“Oh, not long; just a few months, really.” Get over here and save me, Jack! I shoved another forkful of salad into my mouth to put off having to talk again.

Suddenly Madison’s eyes widened. “You’re the woman from the accident, right? When was that … December?” I nodded, chewing slowly and slightly relieved that someone had finally made the connection. “And now you’re going out, how romantic!”

I shook my head and swallowed. “Oh, we’re not going out, this is just a friends thing.”

She gave me an odd smile. “Really?”

“Well, if we’re dating, he forgot to send me the memo.”

She laughed. “Wow; I would never have guessed you two were just friends.”

I was about to ask her what she meant when Jack returned with our drinks. Grateful for the distraction, I sipped long and slow from the glass, trying to decipher Madison’s comment.

“Not harassing my date, are you?” Jack asked Madison good-naturedly as he sat back down.

“Oh heavens, no, just asking how you two had met. I just figured out that she was the one from that accident you were in.”

“Ah, we finally have a winner!” He grinned. “We should have brought a prize for the first person to get it.”

Waiters came around to clear the tables, and then carts were wheeled out bearing covered dishes, which were placed before each guest and unveiled with a flourish. The chef had prepared a copy of the same meal shared by the main characters in the movie on their first date, a pivotal moment in the plot. This garnered applause from the mostly inebriated crowd.

As I ate I tried to estimate how much money had gone into this little soiree. Filet mignon for well over a hundred people, champagne, bar, waiters, chef, flowers … it boggled me. I smiled as I thought of what interesting math story problems I could create from this. But at the same time, it made me slightly ill to think of what a waste it all was. Even this house … all the art, the crystal, the furniture. Multiple families could live for a year off what it probably took to furnish and decorate the place. I couldn’t comprehend how much money that would be. I was barely making ends meet, but I didn’t need anything more than what I already had, so it was fine. How could people justify it?

JACK

GRACE HAD BEEN CHEWING the same piece of meat for about a minute. I leaned over and whispered, “Having an out-of-body experience or something?”

She blushed and swallowed. “Just thinking.”

“’Bout what?”

She shook her head as she cut another piece off the filet. “Nothing.”