
As Cynthia made her way into the crowded entrance hall with Lisette in tow, she scanned the swathes of people for potential candidates worthy of her witty and charming conversation.
The man in the dusty suit? No. The happy little family? No, they looked a bit too cheery and functional. And whatever she did, she was most certainly not going anywhere near the orange cat-man. Just looking at him made her feel as though a sneeze attack was coming on. Cynthia shuddered and swallowed a few more allergy pills, and then... she saw him.
"MAAALCOM!" Cynthia cried, throwing her hands in the air and then half-dragging Lisette across the room.
"Now where have you been hiding? I haven't seen you for an age, you naughty man. And you never RSVP'd the invitation to my thirty—ahem, twenty-seventh birthday cotillion. It was the social event of the season! And you would have finally had a chance to sample all of the wonderful vegan food I've been telling you about, too; the chef was marvelous. You've never met my Lisette, either. I snatched her right out of the gutter, but my, you wouldn't know it by looking at her today! She's now my personal maid and traveling companion."