Gathering: New Year's Eve Gala

[concierge]

The annual Nexus New Year's Eve gala began at 8 in the evening. Too grand to be contained by the lobby or dining hall, the gardens at the front of the hotel were employed, with long strings of white lights forming a twinkling canopy from the front doors all the way to the hedge maze. The weather was temperate and calm, and the night perfectly clear.

Drinks were served at various bars set up throughout the gardens and lobby, with champagne cocktails being the specialty of the night. Wheeling through the crowd was a bartender with golden cart providing warm drinks on the go: Tom and Jerrys, rum punch, negus, and Irish coffee.

Crisply-dressed wait staff wove through the collected guests with an abundance of hors d'oeuvres for all different tastes. The Bistro remained open with a limited selection of items for those who were wanting something more substantial.

Above the front doors was hung a large, gold-rimmed clock counting down the last hours, minutes, and seconds of the current year.

Gathering: Kisses at Midnight

[concierge]

With the party still in full swing, the approach to midnight comes on fairly quickly. While some of the partygoers have left and some of the drink and food service had begun to die off, the waiters quietly and quickly cleaning things off stay in the background to allow for the continuing revelry to go on. Outside, the brisk weather is something to bear, but at midnight, fireworks are being drawn up to go off in the sky amidst the stars and to make the Nexus Hotel glow with gleaming colors of every sort. And of course, with the countdown comes the tradition of a kiss at midnight for good luck in the new year.

As the clock begins to wind its way down, shouts are heard throughout the party, giving notice that there's only so much time to roam through the hotel and find something for that kiss. "Five minutes to go," calls out one of the hosts from their spot at the front of the room, giving fair warning. With that, he continues on his way to mingle through the party, leaving the guests to do what they will.