An hour later, Nadine was sitting with Taylor's mother and sisters at a table near the dance floor. His mother was nice, and his sisters mainly just talked amoung themselves, occasionally looking at her and giggling. Nadine wasn't sure if that was good or bad.
"So what do you do?" Diana asked her.
"Um...I work at a hotel." Nadine said.
"Oh, is that how you and Taylor met?" She asked.
Nadine paused. She would have to choose her words carefully. "Yes, we met when he checked in." She answered.
"Well that's nice." Diana said. "You were brave to come along." She said.
"Oh?"
"Well, i shouldn't say that. It's just that....sometimes people can be very quick to judge." Diana said.
"Yeah, i got some strange looks coming tonight." She said.
"That's expected."
"Oh."
"Don't worry." She said. "You look lovely dear."
"Thank you."
"I can tell this isn't your scene." Diana said.
"What do you mean?" Nadine said. Did she know?
"I don't like these parties either. "
"Oh."
"Neither does Taylor. Tell me, how long have you been dating?"
"Oh...not very long." Nadine answered unsurely.
"Well, give the poor boy a chance."
"At what?"
"Romance. Sex." Diana said with a giggle. "The only thing you can do is be patient."
"Okay..." Nadine said, almost choking on her drink.
"When i married his father, i practically had to retrain him in the bedroom." Diana said.
"Oh my." Nadine said. This was starting to get personal.
"Yeah. But i know deep down, Taylor's just a sap, just like Walker, and especially Isaac over there." She said, gestering towards the dancefloor. Nadine turned to look over, where Isaac was in a corner with his girlfriend, slowly dancing, oblivious to the rest of the crowd.
"Oh, i see what you mean."
"Yeah...hopeless really." Diana said with a laugh.
Diana sighed.
"This is the first time i can remember that Taylor's brought such a nice girl to a party." Diana said with a smile, sipping her wine.
"Really?" Nadine said. Mrs. Hanson sure had her attention now.
"Oh yes. Usually some buddy or the management hooks him up with some sleaze that expects to be paid at the end of the eveing." Diana said with a chuckle.
"I don't know what to say."
"Just say you don't expect any payment." Diana said, nudging her.
Nadine laughed. For the first time that evening, she felt relaxed.