Vivian came first. Like always.
She walked through the door and chimes of recognition wafted through the room. You could smell her perfume, mingled with the finger foods and spilled wine. Her giggles carried her from one huddle to the next, bringing color to our cheeks and a certain rhythm to the night. Everyone enjoyed her so much. Her beauty made you feel beautiful, her volume made you happy to be loud, her grace made you feel like dancing.
Except for Mr. Sullivan. His usual grimace darkened when Vivian walked in. When she made his way over to him to sing hello, he took a swig of his dark beer. "Where's Morty?" he asked as his eyes darted around the room.
"Oh, he'll be here in a little bit. You know him, always working."
"Busy man," Sullivan muttered as he walked away.
Vivian glanced across the room and looked at the whole party. She was glad to see everyone enjoying themselves, took one last sip of her drink and ran to the door to greet the next guest coming in.
"Oh darling, I thought you'd never come," Vivian embraced Morty as he blew in with the cold wind.
A young man slipped through behind Morty, who released Vivian to watch the exiting lad with a smirk.
"Leaving so soon?" he quipped with a glance and turned to shut the door.
The wind helped the door slam shut, the lights flickered, the music skipped, everyone looked to the front of the room to see Morty standing there with Vivian. "Hello everyone! Time to have some fun!"
Vivian was so happy to have her love by her side. She floated on a cloud of completeness, and traveled around the room like a storm.
One group of ladies huddled closer as Vivian and Morty lumbered by. Maisie Mixon whispered loudly, "You know, I knew he was coming, but I thought we'd have a little more time." Another, more bold, guest loudly exclaimed, "Way to ruin a good party." You could hear the sniffles of a couple people's soft sobs.
It's not that people didn't like Morty. Most of them had known him for pretty much their whole lives. Some people thought he was pretty cocky, others thought he was deceptive, some flirted with him, others feared him....but they all accepted his presence. Because of Vivian. And when he was around, everything that was wonderful about her, just shone that much brighter - some believed it was in spite of Morty, others believed it was because of him.
The night continued, the joviality returned. Morty made his rounds, and Vivian made her own. As Vivian looked through a young couple's brag book of baby pictures, Morty escorted old Mrs. Hawthorne to her waiting coach. As Vivian shared stories and laughed at Sam and Taylor's anecdotes of their trip across the mountains, Morty boxed in the kitchen with Mary's husband, Tom, while Mary shouted pointers and dared Morty to take the final shot. Morty walked out of the kitchen hearing Tom's labored breath, knowing next time wouldn't be such a battle, and heard Vivian squealing at an engagement announcement. He saw Sylvia hunched over in the corner, her shoulders frowning and her eyes in her hands. He tried to sneak by, but she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the nearby closet. As he walked into the living room, the music got louder and he could see everyone circling around Vivian on the dance floor. Mr. Cotter was on the outer edge of the floor, and when Morty tapped him on the shoulder, it surprised him, but he didn't put up much of a stink. He just got his jacket and walked out, leaving Mrs. Cotter to sit alone and watch the rest of the party.
The music slowed down, a couple more people left, everyone settled into their own corners, talking about the night, wondering why their feet hurt so much, and how they got tired so quickly. Morty seemed to be everywhere, but most were relieved to see he was gathering his things and saying his goodbyes.
He found Vivian, smiling and dancing, and told her it was time to go. And like always, Vivian and Morty walked out, hand in hand.
