He stood nervously at the party clutching a drink as a safety buoy. It regularly visited his lips as he began to eclipse his fears with layers of alcohol. His attention had been drawn to a blonde with a short bob of hair on the other side of the room, yes if there was someone he was interested in it was her. How much of the Nederlands courage would he need to imbibe before he felt the capacity to utter a squeak?

His courage was eclipsed by his anxieties about not having something interesting or worthy to say. As he was near the bathroom doorway where the drinks were, occasionally people would squirt by and pull a dripping stubbie from the bath. The ice would move in an arctic flow and rattle against the sides of the tub as it resettledin much the same way his fears were knocking away at his insides – he really did not want to be here but knew he had to be – had to make some serious changes in his social skills. This was his opportunity.

He decided to filter to the other side of the room so he could get near the object of his attention. He found a nearby group , listened in and began putting into practice the ’small talk’ lessons he’d been taking. As he was working his way closer to her circle a brunette with dreamy eyes entered the group he was in and formed a total eclipse between him and the object of his attention – this he did not seem to mind after a few minutes as her vivacious chatter had him yapping away as if they’d known each other for years- who would have thought? The background swell of the music and the armada of voices and the smell of party pies all seemed to disappear as he became transfixed by her…..