With the entire family gathered there to celebrate Mawmaw and Pawpaw's wedding anniversary that summer morning, the Parker home was not merely packed with people, it was positively overflowing.
It was a scene of bedlam.
The kids tore through the old two-story house with wild abandon, showing that complete disregard for their own safety and that of the people they might crash into that only a small child would be capable of. Laughing and squealing and shrieking at each other so loudly that people at the other end of the house were wincing at the volume, they were making their way towards the backyard where a small pack of very playful puppies was waiting with their mother for them.
As the kids rushed along the narrow hallway that would take them to the kitchen and the back door, nineteen year old Charlene Costello and everyone else who had the misfortune to be in their way had to dive to one side to avoid being flattened by the torrent of preteen boys and girls. Having nearly been forced to climb up the walls to escape them, the young woman shot a hostile look and a few muttered curses after them even as they vanished from sight.
Pausing a moment to compose herself after that near death experience, Charlene proceeded on her way, wending through the maze of her relatives.
She followed the children almost as far as the kitchen, but left the confines of the hallway when she arrived at the dining room. Around the table sat several people, including Charlene's mother, as they played a spirited game of dominoes. Even more people were standing around the table, watching the game and cheering on their favorites, so the teenager had to dodge around several more family members to get to where she was going.
Charlene positioned herself between two of the domino players, her mother and one of her aunts, and rested a hand lightly on each woman's shoulder.
Glancing up at her daughter, Barbara gave her a warm smile. "Oh, there you are, honey! How about sticking around and giving me some good luck, Charlie?" she pleaded playfully, adding, "I could really use some . . ."
Her aunt Lucy also looked up with a smile as that hand came to rest on her shoulder, but her grin faltered fast as the girl never so much as looked at her. Trying not to look too disappointed, Lucy soon returned her attention to her dominoes.
The girl smiled back at her mother though and chatted amiably with her for a few moments, never once doing anything that would make it obvious that she was deliberately ignoring her father's sister. She spent several long moments chit-chatting with her mother and innocently observing the game, but as the hand started to draw to a close, Charlene made her move at long last.
Charlene would not say a word to her aunt and even now would not even glance in her direction, but the hand she'd placed on the woman's shoulder closed, giving it a firm squeeze.
It was enough.
Lucy did not need to be told what Charlene was telling her and could not help but let out a small gasp at the sudden pressure, her shaking hands accidentally knocking over some of her dominoes. Her heart had started racing just as soon as the teenager arrived, but now it was pounding hard and she started breathing so quickly that she risked hyper-ventilating. Her eyes darted around the room, going from face to face fearfully to see if anybody had detected this subtle communication and not being very reassured when she saw no trace that they had.
Surely Charlene could not be serious! With all of these people around, there was no way in the world that they would be able to find so much as a moment of privacy!
The grip on her shoulder did not let up for an instant though and Lucy was forced to accept that, yes, her niece had plans for her. Distracted as she was, Lucy did not only make the elementary mistakes that would cost her the game, but actually ended up accidentally helping her sister-in-law win.
No one seemed more surprised to learn that she had won the game than Barbara. "What do you mean, I won?" she wondered, looking across the table quizzically at the person who had been keeping score. "Wait . . . you mean it? I won?! Oh, my God! It's been ages since I won one of these silly games!" She looked back up to her daughter with a huge smile. "You see, Charlie? I told you that you were good luck!"
"I'm glad I could help, mom." Leaning down, Charlene gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later."
Lucy watched as the girl headed for the door again, her concern rising. She did not dare linger at this table for too long or Charlene would get too far ahead of her as she might risk losing the teenager. Her eyes darted around the table quickly, lighting on her husband standing among the group who had been watching the game.
Smiling slyly, Lucy called over to him. "Hey, Jim? Come over here and take over for me, will you, please? I need to take a break." This seemed like such a clever idea to her as it would at least keep her spouse grounded while she went to her meeting with her niece. If anyone saw anything, at least it wouldn't be her husband.
Unfortunately, even though he had no idea of what was going on between his wife and their niece, James wasn't willing to play along with her scheme. "I don't know, Lucy. I really don't want to play dominoes right now . . ."
Before Lucy could come up with a way to convince him, Barbara chose to inject herself into the conversation. "Oh, come on, Jimmy! Don't worry, I promise to go easy on you!"
To Lucy's great delight, that got her husband to moving at last and she vacated her seat hastily, darting out of the dining room without looking back.
To her horror, Lucy saw no sign at all of her teenaged niece in the hallway when she finally reached it. There were plenty of people milling about though and so she rose up on her toes to look up and over their heads and was rewarded by a glimpse of the girl turning a corner and disappearing into the living room.