Patrick Delaney slapped his son on the back before pulling him into a manly hug. Patrick wore the smile of a proud father. "You did good, Finneous," he gushed.
Rory Burns extended both arms and met Finn with an embrace. "What can I say, Finn?" he said through a quivering voice.
"Finn, Finn!" Nancy's call caused Finn to tense in anticipation of another bearhug. He was relieved when no additional embrace ensued. Nancy just wanted to facilitate another greeting. "Charlie, look who's here."
Charlie Mills extended his hand. "Thank you very much," he said, obviously repeating lines his mother had given him.
Patrick Delaney grabbed Finn by the arm. "Come over here, Finneous. Two of your biggest supporters are here."
"Hey!" Finn beamed at the sight of Chris Moritz and Paul Taggart.
"How's it going," Chris asked.
"Great," Finn replied. "Apparently, your exorcism worked." Finn shrugged. "It's just too bad Lasalle is free to continue with all his dark stuff."
Chris and Paul exchanged smiles. "What?" Finn asked.
Chris sighed. "After I conferred with Detective Taggart, we came up with a plan to unleash the darkest, evil, deadly demon on Lasalle."
"What are you talking about?" Finn was confused.
"We called the IRS on him," Paul chuckled.
"But isn't he a tax exempt religious organization?" Finn asked.
"Maybe," Chris responded. "But that mansion he lives in has nothing to do with religion."
"That's great news, " Finn exclaimed. "It's great to see you guys. I didn't expect you to be here."
"We had no choice," Paul said. "When Nancy Mills said she was going to run this party for her son and Rory Burns, she insisted that we both attend."
"Hey Finn," Kevin's familiar voiced called from the opposite side of the room.
"Excuse me," Finn said to Paul and Chris. He could see Kevin with a female, and not just any female. This girl was very pretty, but she was almost as tall as Kevin, and much more muscular. There was also something very familiar about this girl.
"Hey Finn. I want you to meet my date." Kevin pointed to Finn and gave the introductions. "Ann, this is Finn - Finn, this is Ann."
"Pleasure to meet you Ann."
"Same here, Finn. I read all about you in the papers."
Finn rubbed his chin. "I have to say, Ann. There is something very familiar about you. Have we met before?"
Kevin jumped in before Ann could answer. "Of course, you've seen her before. On TV."
"What are you talking about?"
"This is Amazon Annie, the professional wrestler."
"Oh, my God," Finn exclaimed. "That's right. I've seen you on TV." Finn pointed to Kevin. "How did you get mixed up with this mope?"
"Hey, watch it, Pal," Kevin warned. "We met online and have been corresponding for several weeks."
Finn smiled at Ann. "Well, anyway. It's very nice to meet you." Finn settled into a chair at an empty table and took a deep breath. He thought he was through with all the greetings when he received a tap on the shoulder.
"Did you forget about me?"
Finn wheeled around in the chair. He was ashamed to admit that he had forgotten about Meg. "Hey, I would never forget about you." he lied as he stood and hugged Meg.
“Do you mind if I sit with you?"
"Of course not. Sit!" Finn insisted. Meg's sarcasm was not lost on him.
Finn thoroughly enjoyed the evening. It seemed like a fitting end to the nightmare endured by Chris Mills and Rory Burns, not to mention the anguish of Nancy Mills. It also seemed like a venue to say goodbye to all the dark demon stuff of the past weeks. It was Meg, however, who provided Finn with the best part of the night. Finn perceived his barrier to her to be crumbling as the evening progressed. Whether it was real or imagined, as the party began to wind down, Finn felt closer to Meg than he ever had, and that made him feel good.
Finn walked down the long hall after his men's room visit. His path to the party room was blocked. It was Meg. "You going to the lady's room?" Finn asked.
Meg smiled and shook her head. "Nope. I just wanted to catch you alone."
The hug and kiss broke new ground in the relationship, a far cry from the polite pecks Finn was providing over the past months.
Finn looked into Meg's eyes. "Wow!" he exclaimed. Meg laughed and began moving in for a repeat performance, but the kiss was canceled by a loud crash coming from the party room.
"What the heck was that?" Finn grabbed Meg's hand and they hurried back to the room. The crash had been so loud that guests from the other party room were pouring into Finn's room to check the commotion. Just before Finn turned into the room he noticed a rear view of the blond, hulking figure of Kevin's date, Ann, as she hastily pushed through the exit door.
Finn pulled Meg through the crowd gathered around a focal point in the far corner of the room. When they broke through the crowd, Meg put her hands up to her mouth. "Oh, my God!" she gasped.
Finn didn't know what to say. He stood motionless with eyes and mouth wide open, taking in the scene. A table was laying flat on the floor with its legs collapsed beneath it. Like a turtle stuck on its back, Kevin was pathetically flailing his arms and legs, his face contorted in pain. Around and on Kevin were the splattered remnants of the dessert trays that had been occupying the table. The guests from both parties had formed a semi-circle around Finn's fallen friend. Paul Taggart was crouched next to Kevin, trying unsuccessfully to stifle his laughter as he checked on him. "Are you OK, buddy?" A low groan was all Kevin could vocalize.
The unmistakable voice of Gladys rose above the crowd. "Good. Someone finally gave that degenerate drunk what he deserved."
"I think he's alright," Paul commented. He turned to the crowd. "Hey Chris. Give me a hand getting him up." Chris Moritz stepped forward and with help from both sides, Kevin was upright.
“You OK?" Chris asked.
"I think so," Kevin replied. "I just need to sit down."
Paul pulled up a chair. He still was wearing a wide grin. "Good idea. Take a seat and collect your wits."
Finn made eye contact with Paul's smiling face. "What happened, Paul.?"
Paul shrugged. "You better ask him. All I know is that I think it's time for him to get a new girlfriend."
Paul walked away laughing hysterically as Finn approached. Kevin was sitting hunched over with his head buried in his hands. "Hey Kev. You Alright?"
Kevin slowly sat up and nodded. "I think so."
Finn threw his arms out to the side. "What the hell happened to you?"
Kevin shook his head. "I was coming from the men's room, when I meet Kimberly Hanson in the hall. Kim is attending the other party and she gives me a hug. That's all."
Finn scratched his head. "I'm not reading you buddy."
Kevin held his head with his right hand and pointed toward the exit with his left. "That Amazon I was with saw me hug Kim. When I got back into this room, she starts laying into me about how dare I disrespect her like that."
"What did you do?"
Kevin looked directly at Finn. "All I did was say - back off."
"And?" Finn was waiting for more.
"And," Kevin shrugged. "That lunatic proceeded to pick me up and body slam me through that table."
Finn didn't know what to say. He knew he had to get out of the area before he burst out in laughter. "Let me get you some water," he offered. Finn turned and made eye contact with Meg. They both burst out in laughter.
"That's right," Kevin moaned. "Have a good laugh on me."
Finn found a glass and a fresh pitcher of water. He had just initiated his pour, when a voice interrupted the process. "Finn, Oh, my God, is that you?"
Finn turned toward the voice. He poured at least a full glass of water onto the table cloth as he stared in shock at the approaching figure. There was no misinterpreting these intentions. The suffocating embrace and passionate kiss spoke volumes regarding Jennifer's goal.
"My God, it's good to see you,"
Jennifer gushed.
"Hi, Jen," Finn stammered. "It's been a while."
"Too long," Jen exclaimed."
"Where's your boyfriend?" Finn asked.
"He's history," Jenn announced. "But this is fate that we are back together, isn't it?"
Jen planted another passionate kiss on Finn's lips. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed someone. He was able to free his face enough to turn to the right. Meg looked about as forlorn as it was possible for a person to look. Finn instantly grasped the gravity of his situation. This instant was going to pass, and once it was gone, he would never be able to make it right. For once in his life he was determined to do the right thing. Finn pushed out of Jen's embrace. "Hey Jen," he began. "You know what you just said about your boyfriend being history - well that applies to me too. You're history!"
Several onlookers who had been flowing the action broke into spontaneous applause. Jen's face was turning red with rage. She looked ready to explode as she pointed a menacing finger toward Finn. "No one embarrasses me like this. You better develop eyes in the back of your head, asshole."
Two girlfriends pulled Jen from the room, but Finn didn't care what Jen was doing. He immediately went to Meg and replayed the passion he just experienced with Jen. When the kissing session was complete, Finn pulled Meg tight to him. "I'm so sorry," he said.
Meg pulled her head back. "For what?"
"For the last few years," Finn replied before commencing a kissing encore.
"Whew!" Meg gasped. "You're wearing me out. "Let me go to the lady's room and give you a chance to cool down."
Finn took a deep breath and noticed Kevin still sitting in the chair near the collapsed table. Finn pulled over a chair and sat next to his fiend. Finn slapped Kevin on the back. "How you doing?"
"Alright," Kevin replied. "I saw what happened just now. I never got a chance to warn you that Jen was here. I saw what that bitch just did to you."
"That's OK," Finn said. "Everything worked out."
Finn and Kevin sat silently watching people say their goodnights. Kevin turned to Finn. "I learned something tonight."
"Oh yeah," Finn snickered. "What did you learn?"
Kevin pointed his finger at Finn. "After what that Amazon did to me, and what that bitch Jen just did to you, I am certain of one thing for sure - demons are real."
The Demon Within Page 18
