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Turning back to the mirror, I look at myself again. All I see are rolls and fat. I need to lose some weight, but baking pastries all week doesn’t actually help any. “I don’t know. It feels too tight and way too short. Look at this.” I squeeze my giant boobs. “This dress makes them look so… so…”
“So fantastic? Do you know how much I would kill for a rack like yours?”
“You can have them. They get hot, sweaty, heavy, and I haven’t worn a button-down shirt in over fifteen years in fear of someone losing an eye if I sneeze. They’re yours.”
“Girl. Stop. Some guy is going to see your rack as the ultimate gift. You just wait.” Grace picks some lint off my dress. “Come on. You look amazing. Besides, it’s girl’s night. It doesn’t matter what you look like. We’re going to drink and dance until our feet fall off. Let’s go.”
I sigh heavily, “You’re right. Let’s do this. We look hot.”
“Yes, we do!”
“Let me just take my medicine and we’re out of here.”
“What medicine? Are you sick?”
“No. It’s my antibiotic for my cut finger. I think the doctor was being overly cautious with two weeks of antibiotics, but this is the last one.” I pull the pill from the bottle, swallow it down with a sip of water, and throw away the pill bottle.
“Ride share is here.” Grace says from the front door. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be. Let’s get drunk and dance our feet off.”
“Yeehaw!”
“Honk.”
Hooplas is a new country western bar and grille that just opened on the north side of Hibiscus Harbor. When Grace and I heard they were opening, we couldn’t wait to try it out. We’ve been here once so far and had a great time. The music is loud; the drinks are cheap; the food is great, and the atmosphere makes you feel like you’ve been coming here your entire life. Tonight, the place is packed.
After finally finding a place to sit up at the bar, we each ordered a shot of tequila and a beer.
Grace raises her shot glass. “Here’s to having plans to look forward to all week.”
“Cheers.” We clink our glasses together and shoot down the tequila.
My mouth contorts to the taste of the liquor, so I take a large sip of my beer. “Fuck.”
Grace laughs. “Agreed. So, tell me… how ya holding up? You doing okay? I know this week was rough and with Sunday being what it is…”
She’s referring to the anniversary of the fire and my parents’ death. Nodding, “Yeah. I’m okay. I miss them terribly and hope they’re proud of me. Of what I’ve done with my life.”
“Oh Kate. Of course they’re proud of you. How could they not be?”
“I know they are… would be, but the little girl in me that never got to see them again really wishes she could talk to them one more time. Ya know?”
She nods, “Yeah. I know, sweetie.” She places her hand on mine and it’s silent between us, but the bar is hopping.
“You know, this weekend is Father’s Day. The twentieth anniversary of their death is on a fucking holiday.” I feel the tears welling up in my eyes and I’m fighting them, falling. I don’t want to cry. I’ll do enough of that this weekend when I’m alone.
Grace nods. “I know.” She signals the bartender and when she looks at Grace, she points to our empty shot glasses and holds up two fingers. “Kate Benson, it’s time to get drunk.”
The bartender brings us both two more shots of tequila each. “One of your better ideas.” I grab one shot, shoot it, and then do the same to the third one. “Let’s dance.”
Grace follows suit and then we both peel ourselves off of the barstools and make our way to the dance floor.
The tequila seems to make me a better dancer. At least I think so. People seem to give us both space, which is good, right? They do that in movies for the excellent dancers, so we must be rockin’ this place.
The music moves through me and in order to forget the date on the calendar; I move with the beat. Music is the best therapy for me. Moving my body feels good and Grace is attempting to line dance with a guy on the dance floor. She’s hanging on to him as if she’s drowning in the ocean and he’s a life preserver. I catch her eye and motion to the bar. I’m getting hot and thirsty.
Grace nods and then whispers in her new friend’s ear and points to me. He nods at her, and she follows me over to the bar.
