A Dinner Party

It was bound to be an interesting dinner.

The lady's committee had never had a dinner with the ladies and their husbands before. Usually the men were working while the ladies had their meetings, eating sandwiches and enjoying pleasant small-talk. But when Ethel suggested that all the men and women have a dinner together, well, the idea was taken quite well! They planned it for March, and counted down the days for such an event to occur.

At the table set up in the gym, the couples sat side by side with the exception of one. At one end of the table was Eulalie Shinn and across from her was her husband, both surprisingly quiet although smiling at their guests. The Dunlops were there: Maud proudly letting her reddish updo stand out above her red dress, and Ewart's bowtie matching with his dark features appearing hollow next to his cheerful wife. Oliver Hix, a tall tanned man with chocolate hair, sat in his bluish suit next to Alma, his sassy wife with natural hair and a loud laugh. Mrs. Squires (a tall, curvaceous blonde) and Mrs. Locke (a little brunette) twittered aimlessly from across the table while ignoring their husbands. Constable Locke was dark and brooding, more like Mrs. Squires than his own wife, and Jaycee was just so pleasantly giddy like Mrs. Locke. Olin Britt, dark skinned and unfortunately alone, was the only member of the quartet not there. However in his place sat Marian and Harold, and Marcellus and Ethel.

Dinner was simple: a simple green salad, pasta with tomato sauce, freshly baked bread, and chocolate pudding for dessert (chocolate pudding was Constable Locke's favorite, and a happy constable was a good thing). Small talk was made although no one really cared about anything that happened that evening as long as the food was good. Business became an important topic at that table, the topic started by George Shinn. "Can we count on seeing the same school board in charge again this year?" The school board was up for reelection and was a sore subject for a few of the men on it.

"Unless someone runs against us." Ewart said, looking from Harold to Marcellus. Ewart was not fond of either of the men. In fact, Ewart wasn't really fond of anyone. He didn't even seem to terribly fond of his wife or daughter, but perhaps he just wasn't the kind to show affection. But no matter how much he disliked the two men he thought threatened his position, there was one person he liked even less: Marian. He didn't exactly know why, he just wasn't fond of her. Maud however was, and he was quite kind to Marian for his wife's sake. "I mean, if we're elected again."

"And how's the band business going?" Constable Locke asked Harold. Mrs. Locke—Cora was her name—loved the band nearly as much as she liked the director. Harold was not particularly close with the constable, but he was very thankful to not be in handcuffs like he was last time he formally saw the constable (Constable Locke and Cora had taken a trip way out west to visit their oldest daughter, and had only come back recently).

Harold smiled at his wife. "I'd say that it's been treating us very well." It had been treating their budding family quite well.

"Yes yes!" Mrs. Edna Squires said with mock cheerfulness, looking to the little blonde librarian. "We heard about the baby. When will we all meet the little Hill?"

The chatter of the ladies rose before Marian could answer. "Next month." She rested a hand on her round stomach under the table. The joy registered on the faces of the two parents-to-be. The chatter of everyone at the table started up again, some with questions for Harold and others with questions for Marian, and some just talking amongst themselves.

"Marian, have you two picked out a name yet?" Maud asked timidly, untrue to her nature. Ewart just nodded in agreement, seemingly addressing the same question to Harold Hill.

The brunette music professor and the blonde librarian exchanged glances one more. Harold answered when his wife didn't. "No no, I'm afraid we haven't thought to hard on it."

"Good." Alma mused loudly. "Don't think too hard about the name, a good name will come to you. I mean, just look at my Willie!" Willie Hix was well known for being quiet like his father instead of his bluntly honest mother. "We didn't over-think a name."

Maud and Ewart Dunlop had. "That's easy for you, you had four sons." Ewart told her sharply. "You never know how many children you'll have. Maud and I thought long and hard about the name Amaryllis… we wanted our only child to have a beautiful name." Maud bit her lip. Marian knew that Maud wanted more children, but she didn't want to tell Ewart and perhaps get his hopes up about it.

Alma was about to open her mouth and snap back when Eulalie tried to bring the dinner back to order. "Now we didn't come to talk about baby names or business, we came to enjoy each other's company, right?" Ewart and Alma both closed their mouths and stared at their plates. Maud and Oliver apologetically exchanged glances about their spouses' actions. "The dinner was delightful, Ethel." The old peacock of a woman applauded the quaint brunette. Ethel graciously bowed to the people at the table.

"Best darn pudding I've had in a while." Constable Locke said without a caring glance from Cora.

Cora continued to look at Marian, who had been silent nearly the entire meal. "Something troubling you, dear?" Cora was a very 'dear' woman; she didn't bother with names if she didn't have to. She preferred 'dear' and 'darling' and 'sir' over anything else. Marian didn't answer the woman, just sat with her lips pursed. Harold's face filled with concern as his wife remained just as quiet. "If anything's wrong, don't hesitate to say something. Remember, you're in the company of friends."

Marian wasn't concerned about whether or not the people at the table were her friends. Even though they had been kind to her for less than two years, she did not doubt the sincerity of most anyone at that table. Maud and Ethel had been so nice to Marian; they were her best friends in all of River City. Cora, Edna, Alma, and Eulalie were all quite a bit older than Marian but they were still kind to the young librarian. Marcellus and Jaycee and Oliver were very helpful whenever Marian or Harold needed something, as was the Constable and even the Mayor (although the Mayor still really wasn't fond of Professor Harold Hill). Ewart was the only person at the table she didn't know well enough to call her friend, and he was a friend of Harold's still. "Everything's fine." Marian reassured the kind woman with light brown hair. Ethel, Marcellus, and Harold still looked quite concerned. "Dinner was wonderful, Ethel, but I do believe it's about time I called it a night." Marian stood from the table and Harold stood up with her, starting off behind her.

Harold looked apologetically to the ladies. "This has been a fine evening, and we'll have to do it again sometime."

"Marian is alright, isn't she?" Maud asked, the other ladies nodding quickly in agreement. They were all pretty concerned about the little librarian.

Harold was certain his wife wouldn't believe the concern surrounding her after she left. Even George Shinn was worried about the librarian leaving the dinner before anyone else. "Tomorrow is her last day at the library—an early day—and she hasn't been sleeping well." Eulalie dismissed the topic with a small wave of her hand. All the ladies at the table understood (except Ethel, but Marian had her sympathy) and most of the men were relieved that that was all.

"And you'll let us know if, for some reason, something else is wrong?" In the little bit of time Cora Locke had known Marian, she thought of her more as a daughter than a friend. Cora's own children were around Marian's age, and Cora and Mrs. Paroo were almost the same age.

Harold nodded but slipped out the door without another word. Everyone watched as they exited. Ewart was the first to stand up. "I suppose the rest of us should go as well. Don't want any arguments over papers or politics tonight." The men of the barbershop quartet were trying to get along, but they still bickered over their differences. Also, Jaycee Squires was coping with the fact that his precious niece Ethel had married Marcellus, and there was tension there. While Harold was there all tension could be reduced with an impromptu jam session the slippery music professor led them into. Now they were left to their own controls. "Goodnight, ladies." The group dispersed with stomachs full and thoughts of July 1912 fresh in their heads.

Author's Note: First off, this was a group idea of our Pick-A-Little Ladies, who are required to sit with their spouses at our music rehearsals and thought it would be funny for them to all have a dinner together. Goodness, I hate being sick. Our rehearsal was cancelled because of snow again, so thankfully I'm not missing anything. Anyways, please review!