Page 117 of Romeo & Antoinette

No response.

“Hey.”

Snapping out of it Marco turned and answered. “What’s up?”

“That’s what I want to know.”

“Oh. I was just thinking maybe I should go out there and talk to him. Try and smooth things over.”

“Really?”

“Sure. Why not.”

“I think that’s a great idea.”

So Marco went to talk to Tyler. Romeo was too far away to hear anything they said so he had to base his impressions solely on their body language. At first everything looked fine. Marco approached the table. They both kind of nodded at each other cautiously. Marco said something and Tyler grudgingly replied. Things seemed to be going along fine. And then all hell broke loose.

Marco pulled out his phone and showed it to Tyler. Romeo could only assume it was maybe a funny meme or an interesting w

ebsite and that, thankfully, they had found some common ground between them. But, Romeo was wrong. What Marco had shown Tyler were the pictures he had taken only minutes before.

All of a sudden Tyler began yelling and cursing and spitting out food. Then he hopped up from the table and charged at Marco. By the time Romeo got to them they were wrestling around on the ground, throwing punches, smashing elbows, kneeing groins, anything they could.

“Break it up! Break it up!” Romeo yelled as he pulled them apart.

“You effin’ son of a bitch!”

“What? You wanted ass fries. You wanted some frumunda cheese. Well that’s what you got,.”

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you both!”

“Allright, knock it off!” yelled Romeo. He’d had enough. With a move so fast no one actually saw him do it, he flipped Tyler to the ground, flat on his back, and shoved Marco about four feet with one well placed push. “Enough!”

Tyler didn’t stay down though. In seconds he was back on his feet and in Romeo’s face.

“Have some lunch, right? It’s on me, right?” The veins in his neck were popping, his eyes bulging out of their sockets. He was furiously spitting with each word he spoke. “I will so get you for this. You’ll see. You thought this was over. It’s only just beginning.” Then he stormed off.

“What the hell?”

“What?”

“What did you do?”

“I gave him what he wanted. He wanted ass fries so I gave him ass fries.” Then Marco whipped out his phone and showed Romeo all the evil things he did to that cheesesteak and those fries, not to mention the coke, and the pictures he took while doing it. All while Romeo was outside calling Ant.

“I gave him everything he wanted and more.”

38

The park was bathed in that perfect, pre-dusk, early evening, sunset twilight time, made even more wonderful by the weather. The day had been sunny and warm with not a cloud in the sky. And now, as the sun began to set, it cast its long, lazy shadow over the length of the scene. It was a sensational setting for the Mayor’s birthday party.

A long drive led down a hill and into a picturesque, waterfront location. Tanuma Lake, named after the Tanuma Indian Tribe, famous for their colorful beadwear, their legendary love of tomato soup and their renowned falcon training abilities, was the centerpiece of Tanuma Lake Park. The drive down cut through the entire expanse of the park and ended at the marina.

On one side was a giant jungle gym and swing and slide area, built in the Mayor’s first year in office. He was big with the mommy crowd and set about fulfilling campaign promises on day one. The playground was usually full of kids, especially this time of year, but the park had been cleared and closed for tonight’s festivities. So the swings and slides and monkey bars sat silent at the moment.

On the other side of the drive was a tree lined field perfect for strolling, soccer games and sun bathing. Of course, it had also been appropriated for the party. A big tent had been set up and strung with twinkly lights. A stage sat at the far end with a wooden dance floor laid out in front of it.

On the stage, a 70s cover band made up of most of the local volunteer fire department, called Disco Infernal, was currently performing their better than average version of “Play that Funky Music” by Wild Cherry. As long as nothing in town burst into flames they would be there all night.

---