He grabbed a plate and followed her down the line.
“Yeah, it does. Must’ve been a lot of work.” He lopped some red-skinned potato salad onto his plate, and a few other nibbles.
“Is something wrong, Jack?” She shot him a glance, then reached for a napkin to place under her plate.
“No, just tired of people trying to get over. There were some hyenas pretending to know something about my son’s murder. They don’t know jack shit. They just wanted the reward money. This happens at least once a month to me.”
“Oh, Jack. I’m so sorry!” She paused, looking utterly sickened on his behalf.
“Why are you sorry? You didn’t do it.” He spooned some coleslaw onto his plate.
“Well, I brought you out here, quite honestly, to relax and have a good time. I thought this would do you some good since you said you don’t really go out much except for work, hunting, and to run necessary errands. Seems it did just the opposite. They tried to shake you down.” She shook her head. “Goes to show, it doesn’t matter what end of the world you’re in, opportunists lurk everywhere.”
Satisfied with their food selections, they searched for a place to eat.
“There’s nowhere to sit in here. Damn.”
“We can go eat it in my truck, then come back inside,” he suggested.
“No, we can’t do that, Jack.” She shook her head in disapproval.
“Why not?”
“Well, that’s rude. You don’t come to someone’s party, grab food, then leave.”
“But we’re not leaving. We’ll be right outside the house.” He pointed in the direction of the front door.
“You know what I mean.” She pursed her lips, looking rather perturbed.
He picked up a piece of tender turkey meat with his bare hands, shoved it in his mouth, and chewed.
“Well, I’m not standing around here. I’m going to the truck.”
“So, that’s how it is? You’re just going to leave me here?”
“You act like I’m about to swim the seven seas. It’s just right outside.” He licked his thumb, then smacked his lips.
“You have no manners.”
“You have no chair. No couch, either.”
“We don’t stand a chance, and we haven’t even gotten started.” Her smile seemed forced. “Why are you like this? Are you the best Alaska has to offer? Please tell me you have a brother. One that looks like you but behaves the exact opposite. I want his number, please, so I can ask him on a date instead.”
He had to laugh himself at that. “I have a brother, but he’s married and lives out of state now. Trust me though, I’m the better of the two of us. You lucked out.”
“If this is luck, then I must be a cat and on my ninth life, walking on a sidewalk crack, under a ladder, after spilling salt and breaking a mirror, on the thirteenth day of the month.” She looked around, probably searching for Martha.
“She’s not over there. I saw her go towards the kitchen with another lady a second ago. You know she’s not watching you, right? You can settle down. She doesn’t have a GPS on you.” He grabbed a rib from his plate and sucked on the succulent meat. She stared at him in disgust as he got down and dirty on the gristle, really making a show of it because he knew it would upset her.
“Do you have to eat like that?”
“Come to the truck with me if it bothers you so much. No one will see me eating there. That way, we can protect your delicate sensibilities.” She smacked her lips and rolled her eyes. “It’ll only take a few minutes.”
“That’s what she said!” She cackled.
“Huh? What does that mean?” He pretended to not know. Another chance to mess with her.
“Never mind. Let’s go eat and hurry back.” The woman looked around once more, for good measure. It reminded him of someone trying to conduct a covert operation. He was tempted to tell her how silly she was being but decided against it. He’d toyed with her enough for the night. “I don’t want poor Martha to notice us missing is all. She’ll think I bailed on her.”
“There have to be over sixty people in this house, Kim. If she notices you’re gone within five minutes, she must be half hawk. Now come on, our food is getting cold.”
They headed out the house and were shortly situated in the truck. He reclined his seat a bit, and they tossed their napkins on the dashboard, ready to get down to work. For several minutes, all one could hear was their chewing and the radio: Selina’s ‘Pretty in Pink’. It was a blustery cold night with no precipitation. The stars were bright in the sky.
He studied her with a smile.
“What?”
“You obviously like your food.” He turned back to his plate, wishing he had another beer, or at least some water. “Look at your greasy lips. That’s proof you’re enjoying it.”