[honeychile]

Ann and Lisa had already been to the Garnets Pref, and rats that they were, wouldn't tell Meg or I anything about it! Ann had on a black satin dress with a hot pink ruffled bolero (some things you NEVER forget!), while Lisa had on a dressy grey pantsuit. I can't remember what Meg had on, but I know it was a somewhat simple dress, like mine.

Meg & I went to Garnets together. The hallway was draped in black, and little white lights twinkled in one of their symbols. Two gentlemen in tuxedos came out with a silver platter, with each of our names on a separate card. We found our card, gave it to one of the gentlemen, and were escorted one by one into the house, with the gentlemen announcing our name as we entered. The sisters were dressed in long white formals - so much tulle! - long white gloves, and pearls. They were singing softly, and as each of us were announced, a sister came off of the two lines, took our hand from our escort, and led us into the formal living room. It was completely lit by candlelight, and soft music played in the background.

Once everyone was seated and chatted a bit, we (I tend to remember this party in plural, due to Meg) were asked to "partake of the buffet". This table was in the foyer, and had appeared from nowhere! There was a beautiful floral arrangement that ran the length of the table, more sterling than I had ever seen, Jordan almonds in the sorority colors, nuts, mints, tiny petit fours in the sorority colors, and a special, personalized petit four for each of us, with our names between their flowers. The punch bowl had dry ice in it, adding to the effect, as did the HUGE mirror behind the table. There was something about seeing myself in the mirror, with all the white, the tulle, the candlelight, and my rusher for the night lightly put her hands on my shoulders and said, "This dream could be yours." She carried a glass of punch and a cup of tea for me. Yes, there were the plate of paper-thin lemons, and decorated sugar cubes for the tea!

As I sat back down in the living room, I noticed that the sorority's GREEK letters were on the sterling forks and spoons, and it had that wonderful patina of very old silver. I could hardly eat a thing, but I did my best. I tried to catch Meg's eye, but I saw that she was on the other side of the room - so I chatted with the sisters and PNMs around me. My rusher did say, "Take a look around - you could be looking at your pledge class sisters." Somehow, that sounded so wise to me - I hadn't really hadn't gotten to know this sister, but I had heard of her 4.0 GPA and awards. After the gentlemen in tuxes retrieved our plates & silver, we heard a bell tinkle, and most of the sisters floated out.

Once again, our names were called, and our sponsor sister led us to another, smaller room that was completely darkened, except for two candles. The President read a passage about sisterhood, then two others told short but emotional stories about sisterhood, then each lit a candle from the two candles. These were passed to the Sisters, and at a signal, each of the sponsors gave her PNM a candle (tied, of course, with their colors), then lit it. Then after singing a song, all of the candles were blown out in unison. We were then escorted out back into the hall, where the gentlemen in tuxes had large silver trays with a wrapped box and the sorority flower prepared for each PNM.

My sponsor also handed me a card and a penny. There was a wishing well in the corner, covered in tulle and ivy! We were asked to make a wish, which we did, as sisters seemed to gather around us. By now, I was on emotional overload, and happily hugged each sister who hugged me. They now were in the elevator hallway, singing bouncier songs as we prepared to leave.

We all got into the elevator, along with one sister. Somehow, she was pushed into the buttons, and we ended up stopping on every floor, but the laughter was cathartic. We finally hit the lobby and... ALL fifty-some of the sisters were singing and clapping in the lobby! They had run down the stairs while we were stuck in the elevator! More hugging, more crying, and we were out, headed back to meet with the others.

We were all giggling, but somber. Each of us opened our gift, and the Garnets gift was a necklace with a single pearl. My card read something like, "May this be the first of your Garnets pearls!" and a saying about sisterhood. Opals had served a buffet of appetizers, Diamonds had also worn black and served a whipped cream cake that sparkled, and Lisa wouldn't talk about Emeralds other than, "It was okay," with a smile. We were to sign our pledge cards the next morning, and some of us (!) had a lot of thinking to do! Sure, it had been six weeks, but somehow, it didn't seem long enough. We "pinky pledged" to not influence each other, and to stay friends no matter what.