"Beer or Baileys?" asked Cassandra. She held out a can of Budweiser in one hand a bottle of Baileys in the other.
"Think I'll start with beer," said Lucy. She took the can from Cassie and popped the tab. It foamed briefly and she put her mouth over the top of the can. She leaned forward so most of the beer went into her mouth or onto her floor of the bus.
"Good work!" said Amber. "Save the skirt!"
"Nice skirt," said April.
"Well, it's actually a dress, but I'm cold," said Lucy. "You guys look great, though!"
"Let's see the full effect," said Amber. "Take the fleece off for a second."
"Maybe in a bit."
"I'll turn the oven back on," said April.
"Do you want something to eat?" asked Cassandra. "I'll get you a plate of lasagne if you want."
"I'll get it," said Lucy.
"No," said Cassandra. "It's no trouble. I should check what's going on out there anyway." She walked down the steps into the dining tent.
"Show us the dress," said April.
"Okay," said Lucy. She took off her fleece and put it beside her on the freezer. She hopped down. She gave a little twirl, then curtsied.
"That's gorgeous," said Amber.
"In a kind of Beverly Hill Billies kind of way," said April. "I can see why you need the fleece."
"I think it's fantastic!" said Amber. "Where did you find it?"
Down in the dining tent, the party was in full swing now. Cassandra put some lasagne on a plate. The garlic bread was gone now. She noticed that Joe and Brendan had moved from beside the wood stove. She could just make them out through the crowd at the office table at the back of the tent. They were looking at maps.
One of the lasagne pans was empty. Cassandra took it and the plate she had just prepared up to the cookbus. Lucy took the plate and hopped up on the counter.
"Thanks," she said.
"Nice dress," said Cassandra. She put the empty pan across the sink and ran some water into it.
"It's Value Village," said Lucy.
"They always have the best stuff," said Amber. She was wearing a long red sheath dress with long white gloves that came up past her elbows. "If you ever need a ballgown for under ten bucks, Value Village is the place to find it."
"True," said April. "It's where I shop for almost all of my formal wear for the bush. Which, I guess, really, is all my formal wear."
Lucy stood up. "I think I'm going to go eat at a table. Thanks for the beer."
Cassandra took a drag of her cigarette. "No problem," she said.
Lucy walked down the steps into the dining tent. Cassandra watched as she made her way through the crowd to the office table in back. Brendan looked up as Lucy sat next to him.
April touched Cassandra on the knee. "We should make some popcorn," she said. "We've got 2 kilos of the stuff. It's good party food."
Cassandra put out her cigarette in the can she used as an ashtray. "Sure," she said. "Popcorn. Pop, pop, popcorn. Always a hit."
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