Girls' Night (Manifesto)

[Colette Moreau]

Colette was already pretty annoyed that she had a glimpse of Moscow’s social elite but was still on the outskirts of the party. She’d sent her name out to multiple contacts, informing them she was in the city, but still lacked a successful invitation to any of their worlds. She knew it was because she was American, and even if the Moreaus were a powerhouse of wealth and influence, they were still foreign. So she waited… and waited.

Until finally, Evelyn came through. Colette didn’t know how the congresswoman did it, but she leveraged a response from the Privilege’s office. It wasn’t a government meeting, nothing official or anything like that, but still, it was something. Anything social was a great sign.

She bought a new dress for the occasion. It was called for to attend Manifesto, and she wanted to be in on the most current Moscow trends. It was hand-beaded and form-fitting with an array of purples the color of sunset. Diamond drops hung from her lobes and she wore an amethyst ring set with white gold. Her hair was loose but for one side pinned back with a diamond and pearl comb that let the curls cascade elegantly back, and her makeup was flawless. When she was shown to Sofia’s table, she paused to let the other woman acknowledge her.

Sofia was as much a goddess as the internet claimed she would be, but so was Colette. More to the point, one of them was the daughter of class and refinement, the other the daughter of a casino. “Ms. Vasileva?” She confirmed as much as she sat opposite her. “Colette Moreau, a pleasure to meet you,” and she offered to shake hands.