City of Fire and Ink

Knives and other Sexy Things

The party that I had promised to go to was for my best friend. Zoe was in charge of throwing an engagement party for her cousin Nasreen and her fiancee Layla. She had been talking decorations and food and music for the last week. Given my complete and utter lack of knowledge of Armenian parties, I couldn't really help her, but I promised I'd come anyways.

The Shahinians lived in one of the busier neighborhoods, in a large apartment complex on Torres. I had been a few times, when Zoe had invited me home for dinner at the insistence of her mother.

When I rang the doorbell, Narek the doorman soon brought me up to the main level. "Zoe-jan, Sojung is here." Shiraz yelled from the kitchen. 

Shiraz Shahinian was one of the loudest women I have ever met. She was the only person I knew who frightened Zoe. To give you a little background, I had seen Zoe beat up strangers in the street and continue walking like nothing had happened. It took a lot to shake this girl, and a lot was Shiraz.

Along with being loud and commanding, she was also incredibly sweet. I was always met with a huge hug when I came to visit and she supplied me with boxes of rosewater candy for Omma when she heard about Harabeoji's death.

Zoe poked her head out of the hallway. "Thank god you're here. I'm having an outfit crisis."

"That's Kayla's area of expertise, not mine." Zoe had a habit of being invited to fancy events and had asked Kayla to dress her for several of them.

"I know, but you're my sanity so pleeeeeease." Zoe dragged me into her room and into the spectacular mess that was her closet. There were dresses and heels strewn all over the floor. The vanity was dripping in jewelry and several open makeup palates lay discarded on the chair.

"So I'm thinking I want to do the falling flowers, but I don't know what dress I have that would go with that. . . ."

Flowers are the new makeup trend right now. Most often it's painted flowers, on the cheeks or eyelids or arching down the cheekbones. Some of the rich are actually buying real flowers and wearing them around their faces like a halo or a crown. Real, 75% natural flowers are more expensive than jewelry and they only last for a night. There is a huge synthetic flower business, but Zoe says if you have to buy fake flowers, you might as well just stick with the paint because you clearly can't afford the real thing. Harsh. 

The falling flowers she's referring too are one of my favorite designs. They start directly below the eye and follow the path of a tear but instead of a tear, its a flower, usually with a burst of color as a background. I've done it a few times on myself and I like it a lot better than the last makeup trend, which was a steampunk-type aesthetic that basically nobody could pull off.

I glance around the pile of dresses. There's a rose gold one and Zoe always looks good in pink. "Wear that one and and I'll do orange and pink flowers on you."

"Ooooh. I can be a modern day Eos," Zoe grinned. "Yes! Let's do that." She sat down at the vanity and let me get to work. Several minutes later, Zoe's flowers were done, her brows were shaped, and she was resplendent in a glittery rose gold mini dress that hugged her curves and made her tan skin glow.

Zoe examined herself in the mirror. "You're a miracle worker Sojung!" She kissed me on the cheek. "We both look amazing!" I was wearing an olive green mini dress with lace sleeves, and I had done daisies at my temples.

The party started soon after that. The Shaninians had a designated party room, as funny as that sounds, which Zoe had spend the day decorating. I let the caterers in through the back door when they arrived and helped them set up on the pre-designated tables.

Even the DJ was good. Zoe and I had very different taste in music, but she'd been hosting parties for years, so the music was always danceable, if a bit loud. The crowd was positively eating it up.