Page 79 of Hide and Sneak
After everyone has eaten, Pops grabs my arm and pulls me into one of the storage areas where a large canister sits in a tub of ice. “VIP section. Grab you and your man a cup.”
It’s a fruit punch mix with tiny chunks of fruit floating in it. It’s delicious but it packs a kick. I stick to taking a few sips, since I have too much to do tomorrow to be hungover, but I grab Sutton a cup to try. “What’s a wedding reception without some Hunch Punch?” I chuckle, and we make our way back outside.
I take the opportunity to give Pops my wedding gift. He opens the envelope to reveal the gift certificate to a local nursery. “I don’t know anything about houseplants but Maren said you’re trying to grow a jungle in your sunroom.”
“Thank you! Archie is going to love it too. He’s the one with the green thumb. I just follow directions and hope I don’t murder any.”
“I’m sorry Amos couldn’t make it.”
Wise eyes look over at me. “You don’t need to apologize for him. I reckon you’ve done enough of that to last you a lifetime.”
“That’s true.”
“Maren told me what’s going on. I raised a son a lot like Amos. Do you want some advice?” Maren’s parents abandoned her with him when she was little. He knows what he’s talking about.
“Yes, I’d like that.”
“Don’t build a porch on someone else’s mess. You’ve done what you can do. The rest is up to him. You can’t make his life better. It’ll only make yours worse. He’s still young and he might get it together, but if he doesn’t, that’s not because of anything you did or didn’t do. It’s time to focus on making yourself happy. Not him or your mother.”
Maren approaches quietly as I reply. “I don’t think he’ll ever hold a job or pay his own way. I just don’t understand it.”
Pops nods, and rubs a hand over his chin. “Some people are so lazy they’d shit the bed and push it out with their feet. I don’t get it either.”
“Pops!” Maren exclaims as I burst out laughing. “That’s gross.”
“I’m sharing priceless advice over here, young lady.”
“He is,” I reply, and give him a hug. “Thank you. And congratulations on your marriage.”
Jarrett’s son, Ethan, runs up to ask if he can invite a friend of his from school. “You can invite whoever you want, kid. Have fun,” Pops replies.
The party takes off as the alcohol starts flowing. It’s a really good time. Sutton pulls me out to the dance floor with a wide smile on his face. “That punch is strong.”
“That would be the moonshine. Don’t overdo it. I have plans for you later.”
“I’m counting down the minutes. But now I want the dance I was promised at the bar.”
I’d forgotten all about that. “You got a lot more than a dance,” I chuckle, pulling him closer and moving to the beat. Of course he can dance. No man who moves like him in bed could be a bad dancer. By the end of the song, I swear the number of people in the room has tripled and it’s starting to get hot.
“Do you want to go outside?” I ask, and he nods, leading the way. We grab our coats and step into the chilly night.
“What the hell?” I exclaim, stopping in my tracks. There are people everywhere. The street is lined with cars on both sides.
Maren and Cara spot us and make their way over. “How big was the guest list?” I laugh.
“Not this big,” Maren replies. “Half the damn town seems to be here.”
Everyone is having a great time but people keep showing up until the community building is at capacity. The street and yards are full of partygoers. They haven’t all come empty handed. Games of cornhole have been set up on two of the lawns, and beer pong tables are now blocking the street.
Pops and Archie join our group at one of the bonfires. Both are smiling ear to ear as Archie says, “You really threw one hell of a party, Maren.”
Maren glances around. “Thank you. I didn’t invite most of these people, though.”
Pops raises his eyebrows, looking around. “We didn’t either. There’s old Frankie. I can’t stand him. What’s he doing here?”
A cheer goes up from the cornhole game as Cara grabs a boy walking by who doesn’t look more than seventeen years old. She plucks a bottle of beer out of his hand.
“Hey!” he protests.
