“Could you check again?” I ask politely and smile, hoping this will give the hostess time to realize her mistake. That she does have a reservation under my name. It’s for the large party room in the back. A party room that is necessary to host Lauren’s bachelorette party, due to the inexplicably tiny size of my apartment.

“I made it a month ago,” I add, in case the timing aids in her locating it. “Lauren’s bachelorette party, party of sixteen.” I adjust the forty-pound tote on my shoulder that contains all the party supplies. Sashes, tiaras, party games, even those obnoxious penis straws, I couldn’t help myself.

This shouldn’t be that difficult, but I don’t want to be rude, so I wait patiently while she scrolls and taps on the tablet’s screen. I force myself to take a step back from the stand, afraid I might circle around the side and offer to find it for her.

“I found it,” she announces a moment later.

“Oh, good.” I breathe a sigh of relief, and prepare to wave off the apologies she is sure to offer after that heart-stopping moment when she made me think I didn’t have a reservation for the party tonight.

“It was cancelled,” she says unapologetically.

“What do you mean it was cancelled?” I try to keep my voice calm, but it rises two octaves in panic.

Even though Lauren’s bachelorette party doesn’t start for another hour, I’m here early to make sure every small detail is taken care of. Now, I’m finding that one very large issue has arisen. I take a breath, glad that I’m dealing with this now, so that it will be long forgotten by the time everyone else arrives.

Even while I’m reassuring myself this is a silly misunderstanding, my brain is working overtime trying to recall the moment when I confirmed the reservation. I’ve confirmed dozens of reservations recently. Surely this was one of them. It’s been a busy week. The usual meetings and errands, and helping JoAnna prep for her trip, all while working on the Books 4 Kids fundraiser and late nights putting together the finishing touches for this party.

The hostess taps on her screen. “It says here, a message was left on Tuesday to confirm the reservation but it was never confirmed.”