Of course! Olivia is on her game

Later that night, Olivia was poring over her game plan for dinner. She had already set the table on the patio for dinner. It was going to be dinner for eight, as she had thought. She read down her guest list. "Ben, Donnie, Henry, Joshua, Isaiah, Sandra, Eliza, and me." She paused, then said, "I hope we don't wind up playing some boys vs. girls thing."

She had prepped the chicken, which was marinating in the fridge. It just needed to be dredged in honey, dipped in batter, and dropped in the fryer. The macaroni was already cooked, covered in cheese and bread crumbs, and needed 20 minutes or so in the oven to get gooey inside and crispy on top. And she had three trays of vegetables ready for roasting.

Olivia had given up athletics after college and gone to culinary school. Her mind was well suited for being a chef. She was organized, efficient, and very neat. At her restaurant, her co-workers often teased her for never really looking like she worked in a kitchen, since her apron and chef's jacket were always spotless. Same was true tonight. She had put on a white dress hours ago -- before prepping the food (oops, I forgot I had to prep, oh well, guess I'll stay dressed) -- and still come out squeaky clean.

"Okay," she said out loud to herself. "Folks arrive around seven. Cocktails. Dinner is at eight."

She looked at the guest list again. She hadn't seen most of these people in years. She had an occasional drink downtown with Eliza now and then. And Henry had actually dated Gwen for a short time. The rest of them Olivia only kept up with on social media. She checked the list again. Wait, Gwen said she didn't know any athletes. Did she not realize that that Henry had gone to school with us?

She checked her watch. 6:53. And just then, she heard a knock at the door.