“You okay?” Ronnie asked once the older women were out of earshot. She could only imagine what Elaine had said to Rose before she and her mother had entered the room.


The young woman took a deep breath before answering. “They are quite a pair, aren’t they?”


“I tried to warn you.”


“You weren’t exaggerating.” She looked up into deep blue eyes. “Ronnie, if it’s going to be a problem, I can go into the laundry room. I don’t mind, really.”


“I should have let you take that escape when you could,” she said apologetically. “Unfortunately they’ve seen you now. You’re stuck, just like me, until the last guest is gone.” She leaned down and whispered conspiratorially, “Welcome to the world of the rich and snobbish.” The doorbell announced the first in a stream of arrivals. “I guess it’s time to meet the rest of the family.”



* * *

In groups of twos and threes the relatives arrived, those that had planned on attending as well as those who decided after finding out it was being held at Ronnie’s home. Limousines and luxury cars lined the long driveway and filled the parking area while taxis dropped off even more attendees. The electronic age allowed word to travel quickly and word was thatplace to be on this evening was the old Cartwright Mansion.


Susan and Jack arrived almost an hour later than expected. The redhead joined her mother and sister while her husband headed for the bar. “What a crowd,” she said joyously as she approached.


“Yes, it does appear to be shaping up to be a success,” Beatrice replied. “Your brother isn’t here yet, though.”


“What a shame,” Ronnie muttered before taking a sip from her long stemmed champagne glass.


“What was that, dear?”


“Nothing, Mother.” She scanned the room. “Excuse me, I have to go tend to my guests. Susan, you can help greet the new arrivals.” Long legs carried her away before they could respond.


The corner opposite the tree seemed to be a good place for Rose to hide out. People stopped by, inquired about what had happened to her, gave sympathetic looks and moved on. She had been eavesdropping on a nearby conversation about the history of a particular ornament when she saw Ronnie moving through the crowd. Blue eyes smiled warmly at her as the tall hostess headed in her direction. “How are you?”


“Fine. Is that your sister?” She pointed at the redhead standing next to Beatrice.


“Mmm.” Ronnie took a sip, letting the tiny bubbles tickle her nose, and looked around.

“Everyone seems to be having a good time. I’ve heard more than one compliment on the decorations. Putting the old ornaments out along the streamers really was a good idea.”


“Thank you.” Rose smiled shyly and looked around the room. “Quite the crowd.”


“Yeah, and some of them were actually invited. Susan said there would be close to forty and we are well past that figure now.” Ronnie tasted the champagne again. “Where’s yours?”


Rose lowered her voice and looked around, not wanting to be overheard. “I didn’t think I should…you know, with the Percocet and all.” She felt alone enough being in a room full of strangers, but not being able to even join them in a simple toast made her feel even more isolated.


“Oh…I didn’t think of that.” Ronnie looked around and waved a serving person over, taking a step away from her in the process. The din of the crowd and the holiday music made it impossible for Rose to hear what was said. A few whispers later and the elegant hostess returned to her side.


Aloud she asked, “Is everything okay?”


“Fine. I just had to take care of something.” She retrieved her glass. “So have you met everyone?”


“I think so. It seems like I’ve been saying ‘hit by a car’ all night long.” The injured woman gave a short laugh. “There’s a little boy running around…”


“Tyler.”


“Yeah, he’s a cutie. Anyway, he was over here earlier. Stepped up on the coffee table before I could stop him and asked me if my stitches hurt.”


“Stepped…” Ronnie looked past her to check if there were any scuff marks. “He walked on my table?”


Rose smiled at her friend. “Don’t worry, I made him get down, but before I did, he leaned over and kissed my cheek.”


“He what?”


“He kissed my cheek. Said his mother did that to his boo-boos.”


“Tyler did that?”


“Yeah, isn’t that sweet?” She watched as Ronnie’s expression changed from one of annoyance to one of pleasure at the kind act.


The serving person arrived with a long stemmed glass filled with amber liquid. “Here’s your drink, Miss.”


“I didn’t…” Rose stopped when she saw the look on Ronnie’s face. “I mean, thank you.”she thought as she took the glass. The server smiled and walked away to take care of the other guests.


“It’s ginger ale. I thought you’d like something to drink that looked like the champagne,” the older woman said, taking a sip from her own.


“Yes, this is perfect,” Rose replied, bringing the glass to her lips. The tiny bubbles from the soda tickled her nose much like she supposed the champagne would. The color match was almost perfect. The ginger ale was so light in color that no one would suspect it was anything different from what they were drinking.


An older woman in a blue dress stopped by to talk with the hostess, giving Rose the opportunity to watch her friend. Ronnie smiled and appeared friendly enough but her body language told a different story. The executive shifted from one foot to another and her eyes darted about as if looking for an escape. Obviously, there was something about this particular person Ronnie did not like. The older woman continued to talk, keeping Ronnie trapped for the moment. Rose decided she liked the way that particular shade of lipstick looked on Ronnie. The discreet slit in the black velvet dress revealed that the tall woman chose to wear a garter and stockings for the evening instead of pantyhose.she thought to herself. Expertly manicured nails tapped the champagne glass in a nameless rhythm as the conversation between Ronnie and the woman in blue dragged on. Looking around the room, Rose could not help but ask herself again why she was here.Rose knew one of the reasons for the large crowd was Ronnie’s presence. She had listened in on enough of the conversations throughout evening to know that.she asked silently.


The woman in blue finally found someone else to talk to and Ronnie was once again standing by Rose’s side. “That’s Agnes, Frank’s wife.”


“And Frank is…” She tried, but there were just too many Cartwrights to remember.


“Cousin, car wash.”


“Oh, right. Is he the one who cheated on his taxes?”


“They probably all do that, but he has it down to an art form.” Ronnie gave her a quizzical look.

“How’d you know that?”


She smiled. “The man with the toupee and the one with the cigar were talking and I heard one of them comment on it.” She gave a sheepish grin. “I was just sitting here and they were right there. I couldn’t miss it.”


“So you’re the one to go to when I want information, huh?”


“I guess it depends on the information,” she replied with a smile.


“Okay,” Ronnie put her hands on the arm of the wheelchair and knelt down so only Rose could hear her. “So, what are they saying about the party? I know what they’ve said to me, but what are they saying to each other?”


Rose’s smile grew even wider. “Everyone is raving about how nice it is, saying it reminds them of parties from years ago. You’re getting lots of compliments.” She did not miss the look of pride that crossed Ronnie’s face.


“So they’re really having a good time?”


“Yes, a fabulous time, actually. I heard more than one person say they wished you would do it every year.”


Ronnie looked around. “You know, it is nice to see the whole family here again. It’s like when Dad was alive.”


Rose put her hand on the older woman’s. “You really miss him, don’t you?” Blue eyes regarded her seriously before she received an almost imperceptible nod.


“He enjoyed these parties.” Ronnie pivoted and looked at the tree. “Christmas was his favorite time. He’d get such a kick out of reminiscing with everyone or seeing the kids opening their presents.” Her face took on a faraway look. “He used to drag out the projector and screen and show the old home movies.” There was a long pause and Rose patted her friend’s hand in silent support. “Yeah, I miss him.” Ronnie stood up, withdrawing her hand from under the smaller one.

“He would have liked this.”


A commotion near the door drew their attention. “Damn.”


Rose watched the transformation before her. Lips pressed tight, eyes narrowed to intimidating slits, jaw muscles clenching…everything about Ronnie’s appearance spoke of being ready for trouble.