Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Microstory 1573: Party of a Lifetime

Prompt
Last night, I tried to have a few people over to watch the season finale, but more people showed up than I expected, and things got way out of hand.

Botner
I wasn’t prepared for that kind of party. I had food, of course, but no hostess gift, no place to put people, and no clue as to what to expect. The shower gifts in particular were way too much: three washers and dryers, six cell phones, two electric grills, and all sorts of other things. I was scrambling around at the end to get the whole thing wrapped and ready to go before 10:00 PM (when the new episodes of House start!). I have no idea who all came. I’m sure most of my current neighbors, and the ones I invited. In fact, there are four people who are sure to come. I have no clue as to who else was invited. At least, I didn’t think so until after I had left. Maybe those four won’t show up. Maybe they weren’t invited. Maybe they don’t know that there’s a party! I’m going to hope that my neighbors will be polite enough to give me a day or two to have a good, clean-up party before they show up for dinner. There’s something about riding along on the big tractor that is so relaxing. It’s...

Conclusion
...not something I did as a child, even though I grew up on a farm. My father didn’t want me to work in the fields. He always said he worked so hard so he could send me to college, where I would presumably figure out what I wanted to do with my own life. I chose to live in the city, and quickly earned enough money so that he could help him retire, and live nearby. He died a few years ago, and I miss him more than anything. I suppose that’s how the party ended up traveling to the farm, where I finally rode on the tractor. I wanted to honor him, and everyone who showed up for the party wanted that for me too. It was then that I discovered the confusion. I got so wrapped up in planning the event that I made an error on the invitations. I said it was for my finale, and didn’t even bother mentioning the show we would be watching. I still think people should have assumed that it was a show, but word somehow spread that I was dying, and this was my farewell. I dunno, that’s not what I would have thought if I were them. Or if I had, I would have tried to confirm it. I suppose a rumor will just take on a life of its own, and even when people question it, no one will be able to give them a decent answer. So I give all those gifts back, and thank them for their concern, while assuring them that I’m quite all right. Still, it was a nice evening, even if it had a strange reason for being, and I’ll remember it forever.

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