13176/BBQ at the Summers' home

BBQ at the Summers' home
Date of Scene:	03 May 2021
Location:	714 Titicus Road, Breakstone
Synopsis:	Scott and Jean invite the team over to have a BBQ and enjoy everyone's company.
Cast of Characters:	Phoenix, Beast, Warpath, Deadpool, Cyclops, Rogue, Iceman, Psylocke, Nightcrawler

---

Phoenix has posed:
There's a waning glow to the sky as the sun sets, casting some last bits of gold across the Summers property. Lights on the ceiling of the covered porch and strung around the back patio cast an extra shine of light. The grill is going and a fire is already burning in the fire pit so that the wood can burn down to more suitable coals. With a cooler stocked, an array of patio furniture and tables out, and the radio playing classic rock, the place is set for a party.

Jean's making sure the place is perfect as one'd probably expect of her, a figure in lightweight khaki pants and an emerald green shirt moving in and out of the back door of the house carrying snacks, plates, and utensils. Scott's inside, likely getting together the main entrees to go out on the grill.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy arrives promptly to this shindig, with perhaps the hopes it might become a hootenanny. One of his bright shirts on, he arrives in his mid-life crisis of a convertable, but the thing does look pretty, with its electric blue finish. The boot is cracked, so he can take out his offering for the night, heading around the back. "I come bearing cheeses. No room in the back of the Bentley, so I went with minimal space, maximum impact. Where would you like it Jean?" All kinds of cheeses and several large brie wheels, to go with a big basket of crackers for afterwards. Typical Beast, really - BBQ's are beers and smores types of things and he brings cheese and crackers in the hopes of afterdinner tipples of wine. At least brie melts well.

Warpath has posed:
James arrives at the address a little early and takes out a covered platter that is full of strip steaks. He follows the sounds of life and arrives not long after Hank. He smiles a little at the exuberance of the Beast and walks the steaks over near the pit where Scott will be cooking them,"Good evening." he offers to those gathered.

Deadpool has posed:
He hadn't had a lot of time to fix up the community car, well suv that he 'borrowed' from the school. Most the holes were gone as he had filled them with Bondo, and gotten most the vandalism spray off, but he was in a hurry as he heard something was going on. It didn' seem bad, more of a happy event but if people were celebrating there must be beer.. It had been a long time since he had one of those. So he had just painted up the whole car Black and Red in stripes across it changing the whole paint look, but at least it didn't look near as bad as it did.

There is a 'chung-chung' noise now coming from the poor vehicle as it pulled up, black smoke pouring from it as he hadn't really had a lot of time to look at the engine yet. It should get him there and back, but he thought it might be at a point where he had to have Hank take a look at it. So up pulls Deadpool invited or not, pulling up infront of the house though he wasn't in full Dp gear. He looked like he was on a summer vacation.. Shorts, hawian shirt, though it did show a lot of messed up skin the only part of the suit he had on was the mask as stoped, and would get out heading towards the house.

Cyclops has posed:
Heading outside from the back is Scott who is carrying a cooler in his arms. Once he sets it down and opens it, he reveals numerous types of drinks from soda to beers packed in ice. On top is several types of meats in the form of steaks, burgers and chicken. He even has a half rack of ribs.

As he sets up in front of the grill, the newly minted homeowner is wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a sleeveless tanktop that has a 'Miami' style to it of light blues and pinks. It's a real 80's vibe. He starts to lay the steaks on first, listening to it sizzle from the thin layer of butter coating he put upon it.

He gives a wide smile to Hank as he shows up first, then nods his head towards James. "Hey guys. Come on over, grab a drink, get settled in. Welcome to our new home. This is where live now and panic about what's going on at the school without us." He says with humor in his tone.

Then, Deadpool shows up. Someone must have squealed. That is definitely detention. He stares at him for a long moment, then gives a glance over towards Jean.

<< So much for a casual night of debauchery. >>

Rogue has posed:
There's another set of people making their way to the house, but this is after having gone into the city to pick up a few offerings of their own to this grand affair. As Rogue pulls into the drive, she spies the other car and tilts her head a bit. Finding it unusual unless there's a few more gathered after the invites went out and never the less she parks and hops out of the car, her companion being Bobby who had wanted to go pick up some desserts before heading over.

She grabs the bags of what she brought, since she promised smores, and she likely has enough to make everyone a few with plenty left over. She smiles to Bobby, waits for him to gather his things as well, before locking up the car and decidedly heading towards the backyard by way of flying up and over the house to land there.

Iceman has posed:
Bobby hops out of Rogue's ride when she stops the vehicle, turning quickly to grab the stuff he brought. Shrimp and a big ol' cake. They are not meant to be eaten together, but who knows what'll happen at a party this out of control? Armed with his food he starts heading for the sound of chatter, grinning and saying in his best Australian accent, "Put some shrimp on the barbie!" With his other hand he holds up the cake, "And the cake in the fridge. Or else the cream cheese frosting will melt, so I'm told."

As he looks over the assembled folks he grins brightly, "Nice to see everybody here! Jimmy, Scott, Jean, Wade, Rogue, thank you again for the ride, Hank. Who wants to help me with this stuff and then beer me?"

Phoenix has posed:
<< Just the kind we didn't plan on. >> Jean retorts to Scott as flawlessly smooth as a new polished floor. And about as dry too, though she adds in a gentler tone, << But, at least he's trying. Besides, he seems the sort to appreciate poker. >>

"He's serious about the panic, but that's also why we moved here." She says aloud as she gestures Hank towards the back door which she opens for him. "Kitchen's in here. I should have a slate tray... uh, somewhere that may not be a bo-- OH. Yes, top cabinet up there in the corner." Where those specialty items always go to die next to smoothie makers and bread machines. "Anyone else have anything cold? Bring it in. then grab seats, get comfortable."

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy settles his cheeses in the cool of the indoors, if not the cold of the fridge. They'll get eaten soon enough. He's then ambling out the back just about when the sound of that sick engine pounds up the driveway and his expression gets tight. "Greetings and Salutations, James..." to warpath in passing, he gives Scott a clap on the shoulder as the man with the grill and ambles around the side of the house to stare. At the deadpool machine. "You're /killing/ me..." he mutters, then shakes his head and stoically goes back to the yard. Bobby's gratitude catches him mildly by surprise, but then Hank does have multiple cars he likes to fiddle with, so. A Corona seems to be the beer of choice and he pops a slice of lime in it with a bap. "I should think about buying a property somewhere up here. It's not like I couldn't afford it and I'm a bit too old to be living in the mild mess that I've got hovering in a cyclone of clothing at the school."

Warpath has posed:
Taking a bottle of water, no fun at all, Jimmy opens the lid and takes a drink,"Good evening Hank." he replies to the greeting and sets the steaks where Scott indicates. The sound of the car gets his attention as well. A deep breath and a slow exhale,"Well...at least it won't be dull." he muses softly and looks between Jean and Scott. They seem to more or less be at ease so he does his best to do the same. He glances up as Rogue flies over the house and smirks a little, offering her a nod if she looks his way. He nods towards Bobby when he is greeted.

Deadpool has posed:
As deadpool approaches he gives the glaring Scott the finger with a grin. Of course that dick had to be here, but at least Jean was here to and that is why he came she was at least attempting to be a nice person so he thought he would be too. To the others he waves, "Howdy." to one, "G'day" to the aother... He was feeling this hat it gave him powers, but he seemed to be in a good mood, "Heard there was beer, drop down an' have a gander." he finishes as he approaches though with a small box in hand.

He stops and looks at Bobby though when he is greeted pointing a finger looking at him serious.. "That ain't cool Mate.. I have the hat.. Don't steal my shtick" then grins a bit, either forgetting about it just as quick, or maybe he was kidding? Eiher way he heads over, and overs a gloved hand, as he must of puts them on before offering. "Name's Wade.. Good to meetcha." There were a few things that he knew disterbed other people skin contact with his hand was one of them so he decided to take it a bit easy on the group and glove up. He knew everyone else, but Bobby here so he figured an introduction to be the best cause of action though he did give a wave to those that greeted him as he walked in. All except for Scott, as he ignored him just off the bat, he wasn't going to get into another argument with the man not in Jeans home.. Of course it was both their places, but for now at least he could skip that part.

<<Deaaadpool Dun dun duna na... DeaadPool Dun dun duna na>> just going through his head for all the telepaths to hear over and over again. All he is doing in actuallity is grabbing a beer, and taking a seat. He holds up the box, "Hey Jean.. Wasn't sure if it was someones birthday, so I brought a gift.. we supposed to do that?" and waves the little box around. Thankfully there is no sounds coming from it so it wasn't anything alive, or if it was at least it wasn't anymore.

As he sits back and relaxes he looks at Hank, "Might have ya take a look at her latar? For now we drink yea?" and grins a bit opening a bottle himself he offers the end to tink with Hank.

Phoenix has posed:
"It's his birthday in three days." Jean gestures with her head towards Bobby and giving her old friend a most innocent grin while she does so. "This is just an excuse to be social, though." She doesn't suffer Bobby to receive the mysterious box, however, and takes up the offered gift of dubious origins. She does not opening it standing near the house however, in the event of IED or white powder glitter bombs, and instead walks over to the edge of the patio to lean on the short wall and unwrap it.

Over towards Hank, she says, "I wasn't sure about taking the big move, but I gotta say it was worth it. We've lived in that mansion since we were kids. It's nice to have a new place and a fresh start, to get away from constant memories and work pressure."

Iceman has posed:
When Jean opens the door to the kitchen Bobby follows Hank inside so that he can stick the cake in the fridge. He looks around and then says to Jean, "Looks great in here! I really like the use of space." He puts the cake in the fridge and heads out to find Deadpool waiting to greet him with a handshake. Bobby's a friendly sort so he takes the offered hand, "Hey Wade. Nice to meet you. Didn't mean to appropriate your Australian culture." A smile appears after he says that, clearly joking around.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy at least doesn't hesitate to clink the bottom of his glass with Wade's. Beer solidarity and luckily, he isn't a telepath so cannot hear the running inner mantras. Yay! "I am entirely going to have a look at her later. Don't you dare go zipping off before I stop that ghastly oil leak that's spilling the black. Ok? Ok. If you don't, I will be very cross. I might even use medieval insults, so you have been warned," waggling a finger at Deadpool, Hank peers over toward Jean, across the yard.

"I at least had the benefit of some time in medical school with an image inducer. It's about time I grow all the way up, I think. The nest egg I have, I could probably even put a downpayment on one of the really old estates around here. I like some of those turn of the century builds. All drafts and creaky floorboards, very atmospheric."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue finds the tables and moves to go set down her bags that don't really hold anything that require refridgeration. She even bought skewers so people could easily hold their mallows over the fire - since none present seems to be the fire-bearing mutant power type. Never the less, once she's done, and looks around to see most everyone settling into conversation, she sneaks over to grab a beer from a cooler, pops it open and then walks away before hopping to fly up to the rooftop and sits there, watching everyone from the top of the house. Like a gargoyle. She's a gargoyle.

Warpath has posed:
Settling for a moment, James takes another drink and raises a brow when Rogue flies up to the roof. Curious isn't really his thing and typically he doesn't ask too many questions, but that does strike him as strange when she settles up there. He moves that general direction and pauses under where she sits,"They say I don't fit in well in a crowd." he tells her,"They are right of course."

Deadpool has posed:
Wade looks at Jean when she takes it and smiles, "You don't look like Bogans, but.." he sighs thinking of the word, stops and takes the hat off. "Look evey household should have one." as he talks back as normal Deadpool. He knew there was a gun in there, printless, serial numberless, completly untracable. They could shoot someone right in the police station, and that gun would never be traced back to them by anything on it. The place looked nice, but ya never knew if someone snuck in at night it was better just to have it then not. He had a few of them, so it might be a regifting since he wasn't sure where he got them from, but at least as far as he could tell it wasn't one that murdered a lot of people so they should be fine.

He is interupted from his thinking by Hank as he nods, "Alright.. Alright you don't need to convince me." he grins at Beast, "Twisting my arm so much it is like I am back in the straight jacket huh?" and laughs a bit before he takes a drink from his beer. "Ahh... Now how could I ever forget that." grinning a bit. As he leans back he spots Rogue at the top of the building brooding down and swooping in. Wade jumps a bit.. "Jeesh.. when did she get there?" shaking his head, at that.. She reminded him of some other capped Gothamite, but he dismissed that as nonsense for now. He whispers at Beast, "Does she smell or something?" Not wanting to upset anyone but not sure why she is perching other then sitting with the rest.

He seems to be quiet to wait a response, before he holds up his beer, "I will drink to that." looking with a grin over to Warpath finally a sentement he understood.

Cyclops has posed:
Manning the grill, Scott reaches over to turn the radio up a little bit more when Journey comes on. Don't Stop Believing. He loves the oldies station that his father grew up on;, a blend of the 70's and the 80's. As he flips the steaks over, he starts to line up a number of burgers as well on the grill. Wiping his brow off with the back of his arm, he listens to his friends socialize around him with a smile upon his face.

At times he'll give a glance about, as if he was searching for a few more invited faces. With a sip of his beer, he calls over to Hank and Bobby. "You two want chicken tonight or just red meat?"

Iceman has posed:
Popping open his beer, Bobby has a drink from it, savoring the gulp and emitting an "Ahh" noise in satisfaction. He then wanders over towards Scott to check out what's happening with the grillmeister, "Nice place you and Jean have, man. Everything looks really good." He glances over the meat selection properly, nodding approvingly. "I'll take the red meat for sure. Though a little chicken doesn't sound bad, either." He grows deep in concentration as he tries to decide, "If I have both I might have to run home to work it off, so I'll stick to the steak and shrimp, I think."

Psylocke has posed:
The next arrival was Betsy. She was dressed casually. Jeans, a violet colored t-shirt with a v-neck. She carried a case in her hands, six bottles of wine placed safely inside it so they would be easier to carry. She didn't want to chance dropping them. Though they weren't horribly expensive, no one should ever waste good wine.

Wine went with smores, right?

"Hello everyone," she called out. "I brought refreshments." She lifted the box to show, as though it wasn't obvious. "Hopefully that will make up for me being a little late."

Nightcrawler has posed:
There's a flicker of smoke that's purple and black in colour, and a whiff of burning brimstone as well. And then, there's the appearance of Kurt, perched up on the side of the building near to where Rogue is sitting on the rooftop. His feet are flat against the wall, and his tail lightly swishes behind him. He shifts his position minutely, and he lifts one of his hands to lightly pull his fingers through his hair. Gargoyle number two? Arrived and on the scene!

Phoenix has posed:
"Just no turning into some dusty recluse of a mad scientist in your creaky old manor. Got it?" Jean says towards Hank before looking into the box. "Well, that is... illegal, but I appreciate the sentiment. Thank you, Wade. Though do trust I have no intention of starting a war with the police anytime soon." She replaces the lid in the box and says, "Let me go make sure that this is secure. I'll be right back."

"I'll bring the rest out on my way back!" She calls over to Scott at overhearing grill requests before she ducks into the house to make quick tracks towards the attic. Domestic she may try to look, but it didn't mean she lacked a stash of heroic necessities. She does not depart without two cheerful shouts of, "Hey, Betsy!" and "Stop wallflowering on my roof!"

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy glances up at the roof, mouth opening, but James chips in and the big fellow is gestured at with his corona. "What he said. Some people like to be on the outside looking in, more often than being on the inside looking out. SHe'll join if she feels inclined," He winks up at Rogue, then calls over to Scott. "Hit me with the lot. I burn through it all like I'm running on vapours most of the time! I'll have something green with it, afterwards." -- The music has him tapping his foot at least, because this does bring back memories. "I'm not the kind to become a recluse. How could I be flambouyantly eccentric, if I'm playing to an audience of none?"

Lastly to Deadpool: "As long as I got the point across, no arm twisting is required." And like a gem of a woman, Psylocke brought wine. "I brought cheese! Great minds think alike, Betsy!"

Deadpool has posed:
Wade chuckles, "Hell yea it is... Very just don't flash it around you will be okay. If you.." he sighs glancing at Scott for the first time. "Or Scott.... Need lessons on how to work, clean, make a nice vace, whatever with it let me know, or Logan he prob knows as much if not more." He waves a bit, and looks up at the new commer sitting down next to beast he reaches in to grab a beer for her, but then stops. "Ha.. Everyone likes the lady that knows to bring her own alchol." and keeps the beer for himself.

He just leans back and listens for a while shutting his eyes with a smile. "Audience of zero.. Ha.. Nice one Big Blue. They are always watching." but he doesn't seem to be agitated just realxing listening to the others talk. The only way to tell he isn't asleep as he keeps drinking from the beer now and then so unless it was a trained reaction that would be difficult, almost as difficult as it was to drink around the Deadpool mask. He says in a low voice almost to himself to where Hank was, not checking if he was still there. "Well that is good to hear.. It is hard to live your life stinky, and wierd." with a light chuckle. Though he didn't really look at wierd like others.

Cyclops has posed:
"Hey, Betsy, Kurt." Scott calls over to the pair with a grin as he motions them over. "You brought wine." He gives a knowing look towards Jean with a smirk, then starts to make room on the grill for the next round of meat as he starts to stack the food off to the side that finishes. A few stakes are medium rare, a few are medium. Hopefully no one wants them burned. He refuses to cook a steak well done.

He puts on a few chickens next, then the shrimp once it is brought out by Jean. He takes another sip of his beer. "If anyone wants a tour of the place, you're free to roam around." He says with a motion of his bottle to the house.

"I got a pool table set up in our den. Darts. Even an arcade machine that has Defender on it." What the hell is Defender?

Iceman has posed:
The newcomers are given waves and a warm greeting by Bobby, "Hey there, folks! Great seeing you here. Welcome to Mansion 2.0, where there's no kids and more booze. Probably some harder stuff, if I know Jean." He turns to the woman in question and grins at her before having some more beer. Based on how smiley and relaxed Mr. Drake is it's clear that he's having himself a wonderful time. And he's not even a beer deep yet.

Iceman looks back to Scott and nods, "I'll check it out a bit later. Want to get settled in a little bit first."

Psylocke has posed:
"Excellent, Hank. Seems we frequented the same types of parties," Betsy says with a laugh. She heads for the kitchen, putting the case of wine up on the counter there. She unpacks the bottles then puts the case over near their trash can. It's out of the way there. Or it can be used later if they need to pack up some of the bottles to put in their pantry or storage or whatever they might have.

Then she wanders outside and grabs a--gasp--beer. One of her vices. Cheap beer. She finds a seat. "I'll take a steak. Medium rare," she calls over to Scott. "The house is beautiful."

Beast has posed:
"They might always be watching you, Wade, but I'm boring and fuzzy for the ignominious /they/. I barely do anything interesting, unless I have a moment of engenue or intellectual largesse. It would be one and only one, makes one. And also, if I let myself get stinky, I smell like wet dog. So, I will simply settle for the weird. Excuse me a moment," Beast rises, heading to pile on the rare steak and some various salady type things, because one must. Sometimes with protest. ANd a sausage. He returns to his deck chair, sitting down with a grunt of satisfaction and a crack of a fresh beer, grinning at Betsy. "Soirees in the deans office once or twice and you have to drink the frilly things, when you're schmoozing for scientific funding at those big presidential galas. My goodness I had a lot of conversations with socialites, over the years. Not quite sure how I survived that, to be honest."

Nightcrawler has posed:
There's a soft chuckle from Kurt, and he lifts a hand to pull his fingers through his hair again. "I could be a pain in the behind and say that I'm not technically on the roof," he comments, quirking a bit of a grin, his pointed teeth showing. His ears perk up a little bit, listening to the assorted chatter that reaches them. Shifting a bit, he leans back to rest his back against the wall that's behind him. A smile tugs at the corners of his lips, and he lifts a hand to offer a wave to Scott. He lingers for a moment longer on the wall, and then he teleports again, this time reappearing at ground level, though not too near to the food so that the scent of burning brimstone won't hover there, his tail lightly swishing behind him.

Deadpool has posed:
Wade is sitting there still though as Betsy reaches for a beer she would feel eyes on her. Not trying to sneak a look but a pair of calm eyes watching her when she gets close enough to grab a beer. For some reason he is put a little on edge when she moves in, but doesn't say anything just watches coiled up to react though as she moves to find a seat he sighs a bit, and closes the eyes again. He didn't know the lady to be sure, but he knew people who moved like that and they usually were the ones that you keep an eye on. Though he listens to Hank with a sigh, "My friend if it were only me.. Though it is nice to know there are somethings even that big brain can't understand." and gives a light chuckle with a wave as he heads out.

He finishes his beer, and pulls out a large knife to pop off the second cap, before putting it away. So he did have at least a couple hidden weapons though nothing that stood out. He takes a sip just relaxing, he does sniff the air though as he smells the food with a grin, this all did feel familer, but with who, or when he had no idea. For now though it wasn't so bad so he just went with it.

Phoenix has posed:
In short order, Jean has secured the new-to-her firearm and comes outside with the chicken and shrimp which are brought over to the grill along with the slate with the assorted cheeses and crackers which are located on a nearby table. "Alright, this should be enough food to keep an army going."

She fetches herself a beer and finds a seat at the outdoor dining table under the cover of the lighted umbrella.

"There's a reason we threaten the students with shower cleaning duty." Jean laughs towards Hank and his comment about wet fur odor. She flashes that grin over towards Kurt and nudges out a seat for him if he'd so want to join before reaching over to stack some cheese on a cracker. "I don't envy the high society events. Could I suffer through one? Sure. Do I want to? Absolutely not."

Cyclops has posed:
After serving Bobby and Rogue and sending them on a house tour, Scott flips the skewers of shrimps a few times on the grill, then starts dishing out steaks to everyone else who is looking to eat. Once he is sure everyone has something in their hands, he takes his own steak and pours a bit of BBQ sauce next to it for dabbing, then takes a seat next to Jean in a folding chair.

He leans back, enjoying the sight of the fire crackling as he takes a sip of his beer, then starts to cut into his meat. "Thank you, Betsy. We're going to put a lot of work into the backyard as well, install a pool at some point. I already converted one of the garages into a workshop for some of my classics. It's the only room I'm allowed to have." He says with a grin towards the red head at his side.

Psylocke has posed:
The gaze is felt. Betsy glances around trying to spot the cause. Her eyes fall on Deadpool but then move onward. Not that she wasn't paying attention to him. Though they had not met, she had heard about him from the others. But this was a party so she focused on party things.

Like food and good beer. Good being a term that might mean different things to different people.

She focused on Hank as she stretched out her legs comfortably in front of her, crossing them at the ankles. "Same types of parties then. My parents dragged us to them all the time. My brother did better than I did at them. I would have preferred to have been out doing something exciting."

Beast has posed:
"Oh, Wade, I know of what you speak, I simply choose to look at the brighter side of things and pretend. I'm quite good at that," Hank notes, wolfing his steak with a snort and a chuckle for Jean's observations about the showers. Around a mouthful: "There's a reason I have my own shower and a particular voracious kind of draino," rabbit food. Must eat. CHEESE! -- there is a loading of brie and crackers, some capers and a black olive or two -- To Jean: "I think that's why the old man used to send me to the public events. I can generally talk my way around an entire alma mater. Od's teeth, can you imagine if my gifts had ended up in the talking department? I would've been a menace to society." With a pause, he glances at Psylocke and for some reason at Wade again, then back. "I think you probably had it worse than I did. At least the socialites I had to deal with most often were American Nobility. Daddy's fortune in real estate, that sort of thing. The kind of new money that almost has its own price-tag hanging out the back of its shirt. Old money is a tricky business."

Deadpool has posed:
Wade sighs, and looks up at the Lady again for real this time though not in anger, but to see how she acted. Everyone was having a good time including them so he sighed again, and stood up grabbing another beer walking over to the Betsy. He holds a hand out in a sign of greeting.. "Sorry, old habits.. You move to smoothly if ya don't make small mistakes then you give yourself away." and grins a bit. "Name is Wade.. Or some call me Deadpool. I was a bit of a jerk there let me try again."

It wasn't her fault he was paranoid, and he was trying to be better then he was, but it was hard sometimes he practicly smelled blood on people who were supposed to be good people, but maybe it was just in his head. There was a lot in his head, but that was a discussion for another time.

After holding out his hand he pulls it back with a.. "Oh Duh..." and instead of his hand he holds out a card that says, My name is Wade, and I have lost my memories if lost don't call us, but the card is burnt, torn, and there are some small red flakes on it which he tries to brush off but are long stained in. He sighs a bit putting the card back, "One of these days I will make another card." he stops turns, "Hey Big Blue, could you make a card that regenerates like I do? Maybe something that is in the color red." he whispers to Betsy, "So they can't see the blood."

Psylocke has posed:
As Deadpool approached, Betsy glanced up at him. She didn't tense or react negatively. Still completely relaxed. "Nothing to apologize for, we all have our demons that color how we deal with things."

Then there is a buzz from her pocket. She pulled out her phone. A finger to screen to open it.

"Excuse me, I need to take this."

As she rose, Wade whispered those words at the end and for a moment there was something darker about the woman. A flare of the red Crimson Dawn mark over her eye. "Now where's the fun in that?"

Then she was gone, wandering off into the yard with phone in one hand and beer in the other.