Let the hair down

We are at the baseball end of season party , in the home of our coach . It’s a beautiful abode and a prime location . This is established Hermosa Beach . Emma and I suffer the ‘not being late’ affliction , so it’s with great restraint we decide to walk with the intention of arriving at 345 , knowing that the invite states a 330 start .As I I’ve said in the past : it is unCalifornian to be on time . I’ve declared that I will drink full strength beer , no exception . The esky (cooler , over here ) is stocked with 6 IPA Wolf Pups , 6 coronitas ( small coronas ) and a lovely bottle of Californian Sav Blanc .As we near the coaches house ,it’s apparent there are no cars here yet .I fucking knew it , we are practically the first here. After 25 minutes I’ve drained a coronita and am half way through the 2nd while coach and friend start with a lemonade . Am I reading this wrong ? It is a Saturday afternoon party , does no one ever loosen up here . This is the pattern that tends to permeate through this exclusive little town . Hold tight , don’t reveal yourself and don’t dare let your guard down . I need numbers as I have little to talk about . Finance , the Stockmarket ,who’s selling what , and what business conference you’re attending this week ,excludes me from the inner circle . After 45 minutes there is only 3 of 12 families and I’ve put the breaks on , it’s too easy to drink when your on the outside .I better not crack open a pup , I might be looked at as being an alcoholic , I have heard the whispers about a mum in the group who brings a bottle of wine to the games . She does share it and I like that it breaks the ice , but the smirks and sideways looks still hover in the background.After a while it loosens up as people arrive , but restraint and light beer is the state of play . .It’s a similar setting to the Australia Day party earlier this year , but with a totally different team …… and result . Hey , we’ know how to let our hair down . A couple of hours later and the crowd has thinned out as everyone moves on after a light beer or two . 7 pm and we are back home .This is seriously starting to shit me . But wait …. we’ve been invited to catch up with two families from the party , and the host is non other than the mum who brings the wine .. Amen. We head to Megan’s house and get stuck into it . Swearing , drinking , talking , drinking , staying up late , drinking , eating pizza and drinking . Thank you to Megan , Ben , John and Jeannie. That was interesting and for us … it was a normal thing to do . Having a good time with friends is important .