Page 25 of Barron's Second Chance
Kelly told her this morning to let herself in when she arrived as she may be too busy and the atmosphere too loud for her to hear the front door. It was good that they lived in a relatively safe neighborhood where the most significant crime had been Mrs. Hatfield's roses being dug up. Couldn't say the same for New York. She once attended a party at a fancy brownstone townhouse. She didn't even know the person who was hosting. One of those "bring your friends" kind of parties, the more, the merrier. Well, people took that a little too literally. By the night's end, the party's host was missing a very expensive painting, a camera, and some Louboutins. Since there were so many unknown people present, the culprit was hard to pin down. Not to mention the NYPD probably had more pressing crimes to solve than a rich person who opened their doors to a free for all.
Eden breathed a sigh of relief when she opened the Carter's front door and was greeted with a blast of air conditioning. Summer in New Haven was no joke, and she welcomed the cooler temperature.
Nostalgia and bittersweet memories swirled inside Eden as she breathed in the familiar scents associated with the Carter’s home. Their house was so grand, thanks to Gavin's job as an investment banker and a small inheritance he received from Barron's grandparents. She could hear soft music blasting through the house. Gavin had installed speakers outside and regularly took advantage of the feature whenever they hosted outdoor parties. She used to love coming over to the Carter's place.
As she entered the kitchen, she caught sight of her Mom, who had arrived earlier to help Kelly out with the setup. She was chatting to Mama Sefina, Gail - Kelly's sister - and Gail’s husband, Ray. A few other people were milling about that she recognized, but she wanted to set her food down before she put her social face on.
"Sweetheart!" Her mom cried as if they hadn't just seen each other a few hours prior.
Everyone turned to stare at her, which she was used to. She often had people do double takes and gawk at her, no doubt trying to place who she was, or, her favorite, they would follow her and discreetly take a photo or video. She did have a few people approach her for selfies which she obliged, even if she was clearly in the middle of a conversation or out to eat. It was the perils of having a high-profile job and living in the age of social media likes and influencers. Often she was representing a brand, whether it be make-up or perfume, so she made an effort to be decent when greeted by fans. If she forgot to smile or say please and thank you, someone could create a TikTok video voting her personality a zero out of ten in a "celebrities I served at lunch" viral video.
The difference was these were people she knew and had grown up with, yet some of them started treating her like the Queen was coming for a visit. Most of them got over it and realized that she wasn't Lady Muck, deeming them good enough for a hello. She was still the same goofy, friendly, introverted Eden Jamison they all knew and loved.
"Mom, where should I put this stuff? It needs the fridge." She glanced around. "Where's Kelly?"
Her Mom grabbed her pasta bowl and cheesecake plate before making her way to the enormous double-door fridge.
"She's upstairs changing her shirt. She spilled red wine all over it." Her mom’s muffled voice replied as she bent down to place the food away.
"Ah, starting without me," she joked. The group of people in the corner laughed, and she took that as her cue to greet them.
"Hey Mama Sefina, Sofia here yet?" She kissed the small woman on the cheek before hugging her.
"Ioe,outside. Go join them," she tried to shoo.
She glanced through the open french doors to the outdoor area. She could smell wafts of barbequed meat in the air, which made her stomach grumble. About thirty or so people were milling about, and she knew by the sounds coming from the pool that people were making good use of the cold water in this heat.
The pool. Barron. Lissa. Wet bodies entwined. The look of shock and horror on Barron's face. Lissa's smug smile.
With a heavy stomach, she quickly glanced away and spotted Sofia and Ryan sharing a sun lounger and chatting animatedly. She recognized a few of her old high school friends who she knew had reconnected with Barron. She had no issues with that as long as they didn't try and push a kumbaya moment with the two of them. Sofia and Ryan were the only two of their old friend group to stay aloof with Barron. Camaraderie and all that.
She spotted Gavin and Mike by the grill, beers in their hands. A few other men were gathered around the BBQ, all appearing to be in the throes of male bonding. Amid the group was Simon, Gail and Ray's son - the infamous cousin who had led Barron astray, according to some of her friends that befriended Barron again.
She had rolled her eyes at that. Led Barron astray?Cry me a frickin river.
A tall, solidly built man approached Simon, clasping him on the back in jest. A tall solid man with dirty blonde hair and an all-too-familiar smile. She had lived for that smile back in the day.
Seeing him brought back the butterflies in her stomach, and she suddenly lost her appetite.
She turned back to Sefina, ignoring the telling smile on her face. "I just want to say hi to Kelly first; then I'll join the crew." She was procrastinating, she knew, but anything to put off the inevitable.
Sefina patted her arm before Gail and Ray approached to greet her. She had interacted with the couple a little bit when she was with Barron. Kelly was close with her sister, and they only lived about forty minutes away, so it was normal for them to join the family for the odd Christmas and Thanksgiving. Simon was a year older than Barron, but she knew how close they were and how much Barron had looked up to the older boy as kids.
Led astray. Hmph. What a cop-out.
The thing that had made her sad about the whole thing was that she had liked Simon. He was nice to her, and she always made an effort to chat with him. Was he a bit arrogant and braggy? Sure. What handsome and popular teen boy wasn't? But the difference between Simon and Barron was that Barron hadn't let his good looks and social status at school get to his head.
Until he did.
All it took was an absent girlfriend, peer pressure from his cousin, and a pretty girl to turn his head. Even though she was salty at Simon, who knew that Barron had a girlfriend - a girlfriend he had spent many nights playing Playstation with might she add - it was ultimately Barron who had made that fateful decision.
Whatever. She wasn't going to dwell on it anymore.
So she greeted Simon's parents enthusiastically and made small talk with them for a few minutes. All was going well until the other woman reached out and clasped her hand quickly, giving it a gentle squeeze before releasing it.
"I was sorry to hear that you and Barron had split up," she said. Rather loudly, she thought.
Ray, to his credit, shifted uncomfortably and gave a nervous chuckle. "That was years ago, honey.”
