beyoncepadthai | i'll have what she's having

So, Mindy's last birthday went uncharacteristically uncelebrated. Of course, she shopped and drank and all of that, but this year she's more than in a partying mood and has more than enough invitees to put something on without seeming like a total loser.

Deciding to mix things up, Mindy's rented out a cool seat-reclining, wine and dine theater at High Street mall, splurged on snacks and booze and arranged for a viewing of her favorite film. Of course there are a bunch of cool new releases she could let her guests enjoy, but it's her birthday, and this is one way she can force everyone she knows to watch the wonder that is literally anything Nora Ephron.

She can hear Danny's whining already, and she couldn't care less.

What she can't help but care about is what Danny once said to her back in New York, his cruel reminder to her that she wasn't getting any younger, the promise of a hot husband and adorable children ticking away. She's all the more conscious of it this week, especially after freaking out momentarily thinking that Luke might have already moved on.

The right decision or not, a real relationship or not, it's one more shot at a future that she's managed to screw up.

Hence, the alcohol. Dressed to impress, Mindy arrives early to get her start on a super strong and super fruity cocktail while she waits for her first guests to turn up.

[Set to the night of the 20th of June at one of the fancier theaters at High Street Mall. From 8-ish cocktails (+ beer and wine) and finger food will be served in the bar area, and then the movie (viewable on YT, if you are so inclined) will be starting at 8:30. Tag Mindy, tag around, before or after the film. ENJOY.]

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"Right?" Mindy says, not bothering with even the smallest amount of humility. Even if she and Elle are the only ones to enjoy the movie, this is the best idea she's had in a long time. Tracking down the film hadn't been easy, exactly, but it's all been worthwhile. "I knew you'd appreciate it. I am officially never seeing anything in a regular theater again, ever."

"Now I'm just wondering how I can fit a movie theater in my apartment," Elle jokes. "Drinks, friends, no chatty strangers, big chairs — this is the way to see a movie." It's such a great fit for Mindy, too, she thinks. It brings together so many things she loves, and besides, VIP status is the best way to celebrate a birthday. And if some of those guests don't appreciate the choice of film, well, she and Mindy will love it enough for all of them.

"I would never leave your apartment," Mindy says with a wistful sigh. She totally appreciates that their creepy city benefactors give them housing and everything, but she does find herself longing for the place she had back home. So much time and money had gone into making it her own. "Man, maybe I should get a bigger place. Of course, Darrow's ladies would be without the best OB/GYN in town because I'd be eating popcorn all day..."

More than she does already, at least.

"Eh," she waves her hand. "I'd figure something out."

"You'd figure something out," Elle echoes, nodding. "God, I'd love a bigger place. I wish I could afford it now, but with all my school expenses... I'm just gonna have to wait and dream of the place I'll buy with all my fancy lawyer money one day."

It's really strange, admittedly, to have to budget so carefully. She can do it, she's great with finances, but she never had to before Darrow. Mostly she's pretty good at it, but it's hard sometimes to remind herself to keep her spending in check when she's used to being able to get and do whatever she wants.

"How much longer until you graduate, again, anyway?" Mindy asks. She's positive that Elle has told her a dozen times before, but she's less versed in law school dynamics than medical. Even that varies from place to place and universe, and she'd been confused enough while she was there. "I feel like all of my friends are in college and I'm a working stiff."

One that loves her job, but still. Mindy misses learning, sometimes. It's not like she can exactly go out of town for conventions on the latest breakthroughs in laparoscopy these days.

"Well, give it some time," Elle says, hand on Mindy's arm. "I've only got a year to go, and then I sit the Bar exams, which is gonna be a total nightmare. Like, I'll probably go into total burrowing mode for a couple weeks and just vanish into my little study cave. But it'll be so worth it when it's done. And then we can be working stiffs together."

It's so much to do and prepare for, but it's going to be worth every minute of work she's put in and she's determined as hell to come out on top. Just getting through isn't good enough. She intends to be top of her class.

Mindy remembers burrowing mode all too well as it had been most of her medical school experience. Studying, yes, absolutely, but also generally just avoiding the aspects of college life in favor of romantic comedies and the like.

It can be hard for others to believe, now, of course. She's got quite the social life and possesses some pretty legitimate delusions of her own grandeur.

"I will be there to congratulate you with champagne and all of that good stuff. And it will be worth it. Did you figure out what kind of law you want to go into? You know I'm partial to malpractice and negligence law for you," she teases. "But I will support whatever. I always thought representing celebrities would be pretty cool. It is much harder to sell them on me being their gynecologist."

Elle laughs and sips her drink. "Well, if I meet any celebrities in need of a gynecologist," she says, "you know I will always nudge them your way. I'm thinking criminal defense. I mean, prosecution has been really interesting these last few weeks, but I don't know, I think I'm just a defense girl." It's important for the right people to go to jail, yes, absolutely. But it's important to her, too, to make sure that it's the right people and not just someone who was in the wrong place. People deserve to be represented thoroughly and well by someone who believes in them. And, yes, sometimes that's going to mean representing people who are guilty, but even the worst person is still a human being. The people at the D.A.'s office are amazing, but she's not always sure some of them remember that fact.

i'll have what she's having

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