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Jeannie was a sweet, somewhat frumpy woman who worked at AGA’s third-rate art department. When the art director Jack flew into a tirade, she hunkered down behind her easel and snickered while drinking a CocaCola. The other artist, Margaret, dreamed of being a Bride of Christ and left copies of her letters to Him on her workspace. She prayed to God to find her a parking space in Georgetown when she ventured there from the office.
Jeannie lived in an ugly apartment building that had surprisingly attractive apartments. It straddled the borders of Arlington and Falls Church, not too far from the office.
One day Jeannie surprised many of us with an invitation to a buffet dinner. I was invited with my boyfriend Joe, as well as Ed W. and his girlfriend and a few others. I had a soft spot for Ed, he was attractive and smart and bit goofy, but he didn’t return the favor.
The rest of us were clustered around the coffee table and our drinks when Ed and his girlfriend arrived. Jeannie took care of the first part by introducing Ed. We all turned to him with anticipation and—he completely forgot his girlfriend’s name. There was a long, awkward moment as Ed grinned sheepishly until Susan hit him on the arm and introduced herself.
Shortly thereafter, my boyfriend Joe stood and went to the bathroom. By my standards he was in there a long time. After 10 minutes, he emerged and hightailed it to the coffee table, where he shuffled through the magazines, picked one and disappeared into the bathroom again for another 15 minutes.
Awkward.
Otherwise, the evening went smoothly.
Some months later, Jeannie announced she’d meet a new man and things were going well. Until, that is, he got a great deal on a car in which a dead body had resided for about four weeks.
I don’t know, people are different. This would have been a deal breaker for me, but Jeannie pinched her nose and carried on.
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