Chapter Twenty-One

New Years Eve 2018, in the Kostan's hot tub, Josef, Mick, Elliott and Thor are relaxing watching the great stars display in the Aspen night. Not since 2008 has there been such a coming together of planets: Mercury, Jupiter, and Neptune all glowing. Simone, Beth and the children are outside playing with Faith. Later that night, it's planned that the four adults will go out to the Caribou Club, a private club in Aspen.

But their evening plans are about to change. Alfred has news.

"Ah, Mr. Kostan, sir, sorry to disturb but there seems to be quite a large number of young ladies outside the gate. Security wants to know what to do with them?"

"I guess it was too much to hope that the party girls from Christmas wouldn't talk. How many?"

"I've been told close to a hundred."

Elliott tells Thor, who starts to get very excited, nodding his head.

"Now wait a minute, Thor, you and the others can't possibly handle that many. Oh, maybe you can with some ah, rest."

Mick quips, "What you're saying, J, is that you can't handle being around all those lovely young things. Tempting, isn't it?"

Josef glares at Mick, although he knows his friend is right. And jealous Simone, she's probably already heard the news.

"Alfred, I guess we'd better get the ballroom ready. Notify the staff and see if we can't get some entertainment. Better yet, call Kevin Costner. See if he's in town and is willing to play. I hear he's more Country Western again but what the hell. Tell security to get all their names and phone numbers before entering and make sure they are all at least 21. We definitely don't want any underage girls."

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, and Alfred. Sorry about this. I know you were to have tonight off."

"I appreciate that, sir, but actually this sounds like fun. Anything to get those Vikings off my, ah, back."

Mick and Josef understand completely. Those randy cavemen have been giving everyone in the household a "hard" time.

"Elliott, my man, can you explain to Thor that he and the others are going to get to choose their brides tonight. Then, they're going to the cabin or back to the cave if they can convince 'em to go. Either way, they're on their own after tonight."

Laughing, Beth and Simone join their men in the hot tub.

"I guess we're having a New Year's Eve party! I told Collie and Spike they could stay for a little while and chaperone with us. And I called Jeff and Debbie plus some other "in the know" friends just to round things out. Seriously, guys, I think it was just a matter of time before the word got out about our new friends, anyway. What better way to integrate them into society?"

"Beth, we can't just expose ourselves to this kind of scrutiny."

Simone argues. "Too late. But we can keep our exposure to a minimum and just focus on their discovery."

Beth agrees. "And knowing women, they'll have those guys whipped into modern life pretty quick. Remember that cute movie from the '90's. The one with Brendan Fraser as a reanimated caveman. What was that called?"

Elliott knows. "Encino Man. Yeah, they'll be using computers and driving cars in no time."

Mick grins. "Oh, joy! There goes the Maserati, Josef."