The first person (other than Carter) to arrive at the party was the woman named Martha Franklin, who had been with Elliott’s wife. Martha Franklin came with her husband and three children. She greeted Elliott and walked into the living room.671Please respect copyright.PENANArbn7VggzHl
“Hi,” Carter said. “My name is Samuel Carter.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Martha Franklin said, flatly. She turned to her husband and started to talk to him. Her three children skipped out of the living room.
Carter frowned. He wondered if every person at the party would act this way to him.
The second person to arrive was James Stewart, who turned out to be much more polite to Carter than Franklin. When he first came in, he walked straight up to Carter and held out his hand.
“Hi, my name is James Stewart,” he said. “And this is Casey.”
Casey Fowler, Stewart’s young fiancé, stood beside him, blushing. She could have easily been mistaken for being his daughter.
Carter shook Stewart’s hand. “I’m Samuel Carter.”
Stewart nodded. “Are you a friend of the mayor’s?”
“I’ve known him since I was ten.”
“That’s cool. My father has known me my whole life, and he won’t even invite me over for a visit. You should feel lucky.”
Carter chuckled, softly.
“Well, I’ll be seeing you around,” Stewart said. “Unless I get wasted, then I’ll probably be seeing other things around.”
As he walked off, the next guest, Randy Jenkins, walked in. He came with his son, Victor. The Jenkins’ were polite as well.
“Hi, I’m Samuel Carter,” Carter said.
“I’m Randy. Randy Jenkins. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Jenkins was a nice man, but Carter could not keep his eyes off of his walrus mustache, which was so large and bushy that it was visually distracting.
“This is my son, Victor,” Jenkins said. “His wife, Lucille, and their kids: Billy and Dominique.”
Victor looked at his father and smiled. “I can introduce my family by myself, Dad.”
Jenkins snickered.
A woman standing by him looked at him. “Are you forgetting somebody?”
He snickered again. “And this is my wife, Mary.”
“Hello,” Mary said.
Victor and his wife walked off.
Billy and Dominique, a little blonde boy and little blonde girl, stayed behind with their grandparents. They both wore white clothes. Billy wore a white collar shirt and white slacks while Dominique wore a white dress and a white bow in her hair.671Please respect copyright.PENANAK2FYppljg3
Carter sighed when he saw the next guests walk in. It was the Anderson family. Kathleen turned around and said: “I’ll be right back.” And then she quickly walked off.671Please respect copyright.PENANAsZhMZWqHH3
Anderson was frowning (his specialty) and staring around the house as he walked in. His wife, Nadia, walked next to him. She couldn’t have been wearing more fur if she were a grizzly bear.
“How’s it going, Anderson?” Jenkins asked.
“Not bad,” Anderson said.
“Nadia?”
“I’m fine.”
“The girls look so gorgeous!” Mary said.
The Anderson’s eight daughters walked inside the house in a straight line. They were all wearing pink dresses, high heels, and pink hair bows. They each carried a purse on their shoulder.
If anyone saw the Anderson’s daughters, they would think they were a group of friends, not sisters. This was because seven of them were the exact same age but did not look alike genetically.
Anderson and his wife had been married for about sixteen years. When they first married, they desperately wanted to have children. But no matter how hard they tried, Nadia could not get pregnant.
After about eight years of failed attempts to get pregnant, the Andersons went on the local news and announced that they were starting the "Anderson Baby Contest." They stated that they were looking for a woman who had unintentionally gotten pregnant and was not interested in raising their unborn child. The first woman to come to the Andersons and allow them to adopt her unborn child would be "heavily rewarded." Most people were sure that the "contest" was a total scam. The Andersons were much too greedy to give away money to people, even if those people truly deserved it.
However, seven women were foolish enough to go out and get pregnant on purpose just so that they can obtain the "reward." After speaking with each of the women, the Andersons announced that all seven of them had won the "Anderson Baby Contest" and that they would all be rewarded. The women all later gave birth to baby girls and the Andersons adopted all seven of them. The babies were named Dory, Callie, Robbie, Lily, Elsie, Poppy, and Heidi.
Unsurprisingly, the seven women were all cheated. None of them received a reward. Most of the women went to court and attempted to get their babies back, but they all failed in doing so. Because the Andersons were so rich, it was almost impossible to overpower them in any court case. This was why people tried the hardest to not do anything to anger the Andersons. If a person was sued by the Andersons, that person would be in some serious trouble.
Three years after the "Anderson Baby Contest" incident, the Andersons were given a very shocking surprise. Nadia became pregnant. This news was not only shocking to the Anderson’s, but to everyone in the city (especially to the women involved in the "Anderson Baby Contest"). Nadia soon gave birth to a baby girl and named her Molly.
"Those people shouldn't be allowed to have even one baby," Kathleen had said, furiously. Carter couldn't have agreed any more.
After the Anderson's daughters all walked in Elliott's house, they looked at Jenkins and all, at the exact same time, said: “Hi, Mr. Jenkins.”
Jenkins waved at them, smiling.
“Girls, run along now,” Anderson said.
“Bye, Daddy!” the girls all said together. They each blew a kiss at him and walked off.
“Why isn’t Molly wearing heels like her sisters?” Mary asked.
“There are none that fit her,” Nadia said.
“A good day to you, Jenkins,” Anderson said.
Jenkins and his wife both walked off. Anderson then turned to Carter.
“Well, well, well,” he said. “If it isn’t Samuel Carter.”
“It sure is,” Carter said.
“It sure is odd seeing you here. So the mayor knows you?”
“We’re friends.”
“Elliott is friends with many people. I didn’t think you’d be one of them. But I guess I can be wrong sometimes.”
“I paid the rent on time for once.”
“I don’t think I heard him say anything about the rent,” Nadia said.
“Relax, honey,” Anderson said. “Well, Carter, I am glad you were responsible for once. I just sure hope you can keep it up.”
“I’m always responsible,” Carter said, trying to be calm
“I don’t believe that,” Nadia said
“Carter,” Anderson said. “I’m glad you have confidence in yourself. But I wouldn’t let that confidence get to the better of me. I know you’re smarter than that.”
Carter grunted.
“Enjoy the party,” Anderson said. He and Nadia then walked to the living room to greet Elliott. Nadia shot Carter a very nasty look before they left the foyer.
Kathleen returned after the Anderson’s left. She looked very angry.
“He was only invited because he’s the richest man in town,” she said.
“Why would you think that?” Carter asked.
“You have to admit, if the mayor threw a party and did not invite the richest man in town, it would be quite shocking news. At least some people would think so.”
Carter shrugged.
The next person that Carter met was a single man named Kevin Howard. Just by greeting him, Carter could tell that he was shy.
“Hi, my name is Samuel Carter."
“Erm… Hi, I’m Kevin Howard."
Howard quickly shook his hand and turned to walk off.
“Are you here alone?” Carter asked him
Howard turned around and rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah. I’m not married, but I hope to be someday.”
And then he was gone.
The next guest was Jason Sullivan. He arrived with his wife and two children.
“Hello, how are you?” he asked. “I’m Jason Sullivan. This is my wife, Katy. And these are our kids, Ava and Eugene.
“I’m Samuel Carter.”
“Your children are so lovely,” Kathleen said.
Ava was standing very close to Eugene, who was clutching her hand tightly. Eugene looked very scared.
“Eugene is only two years old,” Katy said. “So he gets scared around people he doesn’t know. Ava is very protective of him. She’s five.”
Ava and Eugene walked off, still holding hands.
“And here comes Michael Cruz!” Sullivan said.
Cruz, a bald man with glasses, walked inside. He was alone.
“Good Evening, Sullivan!” Cruz said. Carter noticed he was wearing a cross around his neck.
“Good Evening, Cruz,” Sullivan said. “Have you ever met Samuel Carter?”
“No I haven’t. Would this be him?”
“You bet your bottom dollar,” Carter said. He and Cruz shook hands. “Are you a Christian?”
“I am,” Cruz said. “A Catholic to be exact. And a very devout Catholic. Do you practice any religion?”
“I haven’t stepped inside a church in years,” Carter said.
“That’s not the best way to live. According to the bible, it isn’t. At the church, we are taught to encourage others to live their lives with God at there side.”
“Well, I’m perfectly fine, thank you.”
Cruz patted his shoulder. “Well, my friend. I’m not going to make you do anything. It’s just my advice.”
“How’ve you been Cruz?” Sullivan asked.
“Not so good,” Cruz answered. “Audrey’s been giving me more trouble. I haven’t been able to sleep for a week.”
“Who’s Audrey?” Carter asked.
“My ex-wife,” Cruz answered. “I’m recently divorced.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. This is actually my third divorce. And if you’ve ever been with Audrey, you wouldn’t be so sorry about leaving her.”
“What’s she been messing with you about?” Sullivan asked.
“We bought this beach house last year, and she wants it for herself,” Cruz answered. “I find that absurd. Most of the money for it came from me. But she just won’t stop griping.”
“That’s too bad.”
The two continued to talk as they walked off. The next guest, Jeffery Snyder walked in with his daughter. He greeted Elliott, but he didn’t even acknowledge Carter.
Fortunately, the next couple guests were all very polite to Carter. Travis Morgan introduced himself before Carter even realized he was there. Nathan Harrison and his pregnant wife both couldn’t stop saying how glad they were to meet him. Diane Bishop asked Carter if he was single, and then appeared disappointed upon finding out that he wasn’t.
With the exceptions of Martha Franklin and Jeffery Snyder, all of the new people that Carter had met were much more polite to him than he expected. Unlike the old days, people didn’t seem to have a problem with the less fortunate people.
With people as polite as these, Carter felt the party would go well for him.
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