Chapter 18

Chapter eighteen

A male servant welcomed Jason and ushered him into a brightly-lit room abuzz with the animated chatter of people drinking as they mingled. Jason looked for Lola but couldn't see her. Everyone was dressed in fine clothes and seemed completely at ease in the grandiose setting; enormous chandeliers hung from the ceilings and festive swathes of Holly and ivy decorated the large bay windows, waitresses in frilly white caps and starched aprons wove through the room, balancing silver trays on their fingertips. One stopped to offer Jason a Canapé, which he accepted with a glass of wine and made as if to mingle, peering at flower arrangements or gazing at painting until, to his relief, Lola appeared. She was wearing a midnight red sequined dress that clung to her body all the way down to her ankles, where the material spread out in a circle hiding her shoes. She hugged him in greeting, which surprised him. "Come and meet my grandparents," she said.

First, She introduced h