"Those are always fun Bill. What's this one?" She shouted back.

"Hmm. Come as you were? That's strange. Oh - there's an insert here. I wonder."

"What's that Bill? I can't hear you?" said Becky, as she came into the room. "Let me see that, you're not making much sense." She took the invitation I had been staring at with a strange look.

"Oh, this looks like fun. I bet Sally's going to put all these things on a list and mix them up, and we'll have to chat around for a while, and then guess who goes with which item. That'll be fun! Now, which events will I pick. Hmmm." Sally, looks thoughtful, then before turning away, she goes "Oh, here's your slip. We can jot our answers down and drop them back in the return post this afternoon." Sally, headed off, not noticing that I was still standing there looking a bit lost.

I shake my head, and go and sit on the sofa to think. "Now I have to think of some things I did as a little kid. That's a lark. I guess I'll have to go with things my family has told me about. At least that way Becky will know which ones are mine." I quickly scribbled down the 5 most familiar stories, and then I sat and thought a bit. Becky should have remembered this would be an issue for me since she was in the room with us all at my folks last Christmas when I told the story of my lost memory for the umpteenth time. About how I'd apparently hurt my neck (as a kid going to school in 3rd or 4th grade.) by stepping down funny and my neck flopping to one side. I'd also said that I'd been on codeine or something like it for about a week or so until my neck stopped hurting and that caused my memory loss. I was shocked when my mom sat there and just said it hadn’t happened. I mean, HOW could I have had such a vivid "memory" of that event, and it not happened. Well, I'd get through this party the way I usually do by using what people told me about me growing up. I sighed and got up. "Here honey, these will do for me."

"Oh, don't show me what you did as a k" she starts saying then stops and looks at me. I guess she remembered after all. "Oh Bill, I'm sorry, I forgot. Did you just use stories your family had told?"

"Yea, I mean what else can I do? I just don't remember anything for sure, and at least one thing I had REMEMBERED turns out to have not happened! I mean, I guess I could have just said I'm an alien changeling and didn't exist on earth before I was 10. Like that would go over. Well, hopefully I don't get tripped up having to come up with details or something."

"Don't worry Bill. Everyone there will be nice, I mean, when was the last time Shelly invited a mean person to one of their parties?"

I give a sigh of relief. "Yea, I guess you're right. And it'll probably be guess which list goes with which person." Want me to drop our lists off, when I'm out dogging the walk?"

Becky laughed at my intentional mess up there. "Oh Bill you silly goose. Here, that’s faster than the post."

I took both the lists and put them in the return envelope, and put them with the dog's leash.