Our friends Nina and Rod were throwing a birthday celebration. And so we went.
We need a word for this: “party friends” doesn’t do it at all. Friends you really like but you only get to see when the mutual friend who knew them first brings everybody together, and then you happily catch up on the years missed. We have all always liked each other a great deal and it’s clear why Nina and Rod have been such great friends with them, and this being Silicon Valley, our lives have kind of run in parallel over the years.
But somehow these are the only times we actually see each other.
As Lou put it, “The difference between Heaven and Hell is the people. This is Heaven.”
So, um, we tried to figure out how to ask Nina to have her birthday more often. (We did suggest a potluck with great enthusiasm; there is hope. You know who’ll bring the chocolate torte.)