Anjuli entered first. Neill followed, a bowl of cheese puffs clutched to his chest.
“Hi. We’re friends of Mary’s from school,” Arden announced with a perfect cocktail party smile. “How do you know each other?”
Open-mouthed, Anjuli looked from me to the other three, and then at Pittaya. Her eyes narrowed. “I’m basically her oldest friend.”
“From my old school,” I hinted.
“Ah.” Arden was temporarily at a loss for words. “How nice that we can all be here to celebrate Mary,” she finally managed, placing a restraining hand on Lydia’s arm.
Thumping and clattering, Jasper and Bo made their way up from the basement. “Excuse us,” Jasper said, forcing Anjuli to dodge out of his way. “Oops,” he added, disingenuously. “Didn’t see you there.”
“Is dinner ready?” Neill crunched as he spoke, his fingers scrabbling at the bottom of the mostly empty bowl.
“No!” Jasper sent me an accusing look. “You didn’t tell me there were cheese puffs!”
“It’s a night full of surprises,” I replied as my brother stalked across the room to repossess the bowl.
He looked suspiciously at Neill’s hand. “Have you been licking your fingers?” Neill shrugged. With a scowl of disgust, Jasper shoved the bowl back at him.
“You know it’s bad when Jasper won’t eat it,” Bo whispered from behind me.
I could only nod, thinking how ill all this boded for the meal ahead. Food shortages. Petty squabbles. Poor table manners. Instead of seeing my family at its best, my friends would be treated to the kind of infighting that always broke out when resources were scarce.
Then I heard footsteps on the stairs and Addie appeared, bringing with her a ray of hope. If anyone could keep things civilized, it was my serene oldest sister.
She smiled at me as she placed a package next to the other presents. “Full house.”
“Mm-hm,” I agreed through closed lips.
Next to arrive was Cam, who took in the scene with a quick side-to-side flicker of the eyes but otherwise betrayed no reaction. Van arrived a few steps behind.
“Which one is from us?” she asked her twin, glancing at the pile of gifts.
“That depends,” Addie replied. “What did you get her?”
“I assumed you were on top of it. You know the strain I’m under. Four extra rehearsals this week alone. I’ve barely slept.”
“It reallyisa tragedy,” Addie said, not quite under her breath.
Mom burst through the swinging door. “Hot stuff, coming through.”
“And we have fondue,” Dad quipped, a few steps behind.
A pair of extra pans had been pressed into service as fondue pots; one cast iron and the other a cheerful red enamel. Hopefully the arrangement appeared semi-intentional, and not as though we were scrambling to accommodate unexpected guests.
“Grab a chair, any chair,” Dad said. Anjuli and Neill reacted as though a piñata had burst open, leaping forward to seize what they could, while Jasper calmly pulled out a chair for Terry. Pittaya and Lydia reached for the same seat, but he immediately conceded, bowing her toward it. When the dust cleared, I tried not to mind that I was stuck with the worst folding chair, the wooden slats striping the backs of my thighs.
“That’s certainly an impressive pile of gifts,” my father remarked as the bread basket made its way around the table.
“And flowers,” added Bo.
Jasper stabbed his fondue fork into the nearest pot of bubbling cheese. Neill, seated next to him, pulled out an empty skewer. He cast an accusing glare at Jasper, who smiled beatifically. Neill flushed, looking around for someone to whom he could tattle.
“More bread?” my father offered.
“Do you have any white bread?”
Mom gave Neill a look.
