Chapter 5

Gabriel walked out of the office humming a tune. He smiled at everyone, which was strange in New York. He caught a cab back to his apartment on the upper west side. When he walked through the door, he realised just how much he missed the city. Not that small town life was bad, but there was always an excitement about New York.

Of course, in about six months he'd remember why he left, but for now, everything seemed to be going his way. Not only was he once again going to be gainfully employed, but the pretty young woman who had only crossed his path for one night had called him back.

The timing of everything was good. The person who was sub-letting his apartment had moved out the month before. He didn't have another tenant lined up and wasn't about to give up his rent subsidy. Gabe was smart with his money and had enough that he could live for several years without substantially altering his lifestyle. Still, it would be good to be drawing a paycheck again. Not to mention being out of his mother's house once more.

He picked up his phone, scrolled through the incoming calls and dialed Bailey's number. On one level, he was surprised she called. On another, he was ticked off at himself for not asking for her number so he could call her.

The phone only rang once.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Bailey?" he said, not sure if the number she had called him from was her house or a cell phone. He wasn't worried about his number being caller ID'd; he had call block on all of his lines. "It's Gabe."

"Hey." There seemed to be relief in her voice.

"Listen, I'm sorry for blowing you off this afternoon, but I was on my way to a meeting with my agent," he said.

"How'd it go?"

"Very well," Gabe beamed. "They want me back on the show and called to make me an offer last week."

"That's great," she said softly. If he didn't know any better, Gabe would have sworn that she sounded a little let down by his news. Still he pressed on, unable to contain his own excitement.

"I'm flying back in a couple of weeks, and then I'd like for you guys to come up to the house with your families." He scribbled some notes on a pad at his desk.

"Everyone?" Bailey asked. "If you say all our families, half of Washington County will find some relation to us and show up on your doorstep. TV stars are few and far between out in the country."

Gabe laughed. "How about immediate family? I owe you girls big time."

"How much is 'big time'?" Bailey asked, then paused for a second. He thought he detected a sultry undertone when she spoke again. "Enough for dinner?"

Impure thoughts raced through his mind at her suggestion. The tone of her voice hinted at something a little more ... private ... than he had anticipated. Still, the thought of having a date with the young woman was very enticing. He took a deep breath. "And then some."

"I'll hold you to that," the girl replied, her flirtatiousness suddenly a little hesitant.

"Let me call you in a few days," Gabe said, not really wanting to wait that long to speak to her again. He looked over at the calendar hanging on the wall. "Unless your families are busy on the twenty-fifth—that's a Saturday—why don't you all plan to come over for dinner."

"That sounds good." It seemed to Gabe that she wanted to say something else, but stopped herself.

"I'll look forward to it, Bailey."

"Me, too, Gabe."

There was another awkward silence, then both hung up. He spent the next three weeks both elated and nervous at the same time.

And none of it had to do with going back to work.

The girls and their families arrived right on time. After wrangling around everyone's schedules, Gabriel invited them to a cookout at his mother's house. It was more of a catered event—since Gabe really didn't cook—but the girls's parents insisted on bringing something so he told them to bring a salad or dessert. In truth, he had everything covered, but if it made them feel better, they could bring anything they wanted.

Deep down, as long as Bailey was there, he didn't care what else showed up.

A couple of his friends were in from New York. He thought it would be a good idea to have some other "stars" there to run interference for him. After all, being social for an entire night wasn't really his thing, but he had friends who reveled in it.

Plus, he invited a few of his neighbours since he figured they would be making enough noise to keep everyone up, so Gabe pre-emptively wanted to stave off any complaints. Not that they weren't used to the noise. Before his mother died, the backyard was usually full on most weekends if the weather was good.

He was anticipating forty or fifty people over the course of the night, so well in advance he arranged for a local barbeque restaurant to supply a steady stream of food from pulled pork to beef brisket to rib tips along with potato salad, cole slaw, corn on the cob and just about everything else that people might want.

The back patio had an outdoor cooking area and a bar. A stone fountain and fake stream ran through the composite deck and down the hill into a goldfish pond. His mother loved to entertain people and she was quick to show off the house her son had built for her. As the servers from the restaurant set up, Gabe smiled inwardly, knowing that if she were there, Libby MacKenzie would spend the night in the thick of the action, her hearty laughter turning strangers into her best friends and bringing a sparkle to everyone's eyes.

Chairs were set up around the patio. Citronella torches warded off the mosquitoes. The sun was still above the horizon, but through a stroke of pure luck, it wasn't too hot or humid outside. Gabe even had the hot tub cleaned out and simmering, knowing that some of his friends would undoubtedly end up in it by nightfall.

Teri and Chuck were already into the wine. They were two of his dearest friends. Also actors, they took Gabe under their wings when he arrived in New York, fresh out of college. He was the godfather to their children and they handled all of the arrangements when Gabe's mother died. Gabe didn't have many close friends, but those who were in his inner circle would have fought, died and moved Heaven and Earth for one another.

"I think everything's all set up," Teri walked up and put her arm around Gabe. "It's good to have you back, Lo."

He looked into his friend's eyes and smiled. He started to say something but then heard cars pulling into his driveway. Teri kissed him on the cheek then went to make sure that her husband wasn't too far into the bottle of zinfandel before any of the other guests arrived.

Kimmy and her parents were the first ones to walk around the house. Their eyes were wide at the size and luxury of the place. Gabe greeted them warmly and introduced them to his friends. In addition to Teri and Chuck, his agent Tom and his wife were there, as well as two of the younger actors from the show who he knew from his time on Broadway.

April, Bailey and Morgan's families showed up soon after and then the party got started. Trays of snacks were about and the bar was stocked with wine, beer, soft drinks and bottled water. There was no band, but music played over outdoor speakers hidden throughout the patio. The neighbours began coming over and once it seemed that everyone was there, Gabe got up on one of the stone benches.

"Thanks to everyone for coming out tonight," he said once everyone quieted down. "I'll trust that you guys can introduce yourselves, but the reason for this party is the four young women over there. Thanks to them, I have staged my triumphant return to The Sun Also Sets!"

There was some rowdy applause from his friends and shocked looks from the locals who were out of the New York loop. Teri handed Gabe a handful of the daily rags that were all over newsstands in the city, but didn't circulate much elsewhere. He held up the first, which showed a picture of Gabe and the four girls from prom on the front page. Not bad for a guy who had been out of the business for the past two years.

"It seems that thanks to April, Bailey, Kimmy and Morgan ... and with a little assistance from Facebook and MySpace ... news of my senior prom got me noticed by the publicity hounds at the studio and they came begging me to take my old job back—"

"God only knows why!" Chuck taunted playfully and Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"—And I have decided that I've been a worthless bum long enough—"

There were some snorts and giggles.

"—So I'm going back to drawing a paycheck again."

"Notice that he didn't say he was going back to work." Chuck elbowed Bailey's father and laughed.

Gabe raised his glass. "So here's to you girls ... Thank you for getting me back in the news for something that doesn't involve a Bolivian midget and a donkey, and thank you for helping me to once again become a contributing member of the American workforce."

"Here, here!" everyone chorused.

"And thank you all for being eighteen." Of course Chuck had to get in one last snarky remark.