The C. Wonder luncheon at Restaurant Eve was sunny and bright, but some of the talk was of the Navy Yard shootings. Photograph by Carol Ross Joynt.
Washington, for all its “metro area” square miles, is still a small town, and when
something catastrophic happens in one neighborhood, such as the Navy Yard shootings,
we all feel the impact. For many, the dilemma is, When does life go back to normal?
Do we keep the dinner dates, go to the game, use the theater tickets, have lunch and
cocktails and enjoy the beautiful weather? The next day? Is that okay?
That uncertainty was palpable at a luncheon Tuesday at Restaurant
Eve
in Old Town Alexandria, hosted by C. Wonder to mark the opening
of the retail chain’s
second Washington-area store, at Pentagon City.
“My son didn’t want me to come,” said Leslie Gordon Johnson, managing director of
the company’s Founders Club, as she greeted guests with a broad smile. At home in
New York Monday night the family had watched the coverage of the shootings to the
growing consternation of her 16-year-old. “He was afraid. He was worried that Washington
would not be safe.” She assured him it would be okay. And, after a while, it was.
Other guests at the lunch told their own stories, related not so much to fear as to
the question of just how secure is secure.
Lunch was served: heirloom tomato salad with fresh chèvre and garden basil; a choice
of a salad with Pine Ridge Farm rib eye or a shrimp and grits sandwich, and dessert
of baked chocolate mousse with apricot jam, tea ice cream, and mint. Sunlight streamed
through the windows of the private dining room, making tall flutes of rosé Champagne
gleam.
For all the bonhomie of the occasion, the conversation returned again and again to
the Navy Yard, the victims, the shooter, and the aftermath. Because in Washington
when something so dreadful happens the harsh reality of violence and loss can’t be
ignored at even the brightest of occasions.
Even a Happy Luncheon in Old Town Feels the Impact of Monday’s Horror
The retailer C. Wonder marked the opening of a new store, but the talk was of the shootings.
Washington, for all its “metro area” square miles, is still a small town, and when
something catastrophic happens in one neighborhood, such as the Navy Yard shootings,
we all feel the impact. For many, the dilemma is, When does life go back to normal?
Do we keep the dinner dates, go to the game, use the theater tickets, have lunch and
cocktails and enjoy the beautiful weather? The next day? Is that okay?
That uncertainty was palpable at a luncheon Tuesday at
Restaurant
Eve
in Old Town Alexandria, hosted by C. Wonder to mark the opening
of the retail chain’s
second Washington-area store, at Pentagon City.
“My son didn’t want me to come,” said Leslie Gordon Johnson, managing director of
the company’s Founders Club, as she greeted guests with a broad smile. At home in
New York Monday night the family had watched the coverage of the shootings to the
growing consternation of her 16-year-old. “He was afraid. He was worried that Washington
would not be safe.” She assured him it would be okay. And, after a while, it was.
Other guests at the lunch told their own stories, related not so much to fear as to
the question of just how secure is secure.
Lunch was served: heirloom tomato salad with fresh chèvre and garden basil; a choice
of a salad with Pine Ridge Farm rib eye or a shrimp and grits sandwich, and dessert
of baked chocolate mousse with apricot jam, tea ice cream, and mint. Sunlight streamed
through the windows of the private dining room, making tall flutes of rosé Champagne
gleam.
For all the bonhomie of the occasion, the conversation returned again and again to
the Navy Yard, the victims, the shooter, and the aftermath. Because in Washington
when something so dreadful happens the harsh reality of violence and loss can’t be
ignored at even the brightest of occasions.
Most Popular in News & Politics
What It Felt Like for a Virginia Marching Band to Win Metallica’s Contest
Meet the 2023 Washingtonians of the Year
What’s IN and OUT in DC Restaurant Trends for 2024
Introducing 8 of DC’s Most Stylish
Washingtonian Magazine
May 2024: Great Getaways
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
13 Major Concerts and Music Festivals in the DC Area This Spring
Mary Timony on Her Emotional New Album, “Untame the Tiger”
The Beatles in DC: A New Exhibit in Maryland Looks Back on Early Beatlemania
Northern Virginia High School Wins Metallica’s Marching Band Competition
More from News & Politics
Former Fiola GM Convicted of Murder Is Now in a Netflix Docuseries
These 5 DC Traffic Cams Are Issuing the Most Tickets Right Now
Farewell to Crystal City Underground, the DC Area’s Strangest Mall
Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People of 2024
Inside the Urgent Effort to Preserve Black Newspapers
Maryland Has Renamed an Invasive Fish. Will It Matter?
Meet the 2024 Washington Women in Journalism Award Winners
In the Doghouse: Kristi Noem and 5 Other Canine Political Scandals