sometimes being married is a lonely job

We had a marvelous New Year's Open House today. Of course, I couldn't have done it without Carla who helped me create elegant appetizers like Hot Clam-Cheese Dip and Crabmeat Puffs. (She insisted on bringing a batch of her black-eyed peas which I disguised by dressing in pastry shells.) Sally and Bobby looked darling in their starched outfits. Don, unfortunately, missed the whole shindig! Just before things started, I sent him out to buy party picks. (I realized we needed them for Lilliput meatballs.) He didn't come back until the party was over! He says he had to drive all the way to Manhattan to find them. His being MIA didn't surprise people he works with, for whom coming to Ossining was a big adventure. His girl copywriter trained all the way from Brooklyn! Even the Switchboard ladies made an appearance. And freelancers. (Some people called them "freeloaders" which I thought wasn't nice.) One of them, Frank Adman, left him this note on a napkin. People in advertising are so creative!