Now, I'm at this party, right? A company function. It's not quite a high society social event, but there is some money here. There's a few mid to upper level execs, and the part owner of the company, who's the host of this shindig. The rest of us are just tail waggers, putting in an appearance to let the higher ups know we're all part of the team.
The party is 95% couples, and a few singles (all men). I am a part of the later. I won't elaborate about the 101 reasons I got from my wife for not being here. Let's just say that... things at home are sub par at best. That's all I'll say about that.
I'm leaning against the wall, by the table next to the bar sipping a vodka and tomato juice, occasionally snacking on finger food from the table. Just standing there checking my watch, politely waving to co workers as they pass through the room. A few, "How ya doin's?" for the ones passing by that are close enough to hear. For the most part, I am invisible to the masses at this party, just waiting on the polite time to excuse myself and go home.
Through the years, I found that people watching can help make the time pass a little more quickly. As I scan the rooms, I see people in separate huddles. Probably talking about what sucks in this company, how to make it better, what's wrong with the world, and how the local sports teams are playing. Basically, the same office chatter, only now with wives and/ or girlfriends in tow.
As I look to my left, two of the groups have finished whatever the chat session was about. They all start going their separate ways. It's then I notice this nice looking woman standing alone next to the fireplace. She looks to be in her late 30's, medium to light blond shoulder length hair. She's wearing a modest evening dress that shows that she has a good figure, not that of a playmate, but she doesn't hurt the eyes. She's about 5'4" tall , maybe about a buck twenty five weight wise. She looks like she exercises to keep in shape, but doesn't use weights. My guess is that she has had a few kids along the way, and keeps herself in shape mostly for these events to make hubby look good.
She is an interesting people watch because she is staring into another room, sipping the wine and nibbling on here cuticles. She would probably be biting her nails, if she hadn't just gotten them done. Although her eyes are fixed on her subject, there is no sparkle in them. Her facial expression and body language is that of one who is depressed, or lacking confidence. Not that I'm an expert, it's just the way she looks to me.
I look over to try to get an idea as to who or what has her attention. All I see is a group of 7-8 men huddling. In less than a minute, the huddle disbands and splits off in all directions. I return my focus back to the woman, and see her eyes widen. I know now who she was staring at. Seems that her hubby is a guy named Frank, a mid level exec, in his early 40's, with a reputation of doing whatever it takes to get to the top. He stepped on a few toes to get where he is, and it's no surprise that he will step on more in his quest. He's a clean cut guy, close to 6' tall, brown hair and appears to be in good shape. I guess you would call him handsome to an extent. Coming from a guy, it's the best I can come up with.
My dealings with him are minimal, some small chat here and there, and some guy talk while getting coffee. He doesn't have a warm personality, he is just determined in his work and that's it. I try to dismiss office rumors as just that, a rumor, until I know from the source that it is a fact. A few have gone around about Frank and an extremely young secretary, just out of high school. I can't confirm this rumor to say it is true, so it'll stay a rumor. However, if I was to make a guess about it, it would be something I wouldn't put past the guy.
Frank walks up to his wife and her demeanor is unchanged. He scans the room to see if anyone is looking. Just in case he may need a Kodak moment to make it a good show. I guess he didn't get his moment, because with out saying a word to his wife, he gives her a quick peck on the cheek, and walks away. She has a look of despair as she watches him disappear into another part of the house. As he gets out of eyesight for her, she drops her head in disappointment, then notices her wine glass is empty.
I look at my watch and say to myself, "Hey! That took up 6 minutes! I can start going over my exit lines now. I'll do one more scan of the room, then I'm out of here."
As I look to scan the room, I'm kinda surprised to see Frank's wife standing close to me at the bar, ordering another glass of wine. As I examine her more at close range, I notice that she has very pretty blue eyes. Ones that should sparkle all the time. Still, hers didn't. It occurred to me that no amount of wine could bring that sparkle to them either. I felt sad for her, being at this party with her husband, yet she was here all by herself.
I was interrupted from my deep analogy of the situation by someone saying, "You know, there's food right next to you on the table. That straw you're chewing has probably lost it's flavor by now." It was Franks wife.
Trying to compose myself and hide my embarrassment, also looking for a reasonable reply I said, "Yep . I'm guilty of being a straw chewer. It's a family trait, going back in my family for centuries."
She laughed and said, " Hi, I'm Lisa Campbell, I'm Frank's wife."
"Nice meeting you," I said. "I'm Mike."
"Hi Mike," was her reply, then silence. An awkward silence of maybe 15 - 20 seconds.
"You seem to be doing a good job of holding up that wall," she said. " Is that a family trait too?"
"No," I said. "Just kinda waiting here to till the window of opportunity opens to head for home."
"You're lucky you get that opportunity. We will be the last to leave."
"Too bad, I'll keep you in my thoughts when my head hits the pillow."
She giggled. "Would you mind passing some time before your departure by walking outside with me? I need a little fresh air."
"Sure," I said, " I can't think of any better way to pass the time." Her eyebrows rose a little with my sappy, and not well thought out reply.
I'm sure I was one big blush after I realized what I had just said.
No words were spoken as we walked to the back of the house and out onto the veranda.
I just want to say at this point that I'm not the stud type. Just an average looking guy, Italian, stocky, and unfortunately quickly approaching the half century mark. My exercise is running around with my kids. I have somewhat of a spare tire that I carry around, slightly thinning black hair. You get the picture. The best trait that I have that I pride myself on this, I work hard at being a nice guy. A caring and considerate person with a somewhat offbeat sense of humor.
In the shadows, where only my mind can take me. I am somewhat of a sexual deviant, living in fantasy of romantic interludes of intense passion and desire. It was impossible to contain these thoughts as we walked to the veranda.
We both looked out into the darkness as though each of us were alone again. She broke the silence by almost blurting out, " I see that your married, but you're alone tonight; everything ok?"
I gave her that "don't go there" look, and she seemed to understand.
The next 45 minutes were spent talking about life and raising kids over 2 more glasses of wine. She never openly admitted how unhappy she was. However, she left a good amount of clues during our conversation. To be honest, we had a great talk. It really did keep my mind from wandering to the dark side. I don't know if it was the wine or what, but she was kinda funny and witty. She spoke with great love about her 2 girls.
She then announced that she was getting a chill, and needed to go inside.
Although it was not too late, I was getting tired. I figured I'd walk her in and politely say my goodbyes.
When we got into the house she scanned the room looking for Frank .. I suppose while getting her wine, I never did see him, and he never came out to look for her. He was no where in site. When she realized this, her knees started to buckle, and I wondered if she know about the rumor.
I grabbed her right arm for support. It was then that she looked at me as more than a conversationalist. There was a little fire in her eyes, I assumed from anger, never the less, it was still there.
She looked at me for a few seconds then proclaimed, " I need to pee. Do you know where the bathroom is?"
I giggled at her and said, "Sure."
We walked down a hallway where the bathroom was. The door was locked. She let me know that waiting wasn't an option. After opening 3 more doors in that hallway we found a bedroom, unoccupied, with its own bathroom.
I walked her through the bedroom to the bathroom, turned on the light for her, and made sure she was in ok.
I was going to pardon myself and leave when she said, " Would you mind standing guard till I'm done? This sliding door doesn't have a lock on it."
