8 P.M.
`` For Miss Melissa Merriam , '' he announced . Yes ! there was her name on the tiny envelope . And , on the tiny card within , written in a painstaking , cramped hand : Mr. Raymond Bonner At Home Wednesday June Tenth R.S.V.P. 8 P.M. With her whole soul in her mouth , which made it quite impossible to speak , she passed the card to her mother and waited . `` Oh , '' said mother , `` an evening party . '' Melissa 's soul dropped a trifle : it still clogged her throat , but she was able to form words . `` Oh , mother ! ''