Celebration Dinner

Eddie holds the red door open for Kat, Carl, Anna, Johann, Vicki, and AJ as they all go into the entry of the banquet hall for the Rooster Hills Half Marathon post race celebration dinner. There are white linens on 8 foot round tables with blue napkins folded into stars at each place setting. Twelve inch tall, thin red vases are in the middle of every table. Each vase holds red, white and blue star balloons mounted on tall, gold rods.

Brady is at the opposite side of the hall from the entrance. He has the 80’s tunes playing over the speakers. “Welcome everyone! Tonight we are celebrating everyone finishing the Rooster Hills Half Marathon. Find your table by the group name on one of the star balloons. We will be starting shortly.”

They split up and walk around the room going up to the tables to read the balloons. “I found our table!” Kat announces.

“Awesome!” Carl yells back at her from across the room.

They all walk over to the table from various spots around the room.

“Look at this gorgeous table setup!” Vicki says to the others.

“Yeah, I like it. Although, I can’t wait to check out the buffet,” Carl responds.

“Did someone say buffet?” Eddie pipes in.

“You better believe it! I love me a great buffet.”

Patricia walks over to Brady, and he hands her the microphone. “Welcome, Welcome, Welcome! Congratulations to one and all. Please have a seat and we will get started. I am going to make this short so that we can get all the tables through the buffet line because I know you all like to eat. That is why we walk and run, is it not?”

“Yes!” The whole room erupts in clapping and response.

“I want to congratulate each and every one of you. What a great accomplishment. Can I have all the first time half marathon finishers please stand up?”

The crowd erupts in applause.

“Please have a seat. Now, Let’s have all those who have done the Rooster Hills Half Marathon every year since 2007 stand,”

More applause from everyone.

“Continue standing and make your way over to the buffet line. Once we get the line down a bit we will have our first year runners and walkers join in and then everyone else. When you hear your group name called, please go to the buffet.” Patricia sits down at the table next to Brady.

Eddie, Carl, Johann, Anna, Vicki, Kat and AJ all go up in line for those that have finished every year. “Look at this awesome spread of food!” Carl points out. “We have Caesar salad, dry rub ribs, fried chicken, red skin potatoes in butter and dill, penne and three cheese pasta, green beans with mushrooms and pearl onions, baby carrots and then there is the dessert table.”

“I am looking forward to the dessert table. It’s always a great reward for our walking,” Kat pipes in.

Carl walks along the buffet table piling the food on his plate. Upon reaching the desserts, he grabs another plate, “now for the goodies, we have lemon meringue pie, marshmallow treats, chocolate cake, banana pudding, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, and sugar cookies.”

They continue along the buffet table, filling the plates and returning to their seats. The only noise in the room is when silverware hits the plates and Brady gets the music going.

“All right everyone, while you are enjoying your meal, I am going to keep the tunes spinning,” says Brady to the crowd.

The waitstaff walks out from the kitchen area, and they go around to each table picking up the plates that people have set aside.

“Are you done with these?” Jaz asks Johann.

“Hey, you were our waitress over at Marinelli’s! Yeah, we are done with these,” he replies looking up at her.

“You are correct. I come over here on special occasions. Catering is something we enjoy doing.”

“We will remember that when we need some catering,” Kat adds. “We love your food all the time.”

Carl joins in, “I am always there for good food. This was the best spread.”

“Have a great evening everyone,” Jaz tells them.

“You too,” they all reply.

She takes the plates off the table and walks towards the kitchen.

Patricia walks up to the microphone. “I hope everyone has enjoyed their dinner and dessert. Now we are going to have some fun. You all did a great job. Brady is going to crank up the music. The dance floor is open for all to dance the night away. Enjoy!” She points to Brady, “let’s get this party cranked up!”

“Alright people, let’s get up on the dance floor! It’s time to get moving and work off that dinner. If you have a specific song that you’d like me to play, just come up and fill out a form and I’ll get that on for you. It is time to let loose and have fun!” he says and then switches over to the music.

The groups get up from the tables and make their way out to the wooden dance floor that is over where the buffet was located.

“I can’t believe this race is over. Which one do we do next?” Carl inquires.

Kat responds, “What a great question. I am not sure. What are our options? How far do we want to travel and how soon do we want to do the next one?”

“Well, it depends on which direction we want to go. Do we want to head south? I am all for heading south,” Eddie adds in.

Vicki pulls out her phone and brings up the list of half-marathons that they have previously created. “Well, the races that are coming up are Nashville, Las Vegas and San Antonio. I personally love Nashville. What do you think?”

Carl notices movement out of the corner of his eye that is from the other side of the banquet room. He turns his head and sees a person in a red hoodie with blue jeans carrying a package that is wrapped in a brown bag. “Hey guys, you are not going to believe this! I just saw that red hoodie again. They just went into the kitchen.”

“You have got to be kidding man,” Johann says to him. “You are crazy and seeing things everywhere we go.”

“No, I am not crazy. I know what I saw. Come on guys, tell him that you saw it too.”

Kat chimes in, “I saw the red hoodie, but that’s it.”

“I saw the red hoodie as well,” Vicki adds.

Anna says, “I saw the red hoodie and the package. I think we need to say something to someone. That could be the person from the expo.”

“Well, who do we tell?” Carl replies.

AJ says, “you can say something to Patricia or we can contact the police.”

They walk up to the table where she is sitting. “Hey Patricia, we wanted to share something with you,” Carl tells her.

“What’s up?” she asks.

“Well, we saw a person in a red hoodie with blue jeans carrying a package wrapped in a brown bag go into the kitchen. You know, like the person that was seen at the expo.” Carl replies.

“Let me give Detective Williams a call. He’ll want to know what you’ve seen. Hold on,” Patricia tells them.

She selects his number on her phone, puts it up to her ear and listens to it ringing.

“Hello?” he answers.

“Hi Detective Williams, this is Patricia with the Rooster Hills Half Marathon. I have a few of my participants that say they have seen the person in the red hoodie here at the celebration night.”

“Ok, have them wait there until I get there. I am just ten minutes away. I’d like to get their statements,” he tells her and ends the call.

Patricia puts her phone down and looks up at the group, “He says he’ll be here in about ten minutes and will want your statements. So, stick around until he gets here. Thanks for letting me know.”

“Ok,” they simultaneously reply, turn around and walk back to their table.

Arriving at their table Jaz meets them there. “Would anyone like anything else? Something to drink?”

“Yeah, bring us some glasses of water with lemon,” AJ tells her.

Turning to everyone she says, “Hopefully Detective Williams will be here shortly. In the meantime, did we decide on a race that we want to do? Nashville, Las Vegas or San Antonio?”

Vicki chimes in, “I am all for Nashville, but would do any of them.”

“Ok, we have one vote for Nashville. Anyone else?” AJ asks.

“Nashville for me,” Kat adds in her choice.

Johann says, “I like Nashville too.”

“I love going to Nashville. I’m up for that,” Anna agrees.

Carl replies, “I agree with Nashville.”

“Looks like we are doing Nashville then,” announces Eddie.

AJ gets out her purple notebook and pen. She opens it and says, “Ok, so we’ll do Nashville. We have eight weeks to get ready. I’ll have you go back on your mileage for a couple of weeks, then thirteen and fourteen miles for a couple of times each and finally back down a bit for the last couple of weeks.”

The door to the banquet hall opens and Detective Williams enters along with Officer Gallagher and Officer Kalama. They walk up to Patricia, “Hey Patricia, where are the ones that saw the red hoodie?” Williams asks her.

“They are over at that table,” Patricia tells him, pointing at the Adventures and Walking group.

“Thanks,” he replies, and they walk over to the Adventures and Walking group.

Arriving at the table, “I am Detective Williams. I remember you guys from the expo. We’ll have you split up and give your statements to the officers and myself, then you can go. Thank you for your cooperation and bringing to our attention what you have seen. I will talk to Carl first.”

“I am Officer Gallagher. I will take whoever wants to go next. Then someone can go with Officer Kalama.”

Carl gets up and goes with Detective Williams, “Let’s sit over here and tell me what you saw tonight.”

“We were making our way to the dance floor and out of the corner of my eye I saw the red hoodie. Then I turned and looked. They had blue jeans and they were carrying a package that was wrapped in a brown paper bag.”

“Anything else?”

“Yeah, they were heading into the kitchen.”

“That’s it?”

“Yep.”

Meanwhile, Kat goes with Officer Gallagher and Anna with Officer Kalama.

Kat says, “I saw a person in a red hoodie head towards the kitchen. That’s all I saw.”

“I saw a person in a red hoodie carrying a package wrapped in a brown paper bag,” Anna tells her.

“Thanks for your help. Anyone else see anything?” Detective Williams asks them.

The rest of them shake their heads no. The detective and officers walk to the kitchen.

Brady announces, “I just want to let everyone know that we have this place until 11 pm. So, come out on the dance floor and enjoy!”

“Come on, let’s goooo,” Carl says, grabbing Anna by the hand.

They all go out on the dance floor and dance song after song until their feet are tired and Brady comes back on, “I want to thank everyone for coming out. Drive home safely and I’ll see you next year!”

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