Gemotions

The invitations arrived in thick, creamy envelopes, embossed with gold lettering. A garden party. For the neighbors. She stared at the card. Her neighbor, Eleanor, had always seemed so…ordinary. The old coat, the faded Volvo, the sensible shoes. Now, the truth was out. Eleanor's "ordinary" was a carefully constructed facade.

She crumpled the invitation in her hand. She couldn’t possibly go. What would she wear? The clothes in her closet suddenly felt drab and inadequate. She hated the chipped paint on her own front door, the tired furniture in her living room, everything.

She threw the invitation in the trash.