Then the waitress came back with the champagne and a silver bucket, and proceeded to push out the cork without the precious liquid inside fizzing up or spilling. That was a talent I lacked, but I supposed it was one you’d have to develop quickly if you were opening bottles that cost hundreds of dollars.
We placed our orders. Luke waited until the waitress had gone before he lifted his glass of champagne and said, “To your recent promotion.”
I managed to mumble a thank-you and sipped my champagne. This was my first Cristal, and I had to admit it was awfully good. I actually could taste a difference between it and the lesser champagnes I’d drunk in the past, and I was the first person to admit that my palate was far from developed. The bubbles seemed to evaporate in my mouth, and it had a
