Bullets and Beauty

Chapter 7

        Mr. Williams finishes his speech quickly, with a special mention of The Vanguard for Freedom Initiative and a few words of appreciation for us and George that has us all turning scarlet in our seats. With a final word of thanks for everybody's hard work, Mr. Williams walks offstage and everybody begins eating. The dinner passes quickly but pleasantly. The food is good and after awhile music starts playing and people get up to dance. I laugh slightly, enjoying the sight of the various diplomats enjoying the food and music. I am pleasantly surprised that this event feels more like a potluck than a formal dinner. I turn to George, only to find him grinning at me. He answers the question on my face. "Not quite as formal as you were dreading is it?" He smiles. "It turns out that most people share your opinion on the general discomfort of these events. It was decided unanimously by the visiting diplomats that, throughout the week until the actual assembly on Friday and Saturday, the 'formal' events will be dialed back. In other words, the dinners and gatherings have been set in a way to make everybody far more comfortable and ensures that we all have a nicer time of this than if we kept to the usual tedious tiptoeing that everybody dreads in a formal and diplomatic setting. The Foundation is also hoping that a more relaxed atmosphere could help diplomatic relations as a whole. It may be easier for our guests to view us and each other as friends and encourage a more peaceful assembly at the end of the week."

I shake my head in disbelief with an incredulous grin on my face. I have a pretty good idea of who came up with this idea and I raise my eyebrows at George. "That's amazing, and pretty smart." I smirk. "I bet Mr. Williams was hesitant when you first brought it up."

George laughs. "What makes you think this was my idea?"

I look at him. "This has you written all over it. You dislike all the pomp and circumstance even more than I do, and you're the only one who could have convinced the necessary people to make this happen." I grin. "For what it's worth, I am very happy about it." I gesture to the smiling people enjoying the dinner. "And it looks like they are to. You better watch out George, I think Mr. Williams might have a commendation in line for you at the end of this. I'll bet he asks you to prepare a speech before the end of the night."

George grimaces and gives me an appalled look. "Don't jinx me, maybe he'll forget."

I laugh. "Keep dreaming George."

I turn slightly as James walks up to stand beside us. He grins and holds out his hand. "Sorry to interrupt." He looks at me, "would you like to dance with me?" He gestures over to the area that has been cleared for a simple dance floor. Pete and Rosie are already dancing.

I smile and stand up, taking his hand. "Sure." I grin. "Can't stand to get shown up by Pete?"

He grins back, leading me to the dance floor with a quick nod to George. "That's part of it, the other part is that they are actually playing good music. Besides, we've got to prove that we still have the moves."

I laugh, shaking my head slightly as we reach the dance floor. A new song comes on, one with a nice tempo. Not too fast, but not a slow dance either. We step onto the floor and he places a hand on my shoulder while his other arm encircles my waist. I assume my respective position and we start to dance a simple two step. I relax slightly, enjoying the rhythm of the music as we sway and glide lightly across the dance floor. We pass Pete and Rosie, who are grinning at us. I see Liam and Annie start to dance as well. Tommy and Jules are the last to join.

We dance like this for a few more upbeat songs, keeping up with the lighthearted tempo before the music changes to a slower melody. James and I slow down, changing our two step to an improvised slower swaying, still dancing gracefully around the other couples on the dance floor. We dance, pressing more closely together, enjoying each other's presence. A qiuck glance around confirms that everybody else is dancing in a similar way. I smile contentedly, resting my head on his shoulder. The dance lasts for a few more minutes before the song ends. I step back, smiling at James. "This is fun, but I'm going to take a break to get something to drink."