Once we all got dressed, we sat around talking until we heard a knock on the front door. I jumped up and peeked through the blinds to find Mike standing on the porch. I told the girls to head out the back door. Katie said, "What? We can't hide; I have to live with him." I told her to trust me and pointed at the back door. They went. I grabbed three beers and followed them out. I told Paige to grab a couple pieces of wood and throw them on the burn pile as I swiped the lighter fluid off my grill. I poured some lighter fluid onto the pile and lit it.
I said loudly, "Hang on, I think I hear something", and I jogged around to the gate beside the house and stepped into the front yard. Mike was knocking on the door again. I hollered to him, "Hey, I thought I heard someone out here. What's up, man?"
"Is my wife here with you?"
"Yeah, she's in the back talking to my new girlfriend. Come on."
He seemed a little confused by what I'd said. We walked into the back yard where he went straight to Katie and threw his arm around her, as if marking his territory.
"So do you plan on hanging out a while? I could grab you a beer."
"No, we gotta get home. It's late and we have a lot to do tomorrow."
"Okay, just keep your schedule open. I'm thinking about throwing a little party tomorrow night."
He looked at his watch and said, "You mean tonight? It's almost three in the morning."
"Yeah, Thursday night. But you gotta remember, it's not tomorrow to me until I go to sleep."
"Sounds good, let me know"
"Will do. Oh, I'll need to steal your wife for the night too."
"For what?" He looked pissed.
I smiled and said, "To run the bar, she's one helluva bar tender."
"Yeah that's cool. Wait, you have a bar?"
"Yeah, it's the cabinet in the corner of the living room. It opens into a bar."
"Nice, but we do have to get to bed tonight."
"That's cool. I'll get with you tomorrow when I get all the plans nailed down." I turned to Paige and Katie and said, "Alright ladies, you two are gonna have to break it up. Katie has to go home now."
Paige replied with a teasing tone, "Yes, Daddy."
Paige and I enjoyed the fire for a while before heading in to the couch. I turned the t.v. on. Paige snuggled up to me and laid her head on my chest, "Can you wake me up around nine? I have to go into work for a few hours."
"I'll set an alarm for you but if I don't get up, lock the door when you leave and I'll call you later."
"Are you really planning a party?"
"Yeah, but it won't be until Friday night."
"But you just told him Thursday night."
I smiled at her and said, "Exactly! I'll tell him sometime tomorrow that I had to move it for some bullshit reason."
I could see her eyes widen with excitement as she realized what I was doing. She smiled and laid her head back on my chest. It wasn't long before the both of us were asleep.
The house was empty when I woke up. The clock on the stove said it was almost noon. I had a lot to do if I was having a party anytime soon. After a quick shower, I was on my way. I stopped at the grocery store for finger foods, then headed to the liquor store to restock the essentials. A few texts with some friends told me the party had to wait for Friday anyway. My music guy said he was getting back in town late Thursday night, so Friday was perfect for him. Once I had things lined up, I created the event on Facebook and shared it with all the right people. I had it set up to kick off right after sundown. Since the party would be on Friday, Mike couldn't be there. His days off were Wednesday and Thursday, so he had to go back to work Friday and he probably won't like the thought of Katie coming back over without him. It was a few minutes past four. He should be expecting my call.
"Hello?"
"Hey Mike, what's up man?"
"Waiting on you. How are things looking?"
"Everything is looking good but I had to push it back to tomorrow night."
"What? Dude, you know I gotta work."
"Call and see if you can get the night off. I didn't have a choice, man. My buddy JJ, the guy who does the music for me, couldn't do today. He's out of town."
"That sucks. We've been short at work too."
"I know, but it never hurts to ask. Speaking of which, you're still gonna let me borrow your wife for the night, right?"
"Yeah, that's cool. Just keep an eye on her for me."
"I got ya. You know I'll take care of her."
"I'm gonna go ahead and call about tomorrow. I'll catch ya later."
Well, that went better than I'd expected. He actually believes I want him at the party.
I'd only grabbed the basics at the liquor store. I still had to take inventory of what I had. There were no mixers in the house. Not even a coke. I had to get some sodas and juices to mix with. Not to mention lemons, limes, and cherries. The refrigerator still needed cleaning out. I had to make room for all the party supplies. Plus you can't have a party with three-day-old leftovers in the fridge. I made a list of everything that had to be done before the party, then started on the fridge.
The next morning, I didn't have much of that list done. I'd apparently fallen asleep on the couch looking up new drink recipes. There were several recipes posted behind the bar, but I was always looking to add a few more. It was already pushing ten in the morning, so I unlocked the front door, in case Paige was early, and hurried through the shower. By the time I stepped out, Paige was knocking on the bathroom door. I threw some clothes on and we headed to the store for the mixers. Then, it was back to the liquor store for Blue Curacao and Grenadine, both of which are needed for those colorful, girly drinks. After a quick detour by McDonald's, we were back to the house. Katie showed up before we got everything in the house.
"Hey, how'd you get away so early?"
She smiled and said, "I told him I was coming over to help you get ready for the party."
"And he didn't bitch about that?"
"Oh he did. He wanted me to stay home to 'spend time with him'. I told him I wasn't gonna sit around while he played his stupid computer game when our friend needed my help."
"Wow, nicely put. I guess he didn't have much to say to that."
"No, he just said", she deepened her voice and stretched her face, "'Well, I gotta get ready for work', so I left."
"Well, I appreciate you coming."
"I'd appreciate it too", Katie teased as she moved towards me.
"Not now, Sweetie. We can play later."
Paige piped in, "I'll play with you later if he won't."
"But we have a lot of work to do right now ladies."
They each pushed a bottom lip out at me. I asked them to get things ready inside while I found some wood for the fire tonight. Katie asked, "Where are you going for wood?"
"Into the woods, of course", I said as I pointed to the back yard. The entire neighborhood was surrounded by woods. There was a huge wooded area directly behind my house that stretched for several miles. It was typical Small-Town, Florida. I headed into the woods and found more than enough to keep a fire going well into the morning hours. The hard part was getting it all back into my yard. Some of the smaller pieces could be thrown over the fence, but the rest had to be dragged around through the gate.
Once I got it all piled up, I headed back into the house. I hadn't been gone very long, but to my surprise, the house looked great and Katie was washing the few dishes I'd had in the sink. All that was left was to move the bar to the back patio and slice the fruit. "Alright, let's get the bar outside, then I'm getting in the shower."
Paige and I moved the bar and as soon as I stepped back in the house Katie asked me, "Can I come?"
"Where?"