That changed when they went to the private reception for the theater sponsors. It was held in a large, elegant room with inlaid teak floors framed with beautiful cream pillars. There were shouts of “Roberto!” and “The Cat!” as people caught sight of her entering the room. She blossomed into full form, hugging her friends, kissing them on both cheeks Italian style, shaking hands, squeezing shoulders - she seemed to know everyone in the room.
She could not introduce Jade under her real name, of course. On the way to the theater, they had come up with the alias “Marie De La Fontaine,” and decided that she would be French, but educated in the USA, at Stanford. Jade wasn’t sure she liked the name - Marie De La Fontaine either sounded like a countess or a stripper, she couldn’t decide which.
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