Chapter 169

In the couple minutes it took me to join the others outside, the tenor of the day had changed. I heard Jess scream happily when she saw Kim and Ginger. When I arrived on the patio, I saw Jess and Kat each vigorously tapping out lines of cocaine with a carbon fiber card on a glass table. The grill flared from the marbled steaks, and Crystal kissed Jason as he tended to the cooking. Most of the girls were giggly and stoned, and everyone was in extraordinary spirits. The girls were keen to hit the coke, but they limited themselves to one line each. They took Jess’s advice to take it easy before eating. Within twenty minutes, we sat down at the large, polished stone dinner table on the patio. It comfortably sat twelve. While Jason cut meat and brought it out on large carving boards, I poured two glasses of red wine for everyone -- a side-by-side tasting of two favorite Napa Valley Cabernets.

Dinner was boisterous and delicious. The wine was stunning. The conversation was even bett