“Yes, but I always do that. My difficult job was to find the miniature martini glasses. That took me an hour and a half online before I finally found a company that made miniature disposable glasses.”
Doc gave a little nod. “And Dick wanted them to be miniature because vodka martinis are all liquor and he didn’t want any of the competitors to get too drunk?”
“Exactly right,” Sally said, smiling at Doc. “Enjoy your Walleye Martinis and I’ll go get your first appetizer.”
“Our first appetizer?” Delores looked puzzled. “But we only ordered one, didn’t we?”
“Yes, but there’s a new appetizer that I’m trying out in the bar tonight. If everyone likes it, I may add it to the dinner menu in the restaurant.”
“What is it?” Hannah asked.
“Special Boursin Cheese-Filled Mushrooms.”
“I love filled mushrooms,” Michelle told her.
“Good. Have you ever had them with a French cheese called Boursin?” Michelle shook her head and Sally went on to explain, “It’s a kind of cream cheese, and I use the type that’s flavored with garlic and herbs.”
“That sounds heavenly!” Andrea commented. “Maybe it’s a good thing Bill’s in Chicago if we’re going to have something with garlic. We made a pact when we were first married.”
“A pact?” Doc was clearly puzzled.
“Yes, neither one of us could have garlic unless the other one did.”
“What happened if you broke the rule?” Lonnie asked her.
“The one who ate garlic had to sleep alone in the guest room.”
“How often did that happen?” Michelle wanted to know.
“Never. The bed in the guest room was a couch you had to pull out and it was hideously uncomfortable.”
Sally laughed, picked up her tray, and hurried off to get their Special Boursin Cheese-Filled Mushrooms.
“Uh-oh!” Hannah said, after a glance at Sonny’s table. “Guess who just arrived at Sonny’s table.”
“Don’t tell me they’re back!” Andrea said, looking over at the table and giving a little sigh. “Those two wives are just asking for trouble.”
“Why? They’re just sitting there,” Delores said, observing the guests who’d just arrived at the fishing star’s table.
“They’re sitting there without their husbands again,” Hannah explained. “They did the same thing this morning and their husbands looked extremely unhappy when they got downstairs to the breakfast buffet.”
“Well, at least they’re not . . .” Andrea stopped speaking and gave another groan. “Dick just put on the music. I hope Sonny doesn’t ask one of them to dance.”
Mike laughed. “Hope and a buck might buy you a cup of coffee, Andrea. Sonny just motioned to the blonde, and she’s getting up from her chair.”
“It might be okay,” Doc told them. “I’ve been watching Sonny, and he just polished off all three Walleye Martinis at the table, plus a full-sized Martini to boot!”
“He drank all of them?” Hannah asked.
“Yes, it didn’t take him long! He’s probably too inebriated to get out of his . . . I’m wrong! He’s up!”
They watched as Sonny led the blonde to the small dance floor and grabbed her around the waist. “I think he’s using her for balance,” Lonnie conjectured.
“Let’s hope that’s all he’s doing!” Norman said, glancing toward the doorway. “Two guys are coming in right now with Joey and they don’t look very happy.”
“It’s the husbands,” Andrea confirmed. “Joey and Wally took care of it when there was trouble at the breakfast buffet this morning. I hope Joey Zee can calm them down again.”
“Joey’s got it,” Hannah told her, watching as Joey steered the two men over to the table where one of the wives was still sitting.
Doc gave a little nod. “I saw Joey handle several problems this afternoon. I get the feeling that he’s used to doing damage control when it comes to situations with Sonny.”
Everyone watched as Joey pulled out chairs for the two husbands and went to the dance floor to escort the blonde wife back to the table.
“Sonny looks completely puzzled,” Michelle commented.
Delores gave a slight laugh. “You’re right, dear. I don’t think he has any idea what happened to his dance partner.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing,” Andrea said, giving a little smile.
“And it would be an even better thing if he forgot where his table was and went back up to his room,” Hannah added.
“It doesn’t look like that’s going to happen,” Lonnie said, watching as Sonny headed in their direction. “Do you think he forgot where his table was?”
“Maybe,” Mike said, “unless . . . nope, he’s headed this way,” Mike corrected himself. “I wonder if he thinks that Andrea is the woman he was dancing with.”
“Me?” Andrea looked completely shocked. “But I don’t look anything like her!”
“You’ve got blonde hair, and he’s so drunk he probably doesn’t remember what she looked like!”
“Whatever are you going to do, dear?” Delores asked, looking slightly amused.
“I . . . I don’t know.” Andrea appeared terribly conflicted. “I don’t want to alienate him. I know Sally and Dick are hoping that the fishing tournament will become a yearly event. But . . .” She turned to Hannah. “Do I have to actually dance with him?”
“Yes, but not for long,” Michelle jumped in. “As soon as you take a turn around the dance floor with him, I’m going to cut in.”
“Thank you, Michelle!” Andrea looked very relieved. “But then you’ll be stuck with him.”
“No, she won’t,” Hannah said quickly. “We’ll let Michelle dance with him for a minute, and then I’ll cut in.”
“And once you take your turn with him, I’ll cut in,” Delores spoke up. “And once I do what I’m going to do, you men can pick him up and take him to his room.”
“What are you going to do, Lori?” Doc asked her.
“I’m going to trip him. It won’t be hard because he’s already practically falling on his face. You go get your fancy gurney. This won’t take long at all.”
Doc chuckled. “You are something else, Lori!”
“You should have known that when you married me,” Delores told him. “There’s no way I’m going to let my girls dance with a drunk for long. Believe me, Doc. Sonny will never know what happened in the morning. Now get going! This won’t take long at all and you’re going to need that gurney.”
They all watched as Sonny weaved his way over to their table. “Come on, babe! Dance with me. I’m a big star, you know.”
“I’ve heard,” Andrea said, doing her best to be pleasant. “Are you sure you want to dance? We ordered appetizers and they should be here soon.”
“I’m sure. I love to dance,” Sonny said, grabbing Andrea by the arm and practically pulling her off her chair. “Let’s go! The night’s young and I wanna hold you!”
“His night’s almost over,” Michelle said, as Andrea let Sonny push her across the room to the dance floor.
“Play something slow,” Sonny shouted at Dick. “This one’s even cuter than she was before.”
Andrea made a face, and Hannah had all she could do not to laugh. “Once around and that’s it,” she reminded Michelle. “Andrea doesn’t look very patient and you know what a temper she’s got.”