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“Well, someone could steal it.”
“On Luca’s private property?”
“It could happen.”
Carlos rolls his eyes and then gives Mimi the keys. “Be my guest then.”
I make eyes like,what the hell are you doing?Mimi nods for me to follow, and I make an excuse about getting food.
We come out onto the patio, where the barbecue is firing up. There’s a whole pig cooking over flames, and at least five other styles of meat are being served along with it. They’ve also got an enormous buffet of catered food and are dressed up in outfits too. There’s a zombie brain of pasta meatballs, a freshly dug grave of meatloaf, and gray food-dyed potato mash. A man is setting down a bacon wrapped mummy, while some of the security guards set into a pasta bake kids pool day gone wrong. But none of that compares to the cake sitting there in the shadows. I can see a volcano and a few bottles of mentos and cola waiting…
“What was that?” I say, swinging around as we get battered by wafting food aromas. “I was gonna tell him.”
“I just panicked,” Mimi says, looking inside at the beginning of the dancefloor. “I saw how happy he was, and how chatty he’s been with everyone. What if we ruin that for him? What if it ruins everything for us?”
I splutter. “What?”
“Well you know…”
“No. I don’t know. This is what you’ve been arguing about these last few weeks. You convinced me that everything would be alright. That we’d all be happier with the truth in the air. Now you’re backing out?”
“I’m not backing out, I’m just anxious.”
I take Mimi’s hands in mine, and we both take a large breath in and then exhale slowly. “Everything will be fine, remember? We love each other. We’ve known each other forever. It only makes sense that we’d eventually see each other this way. Like you said,” I cup Mimi’s jaw in my hand. “We need to look after our happiness too.”
Mimi grins. She looks unsure but ultimately agrees. She takes the keys and pops them in her purse. “I locked the car before getting out anyway.”
Sophie comes out then, holding a few drinks and passes them off to us. She encourages Mimi to drink quickly and then pulls her away to dance. Mimi looks back at me one last time before disappearing into the throng of bodies. I stand there for a few moments, gathering my thoughts.
We are sure, aren’t we?
The night continues on. I go back in and find Carlos. He’s drinking and dancing with a few of the people from work. But a few of the models from Piovere are also attending, so he’s working his moves on one girl in particular. She’s playing like she doesn’t care, but I can already tell the two are going to end the evening together. We all meet up for a few songs and begin dancing. Our circle is happy, and joyous. There’s Carlos, the model Carlos is hitting on, me and Mimi, and Luca and Sophie. We dance through a number of hits and are soon sweating. By the time the barbeque is announced and ready for serving, the break is much needed.
I think about gripping Mimi’s hand in front of Carlos, thinking maybe that would be the best way to show him what we’ve become. But instead, we all line up and get our dinner for the evening. Everyone shuffles along, and soon we’re packed down near a corner, in a makeshift booth, and chomping away on pork ribs, shish kebabs, and fried potatoes. Everyone is tipsy and happy, not bad for a forty-second birthday.
The party rolls out onto the patio, the music comes back, and soon there’s a little dance floor going. We don’t join it, but we all sit there chatting away. Everyone is in their own little world. I’m ignoring the worms in my belly to try and break the news to Carlos. Mimi looks like she’s never had any sun, and soon I can tell we’re going to psych ourselves out. It’s now or never.
“What?” Carlos laughs.
The group turns.
“Oh, don’t be so silly,” the girl says. “Look at them. They have so much chemistry.”
The group now turns back to who the girl is gesturing at. It’s me and Mimi. Our eyes go wide, and the fork in my hand feels inadequate to defend myself.
“No way,” Carlos says. Half joking, half watching us like a fucking hawk. “I don’t see it…”
“It’s cause you’re a man, honey,” she pats Carlos’ leg. Then she taps Sophie. “They would be a cute couple, no? They just have something about them.”
Sophie smiles. “You know what, I can see it.”
“Oh no not you too,” Carlos says, sipping from his drink and shaking his head. “You cupids are gonna ruin my night.”
“Honest. Look at them,” the girl insists.
Mimi has turned a shade of tomato, and I’m burning like a gas cooker. Carlos thinks our embarrassment is at theattention.
“Honey,” the girl says leaning forward. “I will get around that man before I do.”
