Chapter Thirty The Party Bus
Bastian went to the hotel restaurant shortly after Mirabelle left to join Robert and Victor for dinner and meet Peter and Benji before going to the bachelor party. When he walked in, he found the four of them sitting in a large booth in the back corner. After introductions, they placed their orders and got to know one another.Benji Harkins, Lila's husband, was a Cyber Security Analyst for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. His job had recently gone remote, and he was able to relocate to the US with quarterly trips back home. He was a slender blonde man with a serious face and a quiet personality.Caroline's husband, Peter Johnson, was a burly man with a booming laugh. He was a Battalion Chief with the New York City Fire Department, and while he was Bastian's age, he was completely gray.
“So, what's the plan for this evening?” Benji leaned back with a frown. “Football, but not proper football?”
“American football.” Peter supplied with a grin. “From what I understand, one of the groomsmen is part of the Jack Roth Stadium Club and managed to reserve twenty seats for the group.”
“Wait, we're not in a sky box?” Victor asked in surprise.
“Nope.” Peter chuckled. “Apparently, they couldn’t afford it, but we do have access to the premium lounge.”
Robert, Bastian and Victor exchanged a look. “Funny how that worked out,” Victor muttered as Eddie walked in and spotted them. He came over, looking dejected at seeing his family sitting with Bastian, joking and talking with each other.
“The bus is here to take us to the stadium.”He announced as he came to a stop awkwardly by the table.
“Bus?” Victor couldn’t seem to hold back his annoyance, but Bastian wasn’t sure if it was because he was unaware of the bus and was expected to join them on it or if he was just annoyed with his son in general.
“Yeah, we rented a party bus to take us to the stadium and bring us back. Cut down on the chances of drunk driving.” He attempted a grin, but Bastian could see how forced it was, and it slipped off his face quickly as he looked away from them and around the restaurant.
“Right.” Victor huffed. “Well, let's go.” Victor caught the waitress's attention and said to charge their meals to his room. Bastian started to protest, but Victor waved him down and said it was fine.Eddie frowned but didn’t say anything; just gestured for them to follow him out to the bus. They were among the first to get on and managed to get a seat in the back corner where they could talk without anyone paying attention to them.
When the bus started to move, one of the groomsmen with a black eye handed out their tickets and bracelets so they could move around the stadium and club freely. He paused when he got to Bastian and held out his hand. “Don't think we've met. I'm Charlie.”
“Bastian, I'm a friend of the family.” Bastian smiled and shook Charlie's hand.He had been pretty sure Eddie would have told his friends who he was, but now he realized that Eddie kept it to himself, not drawing attention to Bastian so the conversation wouldn’t turn to him cheating on Mirabelle and keeping Bastian from telling their side of the story, which he had to admit was smart on Eddie’s part.
“Let me guess; you were a running back.” Charlie grinned at him as he passed him his bracelet and ticket.
“Oh, no. Never played.” Bastian shook his head. “Football wasn’t my thing at university; I was on the varsity wrestling team.”
“Really? Huh.” Charlie eyed him, looking disappointed. “Well, enjoy.” He said hello to the others, gave them their bracelets and tickets, and then moved on to the next group.
“Seems you let him down.” Peter chuckled when Charlie was out of earshot.
“I guess so.” Bastian was amused. “But to be fair, I do get asked that a lot. Did you guys play?”
“I played football or soccer, as you guys call it.” Benji stretched his long legs out in front of him. “But only on my hometown's team, not professionally or in university. Just something I did for fun and to keep in shape.”
“I was only interested in sports that would help me become a firefighter.” Peter was looking around curiously. Most of the men on the bus had started drinking, and cans of beer were being passed around. “I did track and field.”
Robert shook his head. “Nope, I was in art clubs, not sports.” They all looked at Victor, and he smiled.
“I was a boxer, much to my parent’s dismay.” Before they could ask anything else about that, Eddie came down, holding a six-pack of beer and smiling that forced polite smile.
“I know my father and Robert won't partake; it's less than twelve years old, but do you guys want one?”
“Normally, I'd be all over one, but I've been put on standby in case the girls need a ride.” Peter smiled politely. “Thank you, though.”
Benji took one, but Bastian declined. He had never been a beer drinker, preferring scotch or the occasional brandy. “Afraid I'm with your father.” Bastian smiled, keeping his voice civil and respectful. “Twelve years minimum.”
Eddie shrugged and took one himself. “Suit yourself.” He opened the beer and took a swig of it. “Wait. Why would the girls need to be picked up? Aren't they doing the scavenger hunt?”
Robert nodded and chuckled. “Because none of them know anything about Ann Arbor, so for every clue they can't figure out, they're going to a bar for a drink.” He explained.
Eddie's already pale face somehow managed to go even paler. “They're all gonna drink?”
“That's their plan.” Victor glanced at the others in confusion. “Is there a problem with that?”
“Just, you know, the bride, the maid of honour and one of the bridesmaids can't drink. So, it's a little disrespectful, don't you think?”Eddie ran his hand through his hair, and Bastian wondered why he seemed so nervous about it, and a spark of concern flickered in his gut.
Victor rolled his eyes, clearly not sharing Bastian’s apprehension. “None of them are going to be falling down drunk. Why can't they make it enjoyable for themselves?”
Eddie took a deep breath and appeared to be counting to ten to keep his temper in check, and then seemed to decide to just lay everything out for them. “I don't want any more issues with Casey. Pregnancy has made her a nightmare to deal with.” He glanced at Bastian. “And Mirabelle has no problem calling people out on their crap sober.”
Bastian smirked. Eddie wasn’t wrong; Mirabelle had no problem telling people to get over their drama issues. “What crap could she possibly call her out on?” His voice was lightly teasing, and when Eddie gave him an exasperated look, he chuckled. “Don't worry; Mira wants to have fun with her friends; she's not looking to start drama.”
Eddie ran his hand through his hair again, further messing it up. “Mira never starts the drama, Bastian. She puts an end to it in the most brutal way she can.”
“She does have a gift for that.” Bastian agreed as he nodded thoughtfully. “Still, if crap is going to come out, what difference will it make if she's drunk?”
“Sober Mira is way more tactful than drunk Mira; that’s what the difference is.” Eddie groaned as he appeared to contemplate his ex-wife confronting his fiancée, sober vs drunk. “Fucking hell, maybe she’ll do everyone a favour and get Casey to stop bitching about the damn flowers.” He muttered. “Excuse me.” He flashed his father a look of deep resentment before turning and walking away.
They all looked curiously at Victor, who snorted and shrugged. “He’s blaming me and his mother for Casey’s attitude about everything. He says if we never forced them to invite Mirabelle and Bastian, Casey wouldn’t be so particular about everything. Apparently, she’s been comparing everything about their wedding to Eddie and Mira’s wedding and is upset that theirs doesn’t look as elegant. She originally wanted a wedding planner, but when she found out Mira had planned and organized everything herself, she was determined to prove she could do it on her own and do it better, but nothing so far has looked like she envisioned, and she’s taking it out on everyone.”
“Well, to be fair,” Bastian felt a little bad about being the reason Casey was making everyone around her miserable. “Mira wasn’t pregnant and had Eleanor’s and Francesca’s help if I remember correctly.”
Victor nodded, waving his hand dismissively. “Yes, that’s right, and Eddie did tell her that, but that just made her more determined to do better on her own.”
“Well, the bachelorette party sounds like it will be a much better show.” Benji chuckled. “Can we go spy on the scavenger hunt?”
“Oh, I'm sure if it gets out who Bastian is, we'll be dealing with our own drama.” Robert looked up from his phone. “Eleanor just texted me. Eddie and Casey have been selling their story to everyone, even their best friends. Zeke's wife approached Mirabelle and was shocked when Mira told her the truth.”
“That’s not that surprising.” Benji shrugged, looking around at everyone who was already on their second or third beer, according to the number of cans already littering the bus. “Do you think they’ll confront Bastian?”
“Eddie seems to want to avoid that.” Bastian pointed out. “He’s not telling anyone who I am.” He hesitated and looked at Victor as the bus pulled up to the stadium. “Mira told me to go scorched earth if I had to but not to seek out drama. If you'd rather I kept the peace, Victor, I will.”
Victor shook his head. “No, they lost the right to be upset about being humiliated when they lied and made Mirabelle the villain. You could give a speech in front of the entire wedding telling everyone what they did, and I'd shake your hand after.” A cheer rang out through the bus as it came to a stop in front of the doors, and they watched in mild amusement as everyone chugged their remaining drinks and then started to file off the bus.