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The bar was crowded. A lot of people stopped for a drink after work. Samantha surveyed the place, wondering if all these people were as messed up as she was. Did they all wake up hungover and covered in blood? Were they all going to meetings and then drinking afterward? Were they all begging God to save them and then drinking to drown out God’s voice?
“Are you listening to me?” Miranda asked accusingly.
“Huh?” Samantha’s eyes met hers across the table. “Sorry, what?”
Miranda swore. “You do that a lot. Isaid,does this spur your memory?”
Of course not. She’d been here a hundred times. Maybe more. “Uh, no.”
Miranda pointed to the small spot some people used as a dance floor. “It happened right there.”
Samantha looked where she was pointing, looking at the floor for blood, but it was too dark, and the floor was too dirty to see anything. She felt foolish for even looking. It had been two weeks. “What am I looking at?” she asked drearily.
Miranda looked at Denise. “See? Shedidblack out!”
Suddenly, Samantha hated these women, hated them with a burning hot fire. “Tell me!” she snapped, and Miranda leaned back in her chair dramatically.
“Okay! Okay! Calm down! That is where Denise dirty danced with Reggie to the Top Gun theme song.” She laughed maniacally.
Disappointment flooded over Samantha, and a dull throb started in her temple.That?Yeah, she did remember that. But it was so entirely unremarkable that she had forgotten about it. Not blacked it out. Just forgotten the old-fashioned way. “So what?” she said and took a drink of the whiskey sour Miranda had bought her and placed in front of her.
“So what?” Miranda screeched. “So that is so disturbing!”
Denise took a drink too. “Now, now,” she said as she crunched on her ice. “It’s notdisturbing. A little weird, yes, but it’s not like I went home with him. Reggie’s a pretty good dancer.”
Miranda tipped her head back and laughed some more. Her laughter was nails on a chalkboard, and Samantha’s dull throb took a sharper edge.
She wanted to leave Laney’s Pub. She never wanted to see Miranda or Denise again. They weren’t her friends. They weren’t even nice to her. They were just coworkers. Just drinking buddies.
But she had to know. “Yeah, so we all drank.” She concentrated on her words. “Here,” she specified. “And then we went home. I guess Denise dancing with Reggie was about as wild as the evening got?”
Miranda was staring at her, judging her, evaluating her.
Samantha wasn’t very good at being sly.
Miranda was. “I don’t know, Samantha. That’s as wild asmyevening got. I can’t speak for yours.” She took another drink, keeping her eyes on Samantha.
“I’m asking if anything else happened, because if it did, I don’t remember.” Might as well admit it. What did she care what these two thought of her?
Miranda furrowed her brow and continued studying her.
“No,” Denise said. “I did not lose any time, and nothing much happened. We went home.” She polished off her drink. “That’s it.” She stood. “I’ll go get the next round.”
“Count me out,” Samantha said and stood quickly. “I’ve got to go.” She tipped her glass back, dropped a few bucks on the table for the tip, and then left without saying anything else.
They called after her, but she pretended not to hear them.
