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We turned the movie off but stayed where we were, the seats comfortable and the refills within reach.
I felt like we were teenagers again, stealing Dad’s drinks. He never noticed because he never remembered he had kids in the first place. But it allowed us to get drunk during my parents’ dinner parties. Archer once threw up in one of Mom’s flowerbeds and then passed out. They never found out.
We weren’t sneaking the alcohol any longer. But sitting in the dim light of the movie theater almost felt like we were back in high school.
Thea was drunker than I’d seen her in a while, giggling and spilling her drink all over herself.
“Why didn’t you ever have kids?” I asked, too drunk to care about decorum or hurting anyone’s feelings. Thea adored kids. And she was great with them. I always thought she’d have some as soon as she was married.
“I would if I could. But it’s not in the cards for me.”
I sat up. She’d never said anything before. “What do you mean? You can’t have kids?”
She let out a sad laugh. “Biologically, I’m perfectly capable of having children. I always wanted them. But that’s hard to do without someone getting me pregnant.”
I frowned, not following. “What do you mean? Is William not able to have kids?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
My head wasn’t able to follow. “Didn’t either of you get tested when you didn’t get pregnant? Or try IVF?”
Thea emptied her still half-full glass. “You can’t get pregnant from a vibrator. And William doesn’t want kids so no IVF.”
I reeled from the revelation. I always thought they had the perfect marriage. “You don’t sleep together?”
Thea refilled her glass, a grimace on her face. “He’s gay.”
I sputtered, thinking I must have heard her wrong. “What? When did you find out? Why didn’t you get a divorce?”
“He told me when we first met. Asked me to marry him and get half of everything if I stayed married to him for ten years. I have two years left.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to think less of me. I know what this looks like. Gold digger who’s waiting for a payday. But we’re good friends. He’s a great person.”
“You don’t need the money.”
She scoffed, waving her full glass around, spilling more champagne. “I have no degree, no skills, and barely made it through high school.”
Thea’s family never had much money, and I knew she always thought being rich would solve all her problems. I could see why she’d have jumped at the chance to marry someone who had everything she’d ever desired.
“You can still go to college now.”
“I tried. But I’m just too dumb. I started three different courses but couldn’t hack any of them.”
“But—”
She waved me off. “I need to pee. Be right back.”
I gnawed on my bottom lip, trying to figure out a way to help my friend.
My phone vibrated where I’d set it next to me on the armrest. It was an unknown number. I wouldn’t usually answer, but if someone called me at nearly midnight, I picked up.
“Ever?” the voice on the other end said timidly.
Instead of a reply, a sob escaped. The phone dug into my ear from my tight grip.
I wiped my cheeks, but the tears kept coming. “Archer? Where are you?”
