-1- Unchained Melody by Boyce Avenue (This song is cheesy but I actually kind of love it)
-2- Beautiful People by Ed Sheerhan
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Six Months Later….
Juliana Clark
-1-
“Rhett Clark, what are you doing ?”
Rhett doesn’t bother to look ashamed when I come down the stairs and catch him opening the bottle of Southern Comfort his boss had given us for Christmas. With Annabelle Grace babbling away on his hip, he splashes a generous amount into a dusty Disney World Hong Kong shot glass.
“If I have to make small talk with those people I need a drink,” he takes the shot back but doesn't put the glass down. “You find the camera ?”
“No…I think it's in storage. I’ll just use my phone.”
I’d purchased a fancy digital camera years ago when I’d dabbled with doing some blogging at Rocket Olsen’s suggestion. I’d only gotten as far as taking a couple of pictures of the kids and making a list of possible website names before the idea had been forgotten.
Rhett pours another shot. I pick it up and pour it in the sink.
“Hey--”
“It won’t be that bad,” I tell him. “It’ll only be 10 minutes and then we can come back here, order pizza and watch a movie--”
“Can we do the Barbie movie ?,” Peyton asks, twirling into the kitchen.
“FROZEN!, MAMA! I WANT ELSA, I WANT ELSA AND OLAF, KAY ?” 3-year-old Carter demands, toddling in after her.
“We can decide later,” I say, bending to zip up Carter’s windbreaker.
“But I want Barbie. Please, Mama ?,” Peyton whines. “And Daddy didn’t get to see Barbie Popstar--”
Behind her Rhett mimics hanging himself. “How many movies does Barbie have ?”
“Where’s your cardigan ?,” I ask Peyton. “Didn’t I tell you to put it on ?”
“Thirty-five,” Peyton informs him proudly.
“Cardigan. Now,” I repeat and Peyton runs upstairs to her room.
“J, I can’t sit through another one of those movies,” Rhett groans as he zips up Annabelle Grace’s unicorn hoodie and flips up the hood that had a cute glittery gold horn.
“Well, I’m not sitting through F-R-O-Z-E-N one more time,” I say. “At least Barbie switches it up.”
“NO BARBIE,” Carter reminds me firmly. “NO BARBIE.”
Peyton had been going through an intense Barbie phase that Spencer never had when she was six. She loved anything Barbie pink and wanted all the Barbie iPad games, movies and clothing. My third wave feminist sister-in-law was less than thrilled about it, but was sure to send Peyton the new Ava Duvernay barbie.
“Oh, Wrinkle in Time ?,” I suggest to Rhett.
“That movie scares Carter,” he reminds me and then drawls. “Besides you just like lookin’ at that Chris Pine fella.”
“Barbie it is then.”
Rhett groans and pours another shot, jogging out of the kitchen before I can take it from him.
Carter wasn’t going to be happy about Barbie movie but we’d been spoiling Peyton a little bit since our foster daughter Tennessee, her partner in crime, was spending all of spring break in Freeport with her grandparents.
Peyton sails down the stairs in the Barbie pink duster I knitted for her last year.
We file out of the house and walk the one block down the street to the neighborhood's private botanical park. It was funded by the HOA fees we paid as part of our two year rental agreement with the Admiral who owned the beautiful house we rented.
The park has a gazebo, three gardens and stone water feature---making it the perfect place for homecoming pictures. Homecoming in spring wasn't traditional but the school had canceled the dance after the shooting and rescheduled it to the Saturday before Spring Break.
I spot Mason and Arrow standing together by the park’s water feature in their shirt and ties—Mason’s a crisp white and navy, Arrow’s a slightly wrinkled black on black.
Spencer, dressed in a silver halter dress with a sequin top is taking a picture of Rose Fierro and her date, Abigail Winters. The two girls wore similar floral patterned flare dresses and heels but Abigail’s were close to six inches tall and paired with black heart print tights.
Rose’s family is in the distance, dressed impeccably as always. Her mother Clara and their tenant Emile wave to me warmly as we get closer to the park. I can feel her father, Mr. Fierro, slightly judging me for walking out the house wearing leggings that probably had a hole I couldn't see and one of Rhett’s sweatshirts. But I’d spent all day running around town getting Spencer ready for the dance and didn’t see the point of putting on clothes just to take a few pictures.
“Why does they all always look like a Brooks Brothers ad ?,” Rhett whispers to me as he waves and smiles back at Rose's family. “It’s weird as hell.”
“Maybe…it’s a European thing ?”
“They’re American…I thought. Right ?,” Rhett whispers. “Why couldn’t the boy find friends with parents we can be friends with--”
“Haley and Luce are coming,” I
remind him. “They’re our friends.”
“Are they ? I mean are they really our kind of people ?”
I stop short and turn to Rhett annoyed.
“What is that supposed to mean, Rhett Clark ? We should be lucky they still talk to us after you accused their son of shooting up the school.”
“I didn’t accuse him, the police did. And this ain’t about that. I was a dick and apologized,” he reminds me. “It’s just…I don’t know…I always feel they’re going to ask us to swing with them--”
“HI!”
We both jump as Alex Haley comes up behind us out of nowhere. He hugs me and shakes Rhett’s hand,
His neatly manicured nails are painted a shiny dark burgundy that matches his eyeshadow. Beneath his candy-striped button up he’s wearing a cropped white shirt with the Barbie logo in hot pink sequins. The tiny shirt shows off the silver stud piercing in is navel.
I imagined he wasn’t going to be spending his childfree night inside watching movies like Rhett and I planned to do.
“I like you shirt!,” Peyton squeals at him when she sees the sequined Barbie logo.
“I found it a thrift store and wore it just for you, pretty girl!” he smiles bending down to hug Peyton and the rest of the girls. His black pants are so tight I’m surprised how easily he gets up and down.
Then again, last week we’d tried a free yoga class together and I’d learned he could do a side split. He apparently came by it from years of Pilates classes.
“Where’s Nova and Luce ?,” I ask.
“Luce is helping Nova with is tie.” He says gesturing to where Nova is on one knee in front of Luce, who was tying his bowtie. After a beat he adds: "My husband is way better a tying knots than I am.”
Rhett gives me a pointed look before following after our girls as they make a beeline for the small playground inside the park.
Haley loops our arms together and gently tugs me close so we are walking side by side, the 2 inch heel on his leather boots clicks softly against the gravel road.
“Oh and…by the way,” he whispers as we cross into the park’s perfectly cut grass. “You’re not Luce’s type.”
“What--”
“And neither is Rhett,” he says in a louder, but still quiet voice. “So you don’t have to worry about us ever asking you to swing--"
“Oh my gosh,” I cut him off, my hands flying to my mouth. “I’m so sorry you heard that--”
“It’s fine,” he grins. “Don’t be embarrassed…well, except I don’t think anyone still calls it swinging--”
“Rhett was just being….I…wait, so…neither of us are Luce’s type ?”
I’d never been particularly interested in older men but even I had to admit Luce Grace was incredibly striking. When I’d first met them I’m not sure I got a coherent word out.
“No,” Haley laughs and then something catches his eye. “But she is.”
I follow his gaze to a statuesque, woman with short tousled brown hair and sharp features standing next to a stocky man with a buzz cut who had that career Army look to him. The tall woman was taking to Ariel, the sweet girl that Arrow had set Mason up with a few months ago.
They’d had a movie date at the house so we could meet her and she was so polite and fascinated by what she called suburban American life. Tonight Ariel looked like a Greek princess in a long, gauzy blush dress and nude sandal heels.
Haley sprints back to hurry along his family and I go over to greet Ariel.
“Ms. Clark,” Ariel says as I get closer. “This is my sister. Sera.”
I knew all the refugee families were close and want to ask Sera about Arrow’s guardians. Mason said Arrow was in a type of foster care but that Arrow also said he wasn’t an orphan. I hated that he never seemed to have anyone looking out for him.
Sera takes my hand and assess me. I get the feeling there is something venomous on the tip of her tongue but before she can say anything I hear Nova exclaiming loudly how good they looked as he runs towards the park in a maroon jacket and rose-patterned bow tie.
Rhett hadn’t met a situation he didn’t want to take control of and as he arranges the teenagers into position I make a point to go over and thank Clara for letting all the kids spend the night at her house.
“The house is so big, I’ll hardly notice them,” Clara shrugs.
“But we’ll keep an eye on them of course,” Emile adds quickly. He rented a room in their massive farmhouse and seemed to be just as much a part of Rose’s life as her parents.
-2-
Once Rhett has the kids all lined up we spend the next 20 minutes taking pictures. Rose and Mason stand behind their dates and I noticed Rhett made a point to pose Spencer in front dateless Arrow instead of dateless Nova. We’d told Spencer no dating until she was 16 but she’d wanted to go to the dance.
Just when were almost done with pictures a black Subaru pulls up and I hear a loud high pitched scream coming from the open window.
The passenger door opens and a girl in a black velvet band aid dress, leather jacket, glittery blue tights and flat ankle boots runs into Nova’s arms.
“Holland! Oh my god, what the fuck are you doing here ?”
“Surprise, bitch I’m your date!,” she exclaims.
“How ?”
She turns to the truck where I see two women I recognize as Luce’s sister, Twyla and her girlfriend, Colette.
“They’re keeping me for a whole week,” Holland grins.
Holland is quickly added to the photo rotation and with her addition there is an even number. Haley had complained to me about Nova’s Las Vegas best friend, Holland. She was distantly related to Colette and apparently a bit of a troublemaker but they two were inseparable.
“That’s a nice surprise,” I elbow Haley.
“I made Holland promise not to make us regret it so hopefully they’ll be in their best behavior. Plus, we love surprises,” he shrugs.
The Fierros had been kind enough to hire a car service to drive the kids and after some quick goodbyes and safety reminders the kids pile into the car and leave.
“We’ve got some extra tickets to the Riverside Symphony fundraiser for literacy, tonight," Emile says loudly to the assembled parents. “If any of you’d like to join us, be our guest.”
Ariel’s sister and her military friend are already walking away, although she does give one final look over her shoulder to Luce who was staring her down.
“That’s kind, but it’ll be bed time soon,” I tell Emile, looking to where the girls were wearing themselves out on the playground.
“We’re going to call it a night too,” Haley shrugs.
Emile good natured-ly smiles and after some polite good-byes he, Clara and Mr. Fierro walk back to their silver car that Rhett spent a week going on about how expensive it was and how impossible it was that Mr. Fierro just owned one.
“Juliana, can I use your bathroom before we drive home?,” Haley asks.
“Of course.”
We gather up the girls and walk back to our house. In the drive way I see a familiar blue Honda Fit with a Nevertheless She Persisted and Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History bumper sticker on it.
“Aunt Savannah’s here!,” Peyton squeals running to Savannah’s car.
“Did you know she was coming ?,” I ask Rhett
He shakes his head.
Savannah was getting her second Master’s at Columbia. She had an open invitation to our house but she usually called first. She pops out the car and hugs Peyton. Her passenger door opens and Joanie Beth, Aubrey and Wil’s 20-year-old daughter, steps out.
“SURPRISE!,” they say in unison.
The unison “surprise” includes Haley.
I suddenly feel breathless and very, very confused. I look to Rhett for help but he seems equally confused.
“What--”
“We’re babysitting!” Savannah explains pointing to her and Joanie Beth
“And you are coming out to dinner with us,” Haley jumps in. “Then you and Rhett are going to have the night all to yourselves in a luxury Manhattan apartment. And before you object it wasn’t my idea--”
“It was my mama’s,” Joanie Beth adds. “And she says if you say no I have to Facetime her to bully you.”
It all felt so impossibly easy. Which meant it was too good to be true.
“I can’t just--,” I look to Savannah and Joanie. “I don’t want to take Friday night away from you girls--”
“It’s one night,” Savannah says popping the trunk to reveal a mountain of dirty laundry bags . “Besides, we will be watching your big ass tv and using your free laundry.”
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A/N
Who is ready for some shenanigans ? Each character is going to get a POV so we are going to get some RARE Alex Haley first person! Also I don’t ship Mason and Ariel or anything I just wanted Mason to have a date!
I’ll be honest Night Out started as a homecoming story about the teens but I had no plot so I switched persepctive. There will be a lot of foreshadowing for the Lucely pre-quel story.🙃