In Over Her Head by Elsie Russell - Parnasse.com

until dark.
She decided to get dressed and make an appearance for dinner.
On the spur of the moment Signora was at Mme Giroux's, the minister
of culture. As a government official, her schedule was hectic, and social
calls with the girls took a back seat. So Penny came down to find
Alessandro and Ula alone in the red salon.
Sandro poured himself a scotch, oblivious of Penny, who sat
down in one of the rococo armchairs.
"You really shouldn't mix, Sandro," Ula said sipping some
viscous looking cocktail. She offered her glass to Penny.
Wary of Ula and her bizarre European potions and still reeling
from her experience on the top floor the day before, she asked for an
Orangina. She loved the nubby orange globes and the bitter fizz inside,
plus, she could open it herself. He opened the door of the paneled mini
fridge and threw her one.
They sat in their red fauteuils and sipped their drinks like tired
bankers at a private club, deep in their own thoughts.
"I got the worm," Penny said to break the ice as she watched
the bubbles collecting around the edge of her glass.
"Chiquita! No tequila here, non, no! But we got the worm
wood!" Ula sang with a Mexican accent. "Hahaha! Oh, the worm! You
mean the virus! Which one was it?"
"I think it's nicknamed KGB."
Alessandro rolled his eyes and drained his whiskey, walked over
to the bar, tinkling the cubes in his glass. "Anyone?"
"I'll take another of these," Ula said as she walked up to the bar.
Sandro looked back at Penny as he mixed Ula's drink, a
complicated affair using arcane Art Nouveau implements. "You wan'
something to chase away the ghosts?"
Might as well join the gang. "What do you recommend? No
artichokes, please."
"What do you like? You must have had something before?
Even in America."
"Jello shots," Ula teased.
"OK, spike my Orangina. Vodka or gin, nothing fancy!"
"Jello shots," Ula laughed or rather snorted in her drink.
"Oh, forget the Orangina!"
A plume of frigid Stolichnaya vapor rose from the little goblet.
"Here, I put in the little Chardin glass. Cute, no?"
Handing her the glass, he asked, suddenly all business. "We
151