mark is a dentist. he's very tall and narrow faced, with an air of quiet dejection about him, wearing glasses and appearing not to have shaved in a few days. i met him once before. his girlfriend is also tall and narrow, red bob and sharp chin insinuating a downward pointing triangle. her teeth are prominent and well formed. i've never met her, but when the introduction comes we shake hands and i give an acknowledging glance to mark. he raises his eyebrows straight up in unison and immediately lowers them again, looking directly at me, no other changes in his blank expression. i have no idea what this gesture is intended to convey.
a turquoise pea-coat wearing, dred-locked elf and i share a few words. she tells me i look just like an actor from one of her soaps. later, a strange man with a thick, shortly trimmed beard and shoulder length hair draws near and tells me he understands his girlfriend told me i look like a soap star, but, as truth would have it he just so happens to be familiar with the show, not out of any interest on his part of course but because an old man where he works is always watching. his mannerisms are stilted and unconvincing, full of theatrical bravado ringing false. he wants me to know that in his opinion i look nothing like the soap actor. i thank him, sensing this is what he desires.
saul and penny arrive. they've just been married, which is a real shame but no surprise. paul doesn't work much and doesn't seem to mind achieving his ends through abusive manipulations both verbal and physical. i think he knows i don't like him, but we perform the requisite handshake and smile, his eyes shifting. penny and i talk for some time about the current state and near future of online virtual realities. she's well qualified to discuss this on account of administering one, and we agree some emergent virtual financial architectures have substantial implications for the real world economic status quo. she's beautiful and well spoken as always. i ask about the honeymoon. "congratulations" i say. after about 10 minutes i excuse myself, and they don't stay much longer. later i'm told saul's already been caught on craigslist trying to meet other women.