An old Flame

I see him there across the room and I see that he still wears that terrible jacket. I look away and smile too widely and laugh too loudly to no-one in particular and hope he notices me but wish he won’t. Heart pounds louder than the jazz and hot blood in my ears and my legs liquefy. And then I order another drink and the gentleman down the bar tips his hat at me and the waiter winks at me and I scrawl a thank-you on the back of an eftpos receipt and I walk away with a Manhattan.
I brush past someone else and I feel a look of heat after me as I swim through The Party.
I sashay and I flirt and I twirl and I dance and I play.
But he is still there across the room.I love that terrible jacket.

what is....?

A party is a gathering of persons who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, and recreation. A party will typically feature eating and drinking, and often music and dancing as well.
Some parties are held in honor of a specific person, day, or event. Parties of this kind are often called celebrations.
A party is not necessarily a private occasion. Public parties are sometimes held in pubs and bars, and people attending such parties may be charged an admission fee by the host.
thanks wiki

Shut the Hell Up

I tried to tell the girl at The Party that it was a great skill and talent to shut the hell up.

She took offence before I could explain.

A sweet thing, with bad roots and overly-straightened (almost singed) hair, she wore a dress that maybe was nice in the nineties and was shooting off her mouth in a loud, proud and awfully abrasive way. She had an opinion on everything and if it happened to you, let her tell you, it happened to her better or worse or more extreme and why are you even talking about your latent life when hers is on show?

The point is, if you want to have a good time at The Party, it is important to do what you can to make sure those around you are having a good time and the objective, after all is said and done, is always simply to have a good time at The Party. Those around you do not want to be made to feel bad about themselves or intimidated or inferior. They want to feel important and interesting and liked. And often this is very simply achieved by shutting the hell up and listening.

And by listening, I do not mean merely refraining from speech (although for my ironed-out, peroxided friend that would be a fabulous start). To listen, really listen, to someone involves an active attention to what they are saying, what they mean, what they want to say and what they won’t say.

And if you can perfect this skill of shutting the hell up and stopping and taking the care and talent to listen life is very different at The Party from what you think... very different indeed.

Popular at The Party

The girl went to the party, but she knew she didn’t know anyone.
She went to the party even though she wasn’t really invited out of will or wish but she was there to fill numbers.
The girl showed me her invite and her name had been spelt incorrectly. She shrugged and said she didn’t mind, she was happy to be here, even if she ultimately knew it had nothing to do with anyone actually wanting her company.
She stood near the bar and swayed to the music.