Dark Corners READY FOR PRC by Liz Schulte Read Free Book Online Page B

touches on the salad. Doug and Danny wondered back into the kitchen. I distracted them by assigning them to set the table while Susan pulled the pizzas out of the oven. I set the salad on the table and we all took our seats.
    “So what’s new in the Reynolds house?” Doug asked.
    “Nothing, just working away.” I said.
    “Well, not quite nothing, this morning Ella told me how there was banging in the walls and kitchen all night. She barely got a wink of sleep. Apparently our house is haunted by a drummer.” Danny smiled as he started on his newest favorite thing to do. Telling “my crazy wife” stories. Susan and Doug laughed, smiling at me as if I were a silly child. I bit my lip to keep myself from making a scene.
    “Have you checked the pipes?” Doug asked. “Plumbing in those old houses can do that…”
    “Yeah, I’ve checked everything. Our drum-playing ghost likes apples too, isn’t that right, Ella? Tell them.”
    I gave him an icy glare “What and rob you of being the center of attention? I wouldn’t dream of it. Be my guest.” I tried to keep my voice light and mocking so Susan and Doug wouldn’t know how much he was getting to me. Sometimes Danny was just so— gah!
    “Apples?” Susan asked.
    “Yes, apparently our apple tree in back had bushels of apples on it last week. Ella had grand plans to make a pie for tonight with them, but when she went out this morning there were no apples on the tree or the ground.”
    Doug laughed and Susan wrinkled her nose. “It was probably that creepy neighbor of yours, Mr. Sexton. That man gives me the willies.”
    Doug laughed even harder. “That old man is harmless.”
    Susan shrugged, but Danny joined in the laughter. He kept on telling stories while Susan and Doug laughed loudly, egging him on.  I sat quietly fuming about being the butt of the jokes. Eventually they tired of the subject and moved on to other things. Furious did not begin to cover what I felt towards Danny for doing that, but it wasn’t worth fighting with him.
    The rest of the evening was pleasant. We talked about movies, town gossip, and anything else that came to mind. When dinner was over and the dishes were cleared Susan pulled the game choices from the closet. We decided a cut throat game of Cranium would ensue once we were divided into teams.
    “Let’s do couples,” Danny said.
    “No, we do that every week.” I shot the idea down thinking it might be easier on Susan and Doug, plus I was still mad.
    “I’ll be on Ella’s team,” Doug said brightly. “We can mix it up a little.”
    “No,” Susan said, looking uncomfortable which surprised me. “Let’s do girls against boys.” Both of the guys shrugged, but went along with the suggestion.
    Susan and I won without even exerting ourselves. We played three times and each time the guys were no where even close to us. We did a victory dance around the living room after each win, as Danny watched laughing and Doug smiled.
    “Well, Doug,” Danny said with feigned seriousness, “next time when the girls want to be on a team together, just say no.”
    Susan and I eventually stopped gloating and soon Danny and I gathered our jackets, saying goodbye. Before I could leave Susan hugged me.
    “It was fun tonight, thank you guys for coming over,” she said.  Her face looked happy, but her eyes looked sad. I hugged her back then jogged to catch up with Danny on his way to the car.
    “Did you have a good time?” he asked
    I nodded. “Well, except for being the butt of all your jokes I did. Did you?”
    “Yes, it was especially nice to see you laughing and smiling again. You're so serious at home. And you weren’t the butt of any jokes. I was simply sharing your experiences with our friends.”
    “You were belittling me and you know it.”
    He sighed. “I wasn’t belittling you. It’s a sad thing that you can't laugh at yourself, El.”
    I didn’t reply. I had nothing to say. No matter how many times I explained myself