Chapter 1.10 Like the Rest of Us

So we were engaged.  Nate and I were both thrilled.  Our social life was picking up, too.  We were invited to a small house party at the Clarks'  to get to know some of the other locals in town.  It was supposed to be a casual affair but I didn't mind.  As long as neither Tad nor Carter were there, then I would be happy.

Of course, that smarmy Derek Rhodes had managed to worm his way in.  He was evil, much like his wife, Veronica.  He was probably doing some recon for V and who knows what kind of twisted things she had in mind.  Veronica had a real knack for trouble and the sharpest tongue in town but was filthy rich, so even though no one actually liked her, they included her in their little clique.

I was watching Crazy Claire (Ellis) strum away at a guitar when someone at the party caught my eye.

It was Maggie Haines.  She had always been the shy, mousy girl in school but you'd never think that to look at her now.

"Hello, Maggie," I smiled warmly as I made my way over to her.

"Actually, I prefer Margaret now," she replied with a crispness that could have only come with coaching.

"How have you been lately?" I asked, dying to know about her makeover.

"I've been good!  I just got a job at the school.  I want to teach middle school English," she laughed, showing off her gleaming veneers.  Veneers were not especially cheap and she couldn't possibly have afforded them on a teacher's salary.

"Oh," I nodded.  "Well, you look great!"

"Thank you," Margaret said.  Then she leaned in, confidentially, "can we sit down and talk?"

"Sure!"

We made our way over to the couches and sat down together.

Margaret blushed.  "You can't tell anyone this, but Babe Horowitz has been working with me for a couple of weeks now.  She knows that there is nothing I would like more than to get married so she promised to help me snag the man of my dreams."

"Well that's great," I beamed.  "And who might this man be?"

"Carter Pomeroy."

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

Fortunately, I didn't have much time to ponder the Margaret/Carter fiasco because we were hosting our own party the next evening.  Because we already lived together, we had decided to forgo the traditional Bachelor/Bachelorette parties and have one big party at Lars Disco-tech.

It was a lovely evening and everyone seemed to have a good time.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

When Nate and I got home, we toasted each other on the evening's success.

He spent his last night as a single man, painting...

...while I got a massage.