CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

Arc

"Don't worry, dear. Sarah doesn't bite," Doris's soothing voice reassured him. She had led them to a quieter, more secluded corner with less music and fewer people. They all sat around a round table, large enough to accommodate them, but Arc remained standing.

"I'd be down in the dumps if I were you, boy," Doris said with a chuckle. "Your lover boy is going to emerge from there, chafed."

"He's not my lover boy," Arc snarled, swirling around to face Ethel with a warning growl. "He's not my lover boy," he repeated, his voice low and even.

"Don't go pointing those fangs at me, boy, I ain't scared of you," Ethel shot back, her tone defiant.

"Ethel, why don't you let the young man be?" Gertrude intervened, her voice calm and soothing.

"We can't take you anywhere without you causing a scene... or a war," Doris added, her tone exasperated.

"Ursula had started it," Ethel defended, her voice rising.

"You should've lef