the pile of presents rose higher and higher , and the room got fuller and fuller , and older women who had been my mother 's friends for years mixed with women my own age whom i 'd known all my life - susu hunter , lizanne buckley sewell , linda erhardt , and several other - and women who had to be asked because of some connection to my life , like patty cloud , my mother 's office manager , and melinda , wife of my mother 's husband 's son , and a couple of women i 'd asked just to say `` ha ! ''