Andria bumped the kitchen door closed with her rump. She delivered a platter of vegan Avocado Ritz starters and coffee liqueur in a flourish of silver and glass. The guests were wary; they'd been tricked before.
Martha and Sam lifted their forks. Jenny and Dan, complimented Andria on her table display as a method of delay. Each guest eyed Andria and waited for her to tuck in.
"What are you guys waiting for?" Andria asked with a twinkly wink and a mischievous grin.
Martha raised an eyebrow, Jenny fake-coughed into her raised fist. Sam chortled while Dan scraped the legs of his chair over the tiled floor with an uncomfortable screech.
"We're all terrified of you, Andria! Scared that you're going to pull the same stunt you pulled last year. Have you spiked this dish with anything? Spill!" Dan tried to control the volume of his voice, but the challenge vibrated in the air with a cadence of belligerence.
"That's the point, Dan. You'll have to eat the avo to find out, now won't you?" Andria giggled with a mirthful tinkle.
Dan downed his fork in protest. "We only come here, Andria, because you're our boss. You spiced and flavored everything with cannabis last year. None of us trust you anymore. There, I said it. Festivus is supposed to be about airing grievances; now you've heard mine." Everyone around the table nodded their agreement.
"Damn, you guys are full of crap, you know? It was only a sprinkling of weed. Y'all need to loosen up, lighten up, get in touch with your inner-selves. " Andria delivered this nugget with a raised eyebrow, but otherwise deadly serious expression on her face.
"Andria. You're incorrigible. I say that we should all leave right now and let you get on with your silly pranks on your own. What do you guys think?" Dan's face was a nasty shade of beetroot, but the guests all rose from their seats in support of his proposal. Forks landed with a clang of indignation on the table.
"Oh, well if you all insist, you know where the door is. I won't stop you. But it's such a waste of good avocados. Nevertheless,..."
Andria breathed a sigh of relief when she heard her guests' car engines gun to life.
"God, I love avocado and coffee liqueur." She mused, collecting all the discarded fruits onto her plate and eyeing the little glasses of liqueur. "This'll be the cheapest Festivus ever celebrated, and isn't that meant to be the point? Haha…"image source