Dave showed up to the party in the usual scruffy clothes he wore when not onstage, the bandages wrapped around his palms concealed under ratty fingerless gloves. He beamed in cheerful incomprehension when the new boss concluded his brief speech in Polish. Or was it Russian? No matter; Dave knew a toast when he heard one, and the quantity of free alcohol alone was enough to put him in a festive mood.
Snagging a glass of champagne--not his usual beverage, but it seemed to suit the optimistic mood, Dave seated himself at the edge of the crowd and settled in to watch the other revelers.