We sat ourselves in a cracked vinyl booth, grinning like two Cheshire cats.
Alicia liberated a battered menu from behind the metal napkin dispenser and immediately perused the options.
I touched a fingertip to my new nose stud, confirming it was real.
A classic rock ballad played on the jukebox. Dartboards and pool tables filled the back corner where a handful of patrons bent over their cues. Old wooden table-and-chair sets peppered the dining area across from a heavily lacquered bar. Movie posters and album covers from the late nineteen hundreds hung on dark-paneled walls.
“I think we’ve entered a time machine,” I said.
“This whole outing is a time machine,” Alicia said, never taking her eyes off the menu.
A woman wearing a sleeveless black T-shirt and ripped jeans crossed the checkered tile floor in our direction. Her long gray hair swung in a thick braid that reached below her waist. “Can I get you something?” she asked without preamble.
Alicia peered at the woman over the top of her menu. “Two tallboys of your best local brew and a pair of whiskey shooters,” Alicia said. “Jack Daniel’s,” she clarified.
The other woman nodded and left us.
I shook my head, amused.
“What?” Alicia asked. She passed me the menu. “When in Rome, right?”
I opened my bag and liberated a pink foam die the size of my fist. “I almost forgot. I made this for you.”
She eyeballed the gift, then lifted it and read the sides. “One homework pass. One quiz answer. A minute of free time. A sticker. Trinket. Gumball.” She laughed. “Why, thank you. I’ve always wanted—what is this?”
“It’s for your classroom,” I said. I found the die in Mom’s stuff and thought of Alicia. It was blank when I found it, so I wrote on the sides. “Now you can tell your classes that when they are especially cooperative for you, someone can roll the die at the end of class, and they all get a prize.”
We’d recently talked about the many ways her teenage students were like toddlers, including limited self-control, a penchant for games, and high reward motivation. The big die covered a lot of ground.
“You can get all this stuff pretty cheap at the dollar store or Target,” I said.
She smiled. “They’re going to love this.”
I pulled a gift card from my purse and set it next to the big die. “I’d like to sponsor your first set of bribes.”
Alicia took the card in her opposite hand and pressed both gifts to her chest. “You’re the best. Thank you.”
I blew her a kiss.
We finished our drinks quickly and placed our food orders. Then we requested another round. We ate onion rings and chicken fingers, french fries and sliders until time became meaningless, and our booth felt like a private island. A place where nothing outside the time machine could touch us.
“I haven’t been day drunk in years,” Alicia said, her words slightly slurred. “Except on vacation,” she allowed. “But that’s not the same, because the sun soaks up all the booze.”
“No sun in here,” I said, dragging crispy fries through a puddle of ketchup. Hopefully the carbs would absorb the alcohol.
“This is a good day,” she said. “You seem happy.”
“I am.” I searched myself for signs of a lie but found none. I wasn’t pretending anymore. I smiled.
“Have you heard from Robert?” she asked. “Any news on the divorce front?”
“Nope. We have mediation this week. That should be awesome,” I deadpanned.
“Ew.” Alicia wrinkled her nose. “It’s too bad you ever have to see him again. I wonder what he’s been up to while you’ve been creating a lovely little life for yourself?”
I had no idea, and I didn’t want to think about it. “He’s pretending we’re broke, for starters,” I said. “I’m glad he doesn’t know he’s the reason I’m working a million hours a week. I don’t want him to have the satisfaction.” I’d taken extra care to make the house and property shine from outside as soon as possible, just in case he drove by to judge me. I’d added fresh paint to the door and shutters, power washed the cement steps and walkway, planted flowers, hung a new wreath, and added a welcome mat, rocking chair, and planter to the porch.
“I hope your attorney obliterates him at mediation.”
