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Dilyn’s Party (Part 1)

Dilyn’s condo was one of those improbably massive spaces you see on sitcoms. It was tastefully decorated with touches of holiday cheer for the party. Kindly cognizant of her friends’ relationship statuses, she hung mistletoe throughout the place. The party was already well underway when Bryce and Chad arrived.

“Fancy digs.”

“Dilyn did very well for herself.” Bryce said.

“I didn’t expect that she wouldn’t. She’s always been a go-getter. My goodness, it’s like the movies. She’s got wait staff with hors d’oeuvres puttering about.”

“Yeah, Dilyn puts on quite a shindig.”

“Well, you weren’t wrong about there being plenty of ladies to pick from.”

“That’s not my priority, Chad. I just want to catch up with friends and have some good clean holiday fun.”

“It might not be your priority, but clearly it’s first in mind for Dilyn.”

“How do you figure?”

Chad pointed up at the ceiling above them. They were standing directly under one of the many sprigs of mistletoe their host had scattered around the place.

“Don’t even think about it.” Bryce said as he stepped away from the ornament. Chad blew him a kiss and walked over to a young man with a tray of puff pastries.

Bryce negotiated his way through the crowd in search of his hostess. He kept an eye on the ceiling to avoid any further sprigs of mistletoe.

“Bryce! I’m so glad you could make it.” Dilyn took his hands and kissed him on the cheek. “You missed Dave and Samantha. They had to leave early.”

“I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“You brought a date?”

“Better.” Bryce pointed to his friend. “I brought Chad Pitt.”

“How wonderful! I haven’t seen him in years!” Dilyn clapped her hands. “That is a surprise. How lovely.”

“I knew you’d be glad to see him. He’s in town for some Christmas shopping, so I invited him to stay at my place.”

She laughed. “Oh, Bryce. Your place is so small you have to step outside to change your mind. How can you possibly play hotelier?”

“It’s a shoebox compared to your place but it’s bigger than our dorm room. Plenty of room to hang out and watch classic Christmas movies.”

“Like Miracle on 34th Street or White Christmas?”

“Like Die Hard and Gremlins.”

“You’re such a card, Bryce. Why don’t you catch up with Donnie and Marv? I think they’re upstairs. I’m going to go say hello to dear Chad.”

Bryce wandered to the stairs. He passed faces both familiar and unknown. He exchanged smiles and kind greetings with one and all. Making his way upstairs, he scanned the crowd. There were a number of attractive women for him to introduce himself to after he’d made the rounds with the old crowd.

“There he is!” Donnie cheered. “I told you he’d make it, Marv.”

Marv switched his cocktail to his left hand and reached out to shake Bryce’s hand. “Long time, no see! What have you been up to?”

“A little of this. A little of that.” Bryce shrugged humbly. “How about yourself?”

“I went to Europe on a business trip and a miracle happened.”

“A miracle? What do you mean?”

Marv stepped back and reached out. A beautiful woman slid into his grasp and looped her arm around his waist. She smiled happily and blushed. “I met her in Budapest.” He kissed her on her dimpled cheek. “Bryce, meet my fiancee, Janka.”

“Fiancee?” Bryce reached out to shake her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Janka. When’s the wedding?”

“We haven’t picked a date yet.” She said. “Some time next year, I hope.”

“Don’t sweat the details, baby.” Marv said. “You see, Bryce, most people do it backwards. They pick a date and then try to cram all the planning in. We’re going to run this like a project. You decide all the stuff you want to include and the venue and the guests…”

“And you let the bars of the Gantt Chart tell you when the project ends.” Janka said. “Not so romantic but definitely not so hectic.”

Marv laughed at the stunned look on Bryce’s face. “I told you we met on a business meeting. She’s a project manager extraordinaire. Not only did I propose, I stole her from her firm in Hungary.”

“I make twice as much money now and I get to marry Marvin too. Who would say no to this?”

Donnie and Bryce raised their hands. Marv and Janka laughed.

“I’m down with making double the money but you’d have to pay me at least triple to marry Marv.” Bryce laughed. “How about you, Donnie? Got any surprise supermodels you’d like to introduce?”

“Not for me, buddy. I put a pin in that particular life goal for the time being. I’m having too much fun being single.”

“Believe me.” Marv said. “So was I, but when you meet the right girl…” He gave Janka a big kiss.

“Hey, where’s the bathroom in this place?” Bryce asked.

“Down the hall toward the bedroom. There’s a pink wreath on the door.” Donnie said.

“Thanks, I’ll be right back.” Bryce waved and dove into the upstairs crowd. It took a bit of pushing but he got to the hallway and spotted the pink wreath.

On his way out, he came face to face with a chest. He looked down and saw long shapely legs disappearing into the littlest ‘little black dress’ he’d ever seen. Looking up, he saw a neckline that plunged to a freckled solar plexus and black shoulder straps that barely contained a shapely bosom. Her long neck terminated in a sharp jawline.

She looked down to see who she’d collided with. Her freckled face was broad and leonine. Her smoldering amber eyes complemented her mocha latte complexion and her curly dark chocolate hair. She noticed that he was looking up at her but also that he was looking above her. She looked up and saw the mistletoe.