His mother had drifted off to attend to the rest of the party; she had contacts here from her business that liked to rub shoulders socially, and she'd obliged them. Bryce, meanwhile, managed to swagger into the back yard like he owned the place -- like he felt he owned the world perhaps -- and managed to blend in a lot better than Mark or Dalton did; Dalton was blinged out because that's how he blew his payday and Mark managed to put money toward ink and rent, while saving some for later, but it it was well over half the advance spent there, but it felt right and worth it.
Mark and Dalton were trying to explain to Ed, Julie's dad, precisely what went into the business of making music -- that was Mark doing the talking and Dalton drinking beer and admiring all the San Fernando moms displaying the benefits of their rigorous workout schedules. Fitness was a way of life in the Valley, and so there was a lot less body fat in this place than was average in the rest of the United States. But at the same time, there were a few guys in the crowd that helped push it closer to that average. For some reason, Bryce saw fit to start stealing the show and giving a toast complete with a cutting remark about procrastination that made Dalton whisper, "You sure you want this muthafucka at the party man?" He was several drinks in and the punch was pretty potent here; his mom liked to make sure the sangria had kick.
Mark couldn't do more than shrug -- Ed was a little too close by and Julie's parents, by and large, tended to worship the ground Bryce was walking on. Come to think of it, Mark wasn't even sure why Bryce of all people was up giving a speech and the people closest to Mark's life besides Julie were giving him a strange 'who the fuck are you?' sort of look, though Anna masked it better than Harry and Dalton wasn't bothering to conceal his disgust -- well, Dalton was a hard guy to piss off, but Bryce managed to do it in pretty record time.
Maria was there, and she was giving him a lofted eyebrow -- she'd spent a lot of the party working the neighbors in a knit-white number and knee-high boots, which seemed a very 'rocker's girl' outfit, if that is what she was -- though Mark quailed a bit at the idea of a relationship after seeing guys like Bryce and what he did to Julie in a sense. He'd had an easier time on that front than Julie when it came to the tattoo -- somehow Bryce found out and he'd been around for some of the fighting. When Mai found out, she seemed a little put out he hadn't taken her to the studio, but he pointed out that Julie and he shared a sandbox together. It was somewhere to the right of him, near the tree in her tattoo. His wasn't as sentimental as hers, but it got some appreciative glances from the Gen X'ers, in terms of the quality of the ink, though the wild days of tattooing were often something that was in the past by the time someone moved into the Valley to raise their kids-- it was white picket fence territory, so the stories tended to be about 'back in the day.'
And so while there were jokes about Bryce popping the question to Julie that floated about their social circle with a degree of amusement, he never expected to actually be there for it. In fact, there was a bit of a surreal quality at watching him go knees to the ground to present her with the rock, which looked like it came out of Tiffany's or some other really high end jeweler, and there were the expected gasps from, mostly, the women at how romantic it all was. There was the uncomfortable moment when Julie looked over to him as if, well, what? He wasn't sure why there was a grinding in the pit of his stomach, even as Maria managed to find her way right next to him, her arm around his waist. He wasn't sure what to say or do there, knowing that a couple eyes flashed to him as well; including, rather triumphantly, Bryce's.
Why did he feel like he was losing out on something there? But then the moment was broken and she was saying 'yes' and the applause went up. For him, it was a moment of tension dispelled and he finally dared to breathe.
"That was so sweet, but why did he pop the question there?" whispered Maria.
"I'm not sure," Mark told her, but he knew in a sense, where Bryce was coming from -- the momentary venomous triumph in those blue eyes confirmed that Bryce felt he was ruining Mark's day at Mark's house during Mark's party. It was a control thing; he'd gotten Julie to go out to the tattoo parlor on a whim; it was a threat, a sign that Mark had too much influence in the life of 'his' girl.
He glanced down at Maria, "But I think it'll probably mean trouble."
"Why's that?"
"I just paid three months of rent in advance and Bryce is going to want to either move in or move her in with him."
"Oh," she said with a small voice, "that sounds awkward."
Too right by half -- suddenly, paying down the rent, which seemed like a smart thing to do at the time, sounded like a really dumb decision. If Bryce's behavior held, he was going to want to move in with Julie. It was this weird dynamic, but it felt right...
Mark and Dalton were trying to explain to Ed, Julie's dad, precisely what went into the business of making music -- that was Mark doing the talking and Dalton drinking beer and admiring all the San Fernando moms displaying the benefits of their rigorous workout schedules. Fitness was a way of life in the Valley, and so there was a lot less body fat in this place than was average in the rest of the United States. But at the same time, there were a few guys in the crowd that helped push it closer to that average. For some reason, Bryce saw fit to start stealing the show and giving a toast complete with a cutting remark about procrastination that made Dalton whisper, "You sure you want this muthafucka at the party man?" He was several drinks in and the punch was pretty potent here; his mom liked to make sure the sangria had kick.
Mark couldn't do more than shrug -- Ed was a little too close by and Julie's parents, by and large, tended to worship the ground Bryce was walking on. Come to think of it, Mark wasn't even sure why Bryce of all people was up giving a speech and the people closest to Mark's life besides Julie were giving him a strange 'who the fuck are you?' sort of look, though Anna masked it better than Harry and Dalton wasn't bothering to conceal his disgust -- well, Dalton was a hard guy to piss off, but Bryce managed to do it in pretty record time.
Maria was there, and she was giving him a lofted eyebrow -- she'd spent a lot of the party working the neighbors in a knit-white number and knee-high boots, which seemed a very 'rocker's girl' outfit, if that is what she was -- though Mark quailed a bit at the idea of a relationship after seeing guys like Bryce and what he did to Julie in a sense. He'd had an easier time on that front than Julie when it came to the tattoo -- somehow Bryce found out and he'd been around for some of the fighting. When Mai found out, she seemed a little put out he hadn't taken her to the studio, but he pointed out that Julie and he shared a sandbox together. It was somewhere to the right of him, near the tree in her tattoo. His wasn't as sentimental as hers, but it got some appreciative glances from the Gen X'ers, in terms of the quality of the ink, though the wild days of tattooing were often something that was in the past by the time someone moved into the Valley to raise their kids-- it was white picket fence territory, so the stories tended to be about 'back in the day.'
And so while there were jokes about Bryce popping the question to Julie that floated about their social circle with a degree of amusement, he never expected to actually be there for it. In fact, there was a bit of a surreal quality at watching him go knees to the ground to present her with the rock, which looked like it came out of Tiffany's or some other really high end jeweler, and there were the expected gasps from, mostly, the women at how romantic it all was. There was the uncomfortable moment when Julie looked over to him as if, well, what? He wasn't sure why there was a grinding in the pit of his stomach, even as Maria managed to find her way right next to him, her arm around his waist. He wasn't sure what to say or do there, knowing that a couple eyes flashed to him as well; including, rather triumphantly, Bryce's.
Why did he feel like he was losing out on something there? But then the moment was broken and she was saying 'yes' and the applause went up. For him, it was a moment of tension dispelled and he finally dared to breathe.
"That was so sweet, but why did he pop the question there?" whispered Maria.
"I'm not sure," Mark told her, but he knew in a sense, where Bryce was coming from -- the momentary venomous triumph in those blue eyes confirmed that Bryce felt he was ruining Mark's day at Mark's house during Mark's party. It was a control thing; he'd gotten Julie to go out to the tattoo parlor on a whim; it was a threat, a sign that Mark had too much influence in the life of 'his' girl.
He glanced down at Maria, "But I think it'll probably mean trouble."
"Why's that?"
"I just paid three months of rent in advance and Bryce is going to want to either move in or move her in with him."
"Oh," she said with a small voice, "that sounds awkward."
Too right by half -- suddenly, paying down the rent, which seemed like a smart thing to do at the time, sounded like a really dumb decision. If Bryce's behavior held, he was going to want to move in with Julie. It was this weird dynamic, but it felt right...