Hillbilly Elegy

what kind. “I’ll take white,” I said,
which I thought would settle the matter.
“Would you like sauvignon blanc or
chardonnay?”
I thought she was screwing with me.
But I used my powers of deduction to
determine that those were two separate
kinds of white wine. So I ordered a
chardonnay, not because I didn’t know
what sauvignon blanc was (though I
didn’t) but because it was easier to
pronounce. I had just dodged my first
bullet. The night, however, was young.
At these types of events, you have to
strike a balance between shy and
overbearing. You don’t want to annoy
the partners, but you don’t want them to