Chapter 56
Saturday, July 25, 1987 –Late Morning
At eleven twenty-three, Saturday morning, Maggie bustled around in her Kitchen. She collected heaps of Styrofoam plates, paper napkins and plastic cutlery, and handed them to the few guests who'd arrived early to help set up the party. Among them were ex-Resistance-fighters Sancho Gomez, whom Donovan once rescued from the Mother Ship, Caleb Taylor, father of Elias and Ben, who'd lost their lives during the wars, Willie and his wife Thelma.
"Where do you want the cooler, Maggie?" Chris came in the back door with CJ not far behind.
The screen door slammed in the toddlers face. CJ wailed.
"Chris!" Maggie shrieked, darting to the door. "You've got to watch him better." She opened the door and picked up her son.
"You're supposed to be watching him," Chris said. "He don't need to be outside."
"Shh, baby." Maggie pressed a kiss to CJ's forehead. "Daddy's sorry."
"Do you want me to take him in the living room to play with Max?" Thelma asked.
Max was the other alien couple, Glenda and Robert's two-year-old. Maggie didn't relish the thought of her son playing with a child capable of consuming him.
"That's okay," she said.
She carried CJ out to the front porch where Ham sat on a swing sipping his scotch and water.
Shoving CJ into his lap Maggie said, "Watch him. He's in the way."
"What do I look like, the Kiddie Patrol?" he grumbled, placing his plastic cup on the porch railing.
"Be nice to him. I mean it." Maggie noticed a large group of people walking up her street. Among them were Donovan and the teenaged boy she guessed to be Sean.
Donovan carried a large, music amplifier while Sean toted a guitar case. Others in the group included Adile, ex-Piano player for the Club Creole, and Miranda, the Hispanic woman who'd once served as a waitress. Dr. Joe Akers and his wife Susan were also with them
Maggie addressed Donovan. "We're having live music?"
"Mm hmm," Donovan answered, climbing the porch steps. He glanced at CJ sitting on Ham's lap then looked at Maggie. "You sure he's safe there?"
"You sure we're safe with your kid?" Ham retorted.
Donovan glared.
Back to the norm. Maggie sighed, letting the newcomers into her not-so-spacious home. Donovan lingered on the porch while Sean followed the others in. Maggie imagined Donovan lecturing Ham on how not to treat Sean. Ham's last encounter with Sean was an unpleasant experience. Sean punched Ham in the forehead, and left him passed out in the front seat of his car.
Maggie surveyed her guests, who'd crowded into the living room then made introductions; some had never met one another before.
The front door squeaked open as Donovan strolled in hauling the amp, followed by Ham with CJ.
"Where can Sean set up?" asked Donovan.
"Out back," Maggie answered. "Through the kitchen." She led the way.
The doorbell rang for what Maggie guessed made the twentieth time. Her head ached.
"Somebody answer that," she yelled, opening the back door. She observed as Sean located the only corner of the yard unoccupied by seats. Donovan placed the amp on the grass.
I hope there's not a noise ordinance, thought Maggie. Moments later, additional individuals, some she recognized and others she didn't, mingled in her backyard. As they started to sit, Maggie realized there weren't enough chairs. Chris had only picked up sixty from the rental place.
Why are there so many people here?
Guessing who'd invited the extras, Maggie walked over to Donovan. "Did you find some more guests?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't have a chance to call you."
Maggie wondered if there'd be a food shortage as well. "Did you bring them food?"
"Sean, did you bring the chips?" Donovan called to his son.
"No, that was your job," Sean answered.
Maggie rolled her eyes as one of the unidentified guests, an African American woman with long wavy hair, shoved a metal bowl into her hands.
"This is potato salad," the woman said.
Maggie peered through the cellophane then looked at the woman. Was she with the resistance?
"Thank you, Mrs…"
"Cannif," the woman answered.
"Her husband ran the underground newspaper," Donovan explained.
"Nice to meet you," Maggie told the woman. Jerking Donovan across the yard by his collar, she said, "Come here, please."
He stared at her with a smirk. "What's new?"
"How many more people did you invite?"
"Um, let me see." He started ticking off his finger tips. "Maybe a dozen."
"Does Julie know them all?"
"Mm hmm. Don't worry, I told them to bring food." He winked.
"What about drinks and chairs?"
"Oops."
"Yeah. Oops is right." Opening the screen door, she marched into the kitchen to find Chris stocking their fridge with beer. He squeezed a few cans on top of a large vegetable tray.
He's more concerned about the beer than anything else, Maggie realized.
"Chris, we have a problem."
"What?"
"Donovan said he invited about a dozen more people."
"Which reminds me, I invited Spencer, his old lady and their kids." Chris popped a handful of party peanuts into his mouth.
They're not even resistance fighters, and Julie doesn't know them, Maggie wanted to say. "That's five more people."
"The more the merrier." He kissed her full on the lips. "Don't worry, Maggie. Everything will be okay. Looks like there's plenty of grub."
"But not enough drinks or chairs."
"Ham and I'll make an errand run after your guest of honor arrives."
"Thank you."
She eyed the tea-kettle shaped clock on the kitchen wall. It was almost a quarter 'til. She needed to coax her most important guests into the small living room.