"Everybody give our VP a big hand." Says Stevie as Bobby climbs the small stage and stands next to him at the microphone.
"I can't afford to be up here." Bobby hisses to Stevie. "What the hell do you want?"
"Its nice to see you too Bobby. Since Frankie isn't here I thought you would be willing to be Master of Ceremonies for the evening. Would you please announce our door prize winner?" Stevie hands a slip of paper out to Bobby who glares at him as he unfolds the small piece of paper.
"Georgie Dello." Bobby says leaning into the microphone. "What the...?"
"Oops, wrong slip. That's the one I pulled out of the bowl before the winner was pulled." Says Stevie, reaching into the pocket of his tuxedo jacket. "Here." He hands another slip to Bobby who gives an annoyed look at Stevie before he unfolds the new slip and announces the name. "The winner is Tory Yates."
From somewhere in the back of the room a woman jumps out of her seat screaming. "I won! I won!" Yells the woman jumping up and down holding her face.
"Come on down." Bobby says into the microphone.
The woman races through the tables pushing past Alex's chair.
Alex suppresses a smile as she watches the woman run onto the stage and grab an envelope out of Bobby's outstretched hand. She then grabs him and gives him a huge kiss.
Bobby struggles to get away from her. Finally she lets go of him.
"Thank you Tory." Says Stevie as Bobby coughs and pulls at his collar.
"Can I please go back to my seat now?" Bobby asks.
"Well, we would like you to be MC tonight if you don't mind." Replies Stevie putting his hand over the microphone. "Here is the agenda." He pulls a large loose leafed binder from a shelf and drops it with a thud onto the top of the podium.
"You're doing such a great job Stevie. I think you oughta do it." Replies Bobby with a devious look as he pats Stevie on the back. "Its your chance to shine."
"Well if you wouldn't mind." Stevie starts turning pink. "I mean I am President of the reunion committee, but I wanted to respect the chain of command.
"High school's over Stevie. You're President of the committee, therefore you should be up here, not me. I'm going back to my chair to spend the evening with my partner, I mean wife." Bobby wanted to kick himself for that little slip.
Stevie takes his hand off the microphone. "Did I hear you say partner? Bobby, are you telling me you're gay?" Unfortunately, everyone's attention is drawn to Stevie's voice projecting across the hall and their eyes focus on Bobby.
"No, I am not gay!" Bobby replies, angrily, as he glares at Stevie. "My wife is right over there." He points at Alex who attempts to hide her face behind her hand. Bobby approaches the podium. "Hey folks, thanks for the opportunity of being your MC tonight, but I am going to have to pass it up. I don't get a chance very often to spend quality time with my wife. Everyone say Hi to Alex now." The entire room says. "Hi Alex!"
Alex's face turns red as she stands up and after waving she sits down quickly.
"Okay, so I'm going to pass over the mike to Stevie here now." Bobby says, as he shakes Stevie's hand and backs away from the podium. He then climbs back down the stairs and goes back to his seat.
"You're a regular Bob Barker." Alex says with a smile as Bobby sits down.
"Yeah, make sure to have your pet spayed or neutered." Replies Bobby. He glances over to Terry's empty seat. "Where did our dinner companion disappear to?"
"She said she was going to mingle." Replies Alex.
Bobby dips his spoon into his soup. He takes a small sip. "Cold" He says as he drops the spoon into the saucer and pushes it away. He looks up to see Terry talking to Greg Silverman three tables away.
Terry smiles and waves as she keeps chatting.
"She sure likes to talk to the male portion of the population, doesn't she?" Alex asks. "Matter of fact I haven't seen her spend a great deal of talking to any females this weekend, myself included." A waiter places a dinner of baked stuffed chicken breast in front of Alex.
Bobby eyes his prime rib with hunger.
"That looks so rare it looks like it came off an autopsy table." Alex says as she cuts into her chicken.
"Thanks Eames, you really know how to make mealtime fun." Replies Bobby, picking up his knife and fork.
Terry has come back to the table and taken her seat. "They should have offered a vegetarian dish. I'm going to see if they'll give me another salad." She motions to a waiter who nods after taking her order. "Didn't like the soup, Bobby?"
"It got cold." Bobby replies.
"You want me to ask them to nuke it?" Terry inquires.
"Nah, I've got plenty to eat right here." Bobby says, taking a bite of his dinner.
"It would take only a couple of minutes." Terry insists.
"He said no, got it?" Alex snaps.
"Excuse me." Terry says, sarcastically as the waiter puts her salad down in front of her.
The three continue eating in silence.