Once her husband had gone to warm up the car Serena checked the contents of her purse and then looked at her reflection in the hall mirror. It was a surreal moment. It seemed that her husband and her own reflection were the only familiar faces in her life at that time. The fact that the Christmas holidays were now in full swing only intensified her feelings of isolation and yearning to return to California to be with friends and family. She gave a sigh of resignation wishing she could snap herself out of her funk.<br/><br/>As she stood in contemplation the urge to tell Christian she didn’t feel well and he should go to the party alone almost became too strong to resist, but like the good obedient wife that she was she clenched her hands into fists summing up the courage to go out to her waiting husband. As she climbed into the warmth of the purring car Christian joked about how long he had been waiting. Serena smiled and quipped back “Perfection takes time darling…”.<br/><br/>During the journey Christian made most of the conversation, telling his wife about the exploits of his colleagues and what objectives the company had for the following year. The talk flowed over Serena like water. She had no idea who any of the people were that her husband referred to and she certainly didn’t care about what the company’s plans were. She sighed to herself knowing that only she could resolve her sadness. At that moment she decided she would make an effort to break out of the doldrums and try and make a friend or two at the party. There would surely be other wives and partners who were just as disinterested in company politics as she.<br/><br/>Even though they had arrived early the party was already in full swing. On entering the large function room in the hotel they were instantly engulfed by the throb of the party sound and heat. Serena squeezed her husband’s hand for reassurance as they walked into the sizable crowd. Almost at once a man’s voice called out “Hey! Here he is!... Chrissy!...Chrissy man!...over here..”. Serena turned to see a small group of men and women with one nondescript man in a badly fitting suit waving at them. Christian smiled, waved back and then lead his wife over to the group.<br/><br/>“Hi Doug…,” said Christian as they reached the group. “This is my wife Serena…” he said introducing her to the strangers. “Oh..Hi Serena…” replied Doug nodding towards her. He then put his arm around Christian and steered him into the centre of the gathering. Serena was left standing on the fringes being ignored. She tried to start a conversation with the other women there, but other than a polite reply they seemed unwilling to welcome her into the group. Christian kept trying to involve his wife in the discussions but the topics were work-related and she didn’t have much to contribute.<br/><br/>Eventually, she and her husband became separated. Christian was being maneuvered from group to group being introduced to those people deemed to be important in the company. Serena found herself stood at the edge of the room alone with a glass of cheap champagne. She glanced at her watch which showed it was only 20:15. She felt increasingly self-conscious and uneasy watching everyone else enjoying themselves. She thought she would take refuge in the ladies cloakroom but one her way saw a set of open french windows that lead out to a paved area. The room had become hot and humid so the opportunity to take a breath of fresh air was very welcoming. Without being noticed Serena slipped through the glazed doors out into the freshness of the late evening.<br/>