Chapter Twenty-Four
October 5, 2229, Neo Southern California Metroplex, Restaurant Crystal and Vine
Jia sat with Imogen and Chinara at a table covered with an immaculate white tablecloth. The entire dining room was dim, with flickering candles in the center of each table providing additional illumination and atmosphere.
A waiter had already taken their orders, leaving them with a bottle of wine that was supposed to be for all three. Imogen’s efforts already threatened to make it her personal bottle. Jia didn’t want to order the new bottle quite yet, but she suspected it wasn’t far off.
Imogen raised her glass of wine and smiled warmly at Jia, her cheeks pink from her first couple of glasses. “We need to have a toast. Why haven’t we had a toast yet?”
“A toast?” Jia asked, looking from
