Bedizen

Word of the Day Wednesday, March 31, 2010

bedizen

\bih-DY-zuhn\ , transitive verb;

1. To dress or adorn in gaudy manner.

It was one of the most extravagant events Evalina had ever been to. Certainly not gaudy, but clearly every single retail had been attended to with exquisite care. The large flower arrangements were breath-taking. The table settings elegant. The open bar impressive. A jazz quartet plinked away in the corner of the room at a conversationally friendly volume, and Evalina slowly made her way around the room enjoying the sweeping city skyline.

"Lina? Is that you?" a loud voice exclaimed behind her. Evalina turned at the sound of her childhood nickname, and was greeted with the dimpled cheeks of her cousin Bethany.

"Beth! I didn't know you were coming to this! How nice to see you," Evalina told her, trying to make her smile appear genuine.

Truth be told, Bethany was her least favorite cousin. Loud-mouthed and opinionated with no tact and very few personal boundaries, Bethany was, challenging.

"So, what do you think of this shindig?" she asked loudly.

"They did a beautiful job, I'm enjoying myself very much," Evalina replied helping herself to some of the hors d'oeuvres the wait staff was milling around with.

"Those look pretty, but they taste like horse crap," Bethany added loudly right as Evalina had positioned the cracker in front of her mouth. She took a bit anyway. Oh my God, she thought, this has a sliver of truffle on it. She briefly closed her eyes to savor the taste.

"I know what you mean. I had to close my eyes to choke that down too," Bethany remarked.

Evalina smiled falsely at her, "So, Bethany, where did you find that brilliantly bedizened dress?"

"What? No, this wasn't BeDazzled. I only WISH I had a BeDazzler! If I had I would have just gussied up one of my own dresses instead of spending so much money at Saks Fifth Avenue. I don't know where I'll wear this thing again, but you know, I didn't want to stand out or anything at the Big Party."