Holiday Party

It is time, once again, for the annual awkward holiday party. When I arrive at work this morning, I will start to set up the room. Each hour food will arrive. Since we have no kitchen and only a coffee nook area, everything will be cold. We will be treated to macaroni and cheese, spicy samosas, Turkish spinach pie, rice and beans, oxtail, meatballs, baked ziti, bagged salad and a few other surprises. I have chipped in for a platter of chicken wings. That should be tasty. We will fill our plates, take a seat, and sit silently staring into space. No one talks. After the awkwardness gets to be too much for me, I usually tell some funny story, so at least there is the sound of laughter in the room. Towards the middle of the party, the doctors begin to talk about their patients. They review strategies for treatment. That is when I pretend to hear the phone ringing and exit the room. I hover in the front office until it is time to go home.