The Birthday Party (1)

When Nia's car entered the gate of her friend's house she could sense that the party already was in full swing. The big house was bathed in light and soft music floated from the front room to the garden. As she walked the narrow stone path leading to the the porch from the car parking she heard unrestrained laughter of people.

Especially the carefree and happy laughter of women, spilling out of the room like the overflowing wine in a glass, reached her. Laughter often drew similar effect from people who hear it as looking at a glass of good wine would do, drooling over it and setting up the right vibe for a party. It also meant the party would be a success.

She had no knowledge of wine but Nia had observed people behaving excited as if seduced by a beautiful woman when beholding what they took to be good wine. She also saw men acting drunk by the side of a beautiful laughing woman.

Perhaps the happy laughter of an attractive person was like a glass of wine; alluring and intoxicating. At Rhianna's party, Nia knew, there would be plenty of food and Coke and fresh fruit juices but no wine would be served. So the men would eat, try to flirt and would feel seduced by the laughter of the women.

Nia stepped into the spacious living room through the open door. She halted for a while at the threshold, scanning the faces of people and tried to locate Rhianna among them. She blinked her eyes to adjust them to the bright lights. Women in beautiful gowns and men in evening suits were happily talking and laughing, with glasses of coke and juice in the hands.

Soft romantic music was playing in the background. It was Mariah Carey's All I've Ever Wanted. There were very a few middle aged people, who were very close friends of Rhianna's parents. She saw them talking at the farthest corner from the front door. Nicholas' parents were among them. It was a party specifically for the younger people. They were mostly Rhianna and Nicholas's cousins, friends and close acquaintances.

Most of the guests were single like her and came alone or with friends, while those with partners brought them along as dates. Nia's expression was unreadable as she studied lazily the scene before her. It was extravagantly painted with music, light and laughter. She looked warily at the people with a distant gaze, like an army general observing the enemy in the battlefield.

'Where is Rhi? She must be with Nicholas. But wait, I can't even see that man among these people. Don't tell me they are busy hugging and kissing in some secluded part of the house leaving the guests here to themselves.' She almost rolled her eyes at her own thought.

Nia knew her eyes were to be blamed for not being able to spot either Rhianna or Nicholas in the room. However clingy Nicholas might be to his fiancee, they would not leave the guests to themselves when the party had only started a while ago. She cancelled the idea of going over to Rhianna's mom. Nicholas' mom and aunt were with her. Those two women gave her headache with their incessant hints that she was the intended of Nicholas' cousin. She could already see them in action in her head.

"How long do you plan to stay rooted on the doorway? Or maybe you need a kiss on your lips to uproot yourself from the doorway. My own Sleeping Beauty, I'm most willing to be your Prince Charming." Someone whispered shamelessly near her ear, startling her out of her momentary lapse.

Nia turned her head slowly to look at the owner of the voice with apparent irascibility. The handsome face of a man with laughing deep blue eyes greeted her view. His face was so near her that she could see the reflection of her face in those eyes. There was a hint of familiarity in the man's face and that thought made her frown slightly.

Her own eyes turned into two brown lakes with thin layer of frozen water that would freeze anyone who dared to gaze at them, to death. The man's hot breath assailed her ears despite the wall of the wavy brown hair as he whispered again, slightly lowering his head to the level of her ears. Again his hot breath grazed her skin around the ear and Nia felt uncomfortable.

"Since you've woken up let's make our grand entry like the Queen and the King. Take my arm, My Queen." The handsome stranger smiled impudently while offering his arm to her. This man must be an outrageous flirt. Her eyes turned more cold at the thought.

"Sleeping Beauty's Prince Charming was a sexual offender, taking advantage of an unconscious person. I don't nurture any romantic illusion about a quasi compulsive sexual act."

Nia's tone was devoid of any emotion, there was not even trace of anger or sarcasm in it. It was aloof and indifferent, yet it gave out to the handsome man a feeling of being pushed down from a cliff into bottomless depth and his flirtatious smile died down on his lips.

The icy cold stare of her eyes, devilish like that of a maleficent witch, seemed to have an intent to change him into ice statue. Before he could recover from the merciless attack of the beautiful woman who looked fragile and lost even a while ago that provoked him to tease and flirt with her, she joined the people in the big room, leaving the annoying man gaping at her with parted lips.

Now he was left rooted on the doorway, trying to recover from the dazed state while the mysterious woman walked away with graceful demeanour, slowly disappearing among the other guests. The man wondered what sort woman she was, to be able to withstand his charm. He was totally intrigued by her.

Nia knew that man, she at last remembered his face, though they never formally met each other. He was Mark Adam, Nicholas's paternal cousin. Being a rich, handsome bachelor he was a much sought after target of both rich socialites and their parents. She heard a lot about him from Rhianna, saw his photos with Rhianna and Nicholas. That was why he looked so familiar to her.

Unlike Nicholas he was not shy of all that attention from the ladies and enjoyed those open display of interest, all the fuss over him. Mark Adam had no plan to get tied to be domesticated by any woman. From what her friend had told her, Nia understood that he was playful with the women who jostled with each other to get close to him.

She failed to understand why women threw themselves at him when they knew he would never get serious about anyone. Perhaps it was the hope, that each thought she would be the one to pierce his invincible heart and make it bleed for her. It might look unreasonable to others but that was what hope could do to people, to spur them to do even the unreasonable.

In the past Rhianna tried to set her up with Mark Adam. Nia was aware of her friend's thought behind such attempts, which were total failure as they were spurned by Nia. Rhianna's assiduously made plans always fell flat as Nia never even considered meeting Mark, thanks to his playful nature when it came to women.

Poor Rhianna hoped if Nia and Mark married each other she and her friend would be family through their marriages to the cousins and the two of them would always be together. It was unfortunate that Nia viewed the whole idea with disdain and as something scary.

"Oh god!" Nia would groan in exasperation whenever Rhianna tried to set her up with Mark on a date. " Rhi, are you still my bestie? You've turned so selfish, trying to set me up with a playboy. I'm hurt." She would then place a hand on the chest over the heart.

Rhianna would shake her head at her friend's drama of feigning at being hurt and would laugh. She knew Mark was not a bad person and about his being a playboy, most of it was rumour, work of tabloids. She would never pair up her freind with a person who was without any integrity. That was something both Nia and she knew too well.

A faint smile played on her face at the thought of her friend's concern over her lack of interest in having a boyfriend. As Nia walked up to her two colleagues who she had already spotted sitting at a corner, she shoved Mark Adam out of her thoughts as some frivolous things not worth her time.