He and Jackie headed back inside.

Mae immediately grabbed him and brought him over to Sadie.

"Okay, have fun!" Mae said and then ran off with the disposition of someone throwing a lit pack of firecrackers into someone's room in the middle of the night and then slamming the door shut. He watched her go, eyebrow raised, then slowly turned his attention back to Sadie.

"Um, hi," he said.

She laughed easily. At least she seemed pretty chill. "Hello. In case you've forgotten because we only met once and it was in the midst of literally over a hundred people, I'm Sadie. Happy birthday."

"Thank you. Um. I'm Trent...it's nice to meet you. Again. Uh, not to be rude but how exactly do you know Mae? I swore she's told me but she knows, like, everyone in town at this point," he replied.

Sadie laughed again and then nodded towards the backdoor. He followed her and they stepped back out onto the porch there.

"I play saxophone for fun. There's an old, abandoned stage in one of the buildings downtown. I'd known about it forever, but only last year finally worked up the courage to break in and play sax on it. Just because I wanted to. Mae broke in about an hour after I did and found me there. We started talking. She pointed out there was another person playing an instrument alone in a strange place, a guy named Saleem who plays violin. She suggested we team up, play together, and now we do. Although usually at each other's houses now, but sometimes down in the tunnel, and occasionally on the roof of the Telezoft building."

Trent laughed. "I had a panic attack on that roof once. But wow does that sound like the most Mae story ever. I swear Mae doesn't meet people normally at all."

"She is...very unique. I've never really met anyone like her. I gotta admit, I was kinda nervous coming here but it helps now that I've shown up and found people older than me here," she said. "Also this doesn't really feel like a twenty-something's birthday party. There's no loud music and yelling and drugs."

"That comes later, after most people have left," Trent replied.

"Oh really? I've heard rumors you party really hard but after finally meeting you at the Pickaxe, it seemed less likely...until I saw you deck that guy."

Trent chuckled awkwardly. "Ah, yeah, that. Well he grabbed my girlfriend, which was very unacceptable. But honestly, I don't party that hard. We like music, we smoke a little weed, we...enjoy each other's company."

"Oh yeah? Enjoy how?" she asked.

"You know...the typical way a guy and a girl enjoy each other's company," he replied.

She grinned. "Okay, so...tell me if this is asking for too much, but...who exactly are you dating? I know for a fact you're dating Mae, but…"

He chuckled. "Ah yeah, um, so, we're not really hiding it anymore. I'm in a relationship with Mae, Bea, and Ann. We all live together."

"That...is fascinating," she murmured. "I've heard rumors of polyamorous people or swingers in Possum Springs, but never anything confirmed. The only thing I've ever seen confirmed is cheating. Which, ew. I have a sore spot for that."

"Were you, uh…"

"Yes. I was cheated on. My husband started seeing this bitch...eh, you know, it's a party. I don't really want to get into it."

"Very fair."

"But anyway, my point was that I've never encountered authentic polyamory. I also have the impression that these three are not the only ones you are with," she said with a small smile.

"Um...what makes you think that?" he replied, then cleared his throat.

She laughed. "You're a lot more shy than I figured."

"I'm twenty three and until about six months ago, lived a very different life with a very unhappy upbringing. I'm still getting used to all...this."

"Understandable. So, to answer your...wow, twenty three? Really?" she asked.

"Yep."

"You seem older. Like, if you told me you were thirty three I'd have believed it."

"Oh, wow. Any particular reason?"

"Not sure. Something about you just seems...older. Mature. It's not a bad thing. Anyway, I say that because I saw the way that one girl was looking at you...the fox? Or the wolf woman? I saw both of them give you the look while I was talking with Mae. And from the way you're reacting...you've already fucked them both, haven't you?"

He sighed. "That is personal," he said.

Sadie laughed. "You're right, I'm sorry. I've never been great with my filter and I come across as rude a lot." She paused. "I guess that's kind of shifting the blame. I am rude sometimes, even if I'm not trying to be. And, you know, it's not like I'm giving you shit for it. Honestly, it's impressive. It also makes sense. I can see why you're as popular with the ladies as you are."

...was she hitting on him?

He glanced briefly back into the house and saw Mae and Bea both staring at him. They immediately turned away. What the fuck?

"Thanks," he replied awkwardly. He thought about it for a moment. She did seem like she was hitting on him. Well, what if she was? She looked hot, kind of in that alternative-girl kinda vibe. She struck him as someone who was kind of like Mae but back in the 90s. She'd grown up and evened out, but she hadn't completely lost that punk spirit.

He apparently took too long to respond because she asked him another interesting question.

"So what archetype is Ann?" she asked.

"...what? What do you mean?" he replied.

"Well, you are clearly the tall, dark, and handsome loner. Bea is obviously the goth. Mae is the tomboy. What's Ann?"

He began to respond, then his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"What?" she asked. "Shit, did I say something offensive?"

"No! I just-how did I never put that together! Mae!" he called.

She hurried over to the backdoor and looked out. "What!?"

"You're a tomboy!"

"...um, okay, yeah?" she replied.

"How did I miss this!?"

"What? I mean of course I'm a tomboy, I thought that was as obvious as the fact that I'm a cat. You didn't know!?"

"I guess not! I mean, I knew but like I didn't know, if that makes sense? Holy shit, you're a tomboy. Oh my God."

"You sound, like, horny," she said.

"I am! Tomboy chicks are fucking awesome!"

"Well yeah," she replied. "Is that what you wanted?"

"Yeah. Wait, no! What's Ann?" he asked.

"What's Ann?"

"Yeah! You're a tomboy, Bea's a goth, I'm a loner…"

"Oh, she's the old soul who's seen too much and now she's super chill and nice," Mae replied.

"Old soul," Trent murmured. "That makes sense, yeah."

"Anything else?"

"No, nothing I can think of."

"Okay, keep talking. Keep...having fun together," she said, and then headed back inside.

"Well, there you go," he said.

"Interesting. Yeah, I can see it. I know some of what happened to her. Seems like she really got the shit end of the stick," she murmured.

"We all did, but yes, very much she did. That's kind of what our relationship is about: helping unfuck our lives and helping each other feel better."

"That's ridiculously sweet."

"I like to think so," he replied. "What about you? What's your story?"

"Oh, boring," she said. "Born and raised here in Possum Springs. Pretty ordinary childhood. Went to school, got older, made friends, lost friends. Found out I like playing saxophone in high school. Dad split when I was fifteen, so it was just me and mom. I was going to go to college but I couldn't find any scholarships and then my mom got cancer."

"Holy shit, I'm sorry."

Sadie sighed. "Thanks. It's...you know, a complicated subject for me. We didn't get along, but I can't deny she cared about me and sacrificed for me. She just struggled with booze and pills. I stuck around, helped her, got a job at a gas station out near the highway. Met a guy after a year, started dating, got serious. Mom died when I was twenty two and I got her house. Boyfriend moved in, became husband by twenty four. By twenty five I was pregnant. It was unplanned but not unwelcome. Gave birth to my son, started raising him. Worked a bunch of shit jobs until I finally went to school to become a phlebotomist, which is basically a nurse who draws blood. Got work out in Briddle a few years back and now I'm paying off whatever debt I can. Husband cheated three years ago, but the relationship had already been dying for a couple years by then. I just pulled the trigger on a divorce, divvied up the assets and booted him out. He's out in Hunwick now, I think. Don't really care. He was pretty cool with removing himself from my and his son's life."

"Jeez," Trent muttered.

"It's all right, you don't have to feel bad. Honestly, it's better this way. I talk with my son about it. He thankfully takes after me, in that he's pretty emotionally level. And not in that way that a lot of adults think of teens who like that, where they say things like 'oh you're so quiet and well-behaved' and the reality of the situation is that they've been traumatized into shutting their mouth. Me and my son have real, actual, long conversations about his feelings and my feelings and the things that happen to us. It's not perfect, but what is?"

"You sound like a really, really good mom," Trent said.

She smiled. "Thank you." The quality of her smile changed as she swirled the contents of her glass around a few times. "I heard a rumor you like moms."

"Uh…" He immediately let out his own version of that awkward chuckle Bea or Mae let out when he was hitting on them and they didn't know how to take it. "That's...true. Yes. Although I have mommy problems...and technically daddy problems, but that sounds weird to say if you're a guy, so…" He shrugged. "I have, well had, family problems."

"I'm sorry," she replied. "But hey, you're here now. Talking with a mom who will definitely be very nice to you."

Trent stared at her for a moment. He looked back into the house. Now all three of his girlfriends were staring at him and they quickly looked away. He also saw Jen farther into the background, grinning foolishly his way.

"...okay, level with me. Are you hitting on me?" he asked.

He expected an immediate yes or no, but Sadie simple smiled a little wider and looked down into her cup. "I don't know, am I?"

"Um…" He actually couldn't think of a response.

"Would that be so bad?" she asked, looking back up at him.

"Nope," he replied immediately. "That would not be bad."

Wait…

Was this his special birthday present? Sadie? Seducing him? Was she actually going to fuck him? That felt...kind of strange. He needed more time to sort this out.

"Well then," she said, "we should keep talking. I'd like to hear about how exactly you ended up in this situation that you're in."

"Oh man, that'll take a while."

Sadie sat down in one of the chairs. "I've got time."

He considered it. "All right, but I'll have to disappear back inside at least a few times."

"Naturally, it is your birthday party."

"Okay, so, I grew up in Nebraska…"

Jackie was still smirking at him anytime he glanced at her, and he knew exactly why, too.

She had almost certainly won that hundred bucks.

Trent found it increasingly difficult to pull himself away from Sadie as they sat on the back porch and talked. Occasionally someone would come out to grab him for something, and it seemed like half the people at his party were in on it, or had picked up on it. Mae, Bea, Ann, Claire, Jen, and Melody were all giggling at him anytime he caught their eye.

And then he caught Candy and Jacob standing together, whispering to each other while staring through the back window at him and Sadie. They both just grinned and Candy waved when he looked at them. And now clearly Jackie had drawn her own conclusions.

Damn if she wasn't right, though.

Sadie had gotten slowly but surely flirtatious over the course of the night. She seemed very calm and confident, but he could certainly see it whenever her mask slipped a little and he realized she was actually kind of nervous.

Now the party was winding down. So far, it had been a good time. He had also been glad to see that his wishes had, for the most part, been respected. He'd gone out of his way to tell everyone that he didn't really want anything for his birthday. People should just show up and have a good time. And that's almost how it had gone.

Lori had gotten him a first printing, signed, sealed blu-ray of Gasmask. It was, evidently, completely finished now, and she'd managed to get in a small batch of blu-rays.

Ann's mom had given him a birthday card with fifty dollars inside, which he quickly recognized as 'the thing middle aged people give youngsters when they don't know what else to get', which he was completely cool with. He'd never been great at gift-giving, nor at helping people predict what he wanted beyond some books and games. Mr. Chazokov had given him two slips of paper.

"They're for an observatory out near Briddle," he'd said quietly, "they're more for Mae than they are for you, I'll admit, but making her happy is its own joy."

Given how much he agreed with that, he'd happily assented. Angus and Gregg had gotten him Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, and that filled him with a tremendous and impassioned joy.

And, he had to admit, Jacob's gift had been something pretty special.

One by one, people had begun leaving. When Trent headed back outside to chill with Sadie again, the only people left besides women he tended to sleep with were Gregg, Angus, and Jackie. And Sadie, obviously. Candy and Stan had gone home, with Candy teasing him the whole time she was leaving.

Sadie looked like she was finding everything very amusing.

"So, uh...what do you get up to besides work and playing your sax?" he asked.

"Not much for awhile now," she replied. "Sort of just grinding away, killing debt and trying to raise my son right. It's been rather...boring," she murmured, slowly moving her foot alongside his own. She'd been getting touchy-feely.

Not that he was complaining.

"Well, I've been told that I am good for livening things up," Trent replied. At a certain point, he had decided to just lean into it.

He had to admit, being flirted with was really fun. Especially when it was a noticeably older woman.

"Oh really?" she asked.

"Yeah. For the right people."

"Who are the right people?"

"Well-" He paused as he heard someone approaching him from behind. He turned and saw Bea. She put a lit pipe into his hand. Behind her, he saw Gregg and Angus approaching.

"I think it's time for the birthday boy to toke up," she said.

"Uh...everyone's gone?" he asked. "I mean, everyone who might be weird about this?" He accepted the pipe.

"Yes," Bea replied.

"We're gonna head out, too," Angus said as he and Gregg walked up. "It was a pretty cool party."

"Yeah! Happy birthday again! And thanks for all the awesome," Gregg agreed.

"Thanks-" He paused as he started coughing from the first hit. "Th-thanks for-agh!" He paused and coughed a few more times, laughing. "Sorry. What is this? It tastes different."

"We got our hands on some quality stuff," Bea replied.

He paused. "From...people we trust?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, sweetheart. From our...regular provider. He just had a private reserve. It's quite strong."

"Can I have some?" Sadie asked.

"Yeah," he replied, taking another puff and then beginning to pass it to her. "Wait, like...so are you spending the night? You're gonna be stoned for probably awhile and it's pretty late already."

"That's sweet to think of, and, well, I've already worked out the...arrangements with your girlfriends. As for my son, he is spending the night at his best friend's house, and I trust the friend and, more significantly, the parents. And if, God forbid, there is an emergency, I have backups in place to drive me if I'm too stoned. I've just...it's been a long, long year so far. I need a break and I chose this when it was presented to me," she replied.

"Okay, fair deal," he said, giving her the pipe. "Um, Gregg, Angus, thank you for coming. It was awesome, and...we are going to see each other at least one more time before you go, right?"

"Yeah, don't worry, we'll swing by tomorrow and then again day after that, which is the day we're leaving," Angus replied.

"Excellent."

They exchanged their farewells and headed out. Jackie stepped out as soon as they were gone.

"Hello," she said, smirking and looking extraordinarily pleased with herself.

"Hey...what's up?" he replied, even though he knew.

"You know what's up, Trent. Pay up."

"Um...have you received some kind of knowledge that I don't know about and I also didn't receive?" he asked.

"Pay up," Sadie said after puffing and coughing. "She won the bet. I came here specifically to have sex with you."

"...wow."

"Well there's been enough beating around the bush," Sadie replied with an easy shrug and an easier smile. "Although I guess there's going to be a lot more bush-beating pretty soon. Bea mentioned the bet to me about an hour ago. Don't worry, I'm not offended. I think it's kinda funny, actually. But yes, I came here specifically to sleep with you."

"Well then," Trent said, and reached into his pocket. He grabbed his wallet and fished out five twenties and held them up. "To the victor go the spoils."

"Thank you," Jackie replied, snatching them out of his hand, counting them quick, then making them disappear into her purse. "I could very much use it right now. Now, I will bid you all adieu before the...depravity begins."

"Wait," Trent said. "When's your birthday?"

"What? Why? It was December thirteenth."

"Here," he said, passing her three fifties.

"...what the fuck is this?" she replied, reluctantly taking them and staring at them like they might bite her.

"Late birthday and Longest Night present," he replied.

Jackie looked around. Ann and Mae had come out. "Don't look at me, I think he's doing something good," Bea said.

"Same," Mae agreed.

Jackie sighed heavily and stuffed the extra one fifty in her purse. "Thank you," she grumbled.

"Why are you mad about this?" he asked.

"I don't like handouts."

"I'm not insulting you, Jackie. I'm...trying to help," he replied.

She seemed to struggle for a moment, then make herself relax. "It's not that I think you're insulting me. It's more...I don't know, like you're trying to gain power over me? Like you did this big nice thing for me, now I owe you. Only I know that isn't what you're trying to do, even tacitly. And I...am still struggling with trust."

"I understand," Trent said. "I think we all are, to varying degrees."

"True for me," Sadie muttered.

"Yep," Bea agreed.

"Definitely for me," Claire said from the doorway.

"Thank you. For being understanding...and patient," Jackie replied, looking uncomfortably vulnerable all of a sudden. "All of you, really. I know being my friend is difficult sometimes, and I appreciate that you are still trying. And now I am going to leave before I embarrass myself any further."

"This doesn't have to be embarrassing, although dear God do I understand how you feel," Bea said.

"I know. It's, you know, it's not-you guys aren't doing anything to make me feel bad. It's all me. So, um, happy birthday Trent. Thank you for the present. Thank you everyone for...all the stuff. Uh, I'll see you later."

Jackie hurried away back through the house as everyone told her goodbye. As soon as she was gone, Bea stepped up to Trent, grinning broadly. "Now it's time for the after party."

"After party, huh?" he replied.

"Yes. Now the time comes to give you the real birthday present," Mae said, grinning almost like a caricature.

"Sleeping with Sadie?" he asked, raising his eyebrows as he looked at her.

"Oh no," she said, puffing once more before passing the pipe to Trent. "I'm just one piece of this puzzle."

"You are the linchpin, I feel," Bea said.

"I guess we'll see," Sadie replied.

Bea took Trent's hand and pulled him up. "Inside, now. So that we can get this after party started."