Chapter 31 #2
But instead of draping her body over the hood of a car—which obviously wasn’t about to happen because there wasn’t a car in the room—she stopped beside a large pile of something that had been draped in a black sheet. The lighting was so dim in the room, I hadn’t even noticed it before.
Then, with another flourish, she did a bend and snap, whipping the sheet off the pile to reveal a collection of gift bags stuffed with colorful tufts of tissue paper.
Shiny gold Mylar balloons—now released from under the sheet—shot straight up to the ceiling, their curly gold and silver strings hanging down around me like streamers.
“Oh my gosh!” I cried, embarrassed but also a little giddy. “You shouldn’t have!”
“It’s your birthday, isn’t it?” Jen looked down at herself, then adjusted the top of her dress.
I was thinking this was a good move; her breasts had been threatening to escape all night.
Q cleared his throat and looked away.
Sean handed me a fresh margarita and pulled a chair around so I could sit by the pile of presents like a dragon queen with her hoard.
“You’re all just going to watch me open these?” I asked, laughing.
“Not just,” Q said. “I was going to get another beer, too.”
“I’m on it,” Jen said. “Anyone else?” And since she was an actual cocktail waitress at the establishment, she took several orders and headed out to the bar.
“What should I open first?” I glanced around at all of them expectantly.
“That one,” Elli said, pointing to a forest green plaid-patterned bag, and she sounded like she was ultra curious about what was inside.
Sean fidgeted. “Maybe save that one for later.”
“Is it from you?” I was surprised by this. I couldn’t imagine when he’d had time to shop.
“Yeah,” he said, which inspired some junior-high-like “oooooooos” from my friends.
“It’s nothing big,” Sean said.
“It’s too big of a bag to be jewelry,” Aurora chimed in, and I really wish she’d kept her mouth shut.
Sean and I weren’t in the jewelry phase of our relationship, so of course it wouldn’t be jewelry.
I untied the ribbon that was holding the bag closed, pulled out all the tissue paper, and looked inside. My heart skipped. My eyes burned.
“What is it?” Elli asked.
I sniffed, then pulled out a petal-pink, vintage inspired, toast-and-happiness-making toaster. The same one that had been smashed at my apartment.
“A toaster?” Jen asked, returning with a tray of drinks.
I burst into tears.
“Does that mean she likes it?” Parvati asked. “Or…not? I can’t tell.”
I felt the guys shifting their weight, not knowing how to respond to my reaction. Sean, however, knew exactly what to do.
He took the toaster from me, set it gently on the table, picked me up, right out of my chair, sat in that chair, and settled me onto his lap.
Wow.
“Babe,” he whispered. “It’s just a toaster.”
“I love it.”
“Really?” he asked, sounding relieved. “I wasn’t sure. It’s not very romantic, but—”
“You noticed,” I said.
Without me ever saying a word, he knew that this stupid beautiful toaster meant something to me.
“Yeah, babe. I noticed.”
My vision got a little blurry. “That’s as romantic as it comes.”
He shook his head. “You’re a nut.”
“No, I’m not.” I pressed my face into his neck. “I loved that toaster.”
“Okay.” He was laughing now, not mocking, but definitely amused, and I knew I was overreacting. He was right. It was just a toaster. But it was also more.
“I think she likes it,” Elli said, reminding me that we had an audience.
“Huh,” Bjorn grunted. “Guess I should’ve gone with the margarita blender, after all. Who knew she’d be so into kitchen appliances?”
“Open the next one!” Amy cried.
“Would anyone mind if I turned on the TV and caught the score of the Cleveland and San Antonio game?” Q asked.
“Go ahead,” I said, my face still pressed in Sean’s neck.
Q clicked on the TV, which was mounted on the wall at the corner of the room. The guys all turned toward the screen. The girls crowded in toward me.
“You all good now?” Sean asked.
I lifted my head. “All good.”
“Mind if I check out the game, too?”
He looked so sheepish, I had to laugh. Men and their games. “I don’t mind at all.”
Sean resettled me in my chair, and he joined the guys.
I reached for the next present, which was from Amy: a set of scented candles with custom labels that indicated several high-fashion brands.
“Oooo,” Jen said. “What does Chanel smell like?”
I sniffed the Chanel candle, then handed it to her.
Jen lifted it to her nose and decided, “Chocolate.”
I gathered all the crumpled tissue paper into my lap, took one more enamored glance at my new toaster, then lifted my gaze to the TV just as the final seconds of the game ticked down.
The buzzer sounded but before the camera switched to the announcers, the screen went red with the words brEAKING NEWS in bold white letters.
The scene switched to what appeared to be a news conference. A man stood at a podium with men in suits and others in law enforcement gear behind him.
At the bottom of the screen, more words identified the man as John Turner, Director of the FBI.
He cleared his throat, and cameras flashed.
“Good evening,” he said. “Earlier today, acting on an anonymous tip, the Las Vegas Police Department discovered the body of Vince Messina, cousin to the Cavallaro organized crime family.”
I sucked in a breath. Was it merely a coincidence that the Cavallaro name was coming up again so soon?
The FBI director continued. “Mr. Messina appears to have taken his own life, but that is yet to be determined.”
Sean glanced over his shoulder at me, then his head snapped back to the TV as the FBI director concluded his announcement.
“A firearm was recovered near Mr. Messina’s body. That firearm has been processed and identified as the gun used in last month’s slaying of FBI agent Hilda Van Dyke.”
They showed a photo of a pearl-handled revolver.
I rose to my feet. The crumpled tissue paper fell to the floor.
Sean came to me instantly.
“That can’t be the same gun,” I insisted. “Not our gun.”
Sean’s green eyes bore into mine. “If it’s connected to a high-profile murder, it would make sense why someone would want to make it disappear.”
“But it didn’t disappear,” I said. “The FBI found it.”
“Did this all just get even messier?” Elli asked.
My eyes slid to her. “I think so.”
“What’s going on?” Parvati asked.
“Yeah,” Jen said. “What’s messier?”
I glanced around at all my friends. No one was backing away from me. They were all drawing near.
I let out a sigh and told them the truth. “Life.”