The wine was flowing, and Cristina started to get her droopy eyes.
Valerie, who always had the booze reined in pretty well, took a sip of her Sauvignon Blanc and offered the guest room.
Cristina shook it off as though Valerie suggested they go skydiving.
“It’s early Vee,” Cristina said, holding each syllable a beat too long.
Cristina rested her chin on her elbow, and her elbow wobbled on the faux marble of Valerie’s basement bar.
Valerie had inherited her as a friend within the last year when Tan moved away, and she was a fun hang until she went two glasses over her limit and bemoaned her love life.
Over the limit and bemoaning had gotten more frequent in recent months and the droopy eyes were like the opening band for the behavior.
Valerie threw some Ramones on the turntable, something she hoped would keep the conversation upbeat.
“Romance is dead,” Cristina said before Joey Ramone could hit the first Hey Ho!
“You’re going through a rough patch,” Valerie said, thinking she had said the same thing last time Cristina complained. “There are good guys out there.”
“Lemmee ask you a question, Vee. Is there still romance between you and Colin?”
Valerie picked up the wine cork, twiddled it in her fingers.
“It’s not fair to compare yourself to others,” Valerie said.
“Answer the question,” Cristina demanded, like the bar was the railing next to a witness stand.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Jimmy Doom's Roulette Weal to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.