Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2011 19:40:41 -0500
From: Barry Gold <barry.gold69@gmail.com>
Subject: The Party Part 2

Sarah and Allison
The Party part II


Sarah opened the door just as her father reached it. Her mom was next to
her, Allison next to her parents, and Rikki next to her mom. "Good evening,
gentle sir. Enter with your guests and be welcome."

"Thank you, gentle lady. May I present Mr. and Mrs. William Brown of Brown
Security Associates?" Turning to the Brown's, "This is my daughter, Sarah."

Sarah reached out to shake Mr. Brown's hand, "Pleased to meet you Mr. and
Mrs. Brown. I've been looking forward to meeting you all week. May I
present my mother, Dr. Alice Black?"

Mr. Brown replied, "Pleased to meet you both."

"My name is Allison White. This is my father, who is with the University of
Connecticut Information Technology Department, and my mother."

"Pleased to meet you."

"My name is Rikki Laveque and this is my mother, Jessica."

Mr. Brown's eyes opened a bit wider. He obviously recognized Jessica's
name, "Pleased to meet you both."

Rikki continued, "The buffet and drinks are to your right and seating to
your left. One of us will join you in a moment."

"Thank you, my dear," and they moved off.

While they were passing the Brown's down the line, Sarah's dad was
introducing Mr. Paul Newuman and his wife. Mr. Newuman was a partner in the
law firm and would be working with him on the Brown account.



The girls had done their homework. They looked up Brown Security Associates
on the Internet. They looked up their main competitors and how they
differed. Since Allison's dad specialized in computer security, they looked
into that. The three girls treated this like they were applying for a job,
which, in a sense, they were, for their dads and Rikki's mom.

After everyone had had a chance to get a drink and go through the buffet,
Sarah approached Mr. Brown, "How do you and your wife like our small slice
of life?"

"Very much. It seems to be a wonderful town. I understand you're a
cheerleader at your school. How do you like that?"

"Yes, at Central High School. I like it a lot. Allison and Rikki are both
athletes at West Catholic."

"Oh, really. What sports?"

"They're both playing soccer right now. Allison is a starter on the
basketball team and Rikki probably will be too. There is a rumor about
softball in the spring."

"I know cheer leading and athletics take a lot of time. How are your
grades?"

"Both Allison and I are in the top 10% of our class. Rikki hasn't been here
long enough to establish a rank yet."

At the same time Sarah was talking to Mr. Brown, Rikki was introducing
Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Newuman to her mom. Allison was talking with her dad
and Mr. Newuman.



Sarah was near the phone about 9 o'clock when it rang, "Black
residence. How may I help you?"

A voice on the other end said, "This is the hospital calling for
Dr. Black."

"Just a moment, I'll get her." Sarah caught her mom's eye and motioned with
the phone. Her mom excused herself and took the phone from Sarah. She spoke
for a moment, hung up, and went upstairs. She came back down with her
clothes changed and stepped over to her husband, "That was the
hospital. There's an emergency I need to help with. I'm sorry I can't stay
Mr. Brown, but I leave you in the capable hands of my daughter and her
friends. Hopefully, I'll meet you again soon."

"I'm sorry you have to leave too, Dr. Black. Hopefully everything will be
OK."

Getting her coat and bag out of the closet, Sarah's mom kissed her on the
cheek, "I'll call when I know what's going on."

"Good luck, mom."

"Thanks, darling."



Sarah's dad stood off to the side and considered things. The party was
going well. Mr. Brown had talked to Allison's dad about computer
security. Rikki was introducing him to her mom now. Mrs. Brown and
Mrs. Newuman were engaged. You would think the girls had been hosting
parties for years.

He watched their dance, almost a choreography. Sarah would talk to someone
while Allison escorted another to the bar or buffet and Rikki waited. Then
they would shift. And shift again. And again. Sarah and Allison both nursed
the glass of wine they'd been allowed. It looked like the Lenoir Valley
Winery red that they enjoyed.



Rikki was closest to the door when the bell rang. She knew all the guests
were here but answered it anyway. "Daddy?"

Gustav Laveque stood at the door, "Good evening, daughter. May I come in?"

"Of course."

Sarah's dad came around the corner at that moment, "Rikki, who was at the
door?"

"Mr. Black, this is my father, Gustav Laveque. Father, this is Mr. Alistair
Black. This is his home."

The two men shook hands, "Mr. Black...Mr. Laveque."

"How can we help you?"

"I had to be in town on business and came to collect my daughter so she
could spend some time with me." Turning to Rikki, "Go get your coat."

"I'm sorry. Rikki has other commitments tonight. She's helping me host a
private party for a potential business client and I believe she has plans
with my daughter and her friend tomorrow. You're welcome to stay and join
the party."

You could tell Rikki was getting embarrassed, "If you'd let me know you
were coming in Father, I might have been able to change my plans. But I did
promise Mr. Black that I would help him tonight. His wife is a doctor who's
been called away on an emergency and his daughter, her friend, and I am
hosting the party. I would like to be able to keep my word."

You could tell that Rikki's father was not used to being stood up to. He
couldn't insist in the Black's home without coming off badly. And image was
very important to Gustav Laveque. He turned and went back out the door
without another word.

Allison came by just as Rikki's father left. Mr. Black closed the door,
"Ally, darling. Why don't you take Rikki upstairs? I'll send her mother up
in a minute."

"Sure, Mr. Black." She put her arm around Rikki's shoulders, "C'mon, Rik."
Rikki just nodded and let Allison lead her upstairs.



Jessica was talking to Mrs. Brown about a project she was working on when
she heard her ex-husband's voice. She wasn't expecting him tonight, but
Gustav had appeared unannounced before. Jessica remembered Mr. Black
heading in that direction when the bell rung, so he was probably talking to
Gustav. She could see Sarah and Allison, so Rikki was the one who answered
the door. She was going to let Mr. Black handle things as long as no voices
were raised.

Mr. Black appeared at her shoulder, "I know you heard Gustav. He's
gone. Allison took Rikki upstairs. You probably should go check on her."

"Thanks, Al."

Allison saw Jessica come through the bedroom door, "Rikki, your mom is
here. I'm going back downstairs and help Sarah. Take as long as you like."

She wasn't crying, but Rikki hugged Jessica around her neck, hard. "Mom, I
was so embarrassed. I didn't know what to do. If Mr. Black hadn't come by
when he did..."

Jessica hugged Rikki back, "Sweetheart, I'm very proud of you. From what
Mr. Black said, you told your father that you had other plans and that you
wanted to keep your word. Your schedule is just as important as his. If he
had called ahead, we might have been able to change things, but then again,
maybe not. OK?"

"OK."

Jessica kissed Rikki's forehead, "What's say we go back to the party. I
believe Mr. Black said something about the hosts having a glass of wine. I
think you could use it."



Just before they left to get in the limo and go back to their hotel,
Mr. Brown took Sarah's dad aside, "If you talk to Ted before Monday, tell
him that I'll be in first thing to sign the contracts."

"I'll pass along the word. Thanks, Bill."

"Just between you, and me, and the wall, you pretty much had things sewed
up after the meetings earlier today. The clincher was tonight. If your
three co-hosts are representative of this area, we can't go wrong. I hope
you'll express my appreciation to them."

"I'll tell them. I appreciate them helping out when we weren't sure if
Alice would be here at all or for very long. See you Monday morning."

Once the Browns and Newumans had left, Sarah turned to her dad, "Can you
watch things for a few minutes while we change?"

"Sure, sweetheart."

"Then we'll finish getting things broken down."

"OK."

The four parents talked about the night's activities while the catering
staff cleaned up. The girls came down in sweats and t-shirts. They offered
the catering staff some of the leftovers as they put the rest away in the
refrigerator. They showed them where to put the remaining wine and liquor
bottles. They took the extra leaves out of the dining room table and
replaced the chairs around it. They nibbled while the catering staff
finished loading and left.



Sarah's dad had the three girls sit on the floor in front of him. "I wanted
to thank the three of you for an excellent job tonight. If I didn't know
better, I would have thought you'd been hosting parties for
years. Mr. Brown gave me a message for you before he left. He said you were
the clincher. He said if you are representative of this area, we can't go
wrong. Thank you all."

Sarah, Allison, and Rikki cheered. Sarah's dad continued, "I think we're as
cleaned up as we need to be for tonight. Everyone should hit the hay and
we'll finish up tomorrow."

Allison said good night to her parents, "Well, dad. Did you have a good
conversation with Mr. Brown?"

"Yes, I did punkin. I have an appointment to talk about several topics with
him. See you tomorrow?"

"Probably not 'til Sunday."

Rikki hugged her mom, "Did you have a good time?"

"Yes, I did. Mr. Brown wants to talk to me about some artwork for the new
headquarters building."

"That's great, mom. See you Sunday."

"Have fun, sweetheart."

While Rikki was changing into a sleep shirt, Sarah and Allison changed
too. Sarah unrolled the sleeping bag from her closet, along with sheets and
pillows. "What's up, Sarah?"

"We think you've worked hard enough tonight that you shouldn't have to
sleep alone and the bed is too small for three. If that's OK with you?"

Allison lay down and Sarah spooned up to her. Sarah beckoned to Rikki to
lie down beside her. She wrapped her arms around Rikki and drew her
in. "Good night...'Night...Sweet dreams."

When Sarah's dad checked on them later, he found the three girls curled up
together, fast asleep. He smiled and turned out the light.

Sometime later Rikki woke up. She was now between Sarah and Allison. Each
had an arm draped across her. She hadn't felt so protected, so safe, so
loved in a long time. She closed her eyes and went back to sleep.


[top of page]



© 2004 Donal