cordial
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Fred looked at the mail while Sue twisted and waved to the new workout craze she had subscribed to. Most of it was junk mail, which he immediately discarded. When he was done, there was only one piece of paper that was not immediately destined for the recycling bin. It was a letter from another person in the neighborhood. One that made Fred’s eye twitch.
He opened the envelop and read the contents. He growled as he read the short message.
“You have got to be kidding me!” He nearly shouted.
“What is it?” Sue asked, not looking away from the computer screen.
“Todd’s having a party at his place. Some big, outdoor thing. Just got an invite to it.”
“Oh, well, that’s nice of him.”
“No. No it isn’t. It’s an insult is what it is.”
Fred could feel his wife rolling her eyes, even as she continued to follow along with the instructor.
“I’m serious, Sue. It’s an insult to every man in the neighborhood. Remember how he won that big shrubbery contest?”
“Of course. I was glad when it ended. You finally paid attention to something other than a few big plants. What about it?”
“This party of his is outdoor only, get it? He’s just showing off his ‘prize winning’ shrubs. He’s taunting us. Rubbing his win in our faces. Oh sure, he’ll be all nice and polite about it. Might not even mention the contest. But I guarantee whatever he’s got set up will be right next to the damn things.”
“You’re overthinking this. He’s just having a party while it’s still nice out.”
“A party for no reason? It’s nobody’s birthday, and there’s no holidays coming up. There’s no reason for it.”
Sue paused the video and looked at her husband, arms folded in front of her. “It’s called being social, Fred. People are allowed to do nice things for others sometimes. Things like holding a party just because you want to. It happens all the time.”
“When was the last time he did something like this?” She could not answer. “Exactly. It’s all about the shrubs. I mean, really, you can tell what it is right from the invite. Here, listen to this: You are hereby cordially invited to attend a grand, outdoor event. Who talks like that, really? And don’t tell me he’s just being polite about it. Nobody uses that kind of language unless they want to look better than they are.”
“Okay, so what if he’s trying to show off the shrubs? He worked hard on them, so why not show them off a bit? Wouldn’t you want an excuse to do that if you won?”
“Well, yeah, I guess so.”
“So what’s the problem? We’ll go to the party, mingle with the neighbors for a bit, then come home. You can completely ignore the shrubs if you want to. Just be nice while we’re there, okay?”
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was right. She was always right.
“Okay, fine. But if Todd tries to give anyone gardening tips, I’m leaving.
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I'm not a big fan of parties. I'm usually the guy who stays in the corner not doing much of anything all night. It's just not really my thing.
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