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"OK, I want to know how this hustle worked, but we're not going to have that discussion here!" Vienna stood up and smacked the edge of the table. "We, and by that, I mean everyone here, is going to my apartment to celebrate. I don't care who has to work tomorrow or who has to drive back to where. We're going to sit in my living room, have a few drinks, and end this reunion on a high note. Everyone with me?"

Out of everyone seated at the hightop, it was Evelyn who gracefully got to her feet first. "If I may speak for the gathered, whatever are we waiting for?"

"Let me start with this," proclaimed Vienna. "'Up in this motherfucker? Quiet as a church?'" She lightly bounced the side of her foot against Garrett's ear. "Since when do you talk like that?"

Sitting next to her on the loveseat, it was Colette who provided the answer. "Poolhall Junkies, 2003. Mars Callahan, Chazz Palminteri, Rick Schroeder, Christopher Walken. A talented pool hustler goes up against his old mentor when his little brother crosses him. The exact line is 'a minute ago it was like an Elk's Lodge meeting up in this motherfucker, now it's as quiet as a church.'"

"A movie quote," Vienna groused good-naturedly. "Of course, it was a movie quote."

Sitting on the floor between her legs, Garrett dipped his head back, looking at his friend from a quasi-upside-down vantage. "It just came out when I was trying to taunt Danny. It worked, though. It goaded him into that last game."

The group of friends was currently gathered in Vienna's living room. Vienna and Colette occupied the loveseat while Garrett and Sadie sat on the floor, with Vienna casually throwing her ankles on Garrett's shoulders. Michelle, Gio, and Evelyn had taken the couch, leaving Brenda to lean against its back.

"OK, so lay out how exactly you and Kim ran this hustle," Gio said. "Your wrist is perfectly fine, right?"

Garrett's response was to slowly roll the bottle cap from his beer across the knuckles of his right hand. "I can shoot with either hand, but I'm better with my right. The goal was to lure Danny in by losing that first race so he knew he could beat me. Once he accepted the rematch, I started winning just enough to keep him interested. He's always been about being better than me. As soon as we had him hooked I challenged him to a one-on-one, heads-up game where I could take the one thing Danny values most - his pride."

"And what about your moment of self-doubt during that first game?" Sadie lightly pushed Garrett's shoulder with hers. "If that was part of the hustle, I'm gonna be upset. I get not telling your friends you're hustling someone, but you don't emotionally manipulate us like that."

"That was legit." Garrett drank from his beer before continuing. "Kim and I talked all afternoon about setting this up while I was warming up in her basement. I was playing with her money, not mine. That's why she kept saying I was covered. As soon as I got out there and saw Danny, though, I froze. Having him within ten feet of me killed my self-confidence. Plus, he's not bad at pool. He ran the table those first three games. If it wasn't for you guys, I would have been lost."

"Why was Kimberly so keen on seeing Daniel humiliated?" asked Evelyn. "That is the singular piece of the puzzle which eludes me."

Chuckling with embarrassment, Garrett ran a hand through his hair. "Allegedly," he stressed, "Danny drank a fifty-year-old bottle of Scotch on prom night that Kim's dad had been saving for a poker game with his buddies. Kim's dad held it against her until she replaced it, so this was her shot at payback." He blew out a deep breath. "Danny needed to buy in 100% for it to work. I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys earlier."

"Michelle, hand me a napkin to throw at him." Vienna leaned over and gently pressed the bottom of her bottle of beer against his forehead. "Stop it," she told him. "No more apologizing."

Colette reached down to gently ruffle Garrett's hair. "You should listen to your friend," she told him. "You've got nothing to apologize for. This is a chance for you to start with a blank slate. You and this one." Colette used both hands to pull Sadie's curly brown hair into a loose topknot for a brief moment before letting it fall back. "I wish the circumstances had been different, but coming back to Emerald Pines gave me a chance to turn the page and start writing a new chapter in my life." She wrapped her arms around Garrett's shoulders. "What are you going to write?"

"Well first, I'm gonna unpack everything. I'm done living on my futon. After that, I owe you lunch at Half in the Bag," he told Sadie. "Then work with Colette to find me a therapist. If I'm penning a new chapter, having a ghostwriter couldn't hurt. Evelyn? What's on your agenda?"

Evelyn took a slight sip of red wine and gracefully set the glass on the coffee table. "My short-term goal is to share a final night of wild passion with Anthony before he departs tomorrow morning for Cheyenne. My medium-term goal is to find my own apartment here in Emerald Pines. My long-term goal is to have no long-term goal. For the moment I simply plan to observe my surroundings and find something that will open my creative spigot. Anthony?"

Gio chuckled while kissing the back of Evelyn's hand. "Our short-term goals line up. After that, drive back to Cheyenne tomorrow, and then drive back here for President's Day weekend so Evelyn and I can figure out where we're going with this."

"I appreciate a man with a plan," smiled Evelyn.

Gio tilted his head back and forth. "It's more like a scheme, to be honest. Michelle?"