“Lisa!—you know Rudi of course who is over by the window, he has not seen you yet—but stand back, let me admire you—ooh la la, how charming you look this evening, a woman comes into bloom at night!—and here is Stefan. What will you drink? Give her some of the punch, Stefan, I suppose she must try that at least once in her life. Be careful, Lisa, he has put an atom bomb in it, it is deadlier than it looks—voilà.
“Come and meet Sandor and Eva, and here is their son Miklos, all right, Michael he insists on being now, he is dinky-die as they say, a proper Australian, he even forgets how to speak Hungarian, he has just left school like you—and if you will excuse me for the moment I see some new arrivals I must greet.… George, Anna, Bela, Trudi! At last—come in, have a drink, have two drinks, you must catch up—oh, you have brought your fiddle I see, that is wonderful!—yes, we have made space to dance as you see in case anyone feels the temptation—Fay, come and meet Bela, he will play the fiddle for you if you smile at him nicely, can I get you another drink? Stefan, over here, I beg you.…
“Milos, have you met Trudi? Anna, this is Lisa, who works with me, she is my tower of strength but she is clever, she will go on soon to greater things—Sandor, help yourself to more punch—ah! There is the doorbell again, excuse me.… Janos, you know everyone, I think—champagne! A magnum! I love you the best—shall we keep it for midnight? So have some punch, if you dare, if you do not there is white wine or red—here is Lisa whom you do not know, and Fay—excuse me, Anton and Marietta have just arrived, I think they have brought some others with them, I had better be a good hostess—
“Laszlo, at last! Yes, all in good time but I think you are too late for she is already dancing with Rudi as you see, and he is better-looking than you, still, there’s no accounting for tastes. Come and meet Lisa—no, you are too late there too, she is dancing with Miklos who calls himself Michael. Well, dance with Anna—she is only talking to Stefan, I cannot think why: off you go.
“Ouf! Stefan, how is the punch? Good. Is everyone here now, can I relax? We invited fifty, I am sure there are at least seventy-five here, I don’t know whether there will be enough food. Yes, what the hell. Give me some more punch, I am the one who must catch up. Fay is still dancing with Rudi, Lisa is talking to Miklos or Michael, ça c’est bon. Everyone seems to be enjoying himself, I think I might be allowed to follow their example, don’t you? Ah, Bela is taking out his fiddle—no, let this record finish and then he will play. Give him another drink, he plays much better when he’s drunk.
“Fay, how well you dance—I have been admiring you, what a shame you have not a better partner, still, he has enthusiasm. In a while Bela will play and you can learn a few Hungarian dances, they are quite easy—there now! We all hold hands, and then . . .
“Oh my God, I thought I would die of laughter just now—Stefan, how is the punch? You have made some more? You had a spare atom bomb then, did you? You think of everything. Look at Anton, I think he is going to fall out of the window. Give me another drink.
“Lisa, don’t forget to eat or you will get drunk and your mother will never forgive me. Have some of these canapés—that’s right, Michael, take the whole plate, you can eat them together, they will be yours alone, you young people need your sustenance. Ah, the music starts again, we dance.…
“Have another drink, Stefan has made some more punch . . . Trudi . . . Laszlo . . . white wine or red? . . . Oh, a waltz, now that is nice . . . eat something . . . boum!
“Lisa, George and Anna will take you home, it is easy, they live in Lindfield—Fay?—ah, well if you can trust him to get so far—you have not seen his car, it is a jalopy, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Happy New Year! Goodnight, goodnight—good morning, yes! Drive carefully! Happy New Year! My God! I thought they would never go—two a.m. is it? Or three? I thought so. I love you too—Happy New Year!”