"A party?" The idea of Zoe in a dress did not appear to bother Mal as greatly as did the notion of her mingling at a party. He wasn't there, so it wasn't to pull the wool over someone's eyes or to get a job. Besides, how the hell was being stuck in some backwards City something to celebrate by attending some shindig in a frock? His hands lifted, palms up in a gesture of exaggerated confusion. "What the hell is she doin' at a party? Ain't no one else all malcontented stranded on this rock? No, y'all goin' to parties or seekin' full time employment." It was as if his crew were grains of sands slipping through his fingers here. Zoe at a party?
Simon not knowing where Zoe was had one advantageous merit to it -- it gave him the cause to ask the following without seeming overly interested. "And I suppose you ain't got a clue where to find Inara then, do you, Doc?"