She hosts these sorts of events all the time. They start with a sort of stuffy formality: suits, ties, non-offensive small talk. But that point in the evening where the ties get loosened? They get tightened back up on her.
gagged
“I sit here thinking about how much courage it takes to live an ordinary life…I say to myself, That’s okay—this is real, this is something I can handle, I’m just sitting here, I’m not doing anything bad. And then I leave because I can’t accept the brokenness.“ – Colum McCann, Let The Great World Spin.