Open!
Padma had arrived with Gabe, and then found herself separated from him, which was fine. There was good music and amazing food and a few people scattered here and there that she recognized.
It didn't hurt at all that she'd had more to drink tonight than she'd had in... well, probably in the last several months combined, and she felt loose and happy and still ridiculously optimistic about the coming year.
She turned away from the snacks with a few little canapes in a napkin, and found herself running directly into someone who'd been standing behind her. She laughed, loose and giggling, and then remembered to say, "Oh, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"