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***
She sips her tepid coffee and reads the newspaper, trying to decide what to do after the bills are paid and some sort of dinner is prepared. The house echoes heavily with memories of past birthdays, some bright, some dark, all sharing the presence of other people. Making a face, she takes a marking pen and circles a movie as the best alternative to a solo evening of television or mingling with anonymous strangers at a bar.
As she sits up and sighs, the quiet is broken by the abrupt ringing of the telephone. The voice at the other end is familiar, one of her office colleagues, a friend if not a close friend, for she has not allowed herself the danger of close friends since he left.
"What are you doing tonight?" Her normally attractive face creases into a frown, the question an unwanted reminder of the malaise and anomie assailing her. "I was going to catch that new Adam Sandler movie..." she begins, but her colleague dismisses her plans with unexpected enthusiasm. "Oh forget *that*, there's always a new Adam Sandler movie. I'm having a little get-together tonight, and you simply *must* come!"
The phrase "simply must", echoing as it does the image of blonde debutantes and Junior League members, would normally elicit a polite but firm dismissal. On the other hand, there *is* always another Adam Sandler movie, and the tone of excitement in the other woman's voice is at least intriguing. Her attempts to clarify the nature of the get-together are politely but effectively sidestepped, and directions are given with a target of eight o'clock.
She hangs up the phone, wondering briefly at the unexpected gesture of friendship, then shakes off most of her mood and heads to the study to take care of the household finances.
Dinner, when the time comes, is a diet tray from the frozen food section of the grocery store. The microwave, she sometimes thinks, is the recluse's best friend. Once the table is cleared, the question now arises, what to wear? The simple housedress that suffices during the day indoors is of course out of the question, even had the invitation specified "come as you are." Lacking any helpful suggestions, she rummages through her closet and puts together a simple ensemble, comfortable pants with a blue-and-purple shaded pattern blouse, one that neither hides nor accentuates her figure. She checks her watch; yes, on schedule. A visit to the bathroom to brush her teeth, and she picks up purse and keys for her first outing in quite some time.
