by Sarah Hualde
Inside Con Fuego, the smells and sights delighted Lydia. She shimmied like a teenage girl about to eat her favorite dinner. Ethan was thrilled at his wife’s happiness. It was exactly the response he dreamed about for months.
Ethan was excited to get Lydia out of the house and into a more festive setting. He was equally happy to whisk her away from the suddenly homicidal Honey Pot. A night out was exactly what they both needed.
Lydia’s smile was the most beautiful feature of the Con Fuego patio. Twinkle lights, soft Latin music, and even the crackling stone fireplace were no match for her radiance. Ethan couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
Lydia dazzled the room as she greeted Mrs. Jacqui. Kat, Flora, and their families received their usual hello hugs. Calvin sat with Joan and Ivy. They chortled at random. Harrison drank water at the big table as he checked the time and watched the door. Hobo Joe laughed it up with Dr. Lawrence and Gus’ family. Many of Lydia's Honey Pot neighbors attended dressed up and grinning. Lydia finished her rounds before the manager entered the patio.
“Hello, guests of Ethan and Lydia Everett. Con Fuego is happy to have you. Our chefs Santi and Maude are cooking up a feast for your eyes and your stomachs. I’m Stefan, and I’ll be here if there’s anything you need. For the moment, I’m leaving you in the more than capable hands of Matt and Marie. Our bartender Dave will be at the lounge if you need anything stronger than the main fare. Please relax and enjoy. Your food will be out shortly.” Stefan subtly escaped the room without giving anyone a moment to distract him.
“I guess that means the party’s officially started,” Harrison said to Lydia as she sat at the head of the big table.
“Can’t wait.” Lydia’s stomach jitterbugged with anticipation. She noted her brother’s hesitancy to join the party mood. He slipped his phone out of his slacks’ pocket and typed a text message under the table.
Charles must have been running later than Harrison anticipated. Lydia hoped her eldest nephew was alright. She also worried over the rift Calvin had mentioned, ever so slightly. She wished she’d had more time to question him. But it would have to wait. Harrison was staying in the hotel for the entire weekend. She was certainly going to take advantage of the quiet weekend to get to know her family all over again.
The woman in mauve sauntered inquisitively into the patio space. Lydia frowned. She didn’t want the harried woman causing a scene. Maybe she needed help. Then Lydia caught sight of her brother.
Harrison’s face started to glow. He stood. His fingers started to tremble. The nervous woman was obviously significant to Harrison. Lydia searched the room and lighted on Calvin’s face. She hoped it would explain Harrison’s excitement. But the young man’s attitude was as far opposite from his father’s as possible.
Before Lydia could piece together the strange situation, Harrison was escorting the lady in mauve over to the head table. Lydia stood to greet the latecomer.
Harrison cleared his throat and stammered, “Lydia, this is Vikki.”
“I’m sorry I’m a bit late,” Vikki said. “I had an overly friendly client. He’s a sweet man, but he doesn't know how to end a conversation.”
“Hello, Vikki. I’m glad to meet you.” Lydia allowed a flicker to pass between her and her brother. A nanosecond to ask for an explanation.
“Vikki is my fiancée,” Harrison answered her silent question.
“Whoa! How exciting.” Lydia tossed her arms around both Harrison and Vikki. Vikki flinched before succumbing to the enthusiastic welcome. Lydia pulled out the chair closest to her. “Sit. I want to hear all about it.”
Vikki looked to Harrison for guidance. “It’s best to get it over with,” he told Vikki. “Lydia won’t rest once a mystery crosses her path,” Harrison teased.
“Is that right?” Vikki slid into the chair, trepidation smearing her shimmering lip stain.
“Harrison’s just being a pill!” Lydia jabbed her big brother and turned her attention to Vikki. “Begin,” she demanded.
Vikki guzzled down a glass of water before starting her tale. “It’s been a whirlwind. Your brother swept me off my feet, the moment I met him. I’ve been flying ever since. I can’t believe it’s only been three months.”
Harrison rested a hand on Vikki’s shoulder. “Feels like a lifetime.”
“Is that good or bad?” Lydia teased her brother.
“All good. All good,” he answered.
Vikki squeezed Harrison’s protective hand. “Better than good. It’s been the best.” Vikki’s violet-hued eyes locked in on Harrison’s chocolate brown ones. The tall man bent to kiss his fiancé. Lydia averted her eyes and caught sight of Calvin squishing farther into his seat.
Her eldest nephew Charles entered the patio from the door directly behind Calvin. The brothers exchanged a look before Charles turned heel and retreated to the bustling dining room. Lydia’s stomach flipped. So Vikki was the reason Charles didn’t travel with his father? She would have to find out why.
Chapter 6
THE PARTY BLOSSOMED and boomed. The crackling fire added heat while October misted gray rain on the city streets. Lydia thrilled in the easy-going flow of the evening. The platters of food served family-style on each table were worthy of online sharing. Ivy snapped pictures of each before anyone was allowed to dig in.
At the booth table sat platters brimming with smoked paprika almonds, wild mushrooms, aged manchego, and marinated olives. Eden swiped a piece of cheese from every platter the instant they were set down.
Center stage, between every four diners, was an oblong dish filled with arborio rice with saffron, topped with lamb skewers marinated in sangria. Flora popped steamy bits of chile vinegar fried potatoes in garlic and parsley tortillas in her mouth. Her husband, Kevin, dipped grilled octopus in roasted red pepper aioli.
The only thing sweeter than the spices swirling in the air was the sound of friendly banter. Lydia flowed through the room, chatting and eating. Her guests followed her example. Spontaneously a couple would hold each other and sway dance near the fireplace. The laughter ebbed and flowed.
Lydia lingered at the young people’s table, aka the booth. She slid in beside Charles and gave the twenty-year-old a huge hug.
“Oh how much I’ve missed you,” she said, snuggling into his neck, just as she’d done when he was little.
Charles tolerated the affection stiffly. He loved his aunt but wasn’t a fan of PDA, no matter the source. He offered her a side smile and a small blush. Lydia released him as quickly as her maternal pull allowed. When Charles lifted a hand to pat his aunt’s shoulder, Lydia knew her time was up. She nestled into the booth and nursed a glass of water.
“Your dad moves fast, doesn’t he?” Lydia asked.
Calvin shot sideways eye daggers at the conversation. “He’s not the only one.” The younger brother scuttled from the table and joined Ivy and Joan at the fireside.
“Oh?” Lydia prodded. Not subtle at all.
“Calvin doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Charles grumbled.
“Do you have a special someone hidden away somewhere?”
Charles’ face flushed with hostility. “I’m not hiding anything. That would be my father.”
Lydia cast her attention toward her happy brother and his fiancé. Their faces were close together as they whispered among the crowd. Harrison looked happy, beyond happy. Enchanted. Charles followed Lydia’s focus.
“Yes, that’s the problem. He’s smitten, and it’s completely distracted him.”
Lydia surged back to the present. Charles didn’t comment further. He stared into Lydia’s eyes, searching for understanding. His begging expression pained Lydia. Something was wrong, but she didn’t see what it had to do with Harrison and Vikki.
“You didn’t say no, about a special someone,” Lydia poked.
Charles shrugged but couldn’t disguise his happiness. “Her name is Alli. We’ve been seeing each other since graduation.”
“It sounds serious.”
> Charles smirked. “It’s as serious as it gets.”
“But,” Lydia started.
“But Dad and Vikki.”
Chapter 7
DESSERT CAME OUT OF the kitchen, blazing. Stefan brought the main platter to the head table. Center tray sat a thick butter cake drenched in Liquor 43. Fresh berries adorned the top of the cake like a juicy crown. Maude and Scooby trailed Stefan. They summoned Lydia to her chair. Another server dimmed the outside lighting before Maude set fire to the 43. The entire room fumed with the smell of vanilla and frosting.
Scooby stood back with the other teenagers watching the crowd and holding a bussing bin. Ivy was poised beside him, snapping photos from her cell phone.
Ethan stood behind Lydia, to her right. Harrison stood on the left. The threesome paused for a picture and a round of Happy Birthday before Lydia blew out the flames. The crowd clapped. The lights came back on. The heat from the cake was nothing compared to the burn of attention on Lydia’s cheeks. Her smile stretched, exposing dimples she rarely flashed.
“Happy birthday,” Maude said to Lydia before whisking the cake away. “I’ll slice this and bring it back out. We, also, have two trays of more family-friendly desserts. Stefan will bring those out in just a moment.”
Screeching ensued from the dining room.
“The Skies are at it again,” Scooby said as he began clearing dishes. Lydia watched the ruckus from her birthday girl’s chair.
“Is this normal?” she asked.
Flora snagged an empty chair, and Kat scooted in beside her. “Stefan was talking about them earlier. He and the hostess had a hard time getting them to sit in the dining room. They insisted on sitting out here with us. Finally, the bartender came out and offered them some fresh sangria, and they calmed down.”
“Dave always remembers everyone’s favorite drink,” Scooby said, setting another dirty dish in his bin.
“I bet he does,” Vikki added as she handed Scooby her empty plate.
“Why do they still come to Con Fuego if they’re never happy?” Kat asked. She looked past Scooby’s shaking arms.
“Sabotage?” Vikki offered. All three sets of female eyes locked on the ranting Sky couple.
Scooby startled. A plate crashed onto Vikki’s lap. She leaped up, tossing the plate to the floor and dusting the leftovers from her mauve pants. Her face rallied between rage and composure. Harrison flew to her side. He glanced coldly at Scooby. The boy was pale and trembling. He bent to collect the bits of broken glass.
“I’m so sorry, ma’am,” he mumbled repeatedly as he cleaned the mess. Vikki shuffled backward, staggering on her pumps. She charged from the room, livid.
Lydia locked eyes with a bewildered Harrison. “She’ll cool down. It’ll be okay,” he told the nervous Scooby. Scooby didn’t look convinced.
“I’ll go check on her,” Lydia said. She waited for Scooby to finish, under the table, before heading to the bathroom.
Pepper, the hostess, hurried to the Sky table. One member of the couple was absent. Lydia passed a man holding a pitcher of a golden beverage bubbling around apple slices. Dave, the bartender, to the rescue once more.
Lydia swung into the woman’s bathroom. Vikki stood at the sink dabbing her pants clean. A shaken Mrs. Sky wept in the bathroom stall. She cried loudly. Lydia did her best not to judge, but the lady’s overly dramatic weeping was distracting.
Lydia turned her attention to Vikki. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”
Vikki fumed and fussed. She ignored Lydia for a moment. But suddenly made eye contact with her in the mirror. “Oh, me? I thought you might be talking to whoever is making that horrible racket.” Vikki overemphasized her last two words. The most obtuse of the wailing ceased.
Lydia swallowed. Vikki was an overpowering presence, to say the least. A knock on the bathroom door distracted the awkward mirror to eye contact. Lydia thankfully answered it.
She cracked the door open. There stood a distressed Calvin. He handed a clutch to Lydia. “It’s Vikki’s purse. Dad thought she might need it.” Lydia took it as she examined her nephew. What had him so upset?
“Thank you, Calvin.” Vikki stood behind Lydia’s shoulder. She opened the door more widely to retrieve her bag. “And thank you, Lydia. I’m fine. I’ll be back at the party in a moment.” She coaxed Lydia from the ladies’ room and shut the door.
Lydia wanted to ask Calvin if he wanted to talk but the sound of crying disoriented them both. Calvin took advantage of the momentary pause to hurry back to the patio.
Lydia pressed her ear to the bathroom door. She wasn’t sure if the weeping was the woman in the stall or if it was coming from somewhere else. She followed Calvin’s example and returned to her guests.
Stefan had just set down a tray of flan, and Dave, the bartender, placed an oblong platter of individual molten lava and caramel cakes on the head table. The 43 Cake rested on tiny saucers, decorated with berries and vanilla bean drizzle. The adults oohed and ahhed before collecting their servings.
Ethan flagged Lydia down and held out her chair. Lydia graciously accepted it. She puzzled over Vikki’s attitude and the crying woman in the bathroom. However, the ready supply of dessert, accompanied by the incoming fragrance of freshly brewed beans, erased all her concerns. She again allowed herself to dive into the party. She was the guest of honor, after all. It wouldn’t be polite to neglect her friends or Ethan’s deliberate attention. Even to figure out a minor mystery.
Harrison slid a fork through a piece of 43 Cake, dipping it in the garnishing sauce. He didn’t seem at all worried over Vikki. He did, however, keep glancing over at Charles and Calvin as they conversed with their cousin and Ivy. Whatever their rift was about it was definitely not one-sided.
Calvin played the middle, in Lydia’s perception. He chatted eagerly with his brother but continued to offer grins back to his father whenever he felt the old man looking in his direction. The middle of any disagreement is a horrible place to be. Lydia’s heart went out to him.
The light conversation at her table distracted her from family drama until Vikki returned to the room. She sauntered over to the teen table and patted Calvin on the shoulder.
Lydia couldn’t hear what she was saying, but Charles did not appreciate her intrusion. His face flurried with red splotches. Joan took hold of Charles’ hand until Vikki made her way back to the head table.
Vikki sat lightly in her chair and wrapped an arm around Harrison’s shoulders. “That looks yummy,” she said. Harrison fed her a bite. “Scrumptious.”
Kat passed a plate to Flora, who passed it down to Harrison. He set it in front of Vikki. “I don’t think I could eat an entire piece. It’s so rich. You eat it, Harry, and I’ll snack on yours.”
Lydia glanced guiltily down at her two empty saucers. She’d even scooped the last of the sauce out of each dish. Ethan followed his wife’s look and chortled. “It’s your birthday,” he whispered, comforting his Lydia. “You’re supposed to indulge.”
Lydia offered an appreciative look at her loving husband and then back at her favorite brother. Her brown eyes landed on a huge sapphire ring looped around Vikki’s left ring finger. Harrison scooted back into his chair when Lydia’s accusation met his eyes.
“Come smoke with me?” he said, standing before Lydia answered.
Chapter 8
HARRISON PULLED OUT his lighter as soon as he shut the restaurant doors. Lydia frowned at him. “You can’t smoke here. You know that. Let’s go around back.”
Lydia pulled her collar tight around her neck. The drizzle paused, but the air held tight to its coolness. This wouldn’t be a long conversation. She still had other guests to visit with. Plus, scolding her brother wasn’t part of her birthday plans.
Harrison complied. By his lack of eye contact and demure presence, Lydia knew he was waiting for her to start the argument. She couldn’t bring herself to begin. It wouldn’t be of much use. Harrison did as Harrison pleased. After his wife, Pearl, had pas
sed Harrison dove into his wild card ways. He moved his boys states away and started over.
Vikki wasn’t the first person he’d dated, but she was the first woman Lydia had met since Pearl. As far as Lydia could tell, Vikki was Pearl’s polar opposite. Maybe that was the draw for Harrison. Maybe the risk of losing her felt lessened by the extreme differences in personality.
Harrison lit up. They strolled around the corner of Con Fuego. Lydia was just about to confront Harrison about Pearl’s ring on Vikki’s hand when a different argument distracted her. The muffled disputing pulled at Lydia, like a siren’s call.
Harrison stopped walking. Lydia took a few steps closer to the voices. “Where are you going?” Harrison asked as he snagged Lydia’s elbow.
“To see if I can help,” she said.
“Why?”
Lydia shrugged. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” She stepped four steps closer to the light and the back door of the restaurant shot open.
Scooby and Maude hustled toward the dumpster. Maude hushed Scooby. Her palms faced him, coaxing him to calm down and recenter. Another man’s face popped out from the crack of the closing door. He offered a verbal barb to the retreating chef and dishwasher. Maude swung around and waved her index finger at the exit door before hurrying over to Scooby.
“You don’t get it,” Scooby howled. “I know you want to but, you just don’t understand. Neither does Santi. Sometimes the only way to get rid of evil is to kill it with fire.”
“Don’t let Dave rile you further. You’re already upset. Don’t make any rash judgments when you’re this emotional.”
Scooby kicked at a drifting piece of trash. “Emotional? That’s what you call... this mess?”
With Harrison watching from the corner, Lydia was more hesitant to investigate than usual. She tried to act nonchalant. But unless she was going to her car in the back parking lot, there was no reason for her to be on the side of the building. Unfortunately, Ethan had walked her to Con Fuego. She didn’t even have her keys in her pocket to fake a car run.
