How to Party With an Infant (27 page)

Authors: Kaui Hart Hemmings

“I’m taking the kids to the outdoor movie screen,” the girl says. “Okay if she joins us?”

“Of course,” Mele says, grateful for this child-watch luxury. “Have fun, sweetie.” She swoops Ellie up for a hug. “Proud of you.”

When Ellie leaves, she feels the women’s eyes on her.

“That’s
her,
” one of them says. She has glossy auburn hair and sweat on her upper lip. She says to her girlfriend, “What was he thinking?”

Mele can’t
help herself. She touches Henry’s shoulder, excusing herself, then walks toward the bar, pausing by the women: “I believe he was thinking about a last hurrah,” she says. “And that my pussy was like the Jaws of Life. Cheers.”

Besides that, she was a perfect guest.

* * *

“You did it,” Henry says.

They are on the dance floor under the tent draped with lights that look like stars. The violinists have been replaced with a live jazz band. His hand is on the base of her back, her hands rest on his shoulders. Dancing is such a brilliant idea. How else would they have an excuse to be this close so quickly?

“I did it,” she says. “It wasn’t that hard.” His eyes are a darker green at night, with faint lines like whiskers in the corners. “I was distracted.”

“By what?” he says, his expression jokingly bemused.

“The prawns,” she says.

“And all that cheese,” he says. “A sea of cheese.”

“Ewe,” she says.

He laughs; his smile is so broad. He takes her hands and moves her out then back in again, and she can see it—the witty—or not so witty—remark that’s about to roll off his tongue. It’s what they are doing these days and tonight, a toying repartee. They are dabbling, sipping slowly, and while she likes their carefulness and coquetry, it has become procrastination.

She puts a hand on the back of his neck, drawing his face toward her, kisses him gently, crossing that line into an unfamiliar and unexpected place, which feels exactly where they’re supposed to be.

They will take it from there.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I started this book when my daughter was a toddler, and now she is taller than me. Thank you David Forrer and Kim Witherspoon, my agents at Inkwell Management, for being with me the whole way through.

Whenever I read the notes, critiques, and suggestions from Marysue Rucci, I immediately return to my manuscript with inspiration and energy. I don’t know what more I could possibly ask from an editor. Thank you so much for making me love to write and rewrite.

And thank you to the real playgroup—Jen Murdin, Sara Starr, Michelle Delen, Yeli Yoo, Lindsay Hunter, and Christina Amail, as well as many other San Francisco mothers who made parenting a lot less lonely and a lot more fun. I loved partying with you.

© KARA MULLANE

KAUI HART HEMMINGS
is the author of the story collection
House of Thieves
and the novels
Juniors
,
The Possibilities
, and
The Descendants
, a
New York Times
bestseller and an Oscar-winning film. She has degrees from Colorado College and Sarah Lawrence and was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. A one-time resident of San Francisco, she now lives in Hawaii.

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From the
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bestselling author of
The Descendants
--a “funny, insightful, and unsentimental” (
People
, 4 stars) novel about a grieving mother and the shocking surprise that may help her reclaim her hold on life.

The Possibilities

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ALSO BY KAUI HART HEMMINGS

House of Thieves

The Descendants

The Possibilities

Juniors

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First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition August 2016

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hemmings, Kaui Hart, author.

Title: How to party with an infant / Kaui Hart Hemmings.

Description: First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition. | New York, NY : Simon & Schuster, 2016.

Identifier: LCCN 2015042738|

Subjects: | BISAC: FICTION / Literary. | FICTION / Contemporary Women. |FICTION / Family Life.

Classification: LCC PS3608.E477 H69 2016 | DDC 813/.6—dc23 LC record available at
http://lccn.loc.gov/2015042738

ISBN 978-1-5011-0079-6

ISBN 978-1-5011-0083-3 (ebook)

Table of Contents

Dedication