A Summer Eve's Reunion

It would have been so easy to miss, but Catherine O’Grady seethed at her best friends in a very loud, very obvious way. Even her husband noticed it.

“Why are you huffing so loudly? You’re sounding like an angry buck.” Dan could barely hear her response as they were still wedged against the impromptu DJ stand, and random Blue-tooth speakers they pulled from her family house. He stared at the offending bystanders lingering along different sides of the porch, conversing easily with the other childhood friends, a perfect mix of personalities. So why was she being so petulant?

“Ugh, Daaan were you seriously not listening?” She playfully punched his shoulder. Not like she could hurt him, but still, the woman had nails.

He turned back around. “Sorry, thought there was a deer we were trying to lure in.” She gave a pinch and he sneered right back. “No seriously though. Why are you pissed off? It’s kinda messing with the vibe.”

Catherine barked a dry laugh. “Me? What about them?” She wove her hand dramatically. With twenty other people on and around the deck, Dan was still lost. He would say so, but Catherine was always ready to explain. “Here I am, throwing him a welcome home party, because he has been away for months. Now, she is here mooning over him? I haven’t even gotten the hint of an idea for her bridal shower, so God knows if that is ever going to happen. But she is clearly not going to be married anytime soon, not with the way she barely communicates with me, let alone yet another fiancée. And he’s not going to want to settle down over here, because family matters will only set him off.

“Like, why would they even like each other anyway? They are completely different, opposite sides of the aisle. She’s kinda gay, and he’s very much not. They met in childhood, they barely know who the other is anymore. No amount of summer parties or after show dinners can amount to knowing who a person actually is. I barely even see them talking to each other!”

Dan peered through the party again, noticing the occasional flicker of eyes Vinnie would cast, trailing after the so-called questionable fiancée. It took awhile, but once Dan noticed that Vinnie was slowly making his way around the parameter of the deck, he noticed the pattern. Always charismatic, the man of the night would greet each friend warmly, posture correct, attentive to every word, dropping the right amount of jokes. But there were quiet moments when the poker face would give way, and the eyes would flicker to the other specter that haunted the other side of the porch.

Now Grace had moved position, careening slightly into the railing as if unsteady. Weird, considering Dan had noticed she hadn’t touched any alcohol during the event. She surreptitiously pressed a hand to her chest before moving towards the dessert table and another lone pair of friends.

“To be fair hun, when you are around you can carry the conversation perfectly.” That was another pinch, but to his delight was naughtier. It might be dark, but he could still see Catherine’s haughty smirk. There, the wife was happy again. He did his job.

But there was that slight wobble from Grace again. The kind smile would droop just a bit more when a current conversation would be swept away from her, the other pair of reuniting friends walking off to another side. She always seemed a bit stiff at first, but always offered her ear to someone’s rant, finding tidy, cute turns of phrase to bring a hint of humor back to the other person’s tired smile.

Curious, Dan watched as another chocolate was shoved under another cantaloupe. At least someone was enjoying the produce before it went bad. Something clicked in his head as she picked at the rind, seemingly staring off into the distance.

“So… why are you mad at them?” He could feel her eyes rolling. “Why not? What’s the worst that can happen?”

She gawked and pulled at the air in frustration. “It would ruin everything! Are you kidding? He’s supposed to settle down with a fashion scientist or something from the city; she is supposed to be with someone more… her pace.”

“The hell does that even mean?” Over the past decade, Dan learned that Grace could be demure. But all of Catherine’s female friends were a certain type of girl. Which was as close of a guarantee without hooking up (not that he ever would), that Grace was yet another bossy pillow princess with a hint of freak on the side. Only difference, was that Grace proudly showed off her girlfriend and not drift into the distance like others would expect.

“You know. Like reserved, good job, sensible—“

“Are you telling me he’s not?” Now Vinnie had shifted to the next couple, but turned so Dan couldn’t focus on his reactions. However that left Grace on the defensive, which lead to her move to the next person at the end of the table. To Paulie Gookin, who was the best at talking, not at stopping. She was dead in the water.

“She deserves someone who would support her. She’s a bit of a flight risk. You remember how the last girlfriend worked out, right? Glad Grace could get out, but still that was a toxic situation. She needs someone who can give her… well, grace.” Catherine paused as she shifted the iPods around to pick another vapid pop hit that probably played at their wedding.

“Are you—“ It was like stepping under a live hornets nest. “Are you jealous?” Her stare was deadly, but at this point, it was one of the few signs of raw honesty that Catherine could never shake. The iPod clattered onto the plastic table, and she turned away from him. “Babe.”

They had actually been skipped by Vinnie. Odd, as he and Dan had a poker game to get to soon. The last couple were looking perplexed at their drinks, and now eying Vinnie as he got sloppier with his exits. What about Grace—

Oh, oh no. He should have noticed when she was picking on the rind, or when she was calming herself earlier. But Paulie noticed right off the bat that there was no engagement ring on her finger. And when Paulie goes into seduction mode, he is over the top.

To be fair, Grace is cute, and that is all Dan would admit to his wife. Just the right amount of checking out of her friends - under her guidance, and as vague as possible without being insulting. But this night in a peach pastel sun-dress, there was a change that allowed others to agree, Grace could still stun a crowd. Even after years of hanging in the eves of Catherine’s life, she could stand on her own, no matter who was on her arm.

Paulie was performing his old magic tricks, which were somehow actually working on her. She was enthusiastically asking for repeats, trying to observe every movement for the slight of hand. And she was genuinely smiling as another nickel was pulled from an ear.

To the side, Vinnie crumpled a napkin in his grasp. For a second it remained strangled before placed into a back pocket. Then another nickel shone in the porch light.

“Babe, you’re gonna want to watch this.” Dan nudged Catherine as they avoided an errant mosquito. “Looks like a magician stand off.” Again, she was distracted, so he pulled her close despite her protestations.

“Dan I swear if you ever—“ He directed her head towards the perfect scene that was unfolding.

Paulie, all 5’11 and perfect basketball player, was flipping fruits in the air as part of a juggling magician trick; a study of elbows and fingers and cantaloupes. Grace, happily in the center of attention catching a loose fruit or two as the juggling intensified. Vinnie, who strode over to catch another falling piece above her head, now producing a nickel from the same hand, piece in mouth.

“I didn’t know you were also a magician!” The enthusiasm seemed comical, but there was also genuine surprise. And even though Grace was delighted, something in her just stopped, as if she suddenly remembered where she was. Her lips stiffened, body slack, and stared directly back at Vinnie. She muttered something soft, gently putting the plate back on the table and walked to the open gate.

Both Paulie and Vinnie looked stunned as she left; the magician left holding fruit adrift of an audience; the man of the hour unsettled and hurt.

“See, this is what I was worried about.” Catherine sped off to redirect the friends to the s’more station she placed off to the side of the deck. “Anyone up for s’more fun?! Whoo!” Redirect the attention, sure that would work, Dan thought as he followed the dwindling crowd off the porch.

Vinnie and Paulie were off to the side comparing notes when Dan stepped down. “Nice moves guys. Did they also work in middle school?” Twin rude gestures were made as he laughed. “The kids would love to see that though. Maybe save the tricks for the next holiday season?”

Vinnie shrugged, keeping his hands to his pockets.

Dan could not help but poke at the obvious button. “Good thing there’s no ring. Otherwise that would have been a painful rejection to watch.” He gave Vinnie a pat on the back. That posture went back to rigid, eyes back to thoughtful. They moved towards the backyard when Vinnie suddenly turned back.

Dan watched as Catherine rose her hands in frustration, gesturing once again to the bonfire down the hill. He turned around, “Hey, where are you going man?”

Vinnie whipped around with a smile. “I’m going to get my nickel back.” And ran off towards the driveway, back towards Grace’s car.

“Whipped!” Dan yelled at the distant figures. He turned back around to his own fire wife and smiled. It was about damn time Vinnie was whipped for someone as much as he was for Catherine, and it would be nice to not be alone in that fate.