I'm sitting here naked typing this as fast as I can because I just had the most amazing experience! Tonight I had a few people over for dinner -- something I like to do from time to time. I work, usually eat alone, and don't really see the point of making a fuss about food unless I'm entertaining. So a few weeks ago I called some friends and invited them to a dinner party tonight.
I left work a little early, stopped at the supermarket for the salad ingredients, and got busy in the kitchen. The phone kept ringing and I had to wash a few utensils and then it was time to get dressed but my slacks were a little wrinkled -- not too bad, but I wanted to look nice. I tossed them in the dryer to get out the creases and went back to put the finishing touches on dinner.
Okay: table set, wine chilled, dessert prepared, dinner almost ready. The doorbell rang and a couple I've known since before my divorce were the first to arrive. They joined me in the kitchen -- isn't that where most entertaining takes place nowadays? -- and we talked about mostly nothing while I kept an eye on dinner. The other guests showed up pretty soon, and I popped the bread in the oven to warm it up a bit before we all sat down.
Even though everyone knew each other (except one friend's new boyfriend), it was kind of hard to keep the conversation going. It seemed like every time I turned my back, the conversation came to a complete halt. I wasn't sure what was going on but I figured they were hungry or something and once we sat down, everyone would relax.