Chapter 21 #2
“Glad you could make it, Sully,” Derek said with a grin as they shook hands.
At that point, the kids made note of Charley’s puppy dog costume and wanted pictures taken with Bingo.
Sully grinned and winked at her as she posed with her little cousins.
The Coopers’ Aunt Rachel and her husband, Martyman, as everyone called him, introduced themselves and said they had reprised their recent roles as Bonnie and Clyde.
Owen Custis arrived and threatened to take the bank robbers to jail.
But instead, Bonnie and Clyde showed him, along with Sully and Charley, to their speakeasy, otherwise known as the wet bar in the den.
Charley took a glass of wine as Sully and Owen accepted beers.
They mingled as they moseyed from room to room, talking to folks and sampling appetizers.
The party snacks were as festive as they were tasty.
In the dining room, a variety of crackers surrounded a cheese ball in the shape of a scarecrow wearing a noodle hat above his olive eyes and pecan nose.
Deviled eggs were tinted orange with sliced sweet pickles for a stem, making them look like miniature pumpkins.
Individual pizzas with pepperonis for eyes and a mouth peeking from behind mozzarella strips looked like mummies.
A favorite among the children were the rattlesnake bites, which were hotdogs baked in crescent rolls.
Cut into pieces and shaped into slithering snakes with red bell peppers sliced into a forked tongue, they were gone in a hurry.
Bowls of popcorn, candy corn, and chips were placed throughout the house.
And since this was a night for sweet treats, there were desserts such as pumpkin bread in the shape of a pumpkin, severed green witch finger cookies with an almond nail and red jam for blood, and zombie brain cupcakes, which the Brevard kids helped decorate, hence the crazy frosting oozing out of the top.
Chloe, a cat lover, said her personal favorite were the chocolate cookies with cat ears and whiskers.
Sully introduced Charley to the veterinarian who had taken care of Rain.
Jill Henderson’s husband, Don, was also a veterinarian who cared for the Cooper livestock.
They were both polite and friendly. As the party wore on, Charley figured she and Sully had visited with just about everyone there.
When Sully excused himself to return their empty glasses to the kitchen, Charley was in the foyer as she noticed a late arrival.
The woman named Trish Potter stopped Sully in the hallway.
Though a pang of concern jabbed Charley, not wanting to stare, she looked away.
When she glanced back, Trish and Sully were gone.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” came a woman’s voice on Charley’s right.
Charley turned to the woman who had spoken. “Hello, Trish.” Her long black hair was teased into a beehive, and she wore an extreme version of an Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, costume. Her breath reeked of alcohol. “We met briefly in Sully’s kitchen.”
“Yeah,” Trish said. The woman’s costume was cut so daringly low cut in the front, her cleavage was on display almost to her nipples.
A wide slit up the front of the dress stopped just below the vee in her legs.
Charley did not consider herself a prude, but this was not an appropriate outfit to wear to a party with children in attendance.
Trish eyed Charley’s costume with a definite smirk and asked, “So, you’re Sully’s bitch tonight? ”
“Excuse me?”
“A female dog is a bitch,” Trish said. When Charley didn’t comment, Trish ran a hand with long black nails over her breasts, reached into a small purse, and pulled out a flask.
She tipped it to her mouth and took a precariously close step to the fishpond.
“Didn’t Sully tell you about the two of us? ”
“No,” Charley said, feeling uncomfortable.
“Sully and I are a thing, and your whole damsel in distress charade is causing trouble,” Trish hissed under her breath and waved the flask before shoving it back into her purse.
Charley didn’t view herself as a damsel in distress, and her situation certainly wasn’t a farce. “Really?” Charley replied to Trish’s statement as to her being with Sully. Though she’d rather wait to see if Trish fell into the fishpond, Charley took a step to leave.
“Stop!” Trish spat and splayed a hand in front of Charley. “Yes, really,” she replied to Charley’s question. “I’m pregnant, and Sully is my baby’s daddy.”
The pang of concern became a knife in Charley’s heart.
She was speechless. She sucked in a breath, and her stomach rolled as she glanced at Trish’s flat abdomen.
Sully’s words echoed in her head: I always wear a condom.
What kind of woman drank knowing she was pregnant?
From across the room, Chloe caught Charley’s eye and smiled.
Seeing that Charley was talking to Trish, Chloe rolled her blue eyes as if to convey: pay no attention to her or sorry she’s here.
“Does Sully know?” Charley asked barely above a whisper.
“Bingo!” Trish said in a snotty voice, glaring at the name on Charley’s collar.
“He knows as of tonight. Why do you think he ditched you, leaving you standing by the door all alone?” Trish snickered as if Charley was completely na?ve and utterly stupid.
“He’s excited about our baby and agrees you need to go.
” With that, Trish swung her arm into the air, flinging black trails of fabric on her sleeve in Charley’s face. “Vamoose, bitch!”