My wife and I were invited to a friend's house for a party. It was the middle of another cold winter in Chicago. Hey, in late January after the holidays we all need a pick-me-up.
We asked if there was anything we could bring.
"Just bring yourselves. It will be a fun night, I guarantee that," Jane said a week before.
So, the next Saturday around 8 p.m., Marie and I bundled up and drove the short distance, maybe 10 minutes, across our western suburb to Jane's house.
Jane lived in a raised ranch that, frankly, had more space than our modest three-bedroom home. I was always kind of jealous. A nice layout. A good party house.
You walk in the back door, up a few steps into the kitchen. Her office and bedroom were to the left. Down the hall to the right was a bathroom, and a guest room, with a living room to the left of the guest room.
Downstairs, to the left of the door, was pretty basic. Unfinished but she had some couches, chairs and a big-screen TV which made it a nice place to hang out.
When we arrived, we noticed quite a few cars parked on the block and in her long driveway that runs the length of her property back to the garage.
"Looks like a full house. We will meet some new people," I said.
Marie agreed.
"Steve, I know Joan and Chris will be here, along with some of Jane's friends," Marie said.
We parked far down the block, hustled through the 10-degree air, partly to stay warm, partly because we looked forward to a fun night.
"Welcome! Come on in," read a sign taped to the back door.
We opened the door. Right away, I heard party noises of people laughing and talking downstairs, to our left, and upstairs, to our right.
We headed up and were warmly greeted by Jane, who took our heavy coats and placed them in her office.
Jane and Marie hugged. Jane also gave me a nice hug.
"So glad you made it. You'll have fun tonight," she said.
"Wow, what a turnout," Marie said, glancing around the room.
"Yeah, I guess folks are ready to shake the winter doldrums," Jane said with a smile.
I looked around and saw some familiar faces and some I did not recognize. There had to be 30 or 35 people in the house. There was a electric feeling in the air.
One thing I like about parties is meeting people, perhaps making new friends It looked like we would.
"There are beers in the cooler, wine in the fridge. You can enjoy mixed drinks, too," Jane said, brushing back her hair.
There were a bunch of munchies on the kitchen table.
Ah, the kitchen.
Don't know about you, but that always seems to be a popular place during a party because - of course - that's where the treats are found.
Marie poured herself a glass of red wine and I grabbed a cold beer.
We helped ourselves to two small plates of munchies - love those jalepeno poppers - and began to walk around the house seeing old friends and introducing ourselves to new people.
It was a lot of fun, a great way to break up a boring cold January Saturday night.
I saw some people I recognized from church and around our village. The polite nods were exchanged.
Terry, a casual friend from the fitness center said, "Wow, great to see you. Didn't expect to see you two at this kind of party."
I shook his hand and shrugged, not knowing what "this kind of party" meant.
Eventually, we made our way back to the kitchen - the goodies were tasty - and settled there for a while visiting with people
When we were standing along one wall of the kitchen, opposite the table, a couple walked up and introduced themselves as Susan and David.
They looked to be a few years younger - we had just hit our 50s - and said they had recently moved into town.
"How do you know Jane?" Marie asked.
"Oh, we ran into each other at Pilates, chatted after class one day. We realized we had a lot in common and have had coffee together," Susan said.
"We've been together a few times. Jane is really nice and we get along great," she said.
David nodded.
"They sure do," he said as Susan playfully pinched his arm.
"And it's nice to make new friends in a new town. That's one of the reasons we are here tonight," David said.
"I couldn't agree more," I said. "We've lived in town for a long time and it's easy to get stuck in a rut doing the same old same old."
Marie nodded.
"Well," Susan said with a smile, "the same old, same old shouldn't be a problem here tonight."
Marie smiled, took a sip of wine and began chatting with Susan while I talked about Chicago's sports teams with David.
David, was about my height, 6-foot-2, had dark hair neatly combed and was clean shaven. He looked like he worked out often.
Susan stood maybe 5-foot-6 and had long dark brown hair. She had "the nice curvy body," as one friend would say. She wore black jeans and red sweater.
Since I'm describing people...
Marie is 5-foot-2 and 130 pounds. She wore her brown hair in a short attractive style. I sometimes kid her that she should go longer again, but she says it's too much work. Oh, well, I'm a typical guy.
As for me, I am 6-foot-2 and weigh 225. Not an Olympic athlete, but not bad shape either as I work out three to four days a week at the town's fitness center.
Eventually all four of us were talking with one another about typical suburban things like home improvements, kids, vacation plans and upcoming concerts.
i noticed Susan and David were easy to talk with, like old friends, and, yes, easy on the eyes. Susan was a warm person who touches your arm when she talks. A welcome, friendly gesture.
That's when things took an interesting turn.
"It's 10 o'clock, folks, let's get this party started," Jane said in a loud voice.
"Started?" Marie mouthed to me, eyebrows raised.
Jane held up a large glass bowl that was filled with folded slips of paper.
I figured that was some kind of game - trivia, perhaps - and watched the bowl being passed around.
Each person or couple would take a slip of paper from the bowl.
I saw one woman we know, she had been a teacher at our kids' grade school, grab a piece of paper, unfold it, and smile. She was maybe 40, young with blond hair and a cute petite figure.
She and her husband - who had played high school football - then walked over to another couple, maybe 10 years older.
I recognized the man as a local store owner and his wife as the operator of a food pantry for the needy.
After some nods and laughter, they strolled into Jane's bedroom - the wives holding hands - and closed the door.
In the corner of my eye, I noticed an older couple embracing and kissing a young woman.
