Hug Everyone You Know by Antoinette Truglio Martin

Author:Antoinette Truglio Martin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: She Writes Press
Published: 2017-04-06T04:00:00+00:00

chapter twenty-nine

Time for a Party

A beautiful warm day with clear skies showed up for the graduation party. Fifty or so relations and friends came to celebrate Hallie. Everyone brought a dish, and I had meats marinating and platters and bowls lined up ready to be filled. The kids splashed and played in the pool. Matt happily grilled. Mom, sisters, and aunts helped me keep the serving table bursting with food and the kitchen sink clear. My dad, uncles, and cousins played bocce in the side yard where they measured close winners by foot paces and toe length. Even Helga enjoyed the day with us.

The realtor walked into the backyard with prospective buyers during Hallie’s graduation party. He apologized for the drop-in and asked if he could show the house. I warned them of the lived-in look of the rooms, with damp towels strewn on furniture, a cluttered kitchen counter, and bakery boxes holding cakes, pies, and cookies scattered on the dining room table and on top of the piano. I knew that Robyn’s and my bedroom were tidy. I hoped Sara and Hallie had at least picked up their underwear and wiped away sprays of toothpaste from their bathroom mirror and sink.

“It’s a livable mess that makes it a home,” I quipped. The buyers were not amused. They were a tall and lean couple dressed in matching chino slacks, light-blue oxford shirts, and large Ray-Ban sunglasses. They could have passed as twins with their whitened teeth and dark hair slicked back into neat ponytails. The only thing differentiating them was that the woman wore a blue silk scarf tied to the base of her ponytail.

The realtor began his rattle about the spaciousness and natural light as he guided them into the house. They completed the house tour within three minutes and came outside to the patio, where Matt was beating down flames on the grill. They looked over the four-foot cedar slat fence into the chaotic fun going on in the pool yard. Gangly teens chased each other into the pool while loud exclamations resounded over an incredible bocce pitch that had just changed the dynamics of the playoff.

I met them from the other side of the fence. “It’s a great house to throw a party,” I offered.

The realtor agreed. The couple sneered and perhaps, behind their Ray-Bans, rolled their eyes over the crude prospect. They declined a tour around the pool yard, a drink, or a paper plate of food. No matter—it was a great day.

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