BOOK VI - FAMILY FEUD
Chapter 1
George had set his alarm for ten a.m. and it buzzed exactly on time. He had slept soundly and when he stood up he felt just a tinge of a hangover. He was certain his headache would dissipate with some food and coffee.
He showered and shaved and began dressing to go find something to eat. As he was knotting his tie, the phone rang. The caller was Wesley Palmer, the man George was supposed to meet at two p.m. for some sales discussions. Mr. Palmer asked if they could get together at noon, as he had to be on a two-thirty flight to Dallas. George agreed to be in Wesley's office at noon.
George found a buffet brunch in the hotel dining room and that suited his appetite just fine. He skimmed through the Wall Street Journal as he was eating and then returned to his room. For the next twenty minutes, he studied the folder that contained information on Wes Palmer's account.
The meeting in Mr. Palmer's office was brief and mutually successful. George recommended several new products and Wesley Palmer agreed to buy trial copies of all except one of them. He said it was likely that he would need ten to twelve additional copies within two months, if the software lived up to his expectations.
With the agreement signed, Wesley Palmer asked George if he could do a huge favor for him.
"What is it Wes? George asked. "I'll certainly do it if I can."
"I need a bartender," Wes's favor surprised George, but he listened.
Amy Palmer, Wes's only niece was engaged to be married next month. The groom's mother and sister were giving Amy a small bridal shower this evening. The bartender that had been hired a month ago had cancelled out at the last minute, giving some far-fetched excuse. Amy's mother had called Wesley this morning in a total panic and Wesley had agreed to fill in as the bartender; now he had another commitment, flying to Dallas. Anyway, if George had no special plans for the evening, he could do Wes a huge favor by tending bar for the shower.
George had planned to try and find a date from his week's acquaintances, perhaps Marge, and have a quiet dinner somewhere. The prospect of a bridal shower did not appeal to him at all. Nevertheless, he felt an obligation to one of his best customers and he agreed to the arrangement; Wes thanked him profusely.
Wes gave George directions to the home of the Groom, thanked George again and rushed off to the airport, leaving George with an afternoon to kill. George decided to spend it at the Air Force Museum and he found the time slipped by quickly as he viewed the many old airplanes and other exhibits.
At five o'clock, George reached the address he had been given and pulled his car into the driveway in front of a four-car garage. He rang the door chimes and waited for at least a minute before a young woman opened the door.
"Hi, I'm George, your new bartender," he quipped
The young lady smiled and invited him into the entryway. "I'm Lonnie, Jack's sister. You're a little early; we're just getting things set up. Come on in"
"Who's Jack?"
"He's my brother, the groom. I thought you knew him."
"I'm not the guy who was supposed to tend bar for you. I'm a last minute replacement that Amy's uncle dug up."
"I see. -- I wonder if mom knows about this."
They proceeded into a huge formal living room. The carpet was a lime color and very plush. The furniture was all French provincial and the walls were covered with what looked to be original paintings.
"Sit down, George," Lonnie motioned to a chair. "I'll find my mother and introduce you to her. She is really the one in charge of food and drink. I'm entertainment."
Lonnie was back in less than a minute with her beautiful mother. This woman was a dead ringer for Joan Collins, but quite a few years younger looking than the sixty-year-old movie star. She was introduced as Jennifer, the hostess for the shower. George's interest in the shower was kicked up an order of magnitude the instant he saw her.
Lonnie explained the substitute bartender business and George explained how he had been drafted to fill in. Jennifer looked more than a bit peeved but she told Lonnie to show George where the liquor and food would be served. George followed Lonnie through the spacious house and down a flight of stairs until they arrived at the shower site.
George was ushered into the most elaborate recreation room he had ever seen in a private home. It was nearly the size of a gymnasium. The room was separated into two halves by a Plexiglas wall running lengthwise down the center. One half contained a beautiful indoor swimming pool and a whirlpool. The poolroom was furnished with deck chairs and lounge chairs and the floor was covered with indoor/outdoor carpeting.
The centerpiece of the other half of the huge recreation room was the bar. It stretched about twenty-five feet long and was crafted of hand carved wood. George was certain that it cost more than many people's houses. The ceiling over the bar contained racks of bottles and glasses. A quick inspection told George that the bar was stocked a well as any commercial bar he had ever been in.
The bar room was furnished with soft lounge chairs and small coffee tables. Plush gray carpeting covered three fourths of the room's floor. One end of the room had a hard wood floor that could be used for dancing or to set up a piano or a combo for entertainment. George also noted a large amount of electronic stereo equipment on wall shelves behind one end of the bar.
Lonnie watched George as he surveyed the room in wonder. "Not bad huh!" she finally said. "This is where Jack and I have done most of our playing since we were babies."
George just nodded his approval and turned his attention to Lonnie. She was a lovely young lady to say the least. Perhaps her best features were her thick black hair, styled to frame her pretty face, and her flashing brown eyes. The loose fitting sweater and slacks she wore revealed little about her figure. A wedding ring and a large diamond adorned her left hand.
"Ignoring George's gaze, Lonnie said, "I'd better fill you in on your job for the evening and then I have to get dressed."
She proceeded to show George where everything was for mixing drinks. The wine rack was obvious and she opened a large cooler that was filled with ice and at least a half a dozen varieties of beer. A nearby refrigerator was filled with pop and mix. She pointed to a large table at the end of the bar and explained that a caterer would be arriving shortly to set up hot and cold hors d'oeuvres. It would be George's job to watch over the food, keep the table straightened, wash dishes and glassware, and serve the guests whatever they wished to drink. There was a book under the bar that contained recipes for hundreds of mixed drinks.
They were interrupted when Jennifer came in and told Lonnie that the food had arrived. Lonnie excused herself and went to direct the caterers to the room. Jennifer, who had tagged along, smiled at George and then left him standing alone.
Soon though, Lonnie returned with two men carrying pans, serving utensils and heating elements. She told them she would return in fifteen minutes to see if everything was set up properly and she left again.
George watched as the men set up the heating elements plugged them into a plug strip. They taped the cord down on the floor and ran it to a wall socket. They arranged the empty pans over the heaters and fired up the plug strip to begin heating the pans.
The caterers made several trips to their truck to bring in all of the food and the dishes. They filled the pans with shrimp, meatballs and chicken wings. Plates of cheese and cold cuts, sitting on beds of ice, were also placed on the table along with two bowls of crackers.
Heart shaped cut glass plates were stacked beside the food and sterling silver forks. Napkins with a red heart framing the silhouette of a kissing couple and the names Amy and Jack were the final touch.
The two men were just placing the serving utensils next to the appropriate hors d'oeuvres when Lonnie reappeared. She had changed into a tight black sheath dress, knee length. Now George could see that her figure matched the loveliness of her face. She had slim legs and curves in all the right places. She looked very sophisticated, but the dress seemed more appropriate for a funeral than a wedding shower.
Lonnie checked the food table and asked the men if they had tongs for the crackers. One of the men told her that most people had trouble using tongs for crackers and would break them. They had found that just letting people pick up the crackers with their fingers seemed to work out better. Lonnie didn't argue.
After the caterers left, Lonnie turned her attention to George. "You're in charge now, George," she directed him. "The guests should be here in a few minutes and the entertainers will be here at six to start setting up."
George saluted and said "Aye aye sir." Lonnie gave him a big smile
"How big a shindig is this?" George asked, pointing to the large amount of food on the table.
"It will be just mother and I and Amy and her mom and two girl friends."
"George showed his surprise. There's enough food there for an army. I hope the entertainers are hungry."
"As I understand it, there are only two of them. But, it will be a long evening and we'll nibble lots as we go along."
"Would you like a drink? I can practice on you before the other guests arrive."
"I'd better not just yet. Like I said it will be a long evening."
Just then, Jennifer entered the room followed by another woman about the same age and a young girl. George was struck by the loveliness of the two newcomers and had a hard time choosing which of the three women to gaze at.
The young girl looked about sixteen. Her big brown eyes gave her a look of innocence that very few females ever achieved. Her hair was light brown or very dark blond; George wasn't sure what to call it. She wore a yellow sleeveless frock over a short sleeved white blouse.
The other newcomer was the tallest of the three, about five foot nine, and looked like a fashion model. Her perfect coiffeur was brown, tinted with blond. Her face was gorgeous and impassive. She wore a beige linen dress that stopped four inches above her knees, revealing long, shapely legs. Her tan pumps had the tallest spiked heals George could remember seeing.
