Tamara's dad let her out in front of the door before parking the car. To escape the howling wind she waited inside the lobby. She tapped her foot and then bounced on the balls of her feet. Was Hayden already inside? Would he be wearing a suit like the sons of the other lawyers? She tried to imagine him in a suit, but failed.
“Ready?” her dad asked, appearing at her side.
“I'm starving, so I hope they get to the point and don't talk our heads off,” Tamara laughed.
“Me too,” he nodded, “but I think we're early.”
“We're always early.”
“I like it that way,” he said as they entered the ballroom.
The ballroom was crowded with lawyers from both Mr. Page's firm and others, most of whom seemed to have brought along their families. Through the crowd Tamara spotted Hayden standing beside a man whom he looked very much like. Hayden had inherited his broad shoulders, mess brown hair, and brown eyes from his dad. The man laughed at something and Tamara added his smile to the list. Hayden must have felt her staring at him, because he turned in her direction and grinned. She smiled back and gave a tiny wave, hoping her dad wouldn't notice. Hayden was wearing a suit, but had discarded the jacket somewhere along the way. His tie had some design on it, but she couldn't tell what it was from where she was.
“You know that kid?” Mr. Page asked.
“Yeah, he's in the Chess club too.”
“He's the guy you were talking about in the car.”
“Why would you think that?”
“He looks like the sort of kid that would make a fool of himself if he tried to talk to a girl,” Mr. Page chuckled.
“Shh!”
“What? Afraid your old man is going to embarrass you?”
“No, I know you will before the night's done. Should I resign myself to the fact?”
“Nah, I'll try to behave.”
“Please do.”
“His dad's a good lawyer. I worked with him on this case.”
“Good to know,” Tamara said, “Can we quit talking about it now? He's walking our way.”
“Fine. I'll shut up,” Mr. Page laughed.
“Hey,” Hayden said, pulling her into a quick hug. Startled, Tamara almost tripped over her own feet, but manage to right herself by the time he pulled away.
“Dad, this is Hayden. He's in the Chess Club,” Tamara said, pretending the previous conversation hadn't taken place. “This is my dad.”
“You can call me George,” Mr. Page extended his hand.
“Nice to meet you,” Hayden said, grinning at Tamara.
“You too,” Mr. Page said, “I'm going to see if they have the appetizers out yet.”
“See you later, Dad,” Tamara laughed.
“You look nice tonight,” Hayden said, “Not that you don't always look nice….”
“Thank you,” Tamara cut him off before he made a fool of himself again, “Let's get something to drink and find somewhere in the back to sit.”
“In the back?”