As they walked Ford followed the conversation, but he felt a bit — slow. He was concerned that he was being a less interesting conversationalist than he usually was, and he didn't consider himself particularly charismatic at the best of times. Would Miss Chang regret having agreed to watch the performance with him if he was being dull? (It had slipped his mind that he had not actually asked her to watch the performance with him, but rather that she'd suggested it; he was thinking of this as an experience where he ought to be holding up his end of the bargain, at least, whatever that actually meant). It wasn't actually that his thoughts were slow, though, only that he seemed to be quite easily distracted. His eyes lingered a bit longer on the way her thumb moved along the edge of her glass, or the wrinkle at the edge of her mouth as she smiled, or the slight tilt of her head as she took in some new piece of decor. Ford recognized that this was a bit of a strange change of focus on his part, but it didn't occur to him that this was the departure from normal; he was instead left wondering how he had failed to notice any of these things before.
They arrived in the seating area and he noticed her hesitate. Obviously — she was waiting for him to pull one of the chairs out for her. He hurried to do so, internally berating himself for not having been one step ahead of her for this purpose. "Oh, my Christmas was fine — thanks for asking." This was a lie, but one he'd had to tell often enough that it didn't catch on his tongue. And he was pleased that she'd cared to ask, so that part of his response was genuine. "Nothing exciting; just family and presents and Christmas dinner. But tell me more about the dragons," he said as he slipped into the chair opposite her, putting one elbow onto the table as he leaned towards her. He was keenly interested in her eclectic Christmas — though, in fairness, he hadn't been disinterested in anything she'd said so far. She was just an interesting person. "I read about the dragon smugglers, in the paper. I don't suppose you were their last customers before they were caught?" he asked, with a smile on his face and a laugh poised on his lips — he wouldn't laugh unless she did first, but he hoped she did.
They arrived in the seating area and he noticed her hesitate. Obviously — she was waiting for him to pull one of the chairs out for her. He hurried to do so, internally berating himself for not having been one step ahead of her for this purpose. "Oh, my Christmas was fine — thanks for asking." This was a lie, but one he'd had to tell often enough that it didn't catch on his tongue. And he was pleased that she'd cared to ask, so that part of his response was genuine. "Nothing exciting; just family and presents and Christmas dinner. But tell me more about the dragons," he said as he slipped into the chair opposite her, putting one elbow onto the table as he leaned towards her. He was keenly interested in her eclectic Christmas — though, in fairness, he hadn't been disinterested in anything she'd said so far. She was just an interesting person. "I read about the dragon smugglers, in the paper. I don't suppose you were their last customers before they were caught?" he asked, with a smile on his face and a laugh poised on his lips — he wouldn't laugh unless she did first, but he hoped she did.
Set by Lady!