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. I don’t remember why, but for some reason, Holly could make it to this but not the hike.

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 once I explained what I was trying to do.

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 felt like a really vulnerable moment for me, but it panned out very well.

At the end of the party, Holly was slightly too drunk to drive home. Nour was the second-last to leave, scanned the situation, and decided that Holly was safe left there with me; so he departed. I was sitting in an armchair, and Holly was laying on the adjacent couch. We decided to watch an episode of a show while she sobered - S1E1 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 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.