Post-Election Partytime!
Vianne had devoted so much of her morning to the preparation for the evening's party that she had forgotten the posting of the election results, and had kept herself entirely and unintentionally in the dark as to her success until Obi-Wan had congratulated her when they passed each other in the hall. True enough, she had gone out to see her name printed neatly there with all the others, and she hadn't entirely decided how she felt about the news just yet. Elated, nervous, a little quietly astonished...all of those in variable degrees, her heart like a kite flung high on a blustery day. She had spent so much of her life at odds with the established order of things, causing supposed chaos wherever she went, that she could hardly have expected to be accepted with such openhearted enthusiasm.
That she could not share this celebration with Anouk was her private, her secret sorrow, but she could shuffle it under the rush of activity the day would unquestionably bring.
No disappointment on that front. She and the others who worked in the kitchen, along with several marvelously helpful volunteers, spent their time chopping, peeling, slicing and baking, preparing oysters and mahi-mahi and one large tureen of fish stew, along with grilled and shredded pork and fresh tortillas. They had baked fresh loaves of bread as well, and cut up fruit into one of her favorite plain glass serving bowls, mixing it together in a sauce of strawberries cooked with sugar. Everything stood outside now, all those choices and far more, along with drinks and plates and cutlery, arranged on two of the long tables dragged out of the rec room. For a finishing touch she had baked golden sugar cookies, dusting them liberally with glistening crystals of raw sugar and stacking them in a basket beside the usual cakes.
All seemed to be in order, the evening warm and inviting, the sky perfectly clear, with the last of the sun's rays shining in long strips through the palms. The musicians had their instruments--along with a set-up of electronic equipment Vianne had never seen before--and were variously humming, tuning, and otherwise preparing. Everything buzzed with the muted excitement of anticipation, a readiness for the party to begin.
[Here is your party post! Remember that it will be slowtimed all weekend. See the mod post on slated here for details. ♥]
That she could not share this celebration with Anouk was her private, her secret sorrow, but she could shuffle it under the rush of activity the day would unquestionably bring.
No disappointment on that front. She and the others who worked in the kitchen, along with several marvelously helpful volunteers, spent their time chopping, peeling, slicing and baking, preparing oysters and mahi-mahi and one large tureen of fish stew, along with grilled and shredded pork and fresh tortillas. They had baked fresh loaves of bread as well, and cut up fruit into one of her favorite plain glass serving bowls, mixing it together in a sauce of strawberries cooked with sugar. Everything stood outside now, all those choices and far more, along with drinks and plates and cutlery, arranged on two of the long tables dragged out of the rec room. For a finishing touch she had baked golden sugar cookies, dusting them liberally with glistening crystals of raw sugar and stacking them in a basket beside the usual cakes.
All seemed to be in order, the evening warm and inviting, the sky perfectly clear, with the last of the sun's rays shining in long strips through the palms. The musicians had their instruments--along with a set-up of electronic equipment Vianne had never seen before--and were variously humming, tuning, and otherwise preparing. Everything buzzed with the muted excitement of anticipation, a readiness for the party to begin.
[Here is your party post! Remember that it will be slowtimed all weekend. See the mod post on slated here for details. ♥]