Page 165 of The Holy Grail
“Why don’t you call me Dolly?” she told him. “All my friends do.”
David’s eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in disbelief, as Evan not only got to skip over calling her ‘Mrs. Harte’, but also skipped right past ‘Dolores’, neither of which David had been allowed to do. Getting to ‘Dolly’ had takenmonths.
Evan winked. “Dolly, it is.”
She actually blushed a little. “Oh, you’re trouble, I can tell.”
“You have a good eye.”
“My late husband, William, was a bit of trouble, so I know it when I see it.”
“Is that why you fell for him? Because he was trouble?”
Dolly leaned forward, as if sharing a secret. “Well, let’s just say it wasn’t a deterrent.”
“You know what I’m thinking? I’m thinkingyou’rea bit of trouble, too.”
“Me?” she asked with a hint of a giggle. “Not even a little bit.”
David, in the process of taking a sip of his beer, almost choked.
“That’s what people who are the most trouble always say,” Evan countered. “I mean, it’s what I always say.”
The introduction to Malcom, though, was perhaps the strangest one, as neither, Evan, Malcom, or Jules had anticipated it, so when David made the introduction, it was all very awkward, which actually gave the appearance nothing was going on more credibility.
Everett and Evelyn were also invited, and showed up together, followed by David’s assistant, Kim, and Marilyn, a former neighbor. Last, but not least, was Lauren.
With music playing in the background, a large buffet of food, along with cut up strawberries and pink fluff, and everyone enjoying beverages, there was a lot of mingling and laughter. The cats, not fans of all the people and noise, had disappeared, likely to hide on the second floor.
When it was time for Jacob to go to bed and Julian to be put in his crib, Paige and David went upstairs for a little bit, leaving the guests temporarily to their own devices in the living room.
Evan, who had been doing his best to not interact with Malcom and Jules too much, made eye contact with both of them before excusing himself from the conversation he was passively involved in with Everett and Evelyn, and headed into the kitchen.
A few moments later, Jules and Malcom joined Evan in the corner of the kitchen, near the end of the buffet table, by the strawberries and pink fluff.
“I think I’m going to head out, as soon as Paige and David come downstairs,” Evan said, before dipping a strawberry into the pink fluff and popping it into his mouth.
“It’s still pretty early,” Jules protested.
“I know, but being here with you two, but pretending I’m not here with you two, is becoming a real drag. It’s also a lot harder to basically be ignored than I thought it would be.”
Jules’ expression clouded, as did Malcom’s.
“I’m sorry,” she said, pulling Evan in for a kiss and a hug.
“It’s not your fault,” he told her. “We agreed not to say anything, but I think I’m done for the night.”
Malcom turned Evan’s head for a kiss as well. “We’ll leave shortly after you and meet back at my place.”
Evan nodded. “That sounds good. Maybe we can get up to some fuckery and end the night on a good note.”
In agreement, they all turned slightly away from the buffet table, and stopped abruptly at the sight of Dolly in the kitchen doorway, staring at them from ten feet away.
“Oh, shit,” they all murmured, almost in unison.
“You know, at every dinner party I’ve ever gone to, there’s always that one moment, when things start to get really interesting,” Dolly said, slightly bemused. “And I believe this is that moment.”
“What moment is that, Dolly?” Paige asked, as she and David came into the kitchen, having finished putting Jacob to bed and Julian in his crib. Both were carrying a few empty glasses for drink refills, ever the vigilant hosts.
