"Nervous?" Ann asked.

"Uh...yeah. Very," Trent replied.

"Mae didn't find her gifts, did she?"

"No. I made sure. I, uh, put them up high in the closet."

Ann laughed. "Poor short Mae."

"Yeah. I wish it didn't bother her so much...where is she?"

"Talking with her parents in the living room."

Trent sighed and finished dressing. "Guess I should get down there. People are gonna be here soon."

"Yeah." Ann hesitated. "Uh, I wanted to say...thank you. Like, for serious, thank you. For what you've done for me. And for Mae. This whole thing for Longest Night, it's super sweet. I appreciate it, and I know Mae does. She's been gushing about it all day...that girl loves you."

"That she does," he murmured. "And, uh, I'm just happy I can do something like this. Also, like, I'm sorry I didn't manage to get you a Longest Night gift. And this isn't me running interference or something, like I'm pretending I don't have one, but I actually do. Like I genuinely don't. I don't want to let you down and make you feel bad-"

"Trent," Ann said, taking his hand, "it's okay. Like seriously. You've done more for me than, like, anyone but my mom has. A lot of people turned their backs on me when I got addicted and went to jail. I guess I can't fully blame them, but...you looked at me, and all my shitty history, and my problems, and decided to invite me into your home and your life. Your bed. That's...the best possible gift I could expect from someone. Don't feel bad, because you have gotten me a gift. A huge one. One that means more than I can really say." She gave him a hug and a firm kiss. "Seriously, Trent, you're an amazing guy, and I'm so happy we met."

"You're really amazing too, Ann," he said, holding her against him. "I feel the same way, I'm so glad we met."

"I feel like I'm getting a way better bargain in this deal, but okay."

"Let yourself get settled, okay? You don't have to prove anything, you don't need to be worrying. I just want you to take your time, work through whatever problems you have, and pitch in here and there when you're ready. You've already helped. You did a great job getting everything cleaned up and organized downstairs. So...just enjoy yourself. Okay?"

She laughed and squeezed him. "Okay. You too."

"I will. Or, at least, I'll try."

"We both will. Now come on, let's go before Mae's parents get suspicious."

"Mae's mom already suspects heavily. I think she knows."

"What?...how do you know that?" Ann asked, pulling back and looking at him.

"We had a rather candid conversation recently, and she flat out told me that she suspects you, Mae, and I are 'more than friends'. I said nothing and kept a poker face, and she let it drop. But obviously she suspects. She didn't seem mad at least."

"Does Mae know this?"

"No. I'd like to keep it that way."

"Yeah...you're right. Well, whatever, let's go."

Trent and Ann left the room and Trent took a moment to look at himself in the mirror, straightening his clothes a bit. He normally didn't concern himself with how he looked, but a lot of people were going to be around today and, more significantly, grown ups who were going to be judging him were going to be around.

Despite his bravado, he wasn't exactly relishing facing down Bea's dad.

He headed downstairs in Ann's wake and found Mae standing in the middle of the room, looking at her parents, who were sitting on the couch.

The couch he had fucked Mae on.

More than once.

Trent was suddenly glad he was kind of a stickler about keeping things clean.

Mae was presently telling them about Germ's house and, he was glad to see, not mentioning why they had been there. There were times where he felt like Mae was basically just rolling dice to see whether or not she blurted out absolutely inappropriate stuff to absolutely anyone. But her mom and dad seem relaxed.

"Ah! Trent! Finally! Come here. Wow, you look like really good," Mae said as he approached.

He laughed awkwardly. "Thanks. So do you, babe. Mister Borowski. Mrs. Borowski. I'm glad you could make it, and, uh, formally welcome you to my house," Trent said.

"Thank you, Trent. It's nice to be here again," her dad said.

"Yes, thank you, Trent," Candy replied. She smiled a little smile. "I have to admit, you are a very pleasant surprise. I was so worried Mae was going to end up dating someone more...callous. And loud. And less understanding of the social contract."

"Geez, mom! Thanks for having so much faith in me!" Mae cried.

"Can you blame me, sweetheart?" Candy replied evenly.

Mae heaved an explosive sigh. "Whatever."

"I think that's as close as we're going to get to a 'yes, mother, you are correct, I concede the point'," Candy replied.

Mae rolled her eyes. "Oh whatever. I concede nothing!"

"You think I should wheel my grill over? It's actually not terrible outside and people are going to start showing up soon, right?" Stan asked.

"That sounds like a great idea," Trent replied. "People should be here soon."

"Can I light the fire!?" Mae asked, wheeling on him.

"Uh…"

"Please!? I know I was a firebug or whatever but, like, I'll be careful!"

"I'll make sure everything goes right," Candy said.

"Okay. I already set the firewood up," Trent replied, "so it should be relatively simple."

"I'll be back with my grill."

"I bought a foldout table," Trent said, "so I'll get that set up. I also bought, like, hotdogs and hamburgers and stuff."

"Excellent! I brought home some chicken, so we'll have a big selection." Stan stood up and headed back out through the front door. Everyone else followed after him. Trent grabbed the table and got it set up while Mae and her mom got the fire going. It was almost six, so it was long past dark at this point. Trent was glad he'd remembered to check the exterior lights, as one of them had been dead. Once he got the table set up, Ann helped him bring some of the supplies out. Mae, thankfully, managed to get the fire going without any problems, and seemed pretty happy with the result. They continued getting everything set up until Trent heard a knock at the front door.

Walking inside, he went and opened it up.

"Sup, dude!" Gregg said, grinning broadly.

"Hey! I'm really glad you're both here," Trent replied, stepping back.

"We're quite glad to be here," Angus replied.

"Yeah, this place is awesome. I can't believe you have, like, a whole house. And a nice one, too. Normally younger people who have houses, like, the houses are rundown. But this place is actually super nice," Gregg said as they brought their stuff into the kitchen and set it on the counter.

"Thanks. Although really I just kinda won the lottery...that smells, like, amazing," Trent replied.

"Thank you. I worked hard on it," Angus replied.

"And I helped!" Gregg declared.

"You really didn't."

"I totes did!"

"You sat on the couch."

"I was offering moral support!"

Angus stared at him for a second, then smiled. "Yes. That you did, Bug."

"Ha ha! Victory! Moral victory! Where's Mae?!"

"Out back. If you're going to go tearing ass out the back door, be careful, there is a fire going," Trent replied.

"Fire!" Gregg cried. He gave Angus a kiss. "Love you, Angus! I'mma go see Mae and fire!"

"Love you, too. Have fun, Gregg," Angus replied, and then Gregg zipped from the kitchen.

"He and Mae are, uh…" Trent said.

"A lot alike," Angus said. "I'm glad they have each other." He looked like he wanted to say more, but instead turned to the food and began opening it up. He'd brought two pans that had sealed lids. One revealed fresh brownies, the other revealed fresh enchiladas.

"Dude, that looks and smells amazing," Trent said.

"Thank you. I'm mostly glad with how it came out."

They finished getting it ready to be eaten, and Trent put two of the extra cheesy enchiladas on a plate with a fork and grabbed a Lime Fiasco and headed outside to join the others with Angus. He saw that they'd situated the foldout chairs around the fire, which was lit and looked pretty secure. Mae was sitting next to Gregg, talking animatedly.

"I brought you Angus enchiladas," Trent said. "And Lime Fiasco."

"Oh my God dude! Thank you!" Mae cried, accepting the food and drink. "Gregg, like, you see what I mean right?"

"Yeah, Angus is super nice like that, too! Ah! I want a brownie!" Gregg replied, hopping up and racing back to the house.

"Bring me one!"

"Kay dude!"

"Having fun?" Trent asked.

"So much! This is amazing. I really, really appreciate all this," Mae replied.

"I'm just glad it's actually coming together," Trent said. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "You look really cute."

"Shut up, loser!" she replied, then let out a little awkward giggle that was very similar to what Bea did when he embarrassed slash pleased her with something like that.

"You do it, too. Just like Bea," he murmured, grinning.

She shook her head. "Whatever, punk."

"I'm gonna see if your dad wants help with anything and make sure this whole thing keeps running smoothly," Trent said, straightening back up.

"You want me to do anything?" she asked.

"Just enjoy yourself and talk with your friends. This is your memory in the making, Mae."

"...thanks," she said. "I, uh...this is so cool."

"I got brownies!" Gregg yelled as he came back out.

"Gimme one!" Mae cried.

Trent laughed and went over to the fence. He opened up the gate as Stan returned, wheeling a grill with one hand while carrying a bag of charcoal.

"Here, I can get that if you want," Trent said.

"Much obliged," Stan replied, passing it to him. "Been forever since I had an opportunity to do this."

"I never fully understood the appeal, but one guy once told me grilling was kind of zen. Really relaxing," Trent said as they got the grill wheeled in and Stan started setting it up.

"Yeah, I could agree with that," he replied. "For me, I think it's more just the fact that I'm providing food for people. I dunno, something nice about that. Satisfying."

"I get that."

He spent the next while talking with Mae's dad about his job at the Ham Panther. Or really, listening to him vent about it. He didn't mind listening, and honestly it sounded like the guy had a lot to rant about. Like a lot of jobs nowadays, working at the Ham Panther seemed to fucking suck. Mostly it was about respect, or lack thereof, for employees. Which Trent had a great deal of experience with. He wasn't sure he'd ever been treated like anything but a warm body or a robot by any job he'd ever had. It was a shit experience.

After awhile, he heard the doorbell and headed back inside. Answering the door revealed Germ and his father.

"We made it," Germ said.

"Great! Welcome," Trent replied. "I'm really glad you're here." For once, he decided to be the one to offer the hand. "Trent Sinclair."

"Jacob Warton, pleasure to meet you," he replied, shaking.

"You too. You have a very nice house," Trent said.

He laughed. "I really appreciate that. We've put a lot of work into it. Your place is quite nice as well."

"We were hoping to get the furniture loaded up sooner instead of later," Germ said, "so we can enjoy the party and not have to lift a big heavy thing after."

"Yeah," Jacob said.

"Not a problem. It's all down in the basement. Come have a look, grab what you want, and I'll help you get it out to your truck."

"Thanks."

He led them down into the basement. He could sense a slight tension in Germ's dad and figured he had something else he wanted to discuss. In private. Which made enough sense. They got down into the basement and came to stand in the space that Trent had opened up when he'd gotten a space ready to photograph all the furniture.

"So, there was something I was hoping to discuss with you before we head back up there," Jacob said.

"I'm all ears," Trent replied, trying not to show how nervous he was. He was not used to having conversations like this, let alone with actual, like, adults.

"Jeremy told me about why you were at our house earlier, and that you intend to pay us to be a regular supplier. Ultimately the decision rests with me. I'm admittedly a little reluctant to sell to someone as young as Mae. I know it's going through you, but I also know it'll end up in her hands. Some of it, at least...how old are you, exactly?"

"Twenty two."

"Hmm." Jacob stared at him for a moment. "Can I trust you to keep proper discretion about this? No one in town really knows beyond those we've already dealt with. I've been very selective about who I choose to do business with, who I choose to allow to be involved at all. I trust Mae. I trust Selma. I know you're with Mae, but I don't really know you."

"I can promise a few things," Trent said.

"I'm listening."

"I won't tell anyone about this. I'll be discreet about the weed. I'm not what you'd call a reckless person. I like keeping a low profile in general. I honestly don't even smoke that much. I'll do my absolute best not to compromise your operation or your family in any way. Honestly, the primary reason I even did this was because Mae has some...issues, and the weed seems to help. So we're looking at it as like...eighty percent medicinal, twenty recreational. All I'm looking for is a regular supply and a very low-key trade off," Trent said.

Jacob stared at him for a long moment, then finally nodded. "I believe you," he said. "Okay. We can do business. Beyond what you just said, the only thing I want to be clear about is: payment up front, and cash in hand. I know Jeremy agreed to give you friend prices, and I can respect that, but we've had a few too many issues with IOUs."

"That won't be an issue. I will have cash anytime I come to visit," Trent said.

"Okay. Great. Hopefully this is the beginning of a simple, easy business partnership." He offered his hand this time.

"That is also my hope," Trent said, shaking it.

Jacob smiled, then laughed. "Jeremy said you're pretty on the ball, I have to agree with him."

"Told you dad," Germ said.

"Yep. Now...we can have anything down here?" he asked, looking around.

"Yes. Whatever looks good."

"This is some nice stuff...are you sure?"

"Call it a peace offering, or a show of faith," Trent replied.

"Well okay then. What do you think, Jeremy? Your mother's been talking about replacing Cindy's dresser recently, even since she broke the leg off…"

"That was Nicole's fault," Germ said.

"Oh was it now?"

"Yes. Nicole came in and took one of Cindy's dolls without asking and they got into a fight over it and that's why they tumbled into it and cracked that leg off."

"Huh. Why am I just now hearing about this?" he murmured, stepping up to a dresser and studying it. He pulled one of the drawers out and slid it back in. "Smooth."

"I thought you knew," Germ replied.

"Well I'll have to speak with Nicole sometime soon about that."

"Not tonight though...right?"

"No," he agreed, dropping into a crouch and grasping one of the legs the dresser stood on. "Not tonight. They've waited all year to enjoy Longest Night, don't want to mess up a family night. Later."

"You gonna ground her?"

He sighed. "I dunno, I'll have to ruminate on it awhile." He stood back up and gave Trent a look. "Pains of being a parent of five."

"Wow, five? Jeez. That would be...so busy," Trent replied.

He gave a little laugh. "You have no idea."

"You know, I am selling all this stuff off. I'd be more than willing to also give friend prices if you want something else," Trent said.

"Really? Hmm. Okay, let's keep looking…"

They spent another fifteen minutes down there. At some point Mae poked her head down. "What're you doing in the basement!?" she called.

"Haggling with Germ's dad!" he called back.

"Oh shit! Germ's here! Hi Germ! Hi Germ's dad!"

"Hello, Mae!" they both called back.

She giggled. "That sounded awesome! Well, come to the backyard when you can! My dad wants to talk to you Mister Germ!" She paused. "Sorry! I forgot your last name! I keep thinking Warfare but I know that's not right!"

"Not a problem, Mae. Tell your father I'll be there in a bit."

"Okay, bye!" She ran off.

"Mae's something else," Jacob murmured.

"That she is," Trent agreed.

In the end, they also picked up a nice end table with three drawers in it and what Trent didn't realize was a piano bench. Apparently one of Germ's sisters played piano and their current bench was getting a bit worn, as it was over thirty years old at this point. Germ's dad agreed to take both of the other pieces of furniture in exchange for the next batch of weed Trent got, and then he helped them carry it all upstairs and secure it in the back of the truck with cables. Once that was done, they headed into the backyard.

Germ went and sat at the fire between Mae and Ann, and his dad went over to the grill. Before he could join them, Trent heard another knock at the door.

"Oh boy," he muttered. It might be Ann's mom, who Ann had invited yesterday, or it could be…

"Hi, Trent," Bea said with a slightly awkward, mostly stoic look on her face.

"Bea. Mister Santello. Good to see you. Welcome to my home," Trent replied, letting them in.

"Glad to be here," Bea's dad said. "Bea, why don't you go say hi to Mae?" he suggested.

"Okay, dad," Bea replied. "Uh...see you out there, Trent."

"Yep."

"I was hoping I could discuss something with you, Trent. Privately," Mr. Santello said.

"Sure. Let's step out front," Trent replied. He still had his hoodie on from loading the stuff up, so it was a simple matter to step back outside and close the door. Bea's dad lit a cigarette and scrutinized Trent for a long moment.

Trent tried to remind himself of the confidence he'd felt when Bea had first told him that this might be a possibility.

Surprisingly...he found it.

What could Bea's dad really do to him? He could flip out, he supposed, but Trent felt surprisingly confident about his current position.

"I'll just cut to the chase, son," he said. "My daughter has told me about the two of you, about what you and her have going on. So we can just clear the air right now. I wanted to know what you had to say about it."

Trent kept a calm poker face. For a second he felt his stomach go cold and drop out in sheer terror, but abruptly, as he stared at this middle-aged man with tired eyes, smoking a cigarette, wearing a heavy leather jacket, he became convinced of something.

Absolutely convinced.

"...I don't believe you," he said finally.

Mr. Santello blinked. Once, twice. "You calling me a liar?" he asked.

"I...suppose I am," Trent replied.

Bea's father stared at him for a long moment, his cigarette dangling from his lip, almost forgotten. He looked...utterly stumped. Like this possible outcome simply had not occurred to him.

"I think you asked Bea, and she didn't say anything you wanted to hear, and this is your way to try and scare me into saying something you do want to hear. All I have to say is: Bea's my friend. I like her, I respect her. End of statement."

Mr. Santello continued staring at him for a long moment.

A very long moment.

Finally, he grinned, then he laughed. "Holy shit, kid. You got stones, I will absolutely give you that. Can't even remember the last time someone said something like that to my face." He laughed again, then took a long drag off the cigarette and blew out a puff of smoke. "All right, for that, I'll give it to you: I was lying. Bea pretty much told me the same thing. But I'm not stupid. I'll tell you something, and then we can drop the subject, because it's been a very long time since I've actually enjoyed myself, and I'd like to tonight.

"I don't know what you're getting up to with Bea, but she's my daughter, and after my wife passed, she's the only real family I got left. I don't really know what you kids are getting up to nowadays. I don't know if you're screwing around on Mae, or if you've got somekinda 'special friends' thing going on, or something else. That ain't how we did it when I was your age, but time marches on, huh? What I do know is that if you hurt my daughter, I'll fucking kill you. Dead simple. I'll put you in the ground. I don't care about going to prison, not if it's to protect my daughter. Do we got an understanding going on?"

"Yes. We do," Trent replied after a few seconds. "I won't ever hurt Bea."

"Hmm...but not because I just scared the shit outta ya?" he asked, scrutinizing him.

"Don't get me wrong, you're pretty intimidating. But I don't hurt my friends. That's not who I am. And Bea is my friend."

They stared at each other for another long moment, and finally he nodded. "Well, I buy it. And so long as I don't ever hear about it, we can drop the subject."

"Fine by me."

"I'm glad we understand each other."

They headed back inside, and Trent did his best to maintain his poker face. As confident as he'd appeared, that had honestly scared the shit out of him. He'd never actually had someone legitimately threaten to kill him before.

On the one hand, that seemed like an overreaction.

On the other...he kinda got where the man was coming from.

Trent decided not to think about it. They walked out back and Mr. Santello walked over to where Mae's dad and Germ's dad were talking around the grill.

Stan turned as he approached and his face lit up. "Allen! My God, it's been too long!"

"It's great to see you Stan, Jacob," Bea's father replied, and as he watched them, he did feel a genuine pang of sympathy for the man. He'd lost his wife, to cancer. And that was just...Trent thought he might absolutely lose his fucking mind if something like that happened to him. He couldn't even imagine the depths of agony he must have felt, might still be feeling.

"How'd it go?" Bea asked, approaching from the firepit.

"Uh, you know, pretty well. All things considered," Trent replied.

"I mean, obviously it went okay, he actually looks happy. And you look...I'm not sure. What did he say?"

"Let's talk about it later," Trent replied.

"Why?...it was bad, wasn't it?" Bea asked. "Tell me."

"Can we please talk about it later, Bea? Tonight...is supposed to be Mae's night. And it's also Ann's night. And your night...speaking of which…" Trent reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black case. He'd already cleared this with Mae: giving Bea one of her presents first. They'd been texting off and on since their last encounter and Bea had been having a rough time, too busy to make it back over, and they both agreed she should have a present to cheer her up.

"Trent, what the hell is this?" Bea asked softly as she accepted it.

"Your Longest Night present," Trent replied.

"Why-Trent-" She looked at it, looked up at him, looked back down at it. "Shit."

"Did you not want one?"

"Of course I want a Longest Night present from my bo-best friend's boyfriend," she muttered, stumbling verbally. "I just...this looks expensive."

"Don't worry about that part."

She sighed.

"Open it."

"Okay, okay." She popped it open and gasped. "Trent, oh my God." She slowly pulled a small silver ankh, studded with blue stones along the front, on a silver chain, out of the box.

He heard Mae gasp. "Guys, I think he's giving Bea her present!" she whispered loudly.

"Trent, this is...Jesus Christ, how much did this cost?" she hissed.

"Not nearly as much as you think, Bea. They're lab-created sapphires. I figured you'd be mad if I spent, like, a ton of money, and anyway, I'm not rich. But this felt like a nice compromise."

"Ugh, how could you do this to me?!" she whispered, glaring at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You give me this amazing and beautiful present, and I can't...react properly, because there's too many people including my dad!" she whispered.

"I think a hug wouldn't be out of the question," Trent replied.

"I guess not. Friends hug each other. Seriously, thank you. So much. This is amazing."

"Come on, Bea! Stop keeping us in suspense! What'd he give you!?" Mae called.

Bea sighed heavily. "Come on."

They walked over to the firepit where most everyone was gathered.

"He got me a necklace," Bea said, raising it up.

"Oh my God, that's gorgeous," Candy murmured.

"Wow dude. That's awesome," Ann said.

"Top class!" Gregg declared.

"Thank you, Trent," Bea said, giving him a firm hug. "Will you help me get it on?"

"Yeah."

She passed him the ankh and turned around, and he slipped it on and fastened it in place at the back of her neck. She turned back around. It hung down just past her collarbones. "How's it look?" she asked.

"Fantastic," Trent replied. He noticed Bea's dad staring at him from where he stood at the grill. Stan said something to him and, after a moment, he turned his attention back. Maybe not the smartest move but…

It felt right.

It felt like an 'I'm not scared of you' move, which he thought Bea's dad would respect.

"Wow, Bea. Like. For real. That thing is awesome," Mae murmured.

"What, you didn't know he got this for me?" Bea replied.

"No, he wouldn't tell me. He was scared I was gonna spoil the surprise."

"Okay, to be fair, I would be too. You blurt out, like, everything, Mae," Bea said.

"Hey, I didn't tell you he even had a present for you! I know what I'm doing," Mae replied.

"Okay, fair's fair," Bea said. "Bet he got you something kickass."

"If he knows what's good for him," Mae said.

"Now Mae, that's not polite," Candy murmured.

"I'm just teasing, mom. Gawd. You tease dad enough."

Candy giggled. "That I do."

"Lemme sit on your lap, boyfriend," Mae said, standing up.

"All right. I could use a sitdown. Uh...Ann, would you, like, keep an ear open in case your mom shows up?" he asked.

"Yeah, don't worry, Trent. I got it."

"Thanks."

He sat in Mae's seat and then grunted as she plopped down on him. "Careful."

"Yeah, Mae. You don't want to mess up the baby-making facilities," Candy said.

Mae groaned. "Ugh, no babies! Ever!"

"Oh, come on now, Mae…" Candy said.

"Absolutely vomit," Mae growled. "No children! Right Trent?"

"As far as I'm concerned, yep."

"Well, we'll see how you feel in ten years," Candy said.

"Exactly the same," Mae grumped. "Anyway, what were we talking about?"

"Ha ha, that time in high school you went to the goal with the soccer ball and it was the wrong goal!" Gregg replied, laughing.

"It's not my fault! I got turned around! They were conspiring against me!" Mae roared.