Welcome Back Jessica!

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How It All Began
I was invited to a “welcome back” surprise event organized by a friend of a friend of a friend for his sister coming back from Afghanistan. All invitees were summoned to be there 2 hours prior for rehearsal, final touch to the event. It had to be perfect, I was told.

The Room
When you approached the room, the smell of lavender pulled you quickly in and you felt immediately wrapped with light citrus smell that gently caressed your nostrils. The room seemed rather large, approximately 1/2 the size of a football field. The floor was artistically covered with tiles of different colors, shapes and sizes, crafting the portrait of a soldier, saluting. A 2ft x 2ft glass piece in the middle of the room through which reflection gave the deceitful impression of a hole filled with water. – Virtually, every guest came to a screeching halt to avoid falling in that huge hole and mumbled some obscenity –

The room was immediately adjacent to the patio where more seating arrangements were visible through two extremely large (10ft x 10ft) square windows which let plenty of sunlight in. On the other side of the room, it seemed as if the wall was continuously being painted with dark, then darker and darkest blue colors lighting. The reflection of the glass piece on the floor was purposely projected onto that side of the room. The agitation of the water, a huge fish tank rested underneath, continuously changed the intensity of the color on the wall in a sweeping but slow motion. The east and the west sides of the room, adjacent to the patio and the ever changing color wall, had an acute angle shape that could easily be used as a hideout in a hide-and-seek game. The four sides met at two dozen feet upward, leaving the room with a very high ceiling, occupied only by a large chandelier with glistening pieces which seemed to be constantly dancing to the rhythm of classical music by Beethoven coming out of barely visible speakers in the ceiling.

The moment
I overheard someone made the comment he was perplexed as to why “she” decided to join the armed forces; she has everything. Others (mostly men) referred to her as “dead gorgeous”, to which someone joked, “I did not know the military is allowed to recruit beautiful people.”(laughter followed).

After a few rehearsals, a few drinks and a few jokes, a 2012 silver convertible Mercedes Benz pulled into the garage immediately adjacent to the west side of the room, putting an end to the long wait. “She is here, she is here” the brother said.

As rehearsed, all lights were turned off, all guests hid behind something, anything. Magically, it seemed, everything that was set in the room disappeared into the darkness. The side garage door opened directly into the room. She closed it behind her, stood there in the dark for what seemed like an eternity. It was under a minute. There was a palpable silence which filled the darkness. One could hear a pin drop.

She reached for the light switch which is right next to the door handle, on the wall, a few inches in; she flicked it up but nothing happened. She dropped a bag on the floor, which made a startling noise; she said: anybody home? There was no answer. She called out her brother, John? There was no answer.

In a perfectly harmonious fashion, the lights were turned on; she was surrounded, almost ambushed (no pun intended) by the guests who repeated, in singing voices, 14 times consecutively, as previously rehearsed, alternating between the men and the women, “Welcome home Jessica! We’re glad you’re here. We love you. We love you.”

Jessica
When the dimmed lights turned brighter and brighter and brighter, Jessica, still in her uniform, let escape huge smiles of happiness; her face expressed complete surprise however. Her teeth were exceptionally white. Jessica stood 6’2″; she probably weighed no more than 120 lbs. She was very slim but her breasts seemed rather big, bulging under the uniform. Jessica’s ears, very small, portrayed those of a 10-year old girl. Despite being in uniform, her demeanor didn’t reveal that of a tough individual, as promoted on those recruiting commercials for the armed forces.

She looked rather soft, seemed easy going, and surprisingly quite forgiving. However, her large brown eyes could be intimidating, which may serve her well in the military. She disappeared for a moment to “slip into” more appropriate clothing for the occasion. When Jessica returned to the room, her silhouette revealed a curvy shape that had most men paying attention exclusively to her. Quite subtle, I thought, since that was her “welcome back” party anyway. Her light brown hair was styled to cover the left side of her face. The only cosmetic she applied, it seemed, was a light red, almost pinkish lipstick.

She wore a grey, almost “silverfish”, dress that accentuated her shape and enhanced her revealing cleavage; the men thought they saw an angel. She decorated her “girlish” ears with stunningly shiny black diamond earrings. Her wrists were ornate with gold bracelets that captured the lights’ brilliance and sent their reflections, much like a light show, all over the room, as she moved her hands. Her black three inch high heel open toe shoes put in display her small toes; a heart shape design broche on top complemented her beautifully manicured toenails.

Her hands were equally small and her nails were perfectly manicured. She felt well in her skin, was not pretentious and enjoyed the moment with friends, family and guests. She “mingled” with everyone, introduced herself to each guest individually (by shaking the men’s hands and hugging the women), chatted with each for a minute or two and thanked everyone for being there to welcome her back.

She was very articulate, very attentive and made everyone feel appreciated. I did indeed ponder as to why Jessica decided to join the armed forces. She seemed to have it all, and felt quite comfortable with the attention she got. Nobody dared asking; that was not in the menu.

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