the
PARTY
by Clare O’Brien
Crazy.
Sheet: 88 Back - File: merged.pdf [215.89999999999998mm X 279.4mm]
That’s what I was: crazy, for agreeing to go to Ruthie’s engagement party. Of course, it wouldn’t have been a big deal if the party had been scheduled for a month ago, when Mark and I were still together. Now it was simply embarrassing, shameful, having to show up alone. Ruthie never had any trouble keeping her man—she and Stanley had been high school sweethearts, going steady since they were paired together for an experiment in ninth grade science class. The two of them had been exchanging glances and coy smiles for months. We used to joke, Ruthie and I, that she was learning about chemistry in more ways than one! Anyway, now they were engaged to be married, and I had to go to their fancy cocktail soirée to celebrate, and all our classmates from high school would be there. And frankly, I was anxious about the whole thing. The party was in Ruthie’s parents’ backyard, and it had been meticulously decorated—white floral garlands wrapped around the columns of the gazebo, glass tables brimming with hors d’oeuvres and desserts. Perfect, just like Ruthie. Speaking of—
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GLAZE
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