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Hi Stacey this is Dawn, Dena's girlfriend. We're having a 30th birthday party for Dena next Friday at San Jose Live in downtown San Jose. It would be really great if you could be there. The party will start about 7pm. Call me at xxx-xxxx and let me know if you'll be able to make it.
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said my answering machine when I came home from work. Dena was a new rugby player. I didn't know Dawn but figured Dena had given her my number. I was almost certain that Dena was over 30. Maybe Dawn was putting together a gag party to take Dena back to being 30. Well, either way, it sounded like fun so I called Dawn back & left a message on her answering machine to let her know I would definitely be there.
On the evening of the party, I went to San Jose Live to find the party. When I walked into the party room, I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of women at the party. In fact, it looked to be all women. I wondered where Dena's husband was. Then I decided this must be a girl's night out party and that was why Dawn had called instead of Dena's husband.
My second surprise was how many women I knew. There were rugby players galore, old players who hadn't been out on the field in a long long time. I thought it was great that these people had come out to celebrate the newest rookie's birthday.
My next surprise was seeing several woman who weren't associated with rugby. I hadn't known that Dena and I knew so many people in common.
And then I noticed that everyone I saw was lesbian. I was trying to figure out how Dena knew so many lesbians. And then I wondered where her toddler was. She wouldn't go anywhere without that child. And where was Dena?
I turned to two rugby players and asked, "Where's Dena?" and they turned and pointed behind me - to Dana. This party was for Dana not Dena. I'd come to the wrong birthday party but it turned out to be the right one after all. I just hoped my handwriting was bad enough that the 'Happy Birthday Dena' I'd written on the card could pass for a 'Happy Birthday Dana' message.