Ch.2
"AJ, would you back away from the door?" Kevin sighed. "We're in the middle of a card game."
I rolled my eyes. "Back to Old Maid yipee. I'd rather easedrop on Howie's conversation."
"Isn't he talking with Maggie?" Nick wondered looking up from his deck.
"No, no, no," Brian chimed in, "her name is Katie."
"Sally!" Kevin and I shouted as Howie opened the door.
"Why are you guys shouting at my date, I think she can find her own suite all by herself. AJ, why is everyone in our room?"
Nick opened a bag of potato chips. "We got bored."
Howie put away his coat. "So, you decided to play poker?"
"Not exactly," I groaned. "Old Maid!"
"Old Maid? You guys need lives."
"Well, why don't you improve our lives; and tell us about your date," I snickered making myself comfortable.
"Make sure you speak in Nick terms, Howie, slow and simple," Kevin chuckled.
"Excuse me," Nick pouted. "I've had a steady girlfriend for almost three years now, thank you very much!"
"And she's SO nice, too," Kevin grumbled beneath his breath.
Howie sat down. "I'll tell you about my date; just to shut you two up."
Brian put away his cards. "Where'd you take her?"
"To see 'Les Miserables' there was a national touring company in Dublin. Then we went out to dinner."
I was now intrigued by Howie's cultural lass. "What did you find out about her?"
"Well, she turned eighteen today."
Kevin's eyes widened. "You went out with a kid!"
Nick shook his head. "Shut up, Kev, she's legal."
"And she must be pretty mature to have written the number 1 selling novel in Ireland," Brian added.
"But still!"
I knew how to settled this. Leave to 'ol AJ to fix the problem. "Kevin, weren't you 19 when your first fiance' was 28?"
Kevin closed his mouth turning away. I had done it again. "Continue, D."
"She'll be here until the 21st, then she'll be heading to Canada for more promotion."
"That's all great, Howie, but tell us more about her. Not her career." Like I said I was intrigued.
"She is an only child and dedicates her career to her mother. Her father left them awhile back. She was her high school valvictorian, but she doesn't like to discuss it. She did local professional theatre in Indiana. She won a regional contest when she was 17 for an influencial play she wrote and performed. But sometimes, when life gets to her..... She likes walking in the cool night wandering aimlessly from street to street. Just trying to find the meaning of reality. She's very deep, but so kind. She releases all of her pain in writing."
Anyone could've told by that point that Howie was developing a relationship with the 18-year-old. Despite the hysteria that would come with it.