It's Saturday afternoon, and Catherine is anxious; she knows she's seeing Steve tonight. She knows she has to keep her jealousy at bay when she sees Steve and Lynn together. She hadn't been jealous the first time she had met Lynn because she was preoccupied with saving Doris. Now she has no mission, no greater good, to distract her from dealing with her feelings. For now, she willed herself to get through last-minute party details and get ready.
Grace had requested that the closest women in her life get ready for the party. Catherine was pleasantly surprised Lynn and Melissa weren't in that number, but she knew Melissa was not here for Rachel's sake and Lynn was just collateral damage from being friends with Melissa. She exchanged pleasantries with ten of Grace's closest friends, Tani, Renee Grover, Rachel and of course the lady of the hour, her niece.
Catherine had accompanied Grace and Rachel dress shopping so she knew Danny would have a heart attack at how grown up she looked in her sleek red jumpsuit. She looked forward to the moment.
Rachel went all out for Grace's party, Catherine was impressed. Her 17th birthday had been uneventful—her father and brothers were deployed, and her mother didn't like to make a big fuss about birthdays. Rachel had hired a small catering staff to serve the girls mocktails and the women, cocktails. There were makeup artists, hairdressers, and even a photographer capturing all the fun before the real fun.
The Williams women had left no detail untouched, she admired it even though she thought it was a bit over the top. The hair stylist expertly curled and tousled her hair, it was messy and yet controlled. She gave the makeup artist full license to provide her with a sexy smoky eye, a lot of highlights and overlined plump berry pink lips. All these subtle details perfectly complemented her lilac dress and black sandaled heels. Once she was dressed, Catherine gave herself a look in the mirror and thought: not bad for 39, not bad at all. If she was being honest, her entire looked screamed "fuck me." Scott would love it, and maybe Steve could see what he lost.
Catherine felt a bit self-conscious as she rejoined the group until she saw that everyone looked age appropriately amazing. She caught herself taken aback by how beautiful Tani is; she knew Tani wasn't a threat, but still the girl fought alongside Steve daily. Rachel looked terrific and classy in her red cocktail dress. It was sexy in Rachel's own demure way.
Over at Danny's Steve, Lynn, and Melissa came early for a lite dinner before the night's festivities. Steve had accepted that Kame would be there tonight, even if he was still a little peeved. Their dinner was disrupted by the addition of Lou, Will, and Junior who had gone to the barbershop.
"Hey, guys join in on the fun! I'll put some more steaks on the grill." Even at Danny's, Steve was the grill master.
"Yeah, where's the wife Lou? And Junior I thought Tani would be with you." Danny says suggestively.
"Well, the wife and Tani are over at your ex-wife's. Something about a girl's day. She's been gone since 11 this morning." Lou says before lighting his cigar.
"I didn't realize Rachel was throwing a pre-bash before the bash," Danny says slightly annoyed. On the surface, it looked like a classic communication issue between the two exes, but deep down he knew he didn't know because Rachel had effectively stopped speaking to him.
"Ain't that what we're doing here right now?" Lou inquires flippantly.
Danny doesn't respond, and he doesn't see the exchange of looks between Melissa and Lynn annoyed they weren't invited. Steve wonders if Catherine is over at Rachel's if she'll even show to the party. She said she'd be there, but she's lied in the past. He knows what he's thinking is unfair and uncalled for, but the only way to get through tonight was to remind himself why he was mad at her in the first place.
Grace has planned an elaborate entrance. She wants to walk into her party twelve minutes after the start time, just enough time for people to know she's not there, but aware enough to know she's making an entrance. She saw it, My Sweet Sixteen, once and modeled her entry after that party. Her friends will walk out before her, and her mom will accompany her to a specific song the deejay's set to play while announcing her entrance. She wishes Aunt Cath would accompany her, but before she could ask Aunt Cath had left with her boyfriend.
Grace's entrance to the rooftop restaurant went perfectly. Her friends cheered, her ohana whooped, and her boyfriend kissed her deeply in front of the entire party. It took her ten minutes to even realize Aunt Cath wasn't there. She knew she was coming, but it still saddened her.
Steve doesn't even realize he's anxious until he sees Danny texted him to take a deep breath and enjoy the party. The party is on a fantastic rooftop bar, and Ohana has reserved tables because Grace knew they'd be ready to sit. The rest of her guests had to duel it out on the bar's lounge chairs and outside furniture. Steve beckons the waiter for another beer and is surprised when Lynn orders the table shots on his tab. Their table consisted of Melissa, Danny, the Grovers, Steve, and Lynn. The second table was Junior, Tani, Kame, Jerry, and Noelani. Grace's attention to detail was impeccable. On the other side of the bar, there were another two tables where Grace's mother sat alone, looking at her phone. Steve wondered why she wouldn't sit with them until it hit him why she wouldn't be anywhere near Danny and Melissa. He figures Catherine will sit on that side whenever she arrives. Oddly enough he felt like he couldn't take a deep breath or relax until he's laid his eyes on her. Thinking back to their talk, he hopes she will still show. He needs to see her and make sure she's okay after their conversation. The last time he'd seen her, the agony in her expression had broken his heart.
Catherine was in a mood. She was over thirty minutes late to Grace's party. They'd run into traffic picking up her partner, who she thought was Rachel's type and decided to invite. Rachel had texted her nervously about getting to the party which further fueled her anxiety. By the time they'd arrived at the venue she was forty-five minutes late and in need of a few drinks. She was so on edge she felt like she needed a cigarette to calm her nerves.
She told Scott and her partner, Alex to go into the party and find Rachel because she needs to take care of "female issues." Being men, they don't ask for any more details and opt to go in. As they walk in, Steve immediately knows one of them is the man Catherine's dating. They both look like her type, tall, muscular, and no-nonsense. Steve's eyes follow them straight to Rachel's table. He notices the Hawaiian man shake Rachel's hand and the haole gives her a hug; now he knows who's who.
His breath literally stops when she walks into the party. He's never seen her look this good, not even at Kono's wedding. Everything about her look turned him on, the tight dress, the hair, and the heels. She doesn't even look his way as her eyes spot Rachel's table and she walks there. Steve watches in disgust as she kisses the haole; somehow this is worse than her and Billy Harrington, at least he hadn't had to see her with Billy romantically. Grace and Will immediately show up at the table and for fuck's sake when did Grace run to hug any men other than Danny and Steve? He was annoyed with how comfortable, and familiar everyone at Rachel's table seemed. Why hadn't Will made a secret handshake with him? Who the hell was this Scott to have a handshake with his nephew? He willed himself to stop looking over at their table as he caught Grover's knowing look.
Danny wasn't doing any better than Steve. He had been blown away at how beautiful Grace and Rachel looked entering the party. He wondered if he hadn't messed up would he have accompanied Grace and Rachel in the party so that everyone could marvel at what a beautiful family they had. Danny's mood certainly didn't improve after he saw two handsome men approach Rachel's table. Once Catherine arrived and kissed one of the men, he wondered who this other man was. He seemed comfortable with Catherine and Scott and too friendly with Rachel. Danny was thankful Lynn and Melissa had taken a trip up to the bar when Catherine had walked in; it gave him, and he's sure Steve, time to look at Rachel's table and digest what their eyes were viewing.