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We’re sitting at a table with Hazel and a room full of people playing bingo. The last time I played this game was probably in the eighties with my grandparents and their old-folk friends at the nursing home. The only thing that changes is that I’m now full of tequila. Bingo and tequila equal a very entertaining Thursday night. Unlike me, Penny holds her liquor without too much drama. When she yells out bingo, I burst out into a fit of laughter causing everyone to turn and look at me. I’m not sure what’s so funny, but I can’t stop, and it isn’t long before Penny and Hazel join in, which only adds to the hilarity of the situation.
***
“So, let me get this straight, you were out all night drinking tequila and playing bingo with a drag queen?” Tristan questions, scratching his head in confusion.
“I never said ‘drag queen’!” I yell defensively.
“Okay, tranny, then?”
“I don’t know, I probably should’ve asked when it was appropriate to ask,” I admit.
“When is it ever an appropriate time to ask that question?” Tristan snickers.
Sitting up from the couch, my head is ready to explode. “When you’re playing truth and on your tenth shot of tequila. Anyway, what the hell are you doing here?”
I didn’t notice it earlier, but Tristan has two Starbucks cups sitting on the table. I grab one and take a sip, hoping it will cure my pounding head. Mmm… fresh coffee.
“Eric’s gone to New York for a few days, so I thought why not spend time with my favorite uncle!” He cheers.
“I’m your only uncle,” I point out.
“And a great one at that.” A cheesy grin is plastered on his face. Not immune to his buffoonery, I shake my head with a smile.
“Aw shucks, kid, nice spiel. Now, what do you want?”
“Nothing.” He smirks.
“Okay, so what’s been happening at Eric’s?”
Tristan’s shoulders perk up like a meerkat on watch. “What do you mean? Nothing’s happening.”
“Geez, don’t bite my head off. I’m merely asking how things are going,” I huff.
“Sorry. Good. Great. Um… it’s fine. Eric is busy a lot with work and stuff.”
“Sure. I know when he worked in New York for Charlie, they were inundated with new clients. LA must definitely have its share of work with all the celebrity shit that goes on around here.”
“Yeah, he tends to come home late and is such a bitch when he’s tired. Take, for instance, last night… I cook this awesome meal, and all he does is complain that he has a headache and then goes straight to bed. I slaved over that meal for hours,” he complains.
“You sound like a married couple,” I say casually.
“Wh… why would you say that?” He stumbles on his words.
“Because you sound like a married couple… lighten up, kid. Eric has his own life. Don’t forget that you’re living under his roof.”
Tristan stays for the next hour before leaving to attend an audition for some infomercial. It’s for some crazy device that cooks meals in less than two minutes. It’s laughable, but being a great uncle, I wish him luck.
Again, I find myself alone, anxiously waiting for a response from Mr. Grimmer. If I don’t hear anything by the end of the week, I’m going to take the initiative and contact him. This limbo feeling is getting old.
Thursday rolls around, and before I know it, I’m back sitting in the circle of troubles.
Everyone is here, chatting away about last night’s episode of Survivor, from who is deemed as playing the game to who’s making alliances. It’s a light-hearted conversation, and even Hazel joins in, not caring the topic has swayed into reality television instead of the power of healing.
Trying my best to stay in the conversation, I anxiously wait for mystery girl to turn up. It’s already half an hour into our meeting and nothing. I figure she’s given up, perhaps it got too hard. That thought scares me, the harm she could do to herself.
Tonight, Penny opens up about her past, her attempts to contact her family with no luck, life on the streets, and her take on how people react to her lifestyle. It’s heartbreaking to hear the pain and ridicule she endures almost every day, yet she has the strongest backbone out of anyone I have ever met. She may have been beaten physically, but mentally, she’s as tough as nails.
During her confession about falling in love with a married man, the door creaks, and a body slips through, taking a seat at the back.
