Birthday Party, 12 February 1989
Meg's twentieth birthday party is the day before her actual birthday, because Sunday afternoon is an easier time for university students to gather than Monday evening. It is, at Meg's request, small and very casual -- a dozen people, some bowls of popcorn and chips, a cake, drinks, games. There are two rules -- presents can't cost more than $5, and no one is allowed to talk about school.
It's an easy mix of people, most of whom have at least met each other before. Alain and Carrie's boyfriend, Stephen, have been around long enough to know the girls' friends, and Carrie invites Jared and Bill, who live across the hall, so that "the boyfriends" won't be the only guys there. Meg suspects Ed Marriner has been invited to throw him in the path of Wendy, who is more Carrie's friend than Meg's, and who is recently single again -- they are paired for a lot of games. Meg is not sure why Carrie is so determined to find Ed a girlfriend, but she thinks Wendy stands a better chance than Olivia did.
(Olivia's PADJ -- Petit Ami Du Jour, Carrie's term for whomever Olivia is dating at any given moment -- is not invited. Meg isn't sure if that's because Olivia doesn't figure she'll go out with him long enough to bother introducing him to her friends, or if she still feels guilty about Roe-bear, the last of her PADJs who came to a party at their apartment.)
Olivia gives Meg a plastic tiara set with purple "jewels," which Meg is promptly made to wear for the rest of the party. Alain gives her a bright red sports car, all of 6cm long, and reminds her that he did warn her he was going to buy her a car. She gets a book of crossword puzzles from Carrie, a tiny stuffed elephant from her friend Farrah, a magnet of Montreal from Ed, tea and pens and candy and bookmarks. A proper assortment of Under $5 Gifts.
The party runs longer than the "couple of hours" Carrie planned, as heading into the cold and the school week is easily postponed for ordering pizza and continuing with charades and Trivial Pursuit and a viciously cutthroat game of Uno. Meg, by virtue of being the Birthday Queen (crown and all) is empowered midway through to make all decisions about the rules, and how close an answer can be and still be right, and who's cheating at what. She threatens to be whimsical and arbitrary in her decisions, but no one is surprised when she doesn't make good on that particular threat.
The party only starts to break up after seven, and the last guests don't leave till nearly ten (Alain and Stephen, though by then they are no so much guests as clean up help).
All in all, it is a perfectly lovely way to celebrate the end of her teenage years, in Meg's opinion.
It's an easy mix of people, most of whom have at least met each other before. Alain and Carrie's boyfriend, Stephen, have been around long enough to know the girls' friends, and Carrie invites Jared and Bill, who live across the hall, so that "the boyfriends" won't be the only guys there. Meg suspects Ed Marriner has been invited to throw him in the path of Wendy, who is more Carrie's friend than Meg's, and who is recently single again -- they are paired for a lot of games. Meg is not sure why Carrie is so determined to find Ed a girlfriend, but she thinks Wendy stands a better chance than Olivia did.
(Olivia's PADJ -- Petit Ami Du Jour, Carrie's term for whomever Olivia is dating at any given moment -- is not invited. Meg isn't sure if that's because Olivia doesn't figure she'll go out with him long enough to bother introducing him to her friends, or if she still feels guilty about Roe-bear, the last of her PADJs who came to a party at their apartment.)
Olivia gives Meg a plastic tiara set with purple "jewels," which Meg is promptly made to wear for the rest of the party. Alain gives her a bright red sports car, all of 6cm long, and reminds her that he did warn her he was going to buy her a car. She gets a book of crossword puzzles from Carrie, a tiny stuffed elephant from her friend Farrah, a magnet of Montreal from Ed, tea and pens and candy and bookmarks. A proper assortment of Under $5 Gifts.
The party runs longer than the "couple of hours" Carrie planned, as heading into the cold and the school week is easily postponed for ordering pizza and continuing with charades and Trivial Pursuit and a viciously cutthroat game of Uno. Meg, by virtue of being the Birthday Queen (crown and all) is empowered midway through to make all decisions about the rules, and how close an answer can be and still be right, and who's cheating at what. She threatens to be whimsical and arbitrary in her decisions, but no one is surprised when she doesn't make good on that particular threat.
The party only starts to break up after seven, and the last guests don't leave till nearly ten (Alain and Stephen, though by then they are no so much guests as clean up help).
All in all, it is a perfectly lovely way to celebrate the end of her teenage years, in Meg's opinion.