It was my daughter's graduation party and the place was rocking. Young bikini clad beauties splashed in our pool along with some of my daughter's male friends. The adults sat on the deck drinking cocktails and beer. And my daughter, ever the polite young thing, made the rounds thanking everyone for her gifts.
I was playing horseshoes with some of my buddies and the brother-in-law. My daughter and my wife posed for a couple of pictures. A pair of real beauties. I got my wife, Celeste, pregnant when she was only sixteen and Megan was our only child. Celeste was still a grade A knockout and the black dress she was wearing showed off her killer legs and terrific figure. And my daughter had quite an effect on the boys as well. Megan was dressed in a black proper skirt and blouse. Her rimless glass glinted in the camera flash as she and my wife flipped their hair back and smiled. The apples of my eye.
"You gonna shoot, Frank?" the brother-in-law asked me.
"Yeah," I said. "Yeah." I smiled and turned my attention back to the game. My life was great. What more could I ask for?
I went down for some more beers later. As I reached into the cooler and fished under the ice, I heard some shouts and a scream. I looked up and a couple of the boys were shoving each other.
One I knewβa big black kid named Tucker. The other I didn't know. He looked latino, but I wasn't sure, and he was pissed. A couple of the other kids were holding him back.
"I better not see you again, you fuck," the latino kid shouted.
"C'mon! Bring it!" Tucker shouted back, grinning. "Show me what you got."
The latino kid surged forward and Tucker came to meet him. People scattered and surged. I heard a scream and saw my daughter lying on the ground in the middle of the scrum. "THAT'S ENOUGH!" I shouted.
I plunged into the sea of people and got between the two kids. "Break it up," I said. "Break it up or the party's over."
"This ain't over," the latino kid said over his shoulder as he walked down our driveway. "This ain't over by a long shot."
I looked at Tucker and he was watching the kid backpedal down the driveway. He had a big grin on his face, but he didn't say anything. The latino kid got into his car and tore off into the night.
I picked my daughter up off the ground. "You ok, sweetie?" I asked.
"I'm ok," she said. "Just got a grass stain on my blouse. But I'm alright." Megan brushed herself off. "I'm going to see if I can get this stain out," she said.
All the excitement got my adrenaline up. After a few minutes I went downstairs to take a piss. I flushed and washed my hands, splashed water on my face. For some reason my own reflection caught my attention. I examined the lines in my face. I couldn't believe how fast time had gone, how grown Megan was. Memories flooded my mind.