Chapter
17
"Hello?"
answered Mariah on the phone.
"Hey,
Mariah it's me."
"Oh
hi, Brian. What's up?" greeted Mariah, cradling the phone between her ear
and shoulder as she prepared the food.
"Oh
nothing, I was just wondering, do you need any help preparing for the
barbecue?" offered Brian.
"Thanks
Brian, that's sweet, but no, I'm doing fine." replied Mariah.
"No
really, it's okay. I don't have anything to do anyways."
"Well,
since you don't have anything to do, sure, I could use a little help, I guess.
Come on over."
"Great!
See ya' in a bit!" said Brian.
They
hung up and Mariah continued working. She had to get the food they were going
to cook ready. She had been working non-stop for a couple of hours, her hands
were beginning to ache. She decided to stop working on the food and instead set
up the picnic table outside. She'd leave the dirty stuff to Brian. Mariah
laughed out loud as she set the picnic table.
"Hey!"
"Hey!"
replied Mariah.
"I
rang the doorbell and no one answered so I came back here."
"Oh,
I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd be here so soon."
"That's
okay." replied Brian. "So, what do you want me to get started
on?"
"Well,
I've got some steaks inside that need to be marinated, and vegetables that need
to be cut for the salad."
"I
think I'll start with the salad." said Brian.
"Okay,
come on, I'll show you where everything is."
Mariah
brought him into the house and showed him where all the utensils were.
"This
is how you hold a knife, and this is how you cut. You have to be very, very
careful not to cut yourself. Understand?" Mariah looked up at Brian. She
couldn't help but laugh. He put on a face of a little boy.
"Yes,
mom, I'll try really, really hard."
Mariah
continued to laugh. "Alright, well, they should be here in about 2 hours,
so I'm going to go take a shower and clean myself up. Remember, be
careful!"
"Alright,
alright, I'll be fine. Now, leave the chef to his cooking." replied Brian,
in a French accent. Well, what seemed to be a French accent.
Mariah
laughed and went upstairs. She could hear him singing something ridiculous
while he was cutting.
While
Mariah was in the shower, the phone rang.
"I
guess I'll pick it up," thought Brian. "Hello?"
There
was a pause.
"Uh,
hello?" a woman's voice came on the line.
"Yes?"
"Um,
I'm sorry, but I think I've got the wrong number. Is this 713-8951?"
"Yes,
it is." replied Brian, beginning to get puzzled. "Can I help
you?"
"Well,
you wouldn't happen to know who Mariah Henson is?"
"Yes,
I do. I'm a friend of hers. She's in the shower right now, can I help
you?"
"I'm
her mother."
"Oh,
hello Mrs. Henson. I'm Brian."
"Oh
you're Brian, I see. Nice to finally meet you."
"Nice
to meet you too. I gather that Mariah's told you about me."
"Yes,
she has. Well, I don't mean to keep you, but I wanted to talk to my daughter.
Seeing that she's busy, could you please tell her that I called and that I said
happy birthday?"
"Yes,
of course I will." Brian paused, then said, "Today's Mariah's
birthday?"
"Yes,
it is. She didn't tell you?"
"No,
she didn't."
"Oh,
well, she doesn't really tell anyone when her birthday is. She doesn't like people
making a big fuss about it."
"Oh,
I see."
Mrs.
Henson and Brian seemed to get a long quite well. They talked for a little
while. Soon, Brian heard Mariah getting out of the shower.
"Sorry,
Mrs. Henson, I have to go. Mariah's getting out of the shower. It was nice
meeting you."
"Nice
to meet you too, Brian. You're a very nice young man. Good luck with your plans
tonight. Good bye!"
"Thank
you! Good bye!"
Brian
hung up the phone.
"Who
was that?" called Mariah.
"Oh,
it was Howie," Brian called back. "They just called to say that they
will be here soon."
"Oh,
okay. So is the salad done?"
"Oh!
The salad, I, uh, forgot, I ended up talking with Howie on the phone.
Sorry." apologized Brian sheepishly.
Mariah
sighed. "Oh well, at least you didn't cut yourself."
Brian
laughed. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Well,
if you need me, I'll be upstairs getting ready."
"Alright."
Brian went back into the kitchen and picked up his cell phone. He
called the guys and told them his plan for Mariah's birthday. After all the
arrangements were done, he went back to cutting the salad and preparing the
rest of the food. He was excited about that night. He wanted Mariah to have a
special birthday. One that she would never forget.
***
