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    Opposite Zack, and seated across the bar, sits his wife Vanessa. She’s eight months pregnant and under her flowered maternity dress, her belly looks as though she’s carrying triplets. Her milky skin glows like only that of a woman’s in her condition can, but a slight sadness seems to backlight her usually attractive face. She does the pregnant stand –one hand on the armrest and one hand supporting her belly- as she hoists herself up baby first to distribute hugs.
    “Good God! What got into you,” Vinny yells upon sight of her enormous belly.
    “I did,” replies Zack proudly with his lips hovering over a freshly -and finally- poured martini.
    Vinny says, “So that little pecker does work. And all this time I thought Cujo was the only one that knew for sure.” Vinny gives an, I’ve got your back, wink to Max who smiles in acknowledgement and the room erupts with laughter.
    Brooke steps to Vanessa and does her best to contort around her belly and give her a hug.
    While leaned in close she whispers under the laughter, “It’s so good to see you Vanessa, it’s been so long.”
    Vanessa looks back at Brooke with an expression of relief and a touch of concern and says, “I’m so glad you’re here, we need to talk.” Her usually melodic voice is tainted with despair, “Maybe we can sneak away later?”
    “Of course,” replies Brooke not knowing what to make of this but always willing to have her ear bent by a friend in need.
    Vanessa often confided in Brooke with personal matters but it had been more than a year since they’d last seen each other and Brooke felt they had grown apart. Given Vanessa’s current state and her recent marriage to Zack, Brooke would have thought Vanessa would be on cloud nine. But things are rarely what they appear upon first impression.
    Max interrupts, “Hey pretty lady,” and opens his arms wide stepping into Vanessa and then being careful not to squeeze too tightly.
    Before pulling away, he catches a whiff of her long black hair as it bounces pass his face and is instantly transported back three years ago to his college dorm where he and Vanessa shared their first and only intimate moment.
    Vanessa says nothing. She only looks up at Max and from her queer expression; he knows that she too has been transported to that time. Her expression fades quickly and she breaks her gaze as she moves down the line to Vinny who promptly drops to a knee and presses his right ear to her belly.
    With a concerned look he says, “I hear Tupac. Zack are you sure it’s yours?”
    Again the room laughs and Zack Riley nods his feigned amusement.
    The threesome continues his or her rounds and greets everyone. Onan and Lisa -who flew out from Baltimore for the reunion- sit comfortably on an old tweed sofa adjacent to a wood-burning stove that’s resting heavily on a patch of terra cotta tile in the corner. Onan is a fellow of sizeable girth, all of which is currently covering most of the small sofa. This leaves just a sliver of real estate for Lisa -his better half. His greasy hair sticks to his forehead as he sweats from an unnecessary fire in the wood-burning stove. Zack who was always overly concerned about appearances had undoubtedly made the fire in an effort to dress up the shabby little cabin. Since the place was his pick, he probably felt the need to justify his taste.
    Lisa leans as far as she can to her left in an effort to escape the heat of the fire and the salty moisture of Onan. The yellow windbreaker and pink skintight pedal pushers she wears aren’t helping her situation either. Lisa is the local girl that Onan met in high school. She was no Selma Hayek but she was certainly a sight better than Sam was. People often thought of Onan and Lisa as an odd couple before they got to know them. The fact is they are perfectly suited for each other. She likes to talk and he’s a great listener. His disheveled appearance belied the caring individual underneath and Lisa was a