Trisha’s head was spinning. She tried to keep her tears back. It would be rude to refuse him, wouldn’t it? Besides, what else was there to do? She kept quiet and nodded, afraid that Sid might hear that she was on the edge of crying. They both walked side by side to the dance floor. Sid put his hand on her upper back and took her right hand. Trisha put her hand on his shoulders. His perfume smelled masculine and sweet, which made her heart beat faster. She could feel his hand on her back which gave her a tingly feeling. She felt butterflies in her stomach and forgot all about her tears. 

“You are a great dancer, Trisha,” Sid looked into her eyes.

 “Thank you,” she said in a soft voice. She noticed that his eyes were calm and gentle. His smile was to die for, and his eyes sparkled.

From the corner of her eyes, Trisha noticed Jen staring at them. She didn’t look amused. Trisha could see the fire in the woman’s eyes which gave her the chills. Jen pressed her perfectly painted red lips together and looked away, giving her a side-eye. The song ended, and Sid thanked Trisha for the dance. She smiled at him, and they both walked back to their table. Trisha excused herself and walked towards the lady’s room. She needed to be alone. When Trisha entered the lady’s room, she was glad to find out that no one was there. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. “Get a hold of yourself, Trisha,” said her inner voice. She opened the tap and washed her hands with cold water, hoping it would calm her.

 She strolled back and saw Jen standing beside Sid. “Sid darling, I would love to dance with you,” she said in a sulking tone, pushing her breast forward. Sid leaned backward and then stood up. He did not look amused. Trisha could hear that Jen had too much wine. She looked at Peter, who looked embarrassed at his wife.

Sid gave her a broad smile. “If only you weren’t married. I don’t dance with a married woman who doesn’t belong to my inner circle. I am sorry, Jen.”

Jen’s head turned red, but she quickly recomposed herself. “You truly are a gentleman! We don’t see many of your species around. If you all will excuse me,” she said with a forced smile.

“Jen, darling, shall we get going?”

Jen looked at her husband with a doting smile “the party has just started, darling! I know people your age need to get to bed early, but I want to enjoy life. After all, I am still young.”

Pete nodded and took a sip from his water. He looked small, although he was a big man. Trisha felt sorry for the way Jen treated Pete. She couldn’t help herself thinking whether Jen loved Pete or did she marry him for money. “Don’t go there,” said her inner voice “he is a grown man. He knows what he is doing.”

“That is what you get when you marry a younger beautiful woman. There comes a time that you are too old to keep up with them. But I wouldn’t miss her for the world. She is my Jen!” He said to no one in particular.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Fan’s husband looked at Pete. “They have an open bar,” he said with a smile.

“Could you get me a whiskey on the rocks? I could use one now.”

Fan’s husband nodded and looked around “anyone cares for a drink?”

“Girls, I need to go to use the girl’s room. Are you coming with me?” Fan looked at her friends.

“This baby is pushing at my blather. I am coming with you. But I can’t walk fast. My feet have swollen up. “I can’t wait till I can wear heels again.”

“I will join you,” said Trisha and looked at Meera. “Are you ok?”

When they returned from the lady’s room, the three decided to see what the dessert buffet offered.

Meera walked past the buffet, her brown eyes gleaming with satisfaction. “This is what I call mouth-watering. I wish the buffet were next to ours so I could sample it all. I cannot heap up my plate, can I? It will look like I am being greedy, don’t you think so? Besides, I am a lady.” She looked at her friends, who both agreed with a nod and a smile. They both knew that Meera didn’t care what others thought of her.

“Aren’t you having anything,”? Meera looked at Trisha’s plate, which had one small piece of chocolate brownie on it. “Trish, grab some more food for me. I am going to our table. I need to eat this now.”

Trisha looked amused at Meera, who looked pleased with her plate.

 “But what do you want?” Trisha looked confused at the buffet.

“I am not picky. You choose my baby is feeling hungry. Let’s go! Trisha will catch up. I need to eat! My mouth is watering. Ooh, Trisha, I want two éclairs; pick the big ones.” She looked at her plate. Her eyes were filled with joy. “See you in a bit.”

Trisha did as Meera had asked her to do. She filled up her plate and put two big éclairs on her plate. Then she heard a woman’s voice.

“Someone is hungry today.”