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Aaaand she has just caught me staring at her.
She looks surprised as her eyes fly over me; she wasn’t expecting to see me here. But she isn’t unhappy about it, evidently, because she sends me a smile.
I return it instantly.
I know when Rae spots me because I hear her exclaim my name. I chuckle as she points me out to Liv, who responds to her with another smile and a gesture toward Abby’s gift table. I figure she’s suggesting they put down what they brought before they come say hello. And I’m right: they drop off the gift and then get into the drink line behind the handful of people who grew thirsty in the last twenty seconds.
When I’ve served everyone ahead of the girls, they step up to my table. Liv’s smile is back in place and Rae’s hands are waving an enthusiastic greeting, her shyness gone.
“Hey, guys!” I say.
“Hi!” Rae replies.
Liv just gives me a nod, which works out because Rae is immediately talking again.
“Why are you here? I’m here for a birthday party! Are you here for it, too? Do you know Abby? Do you get to go swimming?Iget to go swimming! But Annie doesn’t want to swim. She just wants to sit and keep an eye on me.”
I somehow don’t think I have time to answer all of her questions, so I just say, “I probably won’t go swimming either. So that means there will be more room for you and your friends in the pool!”
“Yes! But—” her expression turns hopeful, “—I don’t have my own floatie. Do you think someone will share with me?”
I nod. “Oh, yeah. Someone totally will.”
She hunches her shoulders and grins toothily, then turns to Liv. “Can I go swimming now?”
Liv looks over at the pool, where almost all the kids already are. “Looks like that’ll be okay.”
Rae turns back to me. “Can I have a drink first?”
“Sure! What do you like? Does Annie mind what you have?”
An odd look comes onto Liv’s face, but she says she doesn’t mind, so Rae settles for sweet tea.
After I get Liv a cold water bottle, she leans toward me so she can ask under the noise of the party, “Do you think I could talk to you about something in a few minutes? Or, well, whenever you aren’t busy?”
“That sounds great.” I don’t have any idea what she wants to say to me, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve been waiting for days to get to really talk to her. “Abby will be opening presents before too long, so I won’t be manning the drink stand forever.”
She smiles in acknowledgement, then leads Rae away so she can put sunblock on her.
I have a pretty thin flow of thirsty partygoers until the pizza arrives. Then people really decide they want something to drink. I keep up easily and happily since this is what I do for a living, only this is on a much smaller scale, obviously—the absence of alcohol makes these drinks ridiculously easy to churn out. While I work, I make small talk with people. We comment on how hot it is out here, how lucky I am to be set up in the shade, and how we wish sunset would come on already.
As I’m working up a two-cup order of Dr. Pepper for a lady, I get the distinct feeling I’m being looked at.
I steal glances around the place while I get one cup filled. I’ve just started on the other when I notice Liv sitting across the way with her pensive eyes on me, chin in one hand, ponytail blowing prettily in the breeze.
My brain kind of stops working—all I can do is look at her, too.
Then she’s pointing animatedly and something wet and foamy is spilling over my hand.
I forgot about the Dr. Pepper I was pouring. “Shit!” I exclaim without meaning to.
The lady I’m serving wastes no time in griping me out. While I deal with the mess I made, I nod along with her scolding and apologize for cussing where children can hear, feeling stupid the whole time. Here I am, once again making myself look like a dumbass in front of Liv. God only knows what was even so distracting about her just then. And I only feel more idiotic when I realize I haven’t fumbled a drink like that in literal years.
I roll my eyes at myself, and the angry parent thinks I’m rolling my eyes ather, and that kicks her outrage into overdrive. I quickly repeat that I’m sorry and proceed to explain myself, but when she finally walks off, I get the feeling she’s still pissed.
I’m able to shake it off, though, as I get the drink line moving again, because chatter picks back up. A lot of people say they thought the whole Dr. Pepper thing was funny. One dude gestures at his soaked clothes and describes how he tripped into the pool on the way over here to get a drink, which makes us all laugh. I don’t know how I missed that happening, but it makes me feel better.
When the line dwindles to nothing, I open a water bottle for myself. Adults are just hanging out around the pool area, eating pizza, paying little attention to the kids in the pool. Liv is one of the few doing any supervising. She’s still sitting where she was before, her chin still in her hand, but she’s watching Rae now instead of me. Smiling. Nodding and laughing when Rae calls her name to show her some trick or other.
