Chapter 49

Wednesday, June 13

When Arlene said all of my girlfriends would be there, I didn’t realize she meant every single one. Unless you count 5-year-old Molly Harris. Even Kacie and Morgan were in attendance, taking a quick break from their childcare duties.

I had just enough time to clock out and order my lunch before the Gang of Eight descended on No. 16.

The members of our dating group were to all meet at the teen lounge at 7 p.m. Eddie Galvan and Jed’s teammates had been notified. It was to be our first outing with two official couples — Jed and Keri were wasting no time in going public. I was to pick Morgan up in the Beemer about 6:45. She promised to stay at least 10 minutes before dragging me away. Kacie said she would walk.

I did ask Morgan what she wanted to do about dinner and was told we would eat at the club. The Benavidez family’s carne asada quesadillas were now available at the teen lounge.

Once that business was taken care of and Kacie and Morgan returned to work, discussion turned to scheduling dates with Callie, Erin A. and Staci. I made sure they were aware of my pending business trip and told them to check with Arlene — who seemed to have appointed herself as my booking agent, handler, personal assistant and caretaker — regarding my future availability.

“Does that mean you’re not going to be a cabana boy anymore?” Erin Aguilar asked.

“No, I’m still going to work here when I can,” I said. “Mom wants me to just to stay out of trouble and I enjoy it. Besides, Molly Harris needs me to give her airplane rides.

“A big issue is we’re just coming up on the busiest stretch of summer. Mr. Alvarez has several private parties booked, some of which will go past normal pool hours, and the Fourth of July weekend is going to be a madhouse. Even one attendant per cabana my not be enough because guys would need breaks and most aren’t available to work open to close or longer. I could easily see Mr. Alvarez doubling the staff size or more.”

Before I’d even finished the statement, Staci was on her phone, thumbs flashing.

“I’ve got an idea,” she said as she typed. “The cheerleaders are always doing fundraisers to buy extra equipment and pay for camps and clinics. You can only do so many car washes and bake sales.”

Within five minutes of hitting send, Staci’s phone buzzed with an incoming call.

“Hey, Kelli,” Staci said, greeting the head cheerleader. “I know not everyone can do it, but I’m sure we can get some of the JV girls. A lot of them live on this side of town.”

Staci listened for a bit, then covered her phone.

“What’s the split with the snack bar on tips?” she asked me.

I explained our deal and how that compared with the main dining room.

“But you may be able to work out your own deal since it’s going to be a fundraising project,” I said. “Have your cheer coach get in touch with Mr. Alvarez and let them handle it.”

Staci relayed the information and was about to ask me another question when I held my hand up.

“Anything you’d ask me, I’d just say ask Mr. Alvarez,” I said. “And your cheer coach needs to be the one to talk to him. One thing you can do is go ask him what he thinks of the idea and make sure he and your coach have each other’s contact info.”

Staci again relayed the info, said “uh huh” a couple of times and had one more question for me.

“How late will Mr. Alvarez be here?”

“He’s usually here past 7 most nights,” I said, “especially Tuesdays and Thursdays when we lift. He’s off on Sundays”

Staci again relayed the info and hung up.

“Kelli and Coach Wilkes are on their way,” she said. “I’m going to see Mr. Alvarez right now to see what he thinks. Kelli says we can get at least as many cheerleaders as you football players.”

My protest that I wasn’t a football player died on my lips. I suddenly wasn’t sure whether I was or not.

I made my farewells and went to change. I’d shower at home. I just carried my stinky T-shirt from this morning as I jogged toward the 14th hole and the subdivision.

I halfway expected Kacie or Arlene to climb in the shower with me. It seemed like I’d taken as many showers with them as by myself in recent days.

Donning a clean pair of shorts, I grabbed my tablet and parked in the family room. There was little of interest to me on any of the news sites I kept up with and nothing on TV worth my time. It just felt odd having time to myself with no one else around. That hadn’t been the case much the last couple of weeks.

Kacie and Mom came in before 6 o’clock, prompting me to go put on a shirt. Kacie grabbed a quick shower and picked her outfit for the evening. Her departure alerted me that it was time to pick up Morgan.

We all congregated at the teen lounge and immediately began ordering quesadillas and drawing drinks at the fountain. Eddie Galvan bit into his quesadilla and immediately wanted to know who made it.

“This was made by real Mexicans,” he said. “None of this Anglo imitation stuff. You can taste it.”

I told him of the Benavidez family and their dream to open a restaurant.

“Let me know when they get it opened,” he said. “My whole family will live there if the rest of their menu is this good.”

I was somewhat surprised when Staci Patterson and a couple of the other cheerleaders showed up. They seemed quite pleased with themselves.

“Mr. Alvarez said as many of us that want to can work on weekends and the days he has private parties booked,” she said. “There’s at least one party a week scheduled through the end of July and a lot of them will go as late as 10 o’clock. We’ll get to cover them while you football guys handle the regular stuff.”

My rough math told me cheerleaders would be working right at half the days through the end of next month. The parties alone should make it worth their time.

“That’s great,” I said. “Let me know if I can help.”

“Mr. Alvarez already said you will,” she said. “Some of us are coming in the morning to get uniforms and follow you around. You’re supposed to train us.”

Great, now all I had to do was convince Morgan that me spending time with cheerleaders and bikini models while she was gone was really no big deal.

Speaking of my girlfriend, she actually let us stay nearly half an hour as she nibbled on her quesadilla and discussed relationship strategies with Keri. I almost felt sorry for Jed. He hadn’t had near the exposure to these girls that I had, and I was just holding on for dear life. At least he wouldn’t get the full force of Morgan like I had.

While I waited, I chatted with Bethany about possibilities for our date. I was sure it was just a coincidence when she said she wanted to eat at The Catfish Place out at the lake. She was looking forward to her chance to ride in my car.

Morgan eventually broke away, grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the exit.

“Bye kids have fun don’t stay out too late,” was said just barely loud enough for me to hear as she led me to the Beemer.