Hope Begins to Fade

A Friend of Dorothy

Cars were still parked in the driveway when I got home so I knew that I'd be walking into a house full of people. I hadn't expected it to be otherwise as it wasn't particularly late. Once bar guy, now known as Byron, had made eye contact with Henry and joined our table my wingwoman duties were essentially over, it would have been a stretch to describe either Henry or Byron as playing hard to get. I'd made my excuses and escaped leaving them to exchange smouldering looks and innuendo laden conversation. Henry had insisted on covering my share of the bill and had offered me the promise that one day he'd return the wingman favour and be the Iceman to my Maverick.

I dropped my bag in my bedroom and seriously contemplated just shutting the door and crawling under the covers. Ingrained politeness that was already pricking at my conscience for having gone out in the first place forced me to straighten my spine and join the others.

Zacky ambushed me in the foyer. "So," he smirked, "how was the date?"

I assumed a look of innocence and said, "It was amazing Zacky. You were right, we have so much in common! We both love Cher and Madonna. He such amazing taste in clothes." Zacky's eyes grew wide. "We like the same movies and television shows like The Wizard of Oz and the Golden Girls. He told me he's a friend of Dorothy. I mean they were both fictional characters and Judy Garland and Bea Arthur are both dead so I'm not sure what he meant...but still! I think Henry might just be the one."

Zacky swallowed hard and I could see the panic in his eyes. He was wondering if he should out Henry to me. "That's...uh...that's great Caitie."

"It is, isn't it?" I nodded with wide eyed enthusiasm. "There's only one thing we can't agree on." Zacky gave me an open mouthed nod encouraging me to continue. "Our taste in men. He prefers a man in a suit."

I watched Zacky turn my words over in his mind until realisation hit and he burst out laughing. "He told you huh?"

"He's not exactly keeping it a secret Zacky."

"Maybe but Matt doesn't know. I'll tell you right now, the only reason I didn't give you as much shit as Matt was is because I knew Henry wasn't hitting on you." My eyebrows lifted in surprise. He was deadly serious.

"So why didn't you say something and get Matt off my case? I didn't actually think Henry had any romantic intentions. I just didn't let that on because Matt was annoying me." I frowned in confusion.

Zacky shrugged. "I had my reasons and let's just say that they aligned well with yours."

"Bloody hell Zacky could you be any more cryptic?" I gave him a shove in the shoulder. He just smirked back at me.

There was someone missing when we stepped out on to the back patio. "Where's your wife?" I asked Zacky. His smirk faded. "Busy," was his one word response and something told me to avoid stepping in to that conversational minefield.

Matt was sprawled in a chair a beer bottle dangling from his fingers and laughing at something Jeff was saying. He'd obviously been drinking but didn't seem drunk. Johnny and Lacey were laughing along with him. Brian, Cathy and Steph were clustered together. Brian had an arm looped over Steph's shoulder. He wasn't wasted but seemed a fair way along the road to being so.

"I thought Brian was in charge of a child tonight?" I asked Zacky.

"Baby Gates has a cold so stayed home with Michelle tonight. The only child Steph's going to have to deal with tonight is Syn," Zacky explained with a chuckle.

"Lucky Steph," I mused and my heart gave a little skip as I made eye contact with Matt. The corners of his mouth lifted into a smile and I responded as we both forgot for a moment that we were annoyed with each other. All too quickly he must have remembered our argument because he pouted and his forehead wrinkled in confusion. He gave me a curt nod of acknowledgment before deliberately turning back to Jeff and Johnny.