From Diamond to Coal

Chapter Four

 CHAPTER FOUR

"So, RJ's your best friend?" Alan asked, reaching out to take a carrot stick off the tray.

"Yes," William said, snagging a cherry tomato for himself. It was sweet and tart at the same time and burst across his tongue. "He looks a bit like Richie Cunningham, so try not to mention anything about Opie or anything like that around him. He's very sensitive of his red hair and I'm the only one allowed to make fun of him."

Alan laughed and shook his head. "Opie? Really?"

William shrugged. "Yeah. Like a lot. They totally could be twins separated by a few decades."

"And you guys met at school?" Alan clarified.

"We went to the same college," William said. "He's like two years older, but I graduated a year ahead of him. We were both in the prodigy program."

"Huh," Alan said. "So should I be intimidated?"

William snorted. "No! RJ's probably the most relaxed guy you're ever going to meet. I don't know about the girl he's dating now--she's new--but RJ himself is a great guy."

"Okay. Best friend, great guy, check." Alan loudly crunched on another carrot.

William probably should have told him to leave the food until their guests arrived, but he couldn't help sneaking some more tomatoes himself. It wasn't like RJ was going to mind or anything. He'd once given William a half-eaten gift basket with the wide-eyed excuse of "I got hungry."

The doorbell rang and William hurried over to answer it.

RJ was standing on the Welcome mat with a tall, willowy brunette in a too short skirt and inappropriate spiked heels. She looked like she'd dressed to go clubbing, then got dragged to a boring dinner party instead.

"Hey, come on in!" William said expansively, opening the door wide.

RJ grinned at him in passing, but headed right over to Alan. "So you're that Alan guy I've been hearing so much about?" He examined Alan closely. "You don't exactly look like a paragon of virtue."

"I leave that with my other hat," Alan deadpanned.

RJ laughed. "You're cool. I like that." He held out his hand. "Richard Jensen Long, RJ to the world at large."

"Alan Trent. It's nice to meet you." Alan had a firm handshake that he'd probably practiced for hours on his constituents. It was just the right amount of firm and comforting without ever crossing the line into facetiousness.

"Hey, great to meet you. This is Leslie," RJ gestured his date forward to get a shake of her own. He knew enough not to volunteer William for handshakes.

"Nice to meet you," Leslie said in her little girl's voice.

William blinked. In her current outfit he hadn't recognized her, but the sound of her voice was familiar. "You're in the linguistics department," he said.

She gave him a surprised look. "Yeah. Dr. Leslie Nielson."

"Huh." He hadn't realized that she worked for him. "It's nice to meet you."

"We've met before at the all department meeting last month," she said. "That's where I met RJ."

"Oh, nice," he said. He gave RJ a bright smile. "Well, dinner's going to be ready in about twenty minutes. There's stuff to eat until then." He waved at the platter of sliced vegetables and dip and the large bowl of chips.

"My favorite." Rj reached out to take a handful of cone shaped snack chips out of the bowl. "Where the hell did you get this many Bugles?"

William shrugged. "I am very wealthy. I went to the grocery store."