“Andy, Sammy, this is Venezio. He volunteers here. Venezio, this is Andy and Sammy, my best friends.”
Venezio gave them a nod. “Nice to meet you.”
“They came by to drop off some donations,” I said, reaching into the bag to produce the cash. “Looks like, maybe…” I started, fanning the cash, impressed by how many tens and twenties were in the stack.
“Twenty-eight hundred, give or take,” Venezio said, making my eyes widen.
“No way you can tell that.”
“Count it,” he invited.
Andy shot me a bemused little shrug as I started to count the stack of cash.
“Twenty-eight hundred and forty-three dollars,” I said, shaking my head at Venezio. “That is seriously impressive.”
“Hundred and fifteen more kids get gifts.”
“I’ve always been envious of people who can do math off the top of their heads like that,” I admitted, tucking the money away. “This is so great, Andy. Thank you so much.”
“You the lawyer?” Venezio asked, looking at Sammy.
“My reputation precedes me,” Sammy said.
“So, Venezio, what are you up to tonight?” Andy asked.
I shot her stern eyes, the universal ‘What are you doing?’ look. She promptly ignored it, as was her nature.
“Me? Nothing.”
It was crazy, but I liked how taciturn he was. He didn’t ask why she was asking or inquire about her night.
I might feel differently if I thought he was an asshole. I had several instances of that not being the case, though. He was just socially awkward and withdrawn. I figured he didn’t ask or engage not because he was being a jerk but because he was a private person and didn’t want to put anyone else in an awkward situation where they had to engage when they didn’t want to.
“Well, that’s perfect then,” Andy said.
“Andy…” I tried.
“Oh, we both know there’s no stopping her now,” Sammy said, sliding her arm around her girlfriend’s lower back.
Venezio looked between the three of us, confused but maybe a little intrigued.
“Sammy and I were invited to a little friendsmas. You guys should totally come.”
“We weren’t invited,” I reminded her.
“Oh, come on. It’s Drake and Adam’s party. You know how that is.”
Drake and Adam were a wealthy middle-aged couple who owned a small apartment building in Chelsea. They threw notoriously over-the-top parties where basically the whole building was invited, so no one complained about the noise.
The last Drake and Adam party I’d been to had been a Galentine’s Day one from four years prior, in which I got wasted onPretty In Pinkmartinis and woke up in my bra in the bathtub, covered in glitter at two in the afternoon the following day.
By the time I could climb out of the tub, Drake and Adam already had a massive hangover meal spread across the kitchen island.
It had been the best party of my life.
And now I was getting invited to a Christmas one.
Even if the invitation didn’t come directly from Adam or Drake, I knew they’d be fine with not only me being there but Venezio as well.
