patrick said.

“Maybe just a kiss from the lady,” Tim said, leaning in Susan’s direction. “Small price to pay for a Tim’s Long Island.”

“Settle for a high five?” she asked.

“Fair enough,” Tim replied.

The two slapped hands, Susan smiled – that gleaming white smile – and she and Patrick walked off together.

“Wow,” Susan said, after sipping through her straw. “This is amazing.”

Patrick wanted to say, You’re amazing. He shook his head like an Etch-a-Sketch to erase the thought. “Yeeeah. Tim-Bruno really knows what he’s doing.”

“He may have just propelled Long Islands to the top of my list. This is a life-changing experience, here.”

“Life-changing,” Patrick echoed. He felt a little dizzy as he sucked on his straw. She likes me, he thought. We’ve been inseparable all night. She likes me. Shit.

“Shit,” Patrick whispered. Susan didn’t hear.