The Neighbors

Chapter 18

The day of the party soon arrived. My parents came the night before and slept over so they could help with the preparations. Harry came over at the crack of dawn to help us get ready. We set up tables and chairs in the back yard, in addition to a large canopy that I had rented, just in case it rained.

Harry continued to work in the back yard with my dad and Charlie who had shown up a little later, making sure the lawn was trimmed and that the pool was ready. 

My mom and I went inside to work on food. The girls meandered in and out, with Rachael toddling along behind them. We gave them little samples of food, which they happily munched and went on their way.

The party was scheduled to start at 4:00 PM and to go into the evening, so we had planned on some simple dinner foods to make on the grill – chicken, shish kabobs, grilled vegetables. We made potato salad and a few other salads, brownies, and my friend Angie made a giant birthday cake. She has an amazing talent for cake decorating which she hardly ever gets to use since she works in a department store.

I invited Angie to the party since she made the cake, and I wanted her to finally meet the Styles family. She arrived early in the afternoon to help with set up and to allow our kids to play together.

Just before the party started, Charlie came into the house to find me so he could introduce his girlfriend, Courtney. She was very pretty and she seemed so...conservative. I imagined Charlie to be kind of a party animal, but Courtney seemed very grounded. I tried not to think about what Harry had told me about them when they spent the night together.

"It's nice to meet you, Courtney," I said.

"Nice to meet you, too," she said. "I love your house, and your pool is incredible!" 

"Thank you. I'm glad you like it. You're welcome to come over with Charlie and swim any time. He knows the security codes and everything."

She smiled and then squeezed Charlie's hand and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. He grinned in return, making his dimples pop just like Harry's. Charlie and his girlfriend seemed very compatible and they looked quite cute together. I had jumped to conclusions when Harry had told me about their loud overnight sessions, thinking she would be kind of a tramp. I felt bad for thinking that, because now I realized she was a lovely girl and it was clear that Charlie was crazy about her.

Soon, Harold arrived with two guests – I'd never seen the man before, and I'm fairly certain the woman was the one in the red suit who had come home from work with Harold.

"Lise, this is my best friend, David. He just arrived from England this morning," Harold told me.

"Hello, David. Welcome to the US, and welcome to my home," I smiled.

"Thank you for having me," he grinned. He was incredibly handsome. I swear he could have been Zac Efron's older brother with those dreamy eyes and golden brown hair. Was it a rule that every man from England had to be strikingly handsome?!

"And this is Whitney," he said, introducing me to the blonde woman. She was wearing red again, but this time it wasn't a business suit, of course. She had a red tank top with sparkly sequins along the neckline and a crisp pair of white shorts. Her high-heeled sandals showed off her impeccable pedicure. I couldn't imagine how any of these people would be swim later without ruining their perfect hairdos and expertly pressed clothing. 

"Thank you for hosting this party, Lise," Harold said. "I'm truly honored." And I knew he was sincere.

I gave him a friendly hug and said, "I'm happy to do it."

He then informed me that a few more of his colleagues would be coming as well, but he told me that he would keep an eye out for them.

I excused myself to continue making preparations. I found Charlie and asked, on the spur of the moment, if he would be the bartender for a while. I would ask my brother-in-law to do it later, but he hadn't arrived yet. Harry had given me money to buy all of the alcohol since he couldn't legally do so in the US, and I bought a lot of it, at his request. Charlie quickly began pouring wine and making mixed drinks. Apparently, he'd had a little practice.