The evening began with polite conversation, but Cocktail Crescendo has moved well beyond that arrangement. She has reached the hour when opinions become sharper, laughter becomes louder, and anyone interrupting the music risks being discussed after they leave.

Pleasure is serious business when the world has spent all day asking you to make yourself smaller. In the privacy of the speakeasy, elegance could stretch out, take up room, and enjoy itself without explanation. She is not escaping reality; she is briefly refusing to let it set the mood.