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few more mulling around the kitchen which is where Bernard led us. Soft music
played on the stereo, but I couldn’t tell what it was.
    “Megan,” Bernard said to a short
brunette, chopping some kind of herb on a cutting board. “Ben is here and he’s
brought Kate with him!”
    She looked up and immediately I
could tell she wasn’t prepared for what she saw. “Hi,” she said, staring at my
hair, my clothes, and then finally my nose ring.
    “It’s nice to meet you,” I said
cheerfully. “Ben’s told me a lot about you guys.” Which wasn’t really true, but
it sounded like the right thing to say.
    “Oh?” She smiled over at Ben. “And
what did he tell you?”
    “That you’re good friends and go
climbing together occasionally.”
    She nodded, smiling. “Yes, Ben has
become quite the technical climber. If he plays his cards right we may even
take him with us to Annapurna next year. ” I watched her as she finished
chopping the herbs, adding them to a dish of homemade salsa. Something about
her comment struck me as sort of condescending.
    I looked over at Ben to ask him if
he was really considering climbing in the Himalayas when we were interrupted by
a tall blonde girl holding a bowl of salad. “Where shall I put this Megan? Do
you still want it in the fridge?”
    “No, out on the table would be
fine, thanks. I think we’ll be ready to eat in a few minutes. Oh, Wendy,” she
stopped her, “have you met Kate yet?”
    The blonde girl looked at me and
then at Ben.
    “Hey, Wendy.” Ben smiled politely.
“How have you been? This is my friend Kate.”
    “It’s nice to meet you,” I said,
still using my cheerful voice.
    She nodded.
    We stared at each other and, as
much as I hated to admit it, she was very pretty. She had long wavy blonde hair
pulled back loosely with a few tendrils falling around her face and, like every
other woman there, didn’t wear a molecule of make-up. She was young, probably
the same age as I was, so her face didn’t have any of the sun damage lines the
others had. Instead she had this fresh outdoorsy sort of look, which confirmed
what I had suspected all along, that Ben dating me was something of an aberration
for him.
    “What have you been up to?” Ben
asked her. “Are you still headed to Montana in the fall?”
    “Hmm?” She blinked slowly as she
pondered his question. She had these large sky blue eyes that bulged out
slightly and the more I studied her, the more her features began to take on a bovine
quality. She even had something in her mouth and was slowly chewing it, just like
a cow chewing her cud. “No, that’s all changed...I’m headed down to California
as soon as the paperwork goes through.”
    We heard Megan calling out to
everyone in the other room. “Time to eat!”
    People began to move into the
dining room where some were already gathered around the buffet-style table. The
food smelled delicious and there was quite a variety. I filled my plate with
herbed rice, Indian samosas, some sort of chicken casserole and a large chunk
of bread. I hadn’t eaten since lunch, so I was really hungry. Ben loaded
himself up and I followed him into the living room to sit down. The couches
were already taken, so we wound up sitting on the floor, which was a bit
awkward for me since I was wearing a skirt.
    “Do you want something to drink?”
Ben asked.
    “Yes, please. A beer would be
great.”
    When he left I began eating and
putting out friendly vibes, smiling at people and trying desperately to ignore
how out of place I felt. All the conversations around me involved people I
didn’t know, doing things I didn’t care about, at places I’d never been. So-and-so
just got back from Denali and is already planning a trip to Peru. Yes, another
so-and-so is going to France this summer to climb Mount Blanc. Oh really?
So-and-so told me their funding fell through and they’re going to wait until
next year.  
    And on it went.
    I smiled and nodded, trying to appear
enthused,