The cars moved in a straight procession up the semicircle drive, each one pausing beneath a sweep of lanterns that turned the night to champagne.
The Hall had been redecorated for the Blackwood Foundation's Annual Winter Gala: a city of light inside a building of stone.
Glass orbs floated beneath the vaults like lonely moons; a hundred candles stitched gold along the balcony rail. The theme, Keepers of Light, was stamped in quiet foil on every program.
They were raising money for pediatric oncology. Money for instruments and after-school art. Mercy and glamour, fused together under chandeliers.
In the backseat, Ashley smoothed her palms over the silk pooled on her lap. The dress, a black that breathed star-dust when it moved, had behaved perfectly in mirrors.
In the car, it felt like a promise she wasn't sure she could keep. Beyond the glass, cameras flickered like summer lightning.
