Dinner

"Dinner is served!" Olivia announced as she appeared through the French doors. She laid out the trays of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and roasted vegetables.

"Oh wow," said Ben. "We used to eat fried chicken and mac and cheese on game days!"

Olivia nodded. "But I'm pretty sure it was never quite like this."

Isaiah shook his head. "Nope. It was disgusting KFC."

Sandra added, "or KFC knockoff if we couldn't find KFC."

"Ew, those little styrofoam cups of alleged macaroni with alleged cheese," said Donnie.

Olivia laughed. "Well here we have honey dipped, double battered fried chicken, seasoned with ...well, what do you care, it's better than KFC. We have macaroni and cheese in a bechamel sauce with crabmeat. And then roasted vegetables in case your aging stomachs need to back off the fried junk and eat something healthy."

Everyone looked at Isaiah. "What?" he called out. "Just because I'm like Adonis doesn't mean I don't like fried chicken. Sandra, pass me some of that decadence, please."

Sandra held out the tray. "Looks like I have two breasts, two thighs, and -- wait, what are you all laughing at?"

"You have two breasts and two thighs, huh?" said Olivia. "I would hope so."

Sandra shook them off with a flick of her hand. "Oh, you sickos. Yes, I have two breasts. You know, actually, if I'm holding this chicken, I have four. So what are you gonna do about it now?" She put down the tray of food and grabbed her own breasts and shook them. Throughout dinner, whether anyone actually wanted chicken or not, asking Sandra for a breast became the running joke.

Even Eliza, who was relatively quiet most of the night, got into it a bit. She had gone into the house for a refresher on drinks, and when she came out, she stood between Sandra and Olivia. "Girl bonding," she muttered as she rested a hand on each of her friends. Joshua asked to pass the chicken, and Eliza, without missing a beat, reached down, grabbed Sandra's boob, and said, "only one breast left, Joshua."

Donnie had thirds on the crabmeat mac and cheese. "This is quite literally the most amazing thing I've ever tasted, Liv. I mean, it's not just macaroni, it's like fresh pasta --"

"Right, I made pasta yesterday," said Olivia

"You what?" shouted Henry. "You just said, 'I made pasta yesterday' like that's a totally normal thing."

"It is for me."

Donnie continued. "And then this isn't just cheese, it's a cheese and cream sauce. Bechamel, right? It's like silk. It's like silk and cheese and heaven and a billion dollars all got together and had a baby."

"Oh stop, Donnie. It's just bechamel," said Olivia.

"Just bechamel. Be quiet. And then there's the crab, which, like -- I'm out of words. I know like fake crab, like those sticks. And maybe canned crab. And maybe crab cakes. But what is this?"

Olivia smiled and giggled. "It's king crab legs. I bought a bunch, I steamed them, I shelled them, I pulled out all the meat, I forked it to shred it, I seasoned it, I treated it with a little butter, and then I blended it into the noodles and sauce."

Joshua smiled. "When you describe it like that, it seems pretty easy. I mean, twenty steps, but easy steps."

"You're a dream, Liv," said Isaiah. "A toast," he called out. "A toast to Olivia, to good food with good people." Everyone clinked glasses and drank.

For about two hours, they all passed the food around, ate and overate (the crabmeat mac and cheese was the hands down table favorite, and not just because of Donnie's impassioned speech), and all in all, it was the joyous reunion and dinner party that Olivia had hoped for.

Olivia looked down the table, watching everyone talking, laughing. It was like a scene from a movie. She felt blessed, and in bliss.