YOU...YES, YOU...ARE INVITED

What: Melissa's 28th Birthday

When: Saturday, April 29th...8pm to ?

Theme: (VERY IMPORTANT) "Come As You Were: the Reincarnation Party"

Explanation: Please attend in the costume of whoever or whatever you were in a past life. No, I'm not kidding. :-) Creativity counts--and a prize will be awarded for the best costume! I'll even give an extra cup of my festive punch."

And what happened between? Well, that's the story, isn't it?

After being maimed for life by my cat, I went to the station, first stopping off at the camera store for film, then being late and missing my train by seven minutes, except that I had mis-read the schedule and I was actually fifteen minutes early.

Got to the station where Kate picked me up with no undue trauma, except for the fact that I went to the exact opposite end of the station than where she was and sort of looking around until I saw this tiny, waving dot far far away, and walked all the way back to meet her.

We went to the mall so that Kate could get a present for herself and Holden and Corina and Wes to give Melissa, because there's nothing like leaving it 'till the last minute! Not that I am one to talk, since I had made the photo art thing that I was giving her, the night before. Late the night before.

We went into every store, then into the toy store where we looked at every single thing before getting the Obi-Wan Kenobi Interactive Talking Bank that swings its light saber around when you press the button, which is hilarious, because it seems like he's trying to batter his way out of the box.

"You just wait...right...there and as soon as I get...out...of...this...box, I'm going to give you such a smacking!"

We also stopped for lunch, got seamed stocking for Kate's costume (Dorothy Parker), and I got two small gifts to add to my big one, 'cause I was starting to feel as though it wasn't enough (I showed it to Kate at her house and said "Is she going to have to say that her niece made it? Does it look like it was whipped up by loving hands at home?").

We went back to Kate's place, and I met Holden. He seemed nice, but was a bit annoyed that we had eaten and he hadn't and didn't want any of the food in the house, so Kate and I went to the supermarket and picked up a Salisbury Steak TV dinner and brought it back.

We were running late, so I started wrapping my presents in Hanukkah paper while Kate got ready.

My costume was easy--I went as Diane Arbus (though nobody at the party asked me, so I think I was perceived as not having a costume at all, 'cause i'm so subtle and stuff) which meant that I had my camera around my neck and I drew slash marks on my wrists, 'cause she killed herself.

When Wes and Corina arrived (dressed as a bee and a Hindi lady, respectively), Corina wrapped the talking bank, while Wes broke the thermometer on the table--the tall kind with the coloured glass balls suspended in what turned out to be kerosene.

He was horrified, as he kept repeating "I knew it was there! It's always there!" I told him that he saved me from doing it, as I tend to be the one most likely in any room to smash things filled with kerosene.

We finally left, late, as we were planning on arriving early to be there when Melissa's mom met John (Melissa's new boyfriend) for the first time, but between the mall, the Salisbury steak, turning into Dorothy Parker, and the thermometer, we were a bit off schedule.

"What reason should be give Melissa for being late?"
"We could tell her that you took too long to get ready!"
"No, that's not the right answer."

Well, if she noticed that we were a couple of hours behind our time, she said not a word. She looked absolutely beautiful, too, as a Lady of the Court (possibly Guinevere, but I can't remember what she had said in an entry). Probably she didn't notice because she was so happy that John was there.

The party was in three rooms--the drinking-in-the-kitchen room, the dancing-in-Steve's-room (and at one point singing all the songs from Grease 2) room and the watching-the-ball-game-in-the-living-room room. I pretty much stayed with Holden and Corina and Wes and John in the living room, even though I could give two shits about the Phillies or the Braves.

It was hilarious to see John and Holden strut and argue about their teams. They were basically raising their crests at each other, and at one point I suggested that they just unzip and get the ruler and we could end the discussion once and for all, but mostly I was helpless with laughter. Holden's Philly accent got much more pronounced whenever he talked about the team.

I really liked them both. I expected to like John, because even though some of Melissa's hyperbole about him could have been because her eyes are clouded by love, she's a sensible girl and if she was that crazy about him he had to be a swell guy.

Holden, I didn't like that much. In reading about him, I found that I wanted to smack him on more than one occasion (mostly because he reminds me of myself and not much is more annoying than seeing your bad traits in others), and the whole Salisbury Steak incident struck me as being unnecessary and passive-aggressive, but in sitting in that room with him for four hours, I really liked him alot. He is terribly funny and sarcastic, and I just really liked his style.

I hoped that he and Kate would be able to work through their problems.

Anyway, I just laughed for hours, as everyone was riffing off of each other so well (Wes and Corina should do a double act), until finally, at 1a, Wes decided that it was time to go, and I was sent in search of Kate.

I found her dancing with Steve (Melissa's roommate) in the disco room and told her to come on.

"No!"
"Wes wants to go.
"I don't care!"
"Well, it's his car..."
"O, alright, let me say goodbye to everyone."

So, we were waiting for her in the living room, and I kept running into other rooms to steer her towards the door, but then, she disappeared. And Holden went out like a shot into the back, and then we heard "What the FUCK do you think you're doing!"

You know that scene at the end of Sense and Sensibility, where Edward tells Eleanor that he's not married and the whole family rushes, while trying to appear casual, out of the room? It was like that. Only with more instances of the word "fuck" being yelled.

After a bit, Kate ran from the back door, straight though the apartment and out the front. Melissa, Corina and I leapt up and followed her, and wee all sat on the front stairs holding her as she keened. We were like the Weeping Sabine Women. It was as though something had died, and something had.

You see, Holden had caught Kate kissing another guy on the back steps, and told her that he had slept with this other girl two weeks ago. And Kate was devastated. Melissa and Corina were crying as well, but I am the type that keeps her head when all about them are losing their, so I didn't. I truly admire that level of empathy, though, and wish that I could do that as well, but I guess it's because I'm around kids so much.

We stayed out there for a long time, just holding her and helping her mourn, then Corina and Wes took Holden home and promised to get my things, and Kate and I spent the night at Melissa's house.

There is more to the story, but I have to go to work. I will, however, finish it tonight, and not in a new entry, but a continuation of this one, so reload the page in about ten hours or so.

Today's horoscope:
Someone dear encourages your extravagance. Fun is fine, but don't get carried away!

One year ago today:
One guy absolutely refused to show me where the door was, until I demonstrated by feeling all around the walls of the room we were in that I really truly couldn't find it.

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Last Updated Mon 1 May 10:34:09 2000