That evening, they left for the nightly reception at the Rasa wing. Talia had elected to wear a black see-through this time, something reflecting her new found positivity and desire to have fun. The door of their suite clicked as it always did, and Talia back straightened. As they drew nearer, the voices from the Rasa wing function room carried over the humid air, suggesting excitement to come. As they entered, Talia's hand dropped away from Tab, she let him walk in just ahead of her, then entered herself. For a moment it felt like a debutant ball, as the audience, turned to assess her, eyes roaming. The guests had changed as a new group arrived, but their behaviour was predictably the same. Tab had already found himself a place on a couch with n elderly couple, who, oddly enough, seem enraptured with him as they continued their conversation from the night before. Talia, unsure for a moment, joined him. She seated herself on the couch, crossing her legs demurely and smiling innocently to the kindly couple. They smiled politely, then continued to nod along to Tab's self-important rambling.
Thirty minutes passed, and each time the drinks server came Talia looked up hopefully, only for it to be another female waitress. She took glass after glass of champagne in consolation, steadily becoming tipsy, a state she rarely allowed herself to be in. It was comforting, however, as the champagne turned the conversation around her into background noise. It allowed her thoughts to roam. She looked at Tab, and the elderly couple, smiling as they appeared almost as she and Tab might in another 25 years: wealthy and agreeable with any source of excitement. Yet they seemed hungry for something, some kind of excitement. It was as though they had drained the well of one-another, and it had left them thirsty, gazing up to the sky for a drop of the unfamiliar to fall on their heads. She knew there was meaning here, but much like her dream the night before, she could not quite work out it out.
Just then, a figure appeared to her right. Without looking, she knew it was her server. Tab looked up, "Yes, yes, we will have another, put them here," speaking abruptly.
Talia felt a tinge of embarrassment, watching as the server placed the drinks on the table. Just as he stepped back, his cuff caught one glass, it rocked to one side, spilling some of the wine on the marble side table. "You complete fool, how could... oh just clean It up," said Tab, righteous frustration narrowing his eyes.
Talia felt in that moment her own anger rise, not at the server, but at Tab. She controlled it. She had never shown her emotions publicly, and would not start now.
The server went back to get a cloth, expressionless. "Was that necessary, darling?"
Talia asked Tab, speaking for the first time. "Well, it's not the first time is it, I recognise him, of course I do."
Talia smiled, lips together, eyes holding his. "Well, I will just be in the bathroom to ...touch myself up, the humidity seems to have won its battle with the air-conditioner tonight."
The older couple chittered their laughter, seeing such a beautiful, young, and confident couple - a mirror to their past. Tab in turn smiled, delighted at Talia's engagement with his new friends. "Of course." Talia rose, adjusted her white YSL bag, and walked toward the bathroom. Once out of Tab's sight, she drew a deep breath, counted 1,2,3, and darted through a door that lead to the drinks galley. Glasses were stacked high, lipstick covered and half full. The sound of churning filled the room, much louder than she had expected. With so many dishwashers going the air had sticky condensation to it. She saw the server with his back turned to her. She approached him and as he turned she dropped her eyes, feeling suddenly shy.
