NFTN 12: Houseguests

The Thebault's had several houseguests. I have no idea who they were but all were Republican and they wore the same thing. Once, they were all going out to dinner and Lisa came down in a dress. Brian told her to put something else on and pointed to what the other woman was wearing before she saw. So Lisa went back upstairs and put on a tailored, black dress. Brian was wearing the exact same thing as the other guy: a pink oxford shirt and beige khakis. I said, innocently, "Is there a dress code?" and Brian blushed and said, "Cameo..." as if I were being sarcastic.

Maritza filled me in on the status of houseguests. She knew when it was someone the Thebault's really liked, because Lisa would make them breakfast in the morning. One couple didn't please Lisa and Maritza was all excited about it, pointing out, "She left them cereal and DOUGHNUTS!" Which meant Lisa really didn't like them much.

And that was funny, because those guests happened to be my favorites. The man actually talked to me. His girlfriend didn't, and kept a distance, eyeing me with slight jealousy. But the man, who was supposed to be some huge big-wig politician in D.C., I liked. He was down-to-earth and wouldn't even put up with the Thebault bs. He and his girlfriend liked to read. So the Thebault's read out on the deck with their guests. For days. I've never seen Lisa do so much reading all at once. Finally, the Thebault's had had enough. They said they wanted to take their guests, with the kids, on a trip back to Bedminster to show them the house.

The kids threw such monstrous temper tantrums and were so out-of-control, the man, I think his name was Bill, put his foot down. One minute the suburban was driving away and the next minute, Bill was coming back into the house. He told them all to go without him! So he sat on the couch and turned on a John Wayne movie and began talking to me. He said, "Those kids are spoiled brats!!! They need a good spanking!" and went on about how out-of-control they were and how did I do it. He looked at me with sympathy and yet was not condescending. I almost felt he and I were more alike than the entire lot. I didn't know what to say so didn't say much but I had a good feeling about this guy. I remember we chatted about John Wayne movies: ones we'd seen, ones we liked, and how we were introduced to them.

After that, the next morning, those guests got the doughnuts and Lisa slept in.