I nodded and followed her over to where some of the other participants set up the kites. I glanced back over my shoulder to see Ace staring in my direction. Maple was saying something to him, but he stared straight at me.
A few other men walked over, and Maple told them something. The next thing I knew, all eyes were on me. Ace continued to stand there like a statue. I turned, shaking my head.
“James, be careful,” Sabrina yelled at her son. “If yours is anything like mine, you have to remind him not to play so rough.”
I laughed. “Only fifty times a day. How old is yours?”
“Eight. And Aiden?”
“Nine.”
“Hey Sabrina,” another woman greeted with a wave. She was cute with short brown hair and a baby on her hip.
“Rach, hey. This is Savannah. Cannon’s wife.”
Naturally, Rachel gave Sabrina the same shocked expression Maple gave me earlier.
“Wife?” she asked as if someone knocked the wind out of her.
“Savannah,” I introduced with my hand outstretched.
She eyed me before shaking my hand. Little by little, more women trickled over to our group, and with every new person, it was the same thing. They all stared from time to time as if expecting me to share my life story with them.
It was strange enough being the newcomer in a group of women who knew each other well, but being introduced as the wife of someone they’d known for years?
It was like being the odd man out in high school all over again. Only, back in high school, I had Ace at my side to help keep the awkwardness at bay. He had a way of always making me feel safe.
That was no longer the case. I stood amongst the women, making conversation here and there. But when their questions bordered on too personal, I not-so-discreetly redirected the conversation.
“Tricia, I wondered if you planned on coming,” Rachel said about forty minutes later when another woman joined us. “Trish, this is Ace’s wife, Savannah,” Rachel introduced as she held her hand in my direction.
There was something in her tone that I didn’t like.
This new woman openly gawked at me.
“Wife?” she said while her hazel eyes looked me up and down. Her top lip curled on a sneer.
It didn’t take the knowledge necessary to fly F-16s to recognize that Tricia took an instant disliking to me. Again, memories from high school rushed back. This woman, with her slim hips, hazel upturned eyes, and thick, long hair, was beautiful.
She was the type of woman few men would pass up, given the opportunity.
“How are you his wife?” she asked, not even bothering to say hello or introduce herself formally.
“It’s simple, really,” I retorted just as tersely. “We stood in front of a pastor, said our vows, exchanged rings, and signed the license.”
Albeit, sixteen years ago, with very few years of even seeing one another in between, but what were details when I was in the mood to be just as catty?
“I think I’m going to get a hot dog,” I said, excusing myself from the group.
As an introvert, the group interaction was already beginning to wear on me, but coupled with that woman’s response to finding out who I was and the whispers I could overhear as I walked away, I needed my distance.
I watched as Aiden climbed to the top of one of the jungle gyms, preparing to slide down. He looked like he was having fun. In the distance, I spotted Ace in the light pink Polo he had on with a pair of light blue jeans. He was in a group of men and a few women. All of whom had that look.
“Birds of a feather.”
I turned away from the grill to see Sabrina smiling at me. She nudged her head in the direction of the men. “They tend to group like that. The pilots and the flight crew.”
I nodded. “I figured. They all have that look about them.”
