I haven't properly reported on the September soirée. The garden looked lovely, the trio fitted beside the boxwood, and Margot was right about the fixed cocktail station. I had resisted it for weeks. It was one of the easiest parties I've hosted.
People stayed to talk while they waited for a drink. Two board disagreements were apparently settled in the line, and there was a moment between another couple that came rather close to a proposal. I won't put their names here. The arrows Margot insisted on did help people find the bar.
On Tuesday she and Erin McAllister came to the kitchen to go over it. Erin took notes. Margot had already surveyed the guests, which was news to me. She had asked them questions as they collected their coats. Ninety-four percent were satisfied; the rest preferred passed trays. Those names were in a column headed “Legacy Holdouts.”
Erin looked up and said, “The station worked because Ashley stood near it. Put the hostess in a corner and the corner becomes the party. You could serve tap water.” I thought that was a useful point, although I wouldn't try the water.
Margot is adding something called “hostess gravity” to the presentation. She says I will be cited. I have asked for a copy.
— Ash