The Cookout I-Meeting the Crew

Saturday October 28th 16:57:09

As Caleb pulls the hot-links out of the smoker, supervised by a salivating shadow, the doorbell rings and Hope shoots off towards the living room. Setting the sausages in foil to rest, he drops them off on the kitchen counter before answering the door. Standing on the stoop are two slender blonde haired people, guy and gal, the guy holding two twelve packs of beer and the woman holding a casserole dish and a satchel with hard **** and mixers.

“Andrea! Evan! How y’all doing? Hope, back! Back girl! Let them come inside first, please.”

Evan wiggles past Caleb and Hope and sets the twelve packs on the coffee table and reaches down to half-pet/half-restrain Hope while Andrea places her dish and mobile bar in the kitchen.

“Damn, Caleb I thought you said she was a puppy? She’s already bigger than Reggie. Whoa, okay girl, I'm happy to meet you too. Bet you smell Reggie, dont’cha?” Hope accepts the petting and starts licking Evan's face.

“Yeah, roughly 4 months old, but Reggie is a Bulldog, they don't get super huge. Between what the girl at the Pets Mart and my own research have told me, Labs grow fast and can get pretty huge. Lady said hers was 90 pounds.”

Andrea kneels down next to Hope and her fiance, hugging and snuggling the furry ball of happiness. “Oh, Caleb, she’s adorable, you better treat her right or I’m gonna kidnap her when you aren’t looking. You are adorable, yes, you are.”

Caleb coughs politely, attempting to divert focus back to more important matters.“She’d probably let you, but anyway. So what’d y’all bring? Just took the sausages off, but the Brisket needs a bit longer.”

Evan looks up and points at the twelve packs and Andrea’s belongings while Andrea murmurs in a steady stream of comforting gibberish towards Hope.

“Got a 12 of the PissWater Lagers and a 12 of the Amber ales. Andrea made her Mom’s cheesy scalloped potatoes and brought vodka, rum and mixers for herself and Anita. Speaking of, have you heard from Chris and Anita?”

Grabbing the two twelve-packs, Caleb opens them up and starts putting beers in the cooler. “Chris is taking a rideshare over from his and Anita’s place and should be here shortly unless traffic is bad and Anita said she’d be here at 5:15 and the Hospital is only six blocks away from here…and there she is! Grab the door, would ya Evan?”

Evan stands up and opens the door and a sweating, rather short black woman wearing pale scrubs steps inside, carrying a backpack and an insulated tote. Hope instantly tears herself away from Andrea and begins sniffing the tote. “Hey y’all! Oh hey sweetie, you must be Hope, Caleb won't shut up about you, you ain't getting any of this, girl, so you better chill. Brought Grandma Ann’s Mac & Cheese recipe and some good mustard greens with pork belly for sides.”

Setting her insulated tote on the counter, Anita opens the oven and places the potatoes, mac & cheese, and greens inside and sets the temperature to ‘Warm’. Smirking, she calls out. “Damn Caleb, your sausage is looking good and smells mighty tasty today!”

Andrea starts snickering while petting Hope on the couch. Hope looks at Anita and then back at Caleb in confusion.

Evan mutters to Caleb. “Hah, that's what she said…”

Calling back, Caleb smiles. “Anita, my sausage is always good for a taste, but you know Chris would try to beat my ass afterwards.”

“Yep, and I have a policy never to bring my work home or vice versa. Andrea, you want something to drink while we wait for my boyfriend to show up?” Anita grabs an ice tray from the freezer and starts pulling out bottles from the satchel.

“Yeah, Doctor Thunder and Rum, please.” Andrea replies before Hope jumps up and stares at the door which slowly opens to a tall lean black man carrying a six pack of cold beer and a foil covered pan.

“Alright, I’m here, I bring booze and BBQ so now y’all can start the party! Oh hello there, little miss, no you can’t have this yet. Caleb, you need to feed your dog cuz she’s giving these ribs and myself the side eye.”

“C’mon Hope, let’s get yer supper so you stop accosting everyone.” Cutting up a hot link, Caleb pours out a heaping bowlful of chow, placing the hot-link and a bit of the grease over it. Tinkling the ladle onto the bowl that had become the meal signal, Hope dashes past everyone and starts digging in. While making the drinks, Anita stares in wonder at Hope. “Damn, you’d think you've been starving her the whole time, Caleb."

Standing back up and replacing the ladle and food bag back in the pantry, Caleb shrugs. “Yeah, I feed her three times a day and she still wants more, had her checked out by the vet and she said everything was fine. Just a growing puppy, I guess.”