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“Stay where you are,” I tell Henry and Aroha as they prepare to get up. I climb over the back of the bench and slide into the corner beside Aroha.
“All right?” Alex asks.
“Hunky dory.” I knock back the whisky in one go, then blow out a long breath. “We broke up.”
“James!” Juliette exclaims. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.”
“Are you okay?” Aroha’s hazel eyes study me with pity.
I nod. “It’s been coming for a while.” I glance around the table. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring the mood down. Would you rather I go?”
“Absolutely not,” Alex states. “Time to drown your sorrows. Consolation whisky, anyone?”
Henry, Tyson, and Aroha nod, and Alex asks the waiter for doubles of Glenlivet on the rocks all round.
I assume the unpleasantness is over, but then Cam tells Juliette that he’s leaving too to see his brother, and he walks out. Furious, Juliette refuses to follow him, then, clearly miserable, accepts the rest of Henry’s whisky and downs it in one.
“Well, this is turning out to be quite the evening,” Tyson states. He looks at his wife. “You want a divorce now or do you want to wait until the end of the day?”
Juliette snorts and I give him the finger, which makes everyone else laugh.
I have a big mouthful of whisky and let it sear down inside me. Maybe after a lot more of these, I’ll start to feel better. Or to forget, anyway.
“These things happen,” Aroha murmurs to me. “Maybe tomorrow when she’s calmed down, she’ll decide she wants to try again.”
“I broke up with her,” I tell her firmly. “She didn’t argue. We’ve been heading toward it for a while. So no, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
She’s quiet for a moment. Then she says, “You want to borrow my hanky?”
I give a short laugh and look at her. “I’m good, thanks.”
She smiles. “It’s her loss.”
“Maybe. She called me an arsehole. She’s probably right.”
She tries not to laugh, and fails. “Here’s a joke for you. What does a blonde do with her arsehole in the morning?”
My lips curve up. “I don’t know.”
“She packs his lunch and sends him to work.”
I grin. “Yeah, that’s about right.”
The MC announces the second half of the quiz is about to start. Aroha holds up her whisky glass. “To singlehood.”
I tap mine to it. “Yeah. To singlehood.” I feel a touch of sadness, but it’s overwhelmed by relief. I don’t have to pander to Cassie anymore. To dance around her moods, to worry why she hasn’t texted or phoned, to constantly wonder what I’ve done wrong. It’s liberating, and even though I know the sadness will come back later, as I knock back the whisky I tell myself I’m glad I ended it, and it’s only going to lead to better things.
At first I assume everyone’s going to feel awkward because of what’s happened, but we order a couple of platters of breads, dips, and hot savory nibbles, and the atmosphere seems to improve without Cassie’s glowering and Cam’s barbed comments.
We answer questions on Science, Art and Literature, and Kiwiana—items and icons from New Zealand’s heritage. Gradually, my frustration and resentment fades away, erased by the good company and the alcohol. I know I’m drinking a lot, but I don’t care. I keep the mulled wine and whiskies coming, encouraging Aroha to finish hers each time. I can’t imagine not being able to afford a single round of drinks, and she insinuated that she’d had a hard day, too, so I make sure she always has a full glass waiting.
I’ve met her a few times in the past, but we’ve never exchanged more than a few sentences. It’s nice, therefore, to spend some time getting to know her. She’s surprisingly funny. After a few drinks, she begins to tease me, and it’s impossible not to flirt back.
Luckily, nobody notices because they’re all three sheets to the wind, too. “I’ve got an idea,” Juliette states during one of the breaks, slurring her speech just a little. “You all have to tell me a joke to cheer me up.”
Everyone groans, but agrees to do it.
“Alex?” she says. “You first.”
