Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-40226390-20191016143720/@comment-43508460-20191018215450

The Ballroom is interesting if you try to contemplate why the heck it looks like it does. Despite the confetti on the floor, this is not after the party, because there are full trays of food--one that looks like it has cold cuts with a few black olives sprinkled on top; then a three-tiered stand with doughnuts on the bottom, some sort of buns in the middle, and cookies or crackers on top.

There's some fruit, but none of it is cut up to be served--okay, you can take the apples, pears, and bananas and eat them out of hand, but not so much the pineapple. For the kiwis you'd at least need a knife. A bunch of glasses--possibly white wine glasses, but they look more like champagne flutes--stand on the table, but in contemplation mode there's no champagne, just a silver pitcher (water? punch?) and what looks like an empty decanter (but you don't decant white wine and there are no red wine glasses).

So the party (whatever sort of party where you'd serve doughnuts, champagne, and cold cuts) hasn't started and perhaps not everything is ready yet. But there's a half glass of champagne (or white wine) on the piano, a rose across the keys, sheet music scattered on the floor, and a silk scarf on the sofa, which also holds a basket of roses right where someone should sit.

My theory: the hostess came in with the roses while getting the ballroom ready for the party. She was surprised to see a stranger at the piano, but entranced by the music she sat to listen, setting the roses down forgotten. The romantic song made her flush so warmly she had to take off her scarf.

When the musician stopped for a gulp of wine, he (or possibly she) caught sight of the hostess and jumped up in mortification that anyone had heard him (or her), scattering the sheet music, some of which was still covered with confetti from the last party.

The hostess mutely held out a single rose from her basket in tribute. The pianist inhaled its rich fragrance and then set it down, and the two of them wandered off to woo each other passionately--or perhaps find a broom to sweep up the confetti.