"I didn't come here to live in the past," Alexis said truthfully. "I'm willing to work on our relationship if you are."
"You're my daughter. Of course, I am."
Softening, Alexis gave her mother an impromptu kiss on the cheek which neither expected. "Don't wait up."
"Have a nice time, dear."
Alexis popped her head into the family room to say goodbye to her father, but he was snoring away in his chair. She placed her wrap around her shoulders and headed out the door.
Alexis had rejected Tyler's offer to pick her up so she could arrive a bit later. In part, she wanted to give him time alone with his friends, but, more than that, she felt that arriving together implied they were a couple.
She drove her mother's golf cart to the Flamingo Key neighborhood on the south side of the island. The house was closer than Gatsby's and she found it easily. Navigating Mangrove Island wasn't difficult at the worst of times. It was a far cry from the higgledy piggledy streets of London. Sometimes she wondered how she managed to find anywhere in that sprawling metropolis. Initially, she'd found it exciting to explore the forgotten side streets and cobblestone alleyways. Over time, it became a nuisance to live in a city without a grid system where, even after years of living there, she continued to carry a city map with her at all times. She appreciated Mangrove Island's simplicity now in a way that she hadn't before.
The Keeler house was obvious as soon as she turned the corner onto White Oak Lane. It was the house with about twenty golf carts parked in front of it, some on the neatly manicured lawn. Alexis hoped that Tyler wasn't one of the thoughtless guests to damage those lovely blades of grass. Somehow, she knew that he wasn't. She heard noise from the backyard but couldn't see over the tall fence.
On the way to the front door, she stopped to smooth her dress and unpeel a few stray hairs from her cheek. Then she took a deep breath and forged ahead.
The party was crowded, spilling out into the backyard where lights blazed and various outdoor games were set up. No one seemed to recognize Alexis so she maneuvered her way through the house with a smile plastered on her face but no actual conversation. She spied Tyler immediately, a beer in one hand and a horseshoe in the other. He was mid-throw when he saw her through the sliding glass door and he nearly clocked the guy next to him with the end of the horseshoe.