Chapter 49 – Get This Party Started
Adventures of the Melee
Nolan 17, Lissa 17, Ryder 13, Olivia 10
Annabelle 5, Victoria 5, Lucas 4
July 22
Nolan's departure for college loomed larger each day. Wanting to maximize his time with friends and with Lissa, Nolan spent more time than usual at the lake, mall, movies, and friends' houses. Amelia mourned as she attempted to become used to Nolan's absence. Owen encouraged her, and himself, that they would have plenty of time with him when they drove him down to USC.
Before the trip to Southern California, though, the doctors planned to attend a two day conference in Portland. Since the event was being held three hours way and was scheduled for a brief time period, Owen and Amelia decided to sign up. With slight hesitation, they allowed Nolan, Lissa, and Ryder to stay at the house alone. Olivia and the littles were parked at Derek and Meredith's for a night of dining room table forts and Disney movies.
As Amelia packed, she grilled Ryder, "Where's the first aid kit?"
"There are three. One in the laundry room, one in your bathroom, and one under the sink in the kitchen," Ryder recited.
"Fire extinguishers?" Amelia continued.
"Mom, c'mon…we aren't going to be starting any fires," Ryder chuckled.
"Fire extinguishers?" Amelia repeated.
"Under the sink in the kitchen, in the downstairs hall closet, and in your bathroom," Ryder recounted.
"No food on the carpet or in bedrooms," Amelia reminded him.
"I'm on it," Ryder promised.
"The black or the red dress?" Amelia asked as she held them both up. She wished she fit into the grey dress she wore at her wedding. It would be lovely to wear it since she and Owen were returning to the city where they'd married. As she spotted the grey dress back in the back of her closet, she resigned to the reality that a set of twins, a little boy, and the current baby had widened her hips and added a bit of weight.
"Black," Ryder stated as he sprawled out on her bed with his hands behind his head.
Amelia wistfully smiled at Owen's ties, spotting the one he'd worn at their wedding. If they were lucky, they'd have time to steal away to the Rose Gardens and remember their wedding day. She thought it was darling that Owen had chosen to pack the wedding tie. In his own quiet ways, he was deeply sentimental.
"Dad's packing these ties – which scarf works best for the banquet?" Amelia pondered aloud, seeking Ryder's input.
"Hmm… I like the one with the green shades," he decided.
"Me too," Amelia nodded.
"Or…" Ryder began.
"Or what?" Amelia wondered.
"Do you have a burka?" Ryder grinned with a sly smile.
Rolling her eyes, Amelia responded, "Oh, yeah, right here next to the red scarf."
Meanwhile, downstairs, Owen and Nolan were deep in conversation.
"Now, listen," Owen reminded Nolan, "call Mom or me if anything comes up. Anything. If it's an emergency, call Derek and Meredith."
"I know, Dad. Don't worry. We'll be fine," Nolan reassured his nervous father.
"Make sure the gate is closed at all times. It wouldn't hurt to keep the house locked and alarmed, too," Owen fretted.
"Promise," Nolan responded with a grin.
"Here's some money for food," Owen explained as he handed Nolan two hundred dollars. "And, remember, curfew is what it always is, got it? Just because we're not here doesn't mean you guys can stay out all night."
"No worries, Dad. We'll probably just hang out here and watch a movie," Nolan conveyed.
Owen studied Nolan's face with concern, "You're sure the three of you will be fine?"
"Go already," Nolan urged with a smile. "Dad, we'll be fine. Go."
"Right," Owen smirked. "Mia?" he called out as he noted that it was 3:00pm. "Ready?"
Amelia popped her head around the wall and assured Owen, "Yep. I just finished packing."
Running up the stairs far too obviously, Owen insisted, "Let me get your bag for you."
After hugging the kids multiple times, Owen and Amelia finally drove off and headed south to Portland. As the three spied the Boxster driving through the gate and the gate closing behind it, they cheered.
"Ryder, you swear you're not going to say anything? You're not going to betray us, right? If you do, I will…" Nolan confirmed.
Interrupting, Ryder rolled his eyes and reminded his brother, "Dude, as long as Claire gets to come over and hang out for a while tonight, I'm alllll good." Ryder could not care less if Nolan and Lissa were planning to sleep – truly just sleep – together in Nolan's room that weekend. In fact, he was still chuckling under his breath that his nerdy brother was acting as if the world would change because of their decision.
"Yep, that's no problem," Nolan ensured.
Lissa walked up to Nolan and embraced him for an extended kiss. Ryder stood in the room, avoiding the site of the lovebirds making out. He grabbed his phone and began to play a game, knowing it would be awhile before either of them came up for air. He flopped onto the couch by jumping over the back of it and threw a cushion under his head.
"We need to go check out something upstairs, Ry. You told Claire 6:00?" Nolan confirmed.
"Yep," Ryder quipped without stopping his game or making eye contact, knowing that the only thing the two would be checking out was one another. Whatever, Ryder, with a younger brother's perspective, thought to himself, if it wasn't for Lissa, Nolan would be one of those guys who lived in his parents' basement. Go Nolan… all the power to you, man.
Nolan and Lissa, believing they were cunning, walked upstairs hand in hand. At the top step, Nolan feebly attempted a false conversation to add to their weak cover, "You're checking on dishtowels, right? I'll take a look at the bathrooms."
"Perfect," Lissa nodded as Ryder rolled his eyes on the lower level.
Making sure Ryder was not looking their way, Nolan and Lissa headed into his bedroom and resumed making out. One shirt slid to the floor followed by the other as their hands explored one another's bodies. Nolan guided Lissa onto his bed as he unhooked her bra and began to slide his hands onto her shorts. She shimmied out of them then unzipped and unbuttoned Nolan's shorts. Within minutes, they were under the sheets, making out, chuckling, gazing lovingly at one another, and admiring each other.
"We're not…" Lissa voiced carefully in between kisses.
Nolan kissed her forehead, then her cheek as he whispered in her ear, "I know. We won't."
Nolan slowly traced Lissa's chest with his forefinger, then let his fingers stray further down her body. Afterward, Lissa slid down where Nolan had hoped she'd go. Afterward, Nolan held Lissa in his arms as she rested on his chest. Satisfied and deep in bliss, the couple fell asleep.
While Nolan and Lissa stole away time together, Ryder's plan began to come to fruition. Earlier, Nolan had left his phone sitting on the kitchen counter and Ryder had swiped it. While his brother was upstairs, Ryder began texting Nolan's buddies, Party tonight at my place. 7pm. BYOB. Ryder cackled even more when he noticed that Nolan's phone included some of Lissa's friends. He sent them the same message.
Taking out his own phone, Ryder sent a text to his pal Joe, 6:30pm. Your brother's buying the beer, right?
Yep. On it. This is gonna be the best, Joe responded.
Once the drinks were confirmed, Ryder began texting his friends and spreading the word about the party. How in the hell, Ryder reasoned, could Nolan get mad about a party if his own friends were part of the fun?
Ryder awkwardly knocked on Nolan's door at 5:30 and mumbled, "Umm… guys… uh… hey… it's 5:30. Lissa, we need to… uh… go get Claire, ok? I'll… uh… I'll be downstairs."
Lissa stretched before moving her feet to the floor and standing up. After leaning back for another series of kisses, she stood and began to get dressed as Nolan dreamily watched.
"What?" she purred with a mixture of embarrassment and elation.
"You're beautiful," Nolan offered as he reached out and slid his hand along her back.
She caught his eye, blinked slowly and grinned, "I love you, Nolan."
"Mmmm…" Nolan moaned with relaxed delight as he fell onto his back and stretched. "I love you, too, Shorty."
Finally making it downstairs, Lissa had no problem pretending like Ryder knew nothing. Ryder, on the other hand, was drowning in awkward discomfort. Any time he began to chat, he'd trip over his words and imagine what he had no desire to imagine had happened between Nolan and Lissa.
Relieved when they pulled up at Claire's, Ryder jumped out of the car and headed quickly to the door. After chatting with Claire's parents for a few minutes, Lissa, Ryder and Claire headed to the car and made their way back to the Shepherd-Hunts.
"Hey, Nole," Ryder offered casually. "I hope you don't mind… I invited a few friends over. They'll be here pretty soon."
"As long as it stays tame, Ry," Nolan insisted.
"We were going to hang at the treehouse or maybe on the back patio," Ryder explained casually.
Over the next hour, the treehouse filled up with 8th and 9th graders ready to let loose and drink. Claire was convinced her new boyfriend was the social king. Ryder was certain he was the most brilliant guy around.
Nolan walked down to the treehouse to check on the event at about 6:45. A few more people were there than Nolan had expected. As he searched for Ryder, he spotted beer in most guest's hands. Knowing most of the kids from school or soccer, Nolan chatted with people as he encountered them and received copious accolades for being such a chill big brother to allow the treehouse party.
Finally spotting Ryder in a corner with Claire, Nolan tapped on his brother's shoulder and smiled to hide his frustration. "Hey, Ry, gotta minute?"
Peering off to the side, Ryder grinned and shrugged, "Sure." Looking at Claire, he assured her he'd be right back.
"Let's… uh… let's head over there," Nolan suggested firmly as he pointed to a downed tree about 10 yards off. When they sat down, Nolan huffed with a slight smile and sputtered, "Ry? What the hell? I thought you were just having a few friends over."
Casually, Ryder agreed, "Right. There's not that many people here. We're just hanging out."
"With beer," Nolan sighed. "I don't want to be responsible if one of your friends does something stupid or gets so wasted they end up passing out. You're putting me in an ugly spot, Ry."
"Nolan, you need to chill. Everything's gonna be fine. We aren't going in the main house, so nothing's gonna get broken or stained or ruined. Besides, your friends are on their way," Ryder smiled.
"Huh?" Nolan inquired.
"I thought as long as I was having friends over, you could too… you know, to be fair and all," Ryder smirked as he patted Nolan's shoulder. "I took the liberty of spreading the word. You and Lissa need to live a little, man. Your friends are on the way. This is one of your last chances to party before college. Live it up. Have some fun. Relax."
Nolan sighed with resignation. Sure, having friends over would be great. Having a party planned by Ryder would be risky. Who knew what he'd envisioned? After finding out the guest list and making Ryder promise to keep his party at the treehouse, Nolan anxiously walked up to the main house self-talking and reassuring himself the whole way.
"Hey, Shorty…" Nolan hollered when he returned to the house. "I guess we're having a party tonight."
