Chapter 3: Party Preparations

On Sunday, as had become custom, Denise and Thomas went to have lunch with Sandy and Eddie. The temperature had warmed to the point that they set up a table outdoors for a barbecue.

“Hey! What’s this I am hearing about a fucking Halloween party,” demanded Tammy before they could find a seat.

“Hello to you, too,” said Thomas in reply.

“Seriously, what the fuck? I mean, I have to hear about your damn party through the grapevine?”

Thomas looked to Billie and scowled. She had gotten Tammy into the habit of swearing and it had not worm off. Billie just shrugged her shoulders.

“Tammy, you’re at the table,” said her mom suggestively.

Denise said, “Yep, we are having a party, and today is the first time we’ve seen you since it was decided, so our plan was to invite you, Billie, and Gabriela after we had lunch.”

“Oh, don’t I feel like a shit,” said Tammy.

“And if you are dating anyone, or want to ask a date, then the three of you can all bring someone,” Thomas finished.

Eddie placed a large platter of hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken on the table.

“A party at your place?” he asked. “You’ve done a lot of work to get it cleaned up.” He left unsaid the obvious question. Will a party trash the place?

Thomas said, “We are looking at about fifteen invitees, so I don’ think it will be the type of party you may be envisioning. But we are going to hire someone to be a bartender – with an open bar – and a caterer for food.”

“In that case,” said Sandy, “if it is OK, maybe we’ll make an appearance before it gets too late and the booze is flowing too freely.”

“That would be fine. We’d love to have you stop by,” said Denise.

Thomas looked back at Tammy and said, “And, by the way, the theme is TV or movie characters.”

He paused a minute then smiled. “And if the three of you ask a date, then you can come as the Brady Bunch.”

Everyone but Tammy and Billie laughed. Gabriela asked, “What is the Brady Bunch?”

Tammy answered, “It was a television show that had six kids. The man and woman both had three kids, he three boys and her three girls, and then their spouses died or divorced – it was never really explained – then they got married and had a family with six kids. His last name was Brady, hence the title of the show, The Brady Bunch.”

“Excellent summary, Marsha, Marsha, Marsha,” Thomas said with an almost straight face.

“Fuck you,” was Tammy’s response.

“OK, time to eat,” said Eddie as he sat at the head of the table after getting a cold beer from inside.

Before leaving the house, Thomas gave his sister final instructions on the party. She said they would definitely come, and would more than likely all bring dates. She was non-committal on if they would come as the Brady kids.

That night, Denise and Thomas lay in bed reviewing her party notebook after a rather calm session of missionary position sex.

“Sometimes, a good classic fuck is all a girl wants,” was what Denise said when Thomas was spent.

“I think we’ve got a good count, a good theme, and an idea of how to decorate,” she said as she flipped pages. “We do have to decide on the music and the food and drink. Do we want to hire a DJ – and can one be found at this late date? What kind of food and booze do we want to serve?”

“I think we can skip the DJ. The stereo in the living room is good, and I can add more speakers to make sure there is plenty of coverage across the house. But I think we should hire someone for the food and drink.”

Denise took notes. “I agree. Let’s take separate cars to school tomorrow. My afternoon class was canceled so I will be done by lunchtime. I’ll come home and make some calls about the food.”

They talked for another thirty minutes. When Denise shut her notebook and placed it on the nightstand, Thomas rolled onto his side and hugged her tightly.

“This will be great,” he murmured as he fell asleep.

When the alarm clock went off at 6:00 AM, Thomas was up without any fanfare. It took a bit of coaxing to get Denise out of bed.

“You said you wanted to start running with me, right?” he said.

Denise nodded her head. The pillow covering her face bobbed up and down.

“Then up and at ‘em.”

They were out of the house ten minutes later. Thomas paused at the back door to stretch.

“OK, we’ll go slow today,” he said as they started down the street.

A few minutes later they saw Mrs. Willow retrieving the newspaper from her sidewalk.

“Thomas!” she called out as they approached. “And Denise, you’re out, too. That’s great.”

There was no trace of mirth or irony in her voice. She was genuinely glad to see Denise.

“Good morning, Mrs. Willow,” Denise said.

“What did I say? Please, call me Ellie.”

Denise nodded. At first, she could not believe Thomas had been Ellie’s bed-buddy after their separation. But the more she got to know her, the more she realized Ellie had a great personality, and for a fifty-something lady, had a great body. It wasn’t that much of a stretch to imagine Thomas licking, sucking, and fucking his neighbor.

They chatted for a few minutes when Ellie said, “Well, you need to get back to your run.”

Thomas turned, then paused, and said, “We’re having a Halloween party. Stop by if you are free.”

Mrs. Willow beamed. “Really? With costumes?”

“Sure,” Thomas said. “We’re going with a TV and movie character theme.”

They could see the wheels turning behind Mrs. Willow’s eyes.

“Can I bring a date?” she asked.

“Are you dating? I thought you said that you broke it off with Alistair?”

“Oh, I did. He had a big dick, but was a dud everywhere but the bedroom. I met Elroy a few weeks ago and we’ve been out to lunch a few times. This may be a good next step.”

“Then, sure, bring Elroy. We’d love to meet him,” said Denise.

They waved their goodbyes and continued with their run.

Denise was at the kitchen table writing in her notebook when Thomas entered the house after his afternoon class.

“How was class?” she asked without looking up.

“Good. Did you make any progress on a caterer?”

“Maybe. There are options, but they won’t be cheap. I know money isn’t really an issue, but these prices seem high.”

Thomas sat next to Denise and looked at her notebook. She explained.