It was finally party time... She thought to herself.

She had waited almost a month, trying to hold back, but she just wanted to have some fun. She had to. She figured that there were other people around the country that wanted to just get drunk and mingle with friends too, and that they probably wouldn't mind a quick flight to Las Vegas. So, she had spent the last two days planning.

Alcohol had been gathered and stored somewhere safe, far away from the drinkers in The Silent Few. A live band had been paid for to perform. Invites had been sent out to all of her friends, friends of friends and coworkers. The Headquarters had been turned into party central, decorated from top to bottom with colorful pennants, shiny streamers and glittery banners. And, unlike the women in her family before her, she had hired a door greeter so that she could actually ATTEND the party herself. She wanted to be in on the action, not standing by the door!

Party time was in about an hour, and she decided it was a better time than ever to start getting ready, that way she had time to set out the alcohol, the cups, the plates and the snack foods that she had either baked or bought. She went upstairs to put on her signature red dress and black heels, then did her makeup, applying her red lipstick last. She put her hair up into a bun, allowing a few strands at the front to stay down, then set it with a little hairspray. When she approved of how she looked, she went back downstairs to set up the bar and the snack table, which was all self-serve.

...

About thirty minutes later, everything was ready. The band had come out and set up and started performing their music, and all she had to do was grab a glass of wine and wait for people to start showing up.

Bladed heard there was a party and immediately rented a suit and Model T to take to to the party and being one of the few guests to arrive so far he just relaxed and waited for the others.

Frank was visiting Las Vegas and gettin his gamble on.  In Frank style though, it wasn't a high class casino with tuxedos and shit.  Nope.  This was a dice game around a burn barrel in the seedier part of the Sin City.  

Once he was down and out on the dice he'd decided he'd had enough.  Frank wasn't in the mood for the usual bar scene.  He wanted something a little more relaxed.  

Relaxed.  About that...

Frank takes his trusty bottle of whisky and throws back half the bottle in record time.  We're talkin' like 8 seconds.  He grimaces, wipes his face with the back of his dirty sleeve and waits momentarily for the booze to soak in.  He looks down at his hands and watches them stop shaking.  He smiles and laughs.  Suddenly, his confidence grows!!  Frank can do anything!!!

Frank marches down the street with a purpose.  He walks by the HQ and hears the band...

"Now, this looks like it could really be something fun!!"

Frank takes another swig out of his whisky bottle and now notices there's nothing left.  He curses and throws it aside.  Frank bangs on the door with the side of his fist.  The door is opened by the greeter.  

"GREETER GUY!!!!  Heard there's a party here.  Glad to come and have a good time!!"

Frank slaps a tip of $2 and a bobby pin into the greeter's hand.  He nods at bladedrevived and walks over the hostess.

"Karmen!!!!  So glad to see you!!  I'm sure you'll throw a great shindig here!! I, for one, am fucking stoked for this!!"

Frank throws his arms around Karmen and watches her face turn sour from the stench.

Frank dances his way across the dance floor doing the running man as he makes his way over the bar to grab a drink.

Karmen looked up from swirling glass of wine to see that Bladedrevived had made it to the party. She smiled, getting up from her seat to say hello.

"Hey there, Bladed. Glad you could make it!" She gave him a quick hug then said, "So far you're the first one here but I know people will be showing up soon. Frank_Gallagher gave me a call and said he would grace the party with his presence soon, and I'm sure he will drag some friends along or something! So until then, we just relax!"

"Anytime for my favorite gal." I said with a smile as I greeted Frank as well "Good to see you my man! Welcome to the party!". I walked over to the window and lit up a cuban while watching for more guests to arrive.

No sooner than Karmen had told Bladed that Frank_Gallagher would be there, the door burst open and Frank himself, in all his glory, came rushing in, speaking for a brief second with the greeter and putting money in his pocket. Then, when he was done with that, she saw him nod at Bladedrevived, then rush over to greet her. She could definitely tell he'd been drinking when he slipped his arm over her shoulders, and she grimaced a little but didn't push him away. Frank was a good friend and she really didn't mind.

She said, "Good to see you could make it, Frank! It's been a bit since I saw you last! Were you enjoying the sights of Vegas, or gambling your money away? I know you pretty well and I'll say you were probably gambling."

With a wink, she said, "Frank, this is Bladedrevived. He's in The Silent Few with me! He's a nice guy. I'm sure you'll like him!"

She smiled as Bladed introduced himself to Frank, then went towards the window. As Bladed walked away, Frank removed his arm from her shoulder and took off dancing across the floor then grabbed himself a drink.

The life of the party has arrived, she thought to herself as she took a drink of her wine.

Frank leans into the bar...

1 shot, 2 shot, 3 shots, 4!!

Frank walks across to Bladedrevived and shakes his hand.  He twists it around and pulls him in closer.  

"Glad to meet you Bladed!!  You got a stud of a gangster in Karmen!!  She's a beauty!!"

Frank stumbles over the bar and leans in again, sticking his ass out to the party to "put out the vibe".

Karmen happened to see Frank_Gallagher putting is butt out in his fashion, and she knew she should avoid the area for a bit, so she made her way over to the snacks table. She had just realized how immensely hungry she was, so she put a few things on her plate then made her way back over to the guys, who were now both drinking at the bar. 

"So, hopefully more people show up or this is gonna' be a long night with just three people!" She laughed and said, "But I'm sure it will still be exciting with your drunkenness, Frank. You can liven up any room."

She paused for a bit to listen to the band, then asked, "Did you guys invite anyone though? I was hoping people would bring friends or something."

I told her I forgot to call SammyEric but he did know about the party I just don't know if he'll come or not. "Hey Karmen don't worry about it I'm sure Frank invited someone...right Frank?".

Karmen nodded and said, "Yeah I'm sure SammyEric will show up at some point. Maybe he's not comfortable with drinking before five PM! You never know!"

She laughed and waited for Frank to be done finishing his line of shots before he could answer.

Walking threw the door, Sammy overheard this and yelled with a smile "It's 4:59 bitches! And here I am, line em up so I can drink em down!

It was almost like the mere mention of SammyEric's name drew him to the party. She smiled and turned towards the door and walked over to give him a quick hug and say, "Welcome to the party, Sammy. We were just talking about you, as you heard. This is Frank_Gallagher, if you haven't met him yet."

She walked over to the bar and started pouring shots for everyone, placing two shots in front of each person. She said cheers as everyone lifted their glasses and downed their shots.

"Hopefully the drive over was alright, Sammy," she said. "It's pretty easy to get lost in Vegas sometimes."

"Sammy! How are you buddy?" I said with enthusiasm and excitement. I wonder if Jackie heard there was a party I mean the comedian and the drunk that sounds like a good book and a good time. 

"I am great my friend," Sammy said as he swigged down a shot. "Mmm, yeah, this is probably much better than the shit I used to steal outta my father's liquor stash..."

Karmen smiled a little at that statement and said, "This is only the finest liquor for the finest people. I'll of course be sticking mostly to the wine, but shots every now and then are okay. You guys are welcome to take as many shots and get as drunk as you want."

She stopped and thought for a minute, trying to think if Jackie had called her at all to tell her he would be there. 

"Now that I think about it," she said, "Jackie did give me a call earlier today and say he MIGHT stop by, if he's not too tired. He's always sleeping, it seems."

Jackie comes into the place whipping blood off his fingers on his pants from his last job.

"Hello everybody," he said. He comes up to greet Karmen and orders a drink, the pulls out a large wad of cash, and says to the croud, "drinks on the house."

Karmen watching Jackie walk in and try to order drinks. She says, "Who's gonna' make those drinks, Jackie? There's no bartender."

She laughs and says, "Just messing with you. But hey, it's self-serve so you can make as many drinks as you want. Make some crazy concoctions if you're up to that! I'll even try one of your creations if it won't kill me!

"That doesn't sound too bad but no blacking us out you understand me you crazy fucker? Haha good to see you my man but seriously no black out drinks got me?" I said to Jackie before I put out my cuban. 

Karmen watched as everyone downed more shots, and noticed that not very many people had showed up. She thought maybe people had been busy or something, and she probably didn't choose a very good night for the party, but at least she had her good friends there!

She said, "One more round of shots then I think I'll call it a night, guys. Doesn't seem like anyone else will show up!"

Jackie poured one more shot for each person, which they downed and then set the glasses down on the bar. She gave them all hugs as they left and said, "I'm sure I'll see you all soon! Be safe, don't get in any fights or do anything crazy on your way home."

Once everyone was out of the room, she started putting the alcohol bottles in an empty box that was sitting behind the bar, then went to put the snack foods in the refrigerator. She didn't hide the alcohol this time, as it was fair game since the party was over. She quickly pulled down the decorations and stored them in a closet, then made her way upstairs to go to sleep.

Sent a small card in the mail a couple days later, that reads:

    "Karmen, thanks for inviting me to the bash. Hell of a good time! Best regards, SammyEric."