Jake’s invitation via text message read, “Dinner at my place. 7.30”
Pia and I decided that we would bring dessert so we left the office at 6 so we would have time to drop by the pastry shop to make our selection. We chose chocolate cake and headed for Jake’s place. Since it was early, not quite 7, we went to the shopping center nearby his house to do some book hunting. By that time it started to rain which was a relief neither Pia nor I wanted to be the first ones there because we’re always the first to arrive when we go out with friends.
Waiting for the rain to die down bought us about 15 minutes and we reached Jake’s house at the set time. We were at the gate and noticed that there were hardly any people around. “Are you sure it’s today?” I asked Pia. She looked at her text message and said that there was no day mentioned, so it was definately today.
It turns out we were early.
Yup, we were two days too early for Jake’s belated graduation dinner.
Jake had forgotten to mention in his text message that the dinner is going to be on Saturday!
When he came into the living room, he looked surprised.
“What are you doing here?”
“You invited us to dinner.”
“It’s on Saturday.”
“Your message didn’t say what day so we assumed (like any normal person) that it was tonight!”
Jake was worried for a bit that other people might show up because he couldn’t remember who else he had texted that message to!
Anyway, when Jake’s parents got home, they insisted we stay for dinner and so we did. And what a time we had! We started eating dinner at 8 and we left the dinner table at 11.30! Noooo of course we didn’t spend the whole time eating! We were all chatting away and Jake’s Mom, Tita Julie was regaling us with their horror stories of Jake’s graduation – 5 hour graduation rites, near food poisoning from spoilt pork…She said that 1 week there was like going somewhere for a year!
Tita Julie was also telling us about her mother’s funeral. Her mother was 98 when she passed away and because they have lots of family members, the whole crowd of mourners amounted to over 300 people. They post-funeral lunch catered to avoid hassle but imagine their surprise when they got back from the cemetary at 12 o’clock, tired from the noonday heat to find no tables. Yes, the catering company only provides chairs for funerals, with the tables only being provided for weddings. What was worse, the lunch was a full lunch with soup, rice and viand!
In spite of the invitation snafu we had a great time. Jake’s parents are fantastic, really funny, both together and separately they’re just hilarious people.
