Chapter 21

5:30 p.m. Saturday

"Are you ready for this?" Andy asked his passenger as they pulled up to the gate in front of the Riley home.

"Not so much," Chris Grant answered. The young man craned his neck to look at the immense house. There was a black limousine already parked in front of it. The last time he'd ridden in one of those was from the funeral home with his grandfather after his grandmother had passed away.

"It shouldn't be too bad," Andy said as he punched in the code. Regan had given it to him the night before – and assured him that her parents had approved that he had it. "They'll be on their best behavior. Regan will stab them where they sit if they get shitty."

"Damn, Man," Chris said. "I mean, everyone said her family was loaded but I didn't think it was this loaded."

Andy let out a sigh as he pulled forward.

"Well, it is," he said.

"How in the fuck did you manage this?" Chris asked, shaking his head. The house was even larger than he suspected from the end of the driveway.

"I have a 14-inch cock," Andy said. Chris was so engrossed with his surroundings that it took a moment for the words to sink in. When they hit, he burst out in laughter.

"Dude, I had gym class with you our sophomore year," he said. "Unless you got an elephant trunk transfer, I know that's not it."

"It was the only explanation I could come up with," Andy told him. "Just relax. Regan is cool. She said Ruth is, too. Her parents are ... I don't know what her parents are. I can honestly never tell when they're feeding me a line of bullshit so I've stopped worrying about it."

"Well, I look at it this way," Chris said. "After a couple of hours, I'm out of here and never have to come back. You've got to put up with it until she figures out she could get any guy in the world and tosses you onto the trash heap."

"Hey, that hits a little close to home," Andy said.

"Nah," Chris said as he punched Andy on the arm in the way men have soothed grievances for millennia, "unless Elizabeth has lost her mojo, that ain't gonna happen."

Andy unbuckled his seatbelt, smoothed down his Polo shirt, and opened the door. Regan raced out of her house with a big smile and wrapped him in a hug. Dinner was supposed to be casual – which for Andy and Chris usually meant they didn't come to the table bare-chested. In the Riley's parlance, it meant a nice pair of slacks, a polo shirt and dress shoes (or at least that's what Regan had told him).

Indeed, she was dressed almost identically to him – right down the colors each had selected. Andy wore a pair of tan slacks, a dark green Polo and brown shoes. Regan's shirt was perhaps a shade or two lighter but everything else matched.

"Isn't that cute," Ruth said. She had walked more sedately out of the house (and only offered Chris a handshake). Andy suddenly understood why Regan found Ruth so disconcerting. He couldn't tell if she was being sincere or being snide.

She seemed to recognize that what she said could be taken any number of ways.

"I have got to stop doing that," she said, shaking her head. "I honestly mean that it's cute."

"Totally unplanned," Regan stated. Once she had started to pay attention to Ruth, she had figured out the differences in inflection between snarky and heartfelt.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Andy," Ruth said as she came across with her hand extended.

"You, too," Andy said. "You look very pretty today. I like the way you've done your hair."

"You know, I never gave it much thought before," Ruth admitted. "Today, wow. It was like a total spa treatment. I sort of feel like a new person."

"The photo from your yearbook really doesn't do you justice," Chris chimed in. In the photo, Ruth looked cute – but that was all. Now she looked pretty. The hair that had been tied back in a ponytail in the picture now was in ringlets that cascaded down her shoulders. The school sweater and white shirt had been replaced by a blue blouse that highlighted her eyes. Ruth was never going to be considered "heroin-chic thin" but her curves appeared to be numerous and all be in the right places.

"Come on in," Regan said, putting her arm around Andy's waist and hugging herself to him.

"We need to get our garment bags," Chris pointed out.

"Oh, sure," Regan agreed. The men picked up their suits and their toiletries before escorting the women inside.

Once again, Chris just gawked.

"You get used to it," Regan said with embarrassment. "Andy called it a 'shrine' to my mother's 'monster ego.'"

Chris' eyes widened and his mouth dropped.

"To her face," Regan added with glee.

"It's fine now," Ruth assured her guest. "It's all smoothed over. He didn't bring you to be his food taster for the evening."

"I was sort of wondering," Chris admitted with a laugh.

Indeed, Rita and Robert Riley greeted Andy like a long-lost relative when he came in. They were dressed similarly. Rita wore a lightweight dress and Robert had on slacks and button-down shirt with no tie.

"The menu is going to be light foods," Robert said. "The girls said they didn't want you too full to dance. I pointed out that Andy is a pretty good-sized fellow but that didn't matter. Chris, it looks like you could have handled a steak without too much trouble."

"I'm sure whatever you've selected will be fine, Sir," Chris said.

"We're Robert and Rita," Regan's mother said.

"And Regan and Ruth," Chris' date offered.

"My middle name is Robert," Chris supplied.

"Mine's Ryan," Andy told them – although everyone but Ruth and Chris probably already knew it.

"There you go," Robert said with a laugh. "I'm actually Robert Allen Riley."

"My full name is Rita Suzette Riley," Rita added with a smile.

"Regan McKenzie Riley," Regan provided. All eyes turned to Ruth but she was shaking her head.

"No," she said. "I am absolutely convinced my parents hated me. At least until I thought about the fact that my brother is Abraham and my sister is Naomi. Ruth is bad enough. I will not tell you my middle name."

Regan already knew it – because a teacher had announced everyone's full name during roll call one morning.

"It's not that bad," she said.

"Sure," Ruth said. "That's easy for a girl named Regan McKenzie to say."

"It's fine," Rita said, patting the girl on the arm. "I think Ruth is a lovely name, by the way."

"If you're a 90-year-old woman," Ruth said, rolling her eyes.

"Biblical names are making a comeback," Chris said. "Two of the most popular names for boys this year are Joshua and Noah. Maybe Ruth will make a comeback and you'll be a trendsetter."

"Heriot," Ruth said. "Not even Harriet. It's pronounced 'HARRY OTT.' I swear, my parents are the reason people should need a license before they have children. That could be the first question: Do you plan to name your child something stupid? If you answer yes, you're immediately disqualified. They might even consider spaying or neutering you at that point."

The group couldn't help but laugh and even Ruth joined in.

"Regan, if you'll help me, we can bring out the food," Rita proposed.

Regan had been impressed. Her mother had given the entire household staff the evening off (after the food was prepared, of course). Dinner at the Rileys wouldn't be that much different from dinner at the Draytons or the Greens, she figured. She walked into the kitchen with her mother while Robert ushered everyone into the dining room.

"You know," he said conspiratorially, "Regan was almost named Tullulah."

"Tullulah?" Ruth asked incredulously.

"Oh, don't tell that story, Robert," Rita said as she emerged from the kitchen pushing a serving cart. Andy saw it looked like fish for supper – but not sticks or breaded fillets like he was used to. Regan followed her out carrying something in a casserole dish. It was covered so Andy couldn't see what was inside – and he suspected he couldn't name it if it was uncovered.

"Oh, yes," Robert said. "I'll finish after we take our seats and dig in. You will all want to hear this one."

Robert sat down at the head of the table – which surprised Andy. His shock furthered when Rita sat down to his left. Regan sat beside her mother and Ruth and Chris staked out spots opposite Regan and Rita. That left Andy to sit at the other end.

"Uh, Mrs. Riley, would you prefer to sit here?" he asked.

"Why, Mr. Drayton, I thought we decided I was Rita," she said with a smile. "And I'm perfectly happy where I am."

She reached out and clasped her husband's hand and Andy wondered again if he had fallen asleep and found himself in a dream. He thought it would rude to try to pinch himself again – and he was pretty sure he'd already left a bruise or two on his arm that morning. Instead, he sat down beside Regan, who took his hand and leaned over closer to him.

"I made sure you'll recognize everything we're having," she whispered. "Swordfish steaks, steamed broccoli and cauliflower and rice. Did I do good?"

"It would have been fine," Andy whispered back. "But, yes, I appreciate your consideration."

Regan squeezed his hand as Ruth spoke.

"So, I want to hear more about Regan almost being named Tullulah," she said.

"Tullulah?" Regan asked, looking down the table at her parents. "I'm starting to lean toward Ruth's licensing idea. What were you thinking?"

"There was a celebrity who named his kid that," Robert said, smiling and shaking his head. "Your mother thought it was the coolest name in the world."

"What were some of the others, Rita?" he said. Rita was blushing and looking at her hands. It was obvious that she wasn't accustomed to being picked on and Andy wondered if he was about to watch the Riley household implode.

"My mother wanted to name me Crispin," Chris chimed in.

"Like the drawer in the refrigerator?" Ruth asked.

"That's 'crisper'," Regan noted. She seemed oblivious to her mother's discomfort – or perhaps she just didn't care.

"That might have been better!" Chris said with a laugh. "Cooler heads finally prevailed and they settled on Christopher."

"Apple," Rita said with chagrin. Chris' revelation had apparently been enough to let her know that everyone thought of naming their kids something weird.

"Apple?" Regan exclaimed, the fork stopping halfway to her mouth. "Why not Asparagus or ... or ... Mango?"

"Hey, just think," Ruth said. "If you had been named Tullulah Apple we'd have been besties your first day on campus! Tullulah Apple and Ruth Hariot. What a pair we would have made."

"I finally convinced her that you'd become a stripper just to spite us," Robert said with a laugh.

"I might have," Regan said.

"We lived in Manhattan at the time," Rita said. "And people were giving their children unique names."

"Unique doesn't mean ridiculous," Regan said. "I think my name is perfectly unique. Ruth is unique."

"In an antiquated sort of way," Ruth added with a laugh.

Andy was sitting quietly – as he normally did when he was around a group of people he didn't know well. Ruth thought he might be feeling excluded so she turned to him.

"What about you?" she asked with a smile. "And almost painful names in your background?"

"I... ," Andy began.

"Andy was named for his grandfather and I don't think Camille considered anything different," Regan answered for him.

"I read a book with a character named Andrew Ryan in it once," Chris said. "I can't remember what it was though. I think he was a policeman but..."

He shook his head. Andy realized that Chris' charm had a way of making potentially awkward situations bearable. He regretted not getting to know him sooner.

Light conversation continued throughout the meal. Regan couldn't remember this much laughter in her household and it brought a wide smile to her face to hear it now. She reached across to give Andy's hand another squeeze.

Beside her daughter, Rita was thinking the same thing. They hadn't talked about business or finance. There had been no bickering or quarreling over something inconsequential. It had been a fun dinner with fun people.

"So, I know Andy and Regan are headed to Stanford," she said. "Where are you bound next, Chris?"

Regan had filled her in on Chris Grant and Ruth DeLancy's college plans so it was a safe question.

"Uh, Julliard School of Music," Chris said sheepishly.

"Outstanding!" Robert said. "Congratulations. I don't mean to belittle Regan or Andy in the slightest but it's a lot harder to get into Julliard than Stanford. You must be very talented."

Chris seemed embarrassed so Andy decided to help him out.

"He's been the best oboe player in the All-City Orchestra since he was a sophomore," Andy provided. "I'm not talking about the Youth Orchestra. He's been outshining adults since he was 15 years old. Talented might not cover it."

"So it seems," Robert said, clearly impressed. "Well, you will love New York. And I'm sure Regan can fill you in on some of the cool places to hang out. Congratulations again. I am very happy for you."

"Thank you," Chris said.

"How about you, Ruth?" Rita posed.

"Northwestern," Ruth answered.