Chief coat taker

Preperations are under way in our kitchen for the arrival of our dinner guests arriving tonight. Ka is once more Little Miss Organisation, striving as always to be the hostess with the mostess. As Ka cooks, I'll sit and eat pretzels until my mostly lowlier role of coat taker, barman and then dishwasher will come into play. I've pretty much had the same role in all house parties. When Mum and Dad hosted the Boxing Night parties for the extended family, for instance, I was always chief coat taker, until later, when Kenny and Lynsey were deemed worthy enough to take on the mantle. A thoroughly complex job, that involved a lot of trust, come to think of it. An untrustworthy coat taker could have easily rifled through anyones pockets!
The coat taker greeted guests upon arrival and helped take their coats and jackets off before then ferrying them to Mum and Dad's bedroom upstairs where they would be laid out in a tidy pile over the bed (the coats that is!). Then late night would arrive and relatives would be shouting at you to deliver their coat and you'd have to use your memory skills to remember who had which jacket. If your memory failed you, it would be down to your deductive skills to sort it out as in what coat would go with whose outfit. This train of thought did not always work out as I'll always remember some of the looks of incredulity when a drunk uncle was accidentally given someone elses coat to wear for their trip home. After some complaint they'd sometimes even measure it up for size. All the while my Gran watching from the the corner in too deep an arguement with someone else to interupt and ask why her coat was being passed around.
Fortunately there is only going to be five of us tonight. Maybe six, depending if Chaz turns up with his new partner. Ka and myself thought we'd better invite her in an effort to get to know her as we've only met her twice, (once in Ka's case). It would be a chance to test the water and suss out if she's good enough for the man from the Merc. What does she do for a living? Where does she come from? What films she's seen or books she's read recently? Does she have any kids? If she's thinking of a date yet? And any other questions you ask at dinner parties to folk you've don't know. If she does not seem very forthcoming a quick rifle through her coat pockets wouldn't go amiss.