The Squirrel Girl was late for the dinner party. She was starved. She had not a single nut to eat for the whole day. Thus, her friend Zia tempted her into joining the dinner party for she was always worried about Squirrel Girl’s diet. Zia distrusted the nuts that the Girl consumed although she was as “nutty” as Squirrel Girl. 

The weather was mild for winter. A smile spread over Squirrel Girl’s face. Like a school girl she was giddy with happiness that she could not explain, or it could have been the southern wind that swirled around her. What did it foretell? It didn’t matter and she did a quick dance because the winds prompted her to take a step. Squirrel Girl adored dancing with the wind. If people saw her, they would have thought that Squirrel Girl was being crazy again.

When Girl approached her friends, they were sitting outside. It was winter evening, and yet they were outside. Was the weather too tempting to be indoors? No. They were told to wait as there was no space inside the restaurant. It was a popular place.

Squirrel Girl asked, “Why can’t we eat outside? It is too nice outside to be indoors.” 

Otter-of-the-sea told her, “The restaurant wouldn’t serve us outside.”

Girl discovered that Otter-of-the-sea was equally hungry and was not very thrilled with Squirrel-Girl. 

“Thanks to some little squirrel, we are waiting for the table because the restaurant told us that they would not give us a table unless we were all present,” said Otter-of-the-sea with a smile for the Girl looked penitent.

Girl was sorry indeed. She was always on the run. Why she was always so busy she could not fathom. Peeved that she had to wait to eat, Squirrel Girl went into the butcher shop, the Red Apron, that served the meats to the restaurant. She was so hungry that she needed something to snack on. She was tired of eating nuts and asked for sausages. She took the advice of a pink-haired butcher girl and bought some spicy sausages.

“Since you are a lovely pink-haired butcher that recommends it, I will listen to you,” said the Squirrel Girl. 

It was not everyday that you met a pink-haired butcher girl. Just as the butcher girl wondered that it was not everyday that you met a Squirrel Girl.

Eventually, a table was ready. The party ensued and it became festive. New friends who were married were a welcome edition. Tabitha was lively and her husband was sweet. Then Otter-of-the-sea recounted the escapades of the Lunar Gala that they had attended not too long ago.

He said to Squirrel Girl, “You were wearing the shopping bag on your head that night!”

“I did not!” said the Girl in shock.

“Yes you did. I told you to bring the bag but you wore it on your head instead.”

Squirrel Girl was peeved and said, “At least I brought it into your car or else your car would have been messed up.”

Grimacing Otter-of-the-sea told her, “Thanks to Casandra offering shots after shots, I knew that there would be trouble. She kept on pouring liquors and ordered, ‘Take the shots!’”

Zia laughed but she too was reprimanded by Otter-of-the-sea.

“As to you Zia, you messed up my car. The bag did not hold thanks to Squirrel Girl briging only one bag instead of two. It leaked, but what I was amazed about was how you continued to vomit like a faucet … you wouldn’t stop.”

Zia was aghast and said as she laughed, “I’m so sorry.”

Yes. Squirrel Girl remembered being nervous as Zia puked her heart out behind her as she glanced at Otter-of-the-sea nervously. The sound of the vomiting “faucet” was not music to one’s ears. Indeed, Zia’s “technicolor-yawn” was spectacular. She was so small, so how was it that she continued to pour forth? Poor Margaret was sitting next to Zia handing her the napkins and anyone could feel what she was thinking as she had to endure the “faucet” next to her. Poor girl had to deal with Squirrel Girl’s drunken profanities and then view the “faucet” pouring out next to her. As if Otter-of-the-sea had a premonition, napkins after napkins poured out of his car’s compartment. 

In gratitude Zia commented, “You are so wise to keep extra napkins in your car Otter-of-the-sea … I do hope that the bag will hold.” 

She needn’t have said it. They were all thinking unanimously how wise Otter-of-the-sea was. They all felt that they owed him since he patiently drove all the girls home since Zia was in no condition to do so after picking the girls up. Once they reached Zia’a home, Squirrel Girl made sure to walk her to her door. She feared that Zia may drop her vomit bag. It was a concern for Squirrel Girl as she wondered how much was filled in that vomit bag. It was a horrid night for Otter-of-the-sea, but it sounded so hilarious to Squirrel Girl and the rest of the girls as he recounted the tale.

“Not to mention how you all pestered me to pick you up on the phone. I never heard Squirrel Girl speak so much profanities before. I could only be at one place at a time, but you guys were all over the place screaming at me to pick you up after the gala was over. I don’t think that I want to be your Uber driver anymore. You guys were so belligerent. How you all texted me with where the heck are you!”

Both Zia and Squirrel Girl could not stop laughing. Once they started laughing, no once could stop them, and their laughter was contagious. Life was grand sometimes when there were friends to share the bad with the good. Tabitha and her husband looked at the laughing girls with should we continue to attend their parties? Yet, they knew that they would. Zia and Girl’s energy were too contagious. The party was always so lively when they were around. And of course, Otter-of-the-sea was very special indeed. He was a patient friend. A friend like that was like a pearl that you would be willing to search all over the ocean. And no one could blame him if he never played the Uber driver again.