by D. P. Oberon
Chapter 42 – Friends
Saradi’s home warming party started at eight o’clock p.m. She greeted her first guest at the door.
“Prethi!” Saradi squealed and hugged her long-time friend.
“This is Kvasir.” Prethi introduced a tall blond man who came behind her with a smile. He held out his hand.
“Welcome, you’re the first to arrive. Come in and have a drink.”
Chengmedu came next. She opened the door to see him holding a mortar across his chest.
“Cheng, we’re not at a war, honey,” Saradi said, putting her hands around his neck to draw him close for a slow, tender kiss.
His faced turned a shade of red she’d not seen on him before. His fingers stumbled on the cylinder’s cap and twisted. Roses popped out flavoring the air with their sweet scent.
“I didn’t have a vase or anything. But I did have an empty mortar,” he said sheepishly. He wore dark clothes just like Bheemasena would’ve done.
Saradi laughed and invited him in. “C’mon. We can put those on the table.”
“I’m curious to meet your friends and family,” he said. “Always wondered what they might be like.”
Saradi cupped his cheeks, and said, “My daughter, Novalie, is going to be here. I don’t want her getting confused or upset or anything. So no touchy feely between either of us, clear?”
“Yes, Sir, Squad Leader,” Chengmedu said, taking her hands from his cheeks. “Does that include no quick pinches on your ass?” Saradi gave him a look. He held up his hands in surrender. The doorbell rang and Saradi went to open it.
Her jaw dropped when she saw who was there.
“Hello Saradi,” Albert Rene said. His huge belly covered with a white silk shirt. He wore a golden tie with purple polka dots and behind him stood Aunis Reeves, Saradi’s old personal assistant. “Hi Sara,” Aunis said, waving his hand.
“Well this is quite a surprise,” Saradi said. “I wasn’t expecting you.” She channelled Claas’s calm spirit. She made a sweeping welcoming gesture. “Come inside, please.”
“Wow Saradi, you look very strong,” Aunis said, giving her biceps a friendly squeeze as he entered. “Army looks good on you.”
She laughed. “Well, the training was quite involved.”
“Lots of push ups huh?” Aunis said, pushing his hand up in the air.
“You could say that,” she replied.
She led them to the dining room. Hers was a one bedroom apartment with a small study and large dining room. High Melbourne rent cost a damn fortune and even with her AAEDEF mission bonus she would need to start to look for work soon. She had so long ago forgotten about how difficult life was for the middle class. It was a shock to discover how much things actually cost.
Her favorite two guests came together like a mother and son pair. Yoriko and Peng didn’t need a formal welcome, they shoved through the door and wrapped Saradi in a bear hug. She squealed in delight and laughed as their kisses tickled her cheeks. She hugged them tightly, and for a moment they shared their lingering grief.
Saradi announced to everyone that these were her VIP guests. Yoriko and Peng took it all with aplomb and made good friends with everyone.
The party was fun, the food simple. Saradi had had to make everything herself. She couldn’t afford a serv-bot. She only drank one beer, but took great delight in encouraging her guests to drink copious amount of the best drug on the planet: cognac. Her mother had rescued her cognac stash and delivered it to her the day before. It was a vicarious pleasure seeing her friends get tipsy while she kept sober.
“You okay, Sara?” Chengmedu said as he broke away from Prethi and Kvasir.
“Just waiting for Nova and my mother; they should’ve been here by now.”
He kissed her on the cheek. “Relax, they’ll be here.”
Wattana arrived as the party was winding down. Ironically, Saradi who had greeted every guest, had been too engaged in conversation with an unusually animated Albert Rene. So it was with quite a shock that she saw her mother over Albert Rene’s shoulder.
“Saradi, I would like to offer you a job,” Albert Rene said into the sudden silence as Saradi stood.
But everything had faded from Saradi’s vision except for the young girl wearing the elegant blue dress and a raspberry beret at her mother’s side.
Saradi staggered to her daughter. Novalie edged a step behind her grandmother. Novalie was taller than Saradi remembered, built out a bit more, and had a weathered look about her, like she spent plenty of time in the sun.
“Hello, Nova,” Saradi said.
After a brief pause, Novalie said, “Hello, Sara.”
It felt like a PG9 exploded in her gut. She slumped. Not Ma, not Mom, or even Mother.
Wattana stood beside her granddaughter and mouthed at Saradi, Small steps.
Saradi didn’t reach out to grab her daughter like she desperately wanted to. Instead, she held out her hand and said, “Welcome to my party. Come and meet my friends.”
Novalie looked at the offered hand suspiciously before reaching out and taking it.
As Saradi and Wattana watched Novalie talking to Chengmedu, Saradi turned to her mother and said, “Ma, I’m sorry for all the times I complained about your parenting style. It was unfair.”
Wattana put a thin, trembling arm around Saradi and drew her close. “I love you, Saradi. Always have and always will, no matter what you do.”
“Did you know Novalie was Bheem’s daughter?” she asked, squeezing her eyes.
“Yes,” her mother said. “And he knew it too.”
Saradi partied with her friends and family on into the night. Their collective effervescence filled the dark of the universe with a much needed spark.
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