The party was going quite smoothly. The guests continued to talk, drink beverages, and eat refreshments. The music on the television continued to play.
Carter was becoming well acquainted with most of the people. He was getting along well mostly with Jenkins, Sullivan, and Cruz. Kathleen appeared to have become friends with Mary and Sullivan’s wife, Katy.
“All that rain this morning was a nightmare,” Mary said. “I was worried of it flooding.”
“I love the rain,” Kathleen said. “Not that I like being in it, but I love what it does for the planet.”
“Randy once caught a cold when it was raining. It’s not a very good idea to work in a garage in the rain.”
“Where my sister-in-law lives, there is no rain at all,” Katy said. “They wouldn’t be too worried about it flooding there.”
Kathleen peered over and saw Nadia talking with Frances and Martha Franklin.
“George is very allergic to cats,” Nadia was saying. “But we have seventeen, anyway. You’d be quite surprised.”
“That isn’t entirely healthy for him,” Frances said.
“He gets allergy shots,” Nadia said. “They help out very well.”
Katy caught Kathleen’s eye.
“Are you looking at Nadia?” she asked.
Kathleen paused for a minute before she spoke.
“Does she really love her husband that much? Or did she only marry him because of his money?”
Katy shook her head. “I’m not sure. There’s so much about Nadia that people don’t know.”
Kathleen was sure that Nadia just wanted the money. Anderson became a millionaire at the age of twenty-eight. There had to be at least a hundred women in Dallas that wanted to be his wife just to get there hands on that fortune. Nadia most likely just got there first.
By about nine o’clock, Martha Franklin, Jeffery Snyder, Travis Morgan, Nathan Harrison, and Diane Bishop had all left. Freeman, surprisingly, was still there. He continued to just sit at the dining room table, only talking to his wife.
Carter was in the kitchen talking to Jenkins, Sullivan, and Cruz.
“Hey, Sullivan,” Cruz asked. “Don’t you work at the hotel?”
“Yep,” Sullivan said.
“My buddy, Hernandez, is going to be staying there on Saturday. You should meet him; he’s a pretty cool guy.”
“I’m not working on Saturday. I promised Ava a Daddy-Daughter Day.”
If there was one thing that Carter learned about Sullivan, it was that he really enjoyed spending time with his family. That seemed to be his main priority in life.
“That’s okay,” Cruz said. “Hernandez drops in more often than you’d expect. It’s kind of strange, considering that he lives all the way in Waco.”
“Never choose to live in Waco,” Jenkins said. “Worst town ever.”
Ava and Eugene walked into the kitchen. They were still holding hands.
“Daddy,” Ava said. “Eugene is getting sleepy.”
Eugene looked more scared than tired. As soon as he saw all of the unfamiliar people in the room, he hid behind his sister.
“We’ll go home in a little bit, Sweetie,” Sullivan said. “Eugene can go lay with Mommy until we go.”
“Okay, Daddy,” Ava said. “Let’s go, Eugene.”
And then she walked him out of the kitchen.
“You sure are lucky that you get to spend so much time with your kids,” Carter said. “My son hardly ever acknowledges me.”
“That’s kind of sad,” Jenkins said. “It kind of makes you wonder how he’ll communicate with you in the future.”
“I know.”
“You guy’s are much more lucky than I am,” Cruz said. “I haven’t seen any of my children since last Christmas.”
Elliott walked into the kitchen and poured himself some more wine.
“Whatcha’ guys doing in here?” Elliott asked, drinking his glass. “You throwing your own party in my kitchen?”
“Nah, we’re just talking,” Carter said.
“Have any of you guys talked to Howard?” Elliott asked. “He isn’t really doing much. Just eating and drinking.”
Everybody shrugged.
“He’s not much of a talker,” Elliott said. “I guess you’ve already figured that out. But he’s still a friendly guy.”
“So is Freeman,” Carter said.
Jenkins, Sullivan, and Cruz stared at him.
“You’re right,” Elliott said. “He is.”
Jenkins, Sullivan, and Cruz continued to stare.
“So,” Carter said. He needed to change the subject. “You said you have rodents in your house. That’s odd; I haven’t seen any.”
“Oh, believe me,” Elliott said. “They come. But most of them actually are found in the basement.”
“I had rats in my old house,” Sullivan said. “That’s one of the reasons we moved.”
“That reminds me,” Elliott said. “I ordered this really interesting rat trap. It came in just yesterday. It’s not just any ordinary trap; it’s some weird kind of contraption.”
“What’s it look like?” asked Cruz.
“It’s hard to describe,” Elliott said. “I’d have to show it to you. You want to see it?”
“Sure,” Jenkins said.
“Fine with me,” Sullivan said.
“Yeah, why not?” Cruz said.
“It’s in the basement,” Elliott said. They walked into the living room and then Elliott stopped.”
“Hey, does anybody want to see my new rat trap? It’s kind of interesting to look at.”
Frances rolled her eyes.
“Sure,” Stewart said. “I’ll take a look.”
“I guess I’ll go,” Anderson said. “I got nothing better to do.”
Howard, who had been sitting alone in a chair, said: “Okay.” Carter was rather surprised.
“One second, though,” Elliott said. He walked over to the dining room table. Carter followed him.
“Hey, Freeman,” Elliott said. “You want to see this interesting rat trap in my basement?
Freeman, who had his head down on the table, said: “No, thanks.”
“Look, man,” Carter said. “I know how you feel. But that feeling shouldn’t keep you from spending a little time with your friends.”
Freeman said nothing.
“Look,” Elliott said. “You don’t have to talk to anybody. And if anybody says anything to you, I’ll tell them to put a sock in it. How does that sound?”
Freeman said nothing for a minute. But then, he stood up and said: “Fine. But I’m leaving right after this.”
Carter felt quite bad for him. He knew that Freeman now regretted coming to the party in the first place and now was more ready to leave than ever. Carter hoped that Freeman wasn’t angry with him for convincing him to come.
Carter, Elliott, and Freeman all walked back into the living room.
“Alright, let’s go,” Elliott said, swinging his basement keys around.
Stewart, Anderson, Howard, Sullivan, Jenkins and Cruz all started to follow Elliott out of the room, but stopped upon seeing Freeman walking with them.
Elliott turned around and said: “Yes, Freeman will be observing the trap with us. He’s not going to say a word to any of you. If you aren’t okay with that, then you don’t have to come.”
Everybody looked at each other for a minute and then just continued to walk. Apparently, they were okay with standing with Freeman for a few minutes. Even if they did hate is guts.
Everybody walked out of the living room, but Carter stayed behind.
“You coming, Carter?” Elliott asked.
“I’ll catch up,” Carter said. “Just give me a minute.”
“Suit yourself,” Elliott said. And he walked out.563Please respect copyright.PENANAbWfbRY8rcg