Forums » General Roleplay » Summer Backyard BBQ | Modern Day (closed)

When Mrs. Mason said that she was also expecting, Veronica proceeded to peer down at the other woman's belly. Although it was apparent that she was in the third trimester, Veronica was still a bit bigger since she was expecting twins. Identical twin boys at that. "Yeah, I read through the ingredients to see what was safe to eat and what wasn't, but this should be fine. I did make it at home because I didn't think I could trust one from the grocery store."

She then proceeded to look towards the swimming pool, smiling briefly before frowning as she suddenly started feeling self-conscious about her swollen ankles, which was why she chose a maxi dress to begin with. "So...how long do we have until that thunderstorm if it actually happens?"

"I don't think the thunderstorm is forecasted to begin until later this evening." Mrs Mason says as she gets herself some food from the table. "But I'm sure we'll know if it starts earlier, I guess."

(OOC- Sorry for not interacting)

Nina had been absent for a while as she got a call from her sister. It took a lot of time to deal with the family drama.. Once she came back out to the back yard, there were several people gathered. Fortunately they seemed to find the food good and were talking with one another, but Nina felt bad for having her hosting of the party interrupted. As usual, Daniel wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Standing up on the deck Nina stood up and banged a spoon on a bottle to get everyone's attention. Once the buzz subsided, she said,

"Thank you all for coming to the party. I would like to apologize for being a terrible hostess, but my sister called and there was some family drama. Anyway, I hope you all have gotten plenty to eat and drink, and are staying hydrated on this hot day. Feel free to jump in the pool to cool off if you like. We have plenty of towels if you need one. There was going to be some fireworks but the heat advisory has a ban so that won't be happening."

Nina looked at the palm of her hand and then said, "I think one of the guests wanted to sing a song for us? Um.... Jane? You want to come on up? Oh yeah, Peter texted me from the front yard saying Jay would be by to see about your car."

Looking around to see if Jane was around, she saw her neighbor Veronica talking to another lady. She stepped down from the deck and walked over to them. "Hi Veronica! I got a bundle of gifts for your big shower." She turned and smiled at the other lady. "Hello, I'm Nina. Thanks for coming to the party!"

Looking around, she saw a couple who seemed to be talking to each other, and would go over and see them next. She gave them a wave when it looked like one of them looked her way.

"Honour to meet you, Nina." Mrs Mason smiled, and then resumed snacking.

When Mrs. Mason reaffirmed that the Thunderstorm wouldn't be until later into the day, Veronica was a little more at ease. The weather was nice, but due to the excess body heat that she had due to being pregnant, being in a cooler environment did also sound very nice. Even if it meant heavy rain, thunder and lightning. As long as she was indoors by the time it started to rain, it should be fine. Before she could respond, the host of the Barbecue proceeded to grab everyone's attention when standing on her deck.

The host, Nina, proceeded to thank everyone for coming to the party before apologizing for being a bad hostess due to familial drama. Nonetheless, looks like everyone had plenty to eat and drink. Then there was the reminder to stay hydrated as it was currently hot out. And for Veronica, that was very much essential as dehydration while pregnant was a scary thought. Lastly, Veronica was relieved to hear that there would be no fireworks due to the heat advisory. As a child, she did like them, but as she got older, she started hating them, even more so now due to the fact that they sometimes sounded like gunshots to her. Taking a deep breath, she proceeded to look around at the delicious food that was readily available, but wasn't sure where to start as she currently wasn't all that hungry and her stomach had yet to growl.

When Nina came up and greeted her, she smiled, even more so when the other woman said that she had a bundle of gifts for her upcoming baby shower. "I appreciate that. Looking forward to seeing what you got for me and the little ones." She replied cheerfully.

And that's right, she said 'ones' with a plural.

Nina gave the woman a smile as she went back to snacking, and she set her hand on Veronica's shoulder and grinned.

"I understand some others of your family are expecting as well?" Nina asked, pretty sure the invite said there were multiple moms.

Seeing others she had yet to talk with, Nina said to Veronica, "We'll talk later, I need to circulate...unless you want to walk with me."

With a smile, Nina approached two people who were standing in the shade talking to each other.

Nina sipped her bottle of Anchor Steam beer as she walked over. "Hi! I'm Nina, the hostess. Apologies for not coming over to say hello sooner. Um, welcome! Do you two live around here?"

(OOC - thought I'd continue this since I was not really able to properly participate during the Soiree weeks.)

Daniel looked to the man with the boy who was offering to settle this matter right now. "Yeah? Now? How much you got on you?" Daniel asked, wanting to get this done.

Veronica smiled even more as she felt Nina's grip on her shoulder and the hostess had mentioned that others in her family were also expecting as well, per the baby shower invite that had been sent out. "Yes. It's such a wonderful time for my family. My other three Sisters and our two Cousins are also expecting and we're only a week apart from one another, but I won't bore you with all the math." She chuckled. "Though I am kinda sad that only one of my Sisters is having a boy. The other two Sisters and our Cousins are all expecting girls. But I guess it evens out, because I'm having twin boys myself."

Although it would have been nice to have a boy and a girl, Veronica was still very happy that she was having identical twin boys. To be having twins at all was a miracle since that didn't really run in her family. Must've been the babies' father, who sadly didn't bother to stay. Nina then said that she needed to circulate, probably greet other guests. Veronica nodded, before giving Mrs. Mason one last smile, then looking back at Nina. "Sure. I'll walk with you. Need to stretch my legs and sitting for too long makes me antsy, even if I'm like...the size of a pumpkin." She chuckled. "Mind if I hold onto you though while we walk? Because the weight of the babies changes my center of gravity, it's hard for me to stand for long periods of time." She said.

Veronica then joined Nina in greeting two newcomers talking in the shade, where she introduced herself, to which Veronica followed suit. "Hi, I'm Veronica."

"I don't have much. Probably like $60" he admitted as he spoke to the homeowner. He set his son down and retrieved his wallet and pulled out three $20 bills and he held it out to Daniel.

Daniel shamelessly took the three twenties and said, "We'll consider the matter closed. Now, do you and the boy want something to eat? There is plenty out in the back yard."

Daniel pointed to the side entrance that went around the house, which was the way Peter and the young lady went. "I can walk back with you."

Jane had arrived at the side of the pool after having some chit-chat on the generous people whom welcomed her at the time she had trouble with her car. She checked on her outfit today that it was good enough for the party, nonetheless, she was relieved that she wore a proper outfit on that day when her car had suddenly broke. She took some glimpse to the people around and went silent when the host banged a spoon to have some announcement. Then the girl felt a little of nervousness whelmed over her body when Nina called her name to sing.

“Oh, yes. Thank you, Mrs. Phelps.” She said. She flashed a smile as she went up toward the stage floor just beside of the pool. There were some instruments for singing, as the host already prepared for any live music that might build the mood for the party. Jane grabbed the mic. “Excuse me… as you guys enjoy the barbeque, I will try to serenade the mood…” Jane gulped. She took the guitar, having her sitting pose as comfortable as she could, after strum the guitar, she started to gingerly caressing a cherry-wood acoustic guitar, playing her ever so elegantly.
Just the time she built the mood and played the chords, she started to sing;

"No, sir. We couldn't impose..." the doctor waved his hand gesturing a "no".

His son looked up and pleaded "oh please, dad? I want a hot dog!" The doctor laughed and he lightly pinched his son's nose "you and your little tricks!" He would then look at Daniel and nodded "I suppose we could stay for a little while. We'll follow you..."


The doctor wasn't stupid. He knew he was "being taken as a dope" per se, but it was better that he paid for his mistake now rather than have unneeded drama later.

Daniel waved the father and son through the garage to the back yard. "Rex does really good uh hotdogs. I think I'll have one myself." Daniel said as he heard someone playing a guitar echo through to the front. The voice was pretty good too, and he wanted to see who it was so he hurried along a bit.

Stopping by Rex's grill, he got himself a mild Italian sausage wrapped in a multigrain bread loaf heel and checked out the woman singing. It was the cute lady Peter had walked in with! Damn! She was good!

Nina was blown away by how nice Jane sounded. She had the talent to do big things she thought. When she saw her husband walk in with a man and his child, she smiled even bigger. She wasted no time running up to Daniel. "Baby.. let's dance...:

Taking his hand, they stepped out into the grass and moved to the wonderful music Jane was playing. Nina hoped it inspired others to do the same!

He would carry his son into the backyard and would instantly find a chair and he would sit. He leaned close to his son and spoke to him "I don't know anyone here, just stick close to me, okay, little bear?"

Luke was obviously nervous, so he simply leaned against Todd and he held onto his son. He pulled out his phone and gave the phone to his son after opening a game for him to play. Luke sat beside his father as the doctor assumed the role of a wallflower. He ruffled his son's hair before relaxing in the chair quietly..

Brandt was a country boy, pure and simple. Anywhere off the farm or out of a garage, he was mildly uncomfortable. Sparrow, however, seemed determined to bring out the social butterfly in him. Brandt had an infectious smile, cool baby blue eyes, and, despite his height, was not an overly imposing figure. He was friendly, always willing to make a friend, but slow to approach. Sparrow was his polar opposite in this regard, and she usually wasted no time pulling him into social situations that brought him out of his comfort zone. When he asked her if she knew anyone here and her response was no, that normally would have been a trigger for him to want to leave. Before he could voice his concerns, a friendly-looking woman came out onto the deck and started speaking to the group at large. From her words, it seemed some of the people were neighbors, others friends, or acquaintances. There may even be a family member here, and the rest strangers like them.

He lifted his chilled beer to his lips, still chasing away the burn of the whiskey. He glanced at Sparrow throughout the speech and watched her warm to the open invitation of the polite hostess. Brandt's attention was peeked when he heard something about a car needing to be fixed. He was a certified mechanic and could fix anything from a dirt bike to the diesel tractor. Automotive work was something he just loved doing. His eyes sparkled as they spotted the woman whose car needed the attention. He would have gone and offered his services, but the woman was being brought up onto the deck to sing a song.

His arm wrapped around Sparrow's waist, and he pulled her tight to his side as the song started. Brandt sang to himself all the time. He sang along with the radio, in the shower, in his truck, but he would never have the want or desire to put himself out there like this lady did. In fact, it made him feel a little embarrassed as he pictured what it would be like if he had been plucked from the crowd and asked to sing. During the song, Brandt finished his first beer and was looking around for a trashcan when two women were coming towards them. One of the women was the hostess, whose name turned out to be Nina, and the other was a massively pregnant woman who introduced herself as Veronica. Brandt knew Sparrow wouldn't mind starting the conversation and would probably introduce them both. When Brandt heard her speak his name in that alluring Aussie tongue, he smiled warmly and said, "Pleasure to meet you both." He addressed Nina and was quick to provide her with a compliment said, "You're home is lovely." He had a thick Irish accent, but he wasn't difficult to understand. He had been born and raised in Louisiana by Irish immigrants, so the accent was prominent but not overpowering.

He allowed any conversation between Sparrow, Nina, and Vetonica to flow naturally as he listened, a cheerful smile always on his lips. In his mind, he was debating between getting another beer or offering to fix the car he had heard about. He didn't want to seem too eager to find an excuse to leave the party and crawl under a car - Sparrow would get frustrated with him. But he felt it was his duty to offer his assistance, even if it was to just be polite. He waited for an appropriate time in the conversation to ask nonchalantly, "Did I hear t'at someone was havin' car problems?"

Seeing as the hostess had more than just them to attend to, it was not surprising when she excused herself and went to engage her husband in a playful dance. That gave Brandt the idea of pulling his own lovely lady to join them in the dance, but Sparrow was still talking to Veronica and he didn't want to be the brutish boyfriend.

Sparrow was the first to open herself to any social event. Not only was she raised with the morals to always include others, the bright and sunny personality that made the woman nearly demanded it. While her boyfriend would prefer to stay within his own circles, Sparrow was always bringing him out to meet new people. It wasn’t that Brandt wasn’t capable of it, but he was, like her, country through and through. Still, she had hoped that the bottle of whiskey and the beer would help ease him into it a little bit. While the two chatted, and drank, a woman popped out onto the deck, and began to speak to the group as a whole, informing them of the pool, and the unfortunate knowledge that due to the fire ban, there would be no fireworks. Sparrow wasn’t too concerned with that, as she and Brandt would always find a way to entertain themselves.

During the woman’s speech, they were also informed that one of the guests would be singing a song. And then the woman said something that she knew Brandt was bound to pick up on. A car needed to be fixed. The man loved to fix and build, and Sparrow’s honey eyes looked up at him to gauge his reaction. Was she about to lose him to a project? Probably, but Sparrow was fine with that. She had no objection to Brandt finding ways to make himself more comfortable with the events that she was always dragging him too. Plus, when she wanted to go, all she had to do was tell him. Soon enough, another young woman was being pulled up on stage, and she carries with her a really pretty guitar. As the song started, she felt Brandt’s strong arm wrap around her waist, and pull her closer to him. As she drank the rest of her beer, she leaned her head against his chest to listen to the beat of his heart.

As she turned and listened to the song, the highs and lows of the tone, out of the corner of her eye, she saw two women approach. One was the pretty host that had spoken to them all, introduced to them as Nina, and another woman, who looked to be massively pregnant, and told them her name was Veronica. Sparrow immediately stepped forward to greet them, putting her hand out to take and shake theirs, if either were willing. “Hi! Thank you so much for having us. I’m Sparrow. This is my boyfriend, Brandt.” She responded in that thick Australian accent. She glanced at Brandt, who had that heart-stopping smile, and due to the prospect of a potential project, a spark in those cool blues. “It’s lovely to meet you both. This is a wonderful party.”

At the question of if they lived around here, Sparrow gave them one of her million dollar smiles. “Not exactly. We don’t live in town, we live on a ranch about 30 minutes away. But I work for the university. I saw the flier there.” She informed them, as kind of a way of explaining how she even knew this party was happening. Waiting for a break in conversation, Brandt then chimes in, asking about the car trouble. Sparrow bit the inside of her lip to keep the chuckle inside.

After the answer to Brandt’s question, the hostess seemed to spot someone, and made her way over. “And thank you again for having us!” She exclaimed as the host of the party excused herself from them, and left them with the other woman, Veronica. She turned that smile on her as her eyes never wavered from Veronica’s face. “It’s very lovely to meet you. May I ask how much longer you’ve got to go?” Sparrow loved babies, and pregnancy, despite not having any children herself yet. Maybe one day, she thought with a quick glance to Brandt. But for now, she was just interested in Veronica’s answer, then getting Brandt to dance with her.

Veronica proceeded to let go of Nina as she had excused herself to go dance with her husband while Jane sang and even began singing. Although it did leave her a little sad, she was still in good company. Although Veronica herself wouldn't mind dancing, she ended up having second thoughts as soon as she looked down at her swollen belly. She couldn't even see her feet, her back was starting to ache, even after a deep breath through her nose as she smiled watching as Nina playfully danced with her husband, before turning her attention back to Brandt and Sparrow.

The conversation soon went towards her pregnancy, where Sparrow asked how much longer she had to go. At this point, Veronica didn't really know. Because as of today, she was thirty-six weeks pregnant and that was the usual gestation period for twins. "Hopefully not that much longer. But if I had to guess, probably about..." She thought for a moment. "Three more weeks? Hopefully less. Right now, I'm at thirty-six weeks and I'm expecting identical twin boys."

Veronica then smiled as she maintained eye-contact with Sparrow while also looking towards Brandt out of the corner of her eye, even straightening out her dress and her hair. "It's a very exciting time for my family. My three other Sisters and our two Cousins are expecting as well, but sadly...Only one of them is having a boy." She chuckled.

Jane finished the song with a lovely hum. She was happy to see that the audience got to dance along with her singing. It made her mood sky-rocketing high with people being happy to her presence. She added another hum with the string of the guitar tune before completely end her singing. "Thank you everyone whom willing to enjoy the party together with my singing, I appreciate that." Jane smiled cheerfully to the attendance. "So, I will exit myself then." Jane grinned and hover the mic back to Mrs. Phelps as she left the guitar on the stage along with other instrument. Just so she save it for another performance later or she might have another person to come out to the stage and try to sing another song.

Jane nodded to Mrs. Phelps as a gratitude to let her perform on their party. She came back to join the crowd. "Hello, everyone. I hope I'm not disturbing you guys." Jane let out a chuckles and took something she could munch on as her stomach grumble after all the singing. She listened to Veronica 's explanation about her due date for having a baby.

He would sigh and get up and lifted his son into his arms and made his way over to the food to assemble the boy a plate. He placed a hot dog in a bun onto the plate along with some potato salad and carrots for himself. He handed the plate of to his son who looked at Jane and quickly hid his face into his father's shoulder and wrapped his arms around him.

Todd, unaware of why Luke embraced him instinctively started giving his son a slight bounce as he walked over towards the drinks and grabbed them each a soda. Todd would return to his seat and he would take the plate and start eating after giving his son his hot dog and soda.

"Dad....."

"What is it, little bear?"

"That lady who was singing is pretty....."

"I know, son." He said as he chuckled a bit at his son's words.

"But she still has cooties, right? All girls have cooties. You know because you're a doctor, and you gave me my cooties shot"

Todd looked at Luke and ruffled his hair who quickly fixed his hair "stop, dad!"