A night to remember

My sister is leaving at the end of this month. I thought it would be nice to host a going away dinner for her and invite all of her friends. OMG, she has a lot of friends. I made reservations for 23 people, but more than that showed up. Like a guest list for a wedding, it kind of got out of hand leading up to the big day. I thought it was great that so many people showed up. She always was a popular girl.

It was a Friday night dinner so everyone had to book it to the restaurant after getting off of work. This was especially the case due to a mix up with the reservations. I told everyone 7:30 and the restaurant had us down for 7:00. Whatever. It all worked out in the end.

My sister’s best friends, Lauren, Caroline and Lindy were there. She has known these girls since elementary and high school. We were minus Eriel, because she had just gotten off of a long ass shift at the hospital and couldn’t make it, but the girls drank for her. Lauren lives in Chicago so we were delighted that she was in town when she was. I can still remember all of them spending the night at our house in high school and me banging on the wall telling them to shut up, because I couldn’t get any sleep. Good times. 

Lindy brought her man Andrew and his 3 kids (Zach, Ben and Natalie) with her. Interestingly enough, Andrew and I have known each other since we were 5. We went to the same pre-school and he was my first kiss. I laid one on his cheek one day when I was 6, I think. He went crying to my mother when she came to pick me up that day. To this day, they all still tease me about it.

Lauren and Caroline gave Athica a James Avery charm as a going away gift. Athica cried. She’s the cry baby of the family.

I sat next to Yue, who had me laughing through the night. She talks a mile a minute. The girl is hilarious. Her husband, Justin, is relatively quiet. Which, I suppose, is a good thing for Yue.

Darrel broke out into Sisqo’s Thong Song at one point during the night. Which made Kian quote the lyrics and ask, “What the hell does ‘she has dumps like a truck’ mean”? That gave me pause, because I have no idea what that means either. Do you know what it means?

Steven almost didn’t make it to dinner on time, because he was asleep. Luckily Smita’s text woke him up and he was one of the first people to arrive at the restaurant. He had to leave early though, because he promised a friend that he would help her pack. She’s moving you see. By that time it was close to 10 PM. In my mind, I was thinking, yeah right.

Patrick M.D. came. He was the surprise of the night. Dr. Pat told me he’d try to make it when I invited him, but made no promises, because of his residency. We were thrilled that he made it. He stayed long enough to have dinner with us, but had to leave early, because he had rounds early the next morning. Athica and I took pictures with him before he left. Ten minutes after leaving, he came running back into the room and handed me money. “I forgot to pay for my dinner. Sorry.” Oh, Pat. My parents are still hoping you’ll marry me or Athica some day.

The entire night was incredible. Despite the fact that not everyone knew each other, they all had fun. Athica was the perfect guest of honor. She got out of her seat whenever someone entered the room to thank them for coming. She introduced everyone when they came in and made sure she talked to each person individually throughout the night.

The dinner party was especially wonderful for me, because it made my sister so happy. So many people showed up, because she’s a terrific person and they wanted to be there for her. I owe a huge thank you to everyone that came. You helped make Athica’s going away dinner a night to remember.

I would also like to thank Brio Tuscan Grille for hosting us. The waiter was amazing and had everyone laughing. Justin B, you were worth the 20% gratuity that you automatically tacked onto everyone’s bill. I thoroughly enjoyed my veal marsala despite the fact that Athip made me feel guilty for eating a baby cow.

Thanks to Bread Winners for the White Chocolate Berry Cake and Chocolate Mousse Torte. You sectioned it off perfectly and everyone got a piece of cake. Even Justin B.

P.S. He said it was delicious!

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