Gwen and Fiona arrived just late enough to make it interesting for John, 
who took his mechanical pocket watch out at least a dozen times as he waited, 
and finally ended up clutching it in one hand, nervously popping the lid open 
and shut. Gwen folded her long legs and spread her skirts out prettily on the 
transparent floor, drawing vituperative looks from several women who remained 
standing. But John was relieved to see that most of these women were relatively 
low-ranking engineers or their wives; none of the higher-ups needed to come to 
the ballroom.