Free Love in the Afternoon by Yvette Hines

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Never give up on love, because just when you think the door has closed…a window opens.
     
    “ Okay, everyone. We all need to be very quiet. Chase should be home in minutes.” Kalan, my best friend, was smiling broadly as she stared at the faces of Chase’s friends and their family, Kalan’s family as well. Kalan and Chase were first cousins.
    All of us were gathered at the park across the street from Chase’s cul-de-sac with various baked goods and gifts in our hands. Chase had been away for the last two months in Nebraska setting up his wholesale produce shipping company there. He worked with local farmers to get their goods and vegetables to customers' doors in less than twenty-four hours. Henderson Packing and Shipping’s slogan was ' From fields to the table in a day' . We all knew how big of a deal it was that Chase had been able to add another state to his expanding business. As a pilot, Chase had flown private jets for the rich and famous for seven years. When so many of his clients were starting to become vegans and healthier eaters, they began to ask him to fly to places and pick them up foods from all over the country. Chase realized that working, everyday people deserved the same kind of service, if not more. He had realized that middle class households where both parents worked wanted their families to be healthy, too. However, they didn’t have time to go to the store every other day for fresh produce. So, he brought the freshness to them.
    The business had exploded in their state, North Carolina, and by the end of his first year, Chase had added five other surrounding states. Six years later, he shipped to most of the East Coast and was moving into the Central and Midwest states. The upper class subdivision was proof of how well Chase’s company was doing.
    “ Are you sure we should do this tonight, Kalan? I thought Chase wasn’t due in until tomorrow night.”
    “ Yes, Uncle Donald.” Kalan, holding her gift and mine, stared at Chase’s father, holding a box of wine. Three weeks ago when Kalan had gathered all of them at a restaurant and discussed Chase’s surprise birthday, Donald had insisted he was bringing the box wine.
    It was the reason Jax, Chase’s college roommate, was holding a case of expensive Champagne for everyone else to drink. Glancing at Donald Henderson, I would never understand why a man that loved eating at four star restaurants would allow such a cheap alcohol to grace his palate, but that had always been Chase’s father. For Chase’s college graduation, his father had prime rib and butcher’s select ribs on the grill for the pool party; however there were cases of box wine and cheap no-name beer in the cooler.
    “ You’re controlling this train. I’ll just hang on to the caboose.” Donald called out loud, not heeding Kalan’s words or the whispered tone she was using.
    I could not help but smile. Chase’s parents, Donald and his wife, Mary Ann, were kind and big-hearted people who loved their two children immensely. That was something I would have given my right arm for. My family wasn’t close at all. My parents were still married but only by strings of determination. They fought and argued all the time. My older brother never came home to visit them because he and my father fought about every decision my brother made and Lance couldn’t take it so he stayed away.
    Same reason I had gravitated to Kalan and the Henderson clan. They still did things like holidays parties and a monthly potluck and game night. Since I was Kalan’s best friend, they had included me in their circle and I loved it.
    “ As I told everyone when I called two hours ago that Chase finished up today and decided to catch an early flight.” Kalan looked around at the fifteen people gathered. “We all good? Ready to go?”
    I was holding the birthday cake, yellow with white butter-cream frosting. I had picked it up from the bakery this afternoon. It hadn’t been