Innocent Until Proven Otherwise — Chapter 9 — The Kitchen
A couple on the counter, a girl with a tray and a generous slice of cake.
Freddy has a black eye and a lot of anger at two guys. Jack swears they never laid a finger on him.
To get to the kitchen, I had to cross the whole party going against traffic.
One came, I dodged. Another came, I dropped him. By then it wasn't just the entourage: people I'd never seen were fighting people who'd never seen me. That's how party brawls go. They start with a reason and keep going because everybody's already on their feet.
I shoved the kitchen door open with my shoulder.
There was a couple making out on top of the counter. They both stopped, looked at me, looked at the door, heard the yelling outside.
— What's going on? — she asked.
— Opposition scheming. Carry on.
They carried on.
The cake was on the table. Three tiers, white frosting, strawberries on top. A work of art.
When I went for the knife, a girl came in through the other door and charged at me with a metal tray raised over her head.
— YOU'RE THE ONE WHO STARTED IT!
Kim and I have a rule: man, woman, old-timer or kid — you step onto the court, you'd better be ready to play.
But I had a cake to cut and no time to play. Besides, she was a lovely young lady. No reason to leave a mark on that pretty face.