Inside the main room, if that’s what it can be called, there are too many levels and walkways and mezzanines to count. Each one is filled with people, dressed in what the couture-oblivious trio can only assume is the height of fashion, or what passes for it on the western coast of America in the late 1940s.

Colors would appear to be out. In that sense, the clothes match the manor’s minimalist décor. The women wear many varieties of black and white patterns. In very tight and sheer dresses, enormously brimmed hats –one sprouting a two-foot long black feather- and modestly long skirts for the few older women dispersed throughout the crowd. The females of the party have somehow managed to combine haute couture with understatement, a feat remarkable in itself.

The men are more predictably attired in boring but very expensive suits. All the imaginable shades of navy are represented, along with a few colorful candy-stripes and an army of white sports coats. Those are the servants, carrying dazzling silver trays with every delicacy of hors d'oeuvres. Neckties and pocket handkerchiefs offer a little more in the way of character, while a good number of flamboyantly puffed ascots –usually tucked into a deep maroon or cherry smoking jacket- are meant to signify the dandies among the crowd.

Cigars, strong and aromatic, are the accessory of choice for men. Some women –and a few of the more questionable men- flaunt long cigarette holders while barely ever seeming to take a puff. The air inside is remarkably clear and dry, though there aren’t any signs of fans or vents. One of the oldest men handles a cane with an ornately jeweled knob. It sparkles from across the room, and from anywhere else one may venture within the house.

The hitchhiker is quick to grab a heavy bottle of Champagne from an ice bucket. Anywhere else it may have been deemed a ballsy act, but here, every surface is adorned with colorful bottles, sleek glasses, and enormous lopsided decanters filled with vintage wine. The alcohol is all carelessly poured into glasses from which two sips may be taken before being discarded in favor of a different drink, and so on. The driver allows himself to be poured a colorful fruit juice cocktail, while refusing the elaborate peeled-fruit garnish, from a server who has the same practiced air of contempt as the drivers outside. The teenager doesn’t want to make a fuss -or attract attention, as hard as that is proving to be- so he is happy to grab a half-empty beer bottle and suck from that.