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“I am a successful, smart, hot, single woman and I won’t settle for a man who doesn’t want to be in a committed relationship with me.” A clearly drunk, chubby Indian woman suddenly declared on top of the center table at Carl’s living room. He recognized her as the boisterous one who sat and argued with Gwen during lunch. Single, huh? She must be big trouble as Carl had not attempted to shove her into him earlier.
“Who is that?” He picked up Riley, who came right beside him to look at the commotion. Gwen begged the woman to come down to no avail, so now, the big burly guy who cooked lunch and brought the yummy shrimps is carrying her down and trying to lay her into the sofa.
“Aunt Windy. She has a boring office and yikes to lie down on the floor.” Riley said with a creased forehead. This kid always talks like she’s angry, which is so unlike Carl and his wife. Well, the kid is also prone to baby talk, so that is one thing she got from her dad.
“She is always like that? Making trouble at parties?” He asked sweetly.
“No!” Riley motioned for him to bring her down. He felt bad letting her go. He had been trying to get closer to his goddaughter the whole party, feeling guilty about not being able to spend enough time with her the last five years she had been alive. But Riley had such small attention span; she lost interest in him and all his efforts in less than a minute. She had taken a liking on the cook though, and had caught her following him several times during the day.
He saw Carl coming towards him with another girl in tow, another leggy wallstreet blond.
“Reese, this is Lydia, a junior executive at the firm. She came in late. This is Reese, my friend since we were toddlers; he runs his own cable news network.” Carl introduced. Reese wondered if Carl purposefully called this collegue in when he showed no interest in the other girls introduced to him earlier. Reese is annoyed but he really can’t take it out on his friend. It is obvious that Leona is behind all of this, enlisting Carl’s help to set him up with a girl. His mom had to make up her mind, one minute she is trying to get him back with Jackie and the next she is contacting her New York socialite circle to try to find him a new girlfriend. Carl had always been eager to please Leona, heck, Carl cannot stand being unliked by anybody. Pleasantries were exchanged while stuff were getting thrown in the living room. The hurricane that is Aunt Windy is still uncontained. Carl uncomfortably asked Reese to bring Lydia into the kitchen to get something to eat, mentioning that Reese knows his way in the house.
“Actually, Carl, I don’t know anything about your house. I’d been here only once before. Besides, I’d like to join the interesting party going on behind us.” He said before turning around. He knows he appeared rude but he couldn’t help it. One of the reasons he attended this Thanksgiving Lunch is to run away from the pressures currently mounting at ACN and also the meddling hands of his mother. He just wants to relax, but that obviously wouldn’t be happening now with Carl and Gwen pulling all the stops to try to match him with each and every one of their female single guests. Well, except for one. If he’s going to find a date, it will be on his own terms and he’s gonna have fun.
The view that greeted him when he turned was that of the disheveled hair of Gwen and Windy (if that is really her name). The cook was pulling at Windy’s waist and carrying her off outside of the room. That doesn’t end the shouting match with Gwen though. The other guests were amused.
“Don’t worry, we do this every Thanksgiving.” Gwen assured everybody.
Reese decided to follow outside. He found the cook scolding Windy like she’s Riley’s age.
“What you did is not cool. You have to stay here outside and be on time out.”
“Morgan, do I really have to?”
“You need to take a long hard look at your life. You disarranged their furniture and broke a cute looking vase. Now, face the wall.”
“But Morgan… for how long?”
“30 minutes.”
“Even if think extra seriously, and do I have to face the wall?”
“Ok, 15 minutes, but you have to not face the wall.”
“Ok.”
“Good, Dr. L. I’ll check on you. And you have to do 10 minutes and you should sit down.”
“Thank you Morgan.”
Is the cook also drunk? Reese thought. He moved closer to Mindy, bringing with him two glasses of punch.
“Hey,” he greeted her. She sat down on the bench facing Carl’s landscaped garden. “I admire your speech back there.” Patronizing an intoxicated woman had worked for him several times before, except for his mother, who always seemed to be extra sharp when high. He offered one of the glasses to her, and she immediately took and downed it.
“Thank you! I know my sentiments are shared by the majority of the population of strong independent women who believe in Beyonce. Gwen has just lost all edges of her feminism when she married that pedo Carl.”
Reese didn’t know if he should agree with that. She’s really drunk though so he doubts he cared for his opinion. “So, uh, what happened? Someone insulted your independence?”
“My boyfriend didn’t want to come with me to this Thanksgiving party and then I found out he had no plans of being exclusive with me.”
“Oh, that’s his loss.” Reese said as a matter of factly but with a grin. Declare independence then reveal that your troubles were actually caused by dependence on a man. She smiled up at him brightly. She was probably trying to flirt now, but she just looked like an overeager kid making beautiful eyes at him. “I’m Reese by the way.” He held out his hand.
“I’m Chloe, Chloe Silverado.” She said in a low tone. She encased his hand in both of hers. Riley gave him the wrong name then. “Are you employed by the way?”
Reese couldn’t help but laugh at the question. “Yeah, still am at the moment, although who knows when I’ll get fired or what will happen to the company… with the economy… and litigation cases and all.” He looked directly in her eyes and found mirth in there.
“Reese, there you are. I have been looking all over for you!” Carl called from the doorway, stomping quickly to his side. “Hi Mindy! Uh, Reese, I need your help with something.”
“What?” Reese felt that Carl was just trying to get him away from the girl. “And your name is Mindy?”
“Uh… plumbing…” Carl clearly struggling to come up with anything.
“What would I know about plumbing?”
“A lot. Come on.” Carl tried to pull him up.
“Yeah, Carl, why are you making your guest do your plumbing? Did you just invite us all of here to make slaves out of all of us, you slimy two timing blind date set-upper. And how many times do I have to tell you to call me Chloe in meet cutes like this?” Mindy started clawing at Carl. Reese pulled her away. Her adversity didn’t stop with Carl’s wife apparently.
“Dr. L, you are getting two less minutes for not strictly following my instructions and behaving yourself.” The cook suddenly appeared beside them. He secured Chloe/Mindy’s hand to her sides and kept her on the bench.
“Yeah, thanks Morgan.” Carl said. “Please look after Mindy for a while, I just have to talk to Reese for a while.” Carl urged Reese to stand up.
“See you later, doll,” Reese touched Mindy’s chin, eliciting a starry look from her.
“What is your problem, Bud?” Reese glared at Carl when they rounded the door.
“Mindy is very drunk, she’s trouble when she’s drunk, I was just trying to save you.”
“Mindy? I thought her name was Chloe?”
“See, she’s a psycho,” Carl made circles at the side of his ear. “That is why I have been trying to keep her out of your way.”
“Because you knew I would be interested in her.”
“No… no, she’s crazy. She’s gonna stalk you and she’s very dramatic, she obviousy likes to get drunk…”
“How could you say that? She’s friends with your wife, Carl.”
“I love Mindy, I just don’t want you to get into trouble. Your mom would be very annoyed with her.”
“I can imagine that already, and I think I really like her, Carl.”
“No you don’t.”
“I can already see her at the ACN’s Thanksgiving dinner later, making a scene like this afternoon. That would get everybody’s head from their assasination plots on Dantana. She might even steal the spotlight from my mother.”
“Oh no, you are not gonna do that.”
“My mom would be very pleased that you found me a date, Carl. Thank you.”