Potemkin Party
Written on 12/29/2024 about the events of ~Dec 2022.
At the end of November, I attempted to organize a hike. I texted Holly about it and she said she was “10000% down in the future” but was out of town that day. As the day of the hike approached, the weather forecast got worse, and I began to pivot the plans to a game night instead. As the game night was the night before (or something like that), Holly could make it.
This was going to be the first real party I’d thrown at my house, and I was quite nervous. Holly was definitely the target of the gathering; most of the other guests were in on it. I recruited some women from work, Becky and Riya, who I barely knew at the time, in order to make the party more balanced. They were hesitant, but willing to help me in the spirit of love.
On the day of the party, everyone showed up and had a great time. It was the best party I’d thrown to that point. The game were fun, my cocktail compositions were good, the music was well-liked. It was a really vulnerable moment for me, but it came together really well and I was very pleased.
At the end of the party, Holly was slightly too drunk to drive home. Nour was the second-last to leave; as he walked out the door, he scanned the situation, and decided that Holly was safe left there with me; so he left. I was sitting in an armchair, and Holly was laying on the couch nearby. We decided to watch an episode of a show while she sobered up; we chose episode 1 of Wednesday, which had just debuted on Netflix. During the whole show I was stressing, trying to find a way to slide closer to her, but it wasn’t really working. Good thing it didn’t; I know now that any move like that would’ve been far too fast for her.
After the episode, she was sober enough to depart, and she left quickly. I was both disappointed and happy about this; I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do next. I was very tired, but very proud - that party felt like a turning point in my social life. I had coordinated about 12 people to help me, and they’d all had a great time.