I couldn’t hold back the snort that bubbled to the surface or the snickers that spilled out. We must have looked pretty damned ridiculous laughing as we picked out potholders andbobbed them around in the air between us like they were walking, but it was fun and funny, and we needed that after yesterday.
“So, where do they usually vanish without a trace?”
“My workshop,” he admitted.
“Which means they aren’t lost; they’re just buried,” I pointed out. “Why don’t we make sure this batch stays in the kitchen before Lani is forced to come hunt for them and wreak havoc upon what I’m sure is a complex organizational system?”
“If by complex you mean I know where everything is, then yeah, I’m proud of myself for that. There’s not anything I can’t find when I need it.”
“Except the potholders,” I said as we paid for four of them and the whiteboard.
“Fair.”
Chapter 11
Lani
“I’m sorry, Mr. Agualo, but we’ve reached capacity; we absolutely cannot accommodate any more guests, and you’ve gone forty-five minutes past the time when your event was scheduled to end. It’s time for the party to end, at least at this location.”
I didn’t know how much more firmly I could put my foot down before the event hall manager stepped in and things got unpleasant. I liked Ramon; we worked well together, but he wasn’t as malleable as I was and hated when people pushed for more time or a feature that hadn’t been negotiated to be in their event package. He tapped a finger against his gold watch as he eyed me from across the hall, both of us dressed in our island finery: floral-printed shirts and black slacks with matching earpieces.
“Okay, okay, relax, Lani, we’ll be moving along now that the gifts are loaded in the van,” he said, clasping me on the shoulder. “You and your staff outdid yourselves. I want to thank you all for making my daughter’s day so special. I need to give this toyou. Your bonus for a job well done. I can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish together for the christening.”
He pressed an envelope of bills into my hand, which I wasn’t sure I could accept. “Mr. Ogo already gave us our bonus.”
“That was from him; this is from me,” Mr. Agualo said before waving to a relative and heading their way to chat.
A short time later, phones started buzzing, and folks began saying goodbye to one another while others arranged which vehicles to take where, as carpooling plans began unfolding. I guess he’d taken me at face value, that the party was only done at this location. The text must have been him passing around the information about the new location. I watched an older gentleman escort his elegantly dressed husband to the door and hold it open for him, the two sliding into the backseat of a car that soon followed a line of other cars out of the parking lot.
Across the room, a man with three young children shot the occasional wistful glance at the door the others had gone through in between wrangling the trio, who still looked like they had a ton of energy to spare, while he looked completely worn out. I felt for him; they looked like a handful.
“Alright guys, there are just a few guests remaining,” I spoke into my mic. “Catering has done their part and finished clearing the food away. Once the hall is clear, we’ll get to work clearing the decorations. Remember that our clients have asked that all floral decorations be donated to The Golden Oasis senior center to brighten up the space for the residents.”
“We’ve got a van already staged to make the delivery,” Sonja, my second in command said.
“Thank you,” I replied through the headset.
It took another ten minutes before the man with the kids got them all out the door, with both of their shoes on, after a hunt to locate a missing one. We moved in like the well-organized swarm of party-planning ants we were to clear away the décor sothe event hall staff could get to work with their cleaning duties. Thursday afternoon tea was set for ten tomorrow, and they prided themselves on putting on an excellent event.
The last thing I expected when I got home was to walk through the door to a pleasant aroma and a warm plate sitting at my place at the table.
“Guys, you didn’t have to do this,” I said as I gratefully took my seat while Nyx yawned. “Or wait up.”
“We’d have stayed up and waited until midnight and beyond, but we’re glad we didn’t have to,” Kekoa said as they got up and filled my glass with ice. “Sweet tea or Kool-Aid?”
“How about you mix them together?” I said. “I would use the double dose of sugar and caffeine just to get through this plate.”
Kekoa nodded and started pouring. “Did everything go well?”
“As well as could be expected,” I replied. “They packed the place all the way until the very end and tried to get me to let more people in. They were already past their shutdown time at that point, so I told Mr. Agualo that he needed to shut it down, which he did. Who knows where he took it, but he threw together an impromptu after-party. I’m just glad to be home. Tomorrow evening we have the setup for the first of two events on Friday, then it’s duets on Saturday and Sunday.”
“Duets?” Kekoa asked.
“Two events each day,” Nyx said.
“Gotcha.”
“The only thing you guys will see of me is my imprint in the bed,” I explained.
