We arrive at the party right at start time. There's maybe 10-15 people there and I can feel it's going to be an awkward two hours for me. The kids find some other kids and are off playing and I'm making small talk with the couple of people I have met before. The party ends up being a good time for the staff, the kids have fun and I don't hate it but by the end I'm ready to leave, it's Friday night and I'm ready to relax in my chair at home.
My wife finds me sitting near the exit keeping an eye on the kids running around outside the door.
"Some of the girls want to go out for some drinks after, we could ask my parents to watch the kids for a bit if you want to go?"
"I'll just take the kids home with me and you go with the girls." I say. I'm wearing my work clothes and don't want to go through the hassle of running the kids across town unplanned.
My wife asks if I'm sure, I reply yes, go it's your Christmas party and you never go out with the girls it should be fun. She tells me she will go for a couple drinks and someone will drop her home.
Over the next 4 or so hours I get a couple of texts here and there. I can tell she has had more than a couple as the sentences are starting to become harder to decipher. Finally I get in bed as it's not almost midnight and the kids don't understand the idea of sleeping in. Just as I'm about to drift off I get a text. "I'm on way home". I think about going to sleep for a minute but decide to get up and see what kind of state she is in.