As early as 9:00 the next day, set up for the barbecue had begun. Gail was outside putting paper tablecloths on the tables. Pacey was already in the kitchen hard at work, and he had made Joey his permanent assistant chef for the day and everyone else was running around looking for someone who could use a hand.
"Celery." Pacey said as if he were a surgeon asking for a utensil. Joey speedily moved towards the refrigerator and obtained the requested vegetable. Pacey began to chop. "Pepper." Joey passed it to him. "Mayo."
"You know?" Joey spoke, "You could say please."
Pacey smiled to humor her. "Mayo, please." She got that for him, too. "cinnamon sugar."
"For the chicken salad?" Joey questioned.
"No," he replied with a know-it-all, "for the pie."
"Pacey Witter, you're mean in the kitchen. She took off her apron, threw it down, and exited the kitchen.
Pacey turned off the stove and ran after her. "Sweetie," he called in a tone only husbands use to their wives. Joey turned around. "The chef's in command," he explained to defend his actions.
She didn't seem to view this as a valid excuse. "I'm not working in your kitchen," she announced leaving with dignity.
"That's probably for the best." He nodded understandingly.
"Okay," Joey said breaking the false serious tone they'd been using. "I'm going to go help Jack bring the chairs outside. See you later."
"Love you," Pacey replied and returned to his work.
"I'm pooped," Joey said and sat down in a chair once she'd finished putting the correct amount at each table.
"Me too," Jack replied sitting down next to her. "What time are people coming?" He asked.
She looked at her watch. "About twenty minutes," she reported. Jack left to go find Amy and Rob and when he returned, people had begun to arrive.
Bessie came in first, with Alexander trailing behind her and then Bodie came carrying a plate of grilled chicken he'd made. Gail had been outside all morning, but her husband and Lily joined her.
Next Jack saw Pacey's dad and suddenly it hit him that Doug would be there. He couldn't believe he hadn't realized it before. He had just been so happy lately. It must have just slipped his mind. At first, Jack panicked but then he decided to take Rob aside. Though he wasn't usually good at being upfront, suddenly now that he felt the stakes were higher he tried harder to make things work. "Hey Rob,"
"Yeah?" He asked.
"My ex-boyfriend's here, I would've warned you earlier but it didn't even cross my mind. I just wanted to be honest and let you know. I may go talk to him for a bit later, but you've got nothing to worry about, okay?" Jack said looking into Rob's eyes for a response.
"Okay," Rob said, shrugging his shoulders; he wasn't thrilled but he hid it well. "I guess that sounds fair." Jack gave him a kiss, still loving the fact that Rob wasn't a high maintenance guy.
"Everyone's here," Gail announced looking around. "Dig in!" She gestured towards the table of food. As she finished, a car pulled into the driveway. Everyone looked questioningly to see who had arrived.
"Dawson!" They all heard Lily cry.
"Dawson?" Gail asked looking at her husband.
"Dawson?" Joey asked looking at Pacey. Both of the husbands shrugged their shoulders to show they were equally surprised. Dawson gave Lily a hug and as soon as he let go his mother wrapped her arms around her.
"Hey mom," Dawson said. "Surprise." Gail let go and smiled staring at him like she hadn't seen him for years.
"Hey Dawson," Joey greeted him next.
"Joey," he said excitedly and gave her a hug.
"Hey," Pacey said a little awkwardly. He was happy when Dawson broke it and gave him a hug.
"Pacey, how've you been?" He asked.
"Good," Pacey responded, now with a smile on his face.
Dawson did love the Hollywood life, but there was something about being in that little town with his best friends and family that filled him with more joy than he had felt in months.
Gretchen returned from the kitchen with a bowl of chips and was amazed to find Dawson standing there in front of her. "Dawson Leery…" she greeted him with a grin, "you have changed one bit." She gave him a big hug.
"I'm glad to hear that," he said sincerely. "You haven't either."
"Yes, I have," she corrected him and started thinking about how she was back when she was in college.
"Well you look exactly the same," he told her.
"I'll take that as a compliment," she said.
"You should," he said. "So what have you been up to lately?" He asked her. Just as he had hoped, she sat down in the chair beside him so that they could catch up.
Doug worked to stay away from Jack, but eventually Jack cornered him. This was something he needed to do. "You know it's a small town," Jack said lightly. "We can't avoid each other forever."
Doug nodded. "But you can't blame me for trying."
Jack nodded understandingly. "Your brother's my friend. Your sister-in-law is my friend. Can't we just be friends too?" He asked.
"I don't hate you." Doug replied.
"Well," Jack said somewhat satisfied. "That's definitely a start." He got up from his chair and gave Doug a light pat on the back before going to check on Amy.
"Jack!" Amy yelled and gave him a hug.
"What?" He asked trying to match her enthusiasm.
"Look!" She jumped up high in the air.
"Wow!" he replied.
"Rob," she said. Rob got into position. She jumped over him.
"Good job, Amy."
"I'm like a frog!" She proclaimed.
"A silly frog!" Jack replied. He playfully grabbed Amy and tickled her all over. He loved to hear her laugh.
"Hey Rob," Andie called from inside. "Can you help me in the kitchen?"
"I can do it," Jack replied worried Andie was up to something.
"It's fine," Rob said back to him, already on his way.
"Hey," he said to her, "what can I do?"
She was standing by the sink full of dirty dishes. "Wash or Dry?" She asked him offering the soap bottle or the dishtowel. He grabbed the towel. "Good choice," Andie replied trying to be friendly.
"So Rob what do you do?" Andie asked. Rob smiled, familiar with the interrogation. "I'd ask Jack myself, but if you haven't noticed, he's very secretive."
"Yes, I know," he replied. "I'm still waiting to hear about Amy's mother." Andie put the plate down gently and stared at the countertop silently. Rob stood there looking at her expectantly. "That's not mine to tell," she said finally.
"Okay," he said nodding.
"But he should tell you. I'll work on it." She let a tiny smile slip.
"I work at a Day Care Center. Amy's Day Care actually."
"Oh…" Andie replied interested.
He continued to talk about himself because otherwise she would simply follow with more questions. "I met Jack a couple of weeks ago, when he came to pick up the bear Amy left. I'm 26 and the oldest of four children. My favorite color is blue and I love baseball." He put down the plate he was drying and looked at her. "Anything else?" He smiled.
"Nope," Andie said. "That basically covers it." They finished up and when there were no dirty plates left in the sink they went back outside. Andie when to hang out with Joey, and Rob remained by the door. As she passed him, she smiled. "I hope you two work out," she told him. And she meant it.
"Me too," he said and walked up to Jack and took his hand.