Chapter#03

"There she is!" Brenda heard Sadie Bedford before she saw her. By the time the hostess had brought her to the table in the back corner, Sadie was out of her seat and throwing her arms around her. Wearing a sleeveless black dress, Sadie's curly brown hair bounced as she greeted her friend. "I was starting to worry you weren't going to make it in time!"

Michelle reached over and gave Brenda a firm hug and a kiss on the cheek. "It's good to see you." Michelle had gone with a green cocktail dress that hugged her athletic frame and while accentuating her Vietnamese features. Her shoulder-length hair was freshly dyed chestnut brown.

Colette Hansen's hug was the tightest. "Hey girl," she whispered. "I'm so glad to see you." Colette's black hair was parted down the middle and styled just above the ears. Her clothing met the dress code, but in a different way, with black slacks, a dark blue button-up shirt, and a black tie.

"Interesting choice of attire," Brenda noted as she got settled.

"I couldn't find a dress," Colette answered. "I kept looking for one but nothing in town caught my eye, and I didn't want to just order one online. So I said 'screw it' and went with something practical. And for tomorrow night I found a red shirt that goes great with these pants. How was the ride in?"

The smile faded from Brenda's face. "There was an accident in the westbound bore of the Eisenhower Tunnel. I was already past the exit to Loveland when I got stuck so I had to wait for them to start moving traffic through the eastbound bore. Then there was an accident in that tunnel so I was stuck under the mountain without a signal. I was going to text when I got out but there were State Troopers everywhere. When I got to my parents' house I left my cell phone in the car while rushing to get ready, and when I went to grab it before driving down the mountain it fell between the seats. At that point, I just said 'screw it.' But hey! I got here under the wire, right?" She smiled warmly at her friends gathered around the table. "It's good to see you all again, live and in person."

"Since you're here, it's now the optimal time to start drinking." Michelle slid a narrow leather case across the table towards Brenda. "You're the expert. Mind doing the honors?"

By the time the waitress made her way to their table Brenda had gone over the wine list and made her decision with input from the other three. Their server was a young woman in her late twenties with light brown hair, naturally tinted with a hint of red, pulled back into a tight ponytail. She wore black pants and a simple white button-up shirt along with a pair of black-framed glasses. "Hello, Colette. Looks like I'm serving you guys tonight."

"Hey, Rosemary," Colette responded. "Good night so far?"

"Busy, but people are tipping well."

Brenda leaned forward from her seat, studying the waitress before smiling. "Rosemary McBrenan! Oh my God, hi!"

"Hello Brenda," Rosemary said with a warm smile of her own. "Colette mentioned you all were getting together for dinner," she added, nodding to Sadie and Michelle. "How's everyone doing tonight?"

"Can't complain," Michelle answered. "How about you?"

Rosemary motioned to the crowded restaurant. "As I said, people are tipping tonight. Makes being this busy worth it."

"How come you're waitressing?" Colette gestured towards the hostess stand on the other side of the restaurant. "You're normally up front."

"One of the waiters called in sick, so Mom asked me to take his shift since we didn't have time to find a replacement." Rosemary shrugged. "It's killing my feet, but what are you going to do?"

"We'll help out by not being difficult customers." Brenda glanced down at the wine list. "We'll take a bottle of Malbec," she said, running a finger down the page, "a bottle of Riesling, and you might as well grab two pitchers of ice water to save a trip."

"Alright," Rosemary said, producing her ticket pad and writing down the request. "Let me get those from the wine cellar and I'll be back in a few minutes."

"I remember Rosemary saying in high school that she was never going to work here if she could help it," remarked Michelle after Rosemary had left.

"Her Dad broke his leg a few weeks ago," Colette explained. "Slipped on a patch of ice and got a nasty compound fracture. He's seeing the same physical therapist as my grandmother. Rosemary's here to help out during the busy season. She swears she's gone once her Dad's better but I don't think that's going to happen."

"It feels like more and more people from our graduating class are drifting back to Emerald Pines. Who all's in town now?" queried Michelle.

Colette held a hand just above the table as she counted. "Not counting Rosemary, there's Ian Rocker. He's working for your dad up at Sapphire Drop," she told Michelle, "doing maintenance in the motor pool. Amy Yates has her dress shop. Tyler Hammond's a physical trainer over at Independence Fitness. Joshua Smith's a firefighter if you can believe that. And, of course, Sadie Bedford, local celebrity and Twitch streamer extraordinaire."

"And YouTuber," Sadie said, hoisting her wine glass. "Plus don't forget Vienna over at Sins and Needles."

"Vienna Polley." Michelle shook her head at the name. "If Amy was the queen bee of our graduating class, Vienna was queen hornet. Has she said if she's coming to the reunion tomorrow night?"

Colette weighed her answer. "She's debating. She says outside forces are pressuring her to go, so if I have to lay a bet I'd say she'll show up."

"Outside forces?" Michelle laughed. "Let me guess. Anthony Giovanni and Garrett West." Colette reached up and tapped her nose as she nodded in confirmation.

"Gio and Garrett," Brenda whistled. "There's a pair of names I haven't thought of in a while. Last I heard Gio was in Wyoming somewhere and Garrett was... down in Florida?"

"Orlando," Michelle confirmed. "He's still living in Orlando according to Gio."