Playing for Rya

27. Into The Fray

Photo of Zhika

Song: Work - Rihanna

As she and Derek passed through the wide double doors of the adjoining hall, the thought crossed Rya's mind that it had to be at least twice the size of the large ballroom they'd just left behind,

The space was massive in size but designed and furnished in an intimate fashion that boasted dim lighting in hues of golds, purples, blush pinks and dark reds that bathed the entire hall in color.

Hundreds of tiny strings of glass-encased light bulbs hung from the high ceiling amidst large wreaths of white flowers that had also been strung from the ceiling and were lit up by the tiny lights that wove within and around the delicate petals.

Both Rya and Derek were met at the entrance and ushered to their seats by a man sporting a dark grey vest and a long black morning coat complete with coattails and white gloves, and as they walked further into the room, Rya noticed other men dressed in similar attire, lined up adjacent to the door. One by one they met guests as they came into the room and walked them to their seats.

Seating arrangements had been thought out and executed perfectly, the vast center of the hall remained unoccupied while cozy seating areas, had been set up on the outer fringes of the dancefloor but, rather than the high backed chairs and other dinner furnishings that one would expect at such functions, there were long, white, leather upholstered couches, curved in the shaped of a half circle and complemented by several little, oval shaped brass tables with glass tops, placed in the middle of each seating area.

Each tabletop held tiny square shaped gold vases filled with pink roses and each seating area was designated for a small group of ten with seating cards indicating the seat placements for each couple, and as she and Derek took their seats, she was pleased to see that they had been seated right next to Elsa and Gio. 

The man who'd shown them to their seats, didn't waste any time offering to take their drink orders the moment they were settled in and it seemed, by all indications, that he was to be their designated attendant for the evening and as she glanced around at the guests settling in around them, it was apparent that the same service was being extended to all.

Recognizing that she'd already had quite a bit to drink and wanting to keep her wits about her, she declined the offer, and so did Elsa, as expected, politely declining the offer from the man who had ushered her and Gio to their seats. Derek and Gio, however, ordered a glass of scotch and bourbon respectively.

The attendants returned almost immediately with two tumblers in separate crystal trays, filled with dark liquid, and after handing out the drinks to their respective owners, one of them stopped in front of Rya, while the other retreated to take a standing position a short distance away from where they sat.

'Pardon me Miss, but I've been asked to obtain a list of charities you represent, there seem to be a number of requests for donations in your name, and I'm told we do not have any record of charities that you support and would like such donations to go to.' The man said.

'Oh, er, right,' Rya murmured, 'may I have a pen and paper please?' she asked of him.

He nodded and pulled out a small notepad and a pen out of the breast pocket of his morning coat and handed the items to her.

Having received the heads up from Elsa during their plane ride here, she was prepared with the names of three charities which she scribbled onto the notepad and handed back to the gentleman attendant.

'Very good miss,' he nodded as he retrieved his stationery from her and left.

She caught Elsa's wink and smiled back.