“Nell! I’m sleepwalking, and the police saw, and I bled into the Grove Core, and I’m super horny, and everything is all fucked up, and I don’t know what todooooooo?—”
Her voice cracked into a wail as she hiccuped into Nell’s shoulder. Without missing a beat, Nell stroked Goldie’s hair and started humming gently in a soothing rhythm.
“I have invited her to stay for dinner,” Sig said helpfully.
“Thank you, honey. I appreciate that so much,” Nell replied. “But maybe you can go to the rooftop garden for a bit? Or head down to watchInspector Alleynwith Mr. Caracas?”
“Dinner will be ready shortly,” he offered.
“Sweetheart,” Nell said gently, “I love you with all my being. But we’re going to order pizza tonight, okay? Put the pork chopsin the fridge. Do you want pizza, or are you going to eat your larvae?”
Sig paused. “The larvae are marinating,” he said finally. “I will consume them cold later when it is convenient.”
“Perfect. You’re the best; I love you.”
“You are my heart, beloved,” Sig responded solemnly, and Goldie heard his footsteps walking towards the front door, which opened and then quietly shut.
Nell stroked Goldie’s hair, slow and steady. For a few precious moments Goldie allowed herself to just… be. Breathing with her her best friend as the world trembled all around her.
Finally, Goldie sniffed, sat up, and scrubbed at her face with both hands.
Nell studied her solemnly. Her brown curls had half-escaped their ponytail and were frizzing into an absurdly flattering soft halo.
“It’s the engagement between that selkie influencer and the barghest from Channel Eight,” Nell said gravely. “Isn’t it.”
Goldie barked out a wet laugh. “Exactly. I can handle murder and mayhem, but I cannot handle their seaside proposal photoshoot and his soulful, glowing eyes.”
Nell patted her cheek. Then she stood, brushing her cardigan sleeves down, and headed to the kitchen, grabbing her phone from her fallen purse along the way.
“I’m ordering pizza now and bringing you more wine!” she called. “Do you want to talk about it or not? Do you want to watch TV or not? Do you want to drink until we’re blind or not?”
“The very last part!” Goldie yelled, voice cracking.
“Good!” Nell hollered back.
A pause. A clatter. Then Nell returned like a conquering hero, two boxes of wine hugged to her chest and a party bucket of ice swinging from the crook of her arm. Her eyes flashed white fora heartbeat, and then she blinked and sat cross-legged on the floor.
“Drink up,” she declared, plunking the wine boxes and ice in front of Goldie. “We’ll fix cosmic weirdness tomorrow. Tonight, you’re getting blitzed.”
Goldie stared into the sauvignon blanc like she might find the secrets of the universe swirling in the ice cubes. Her shoulders had finally started to loosen a fraction, and she raised the glass to her lips and threw it all back. It helped. The presence of Nell helped more.
“What did you tell Sig just now?” she asked, snatching the wine box and sloppily refilling her glass.
“I told him to watch for the pizza and let me know when it’s here.” Nell filled her glass to the brim with cabernet franc and clinked it against Goldie’s. “No notes, no interruptions. He’s going to visit Orell to see her new loom, so they’ll be up until the wee hours of the morning.”
Goldie snorted. “He’s a saint. What did he ask in return?”
Nell grinned over the rim of her wine glass, her eyes crinkling smugly. “Nothing. I promised him a blow job.”
Goldie choked, wine going up her nose. “Seriously?”
Nell’s eyes glittered with wicked amusement. “He can’t get enough, and I love doing it, so it’s the perfect bribe.”
Goldie slapped a hand over her mouth, then burst into a helpless cackle. “You whore. I’m so proud of you.”
“You know it.” Nell’s grin softened into something cozy as she held up her fingers to motiona smidgen.“He likes it onlythis much lessthan doing the same to me, which means I’ll be reaping my own rewards later.”
Goldie collapsed sideways into the couch cushion with a groan. “Ugh.And you haven’t introduced me to any of his brothers or cousins becausewhy?”
