“Do you have any kids?” she asks.
“No, and no secret ones either.” My cheeks heat, and I nearly smack a hand over my mouth, realizing how fucking stupid I am. Sharon surprises me by smiling and laughing lightly.
“And here I thought you were a meek little thing.”
Penny interrupts on my behalf. “Jessa is so nice, I wish more people in the office would give her a chance.”
Sharon sighs and takes a long sip of her drink. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be standoffish. The office can be a little cliquey and well none of us knew how to approach you.”
“It’s all good. Really, I’m just happy to be talking to you now. What about you, do you have kids?”
Sharon raises her hand waving for the bartender. She orders some fruity blue concoction for the three of us. “Yeah, I have two teenagers; it’s a fucking nightmare.”
“Boys or girls?”
“Boys. It’s disgusting and cruel,” Sharon says and Penny laughs.
“Her son gave their family computer a virus recently from watching porn.”
Sharon swats Penny, who laughs loudly, catching the attention of the cool side of the table. We’re met with unpleasant looks, and Sharon rolls her eyes.
“Fucking sales douchebags,” she mumbles under her breath, and I have to hide the laugh behind my cocktail glass.
I finish the first drink sooner than I intend to, so do Penny and Sharon. I think about leaving now and calling it a night, but then Ed starts talking to me and telling me about his daughters and how much he loves numbers. Then Huck talks about how he surfs on weekends or dives and finds lobsters. It’s the first time I feel like I’m just Jessa and not their former boss’ love child. I’m enjoying myself maybe more than I should, or more than my bank account can allow, but I need this.
We’re on our fourth round when I excuse myself to go to the bathroom. It’s when I’m sitting on the toilet and staring at the bathroom door that I realize I’m drunk.
Fuck.
The cottage is a forty-five minute drive with no traffic, that will be a huge Uber bill. It’s not like I haven’t slept in my car before, I could sober up and then go home. But I should see the rest of the night out first.
After I wash my hands and look at my half-lidded eyes in the mirror, I give myself a little pep talk. I will not say anything embarrassing in front of my new coworkers, and I will get home safely.
When I get back to the high top, nearly everyone has cleared out. It’s just me, Penny, and Sharon.
“Well, girls, I’m gonna call one of my sons to pick me up. At least they can do that, seeing as I had to see my son’s PornHub search history.” She picks up her phone and texts her son before leaving cash on the table and giving us a wave as she leaves the bar.
“One more,” Penny says. I nod, because I feel light, like I have no problems, and I don’t want this feeling to end.
Penny doesn’t order the same cocktails but two shots. We shoot them back quickly, and I have to stop myself from throwing up. I’m extremely proud of myself when I hold it down.
“So, give me the real Jessa.”
“Huh?”
“I know you’re from Virginia, you played field hockey, and who your dad was, but besides that nothing.”
“Because we just met each other.”
“Fine.” Penny waves me off. “I’ll start. I’m the family fuck up.” I open my mouth to speak, and Penny waves me off again. “I was always falling for the wrong guys and changing who I was. I didn’t go to college because my high school boyfriend was in a band and I wanted to be with him. So by the time I left him, it felt too late. The boyfriend after that was a lawyer, and he wanted me to be pretty and shiny. He paid for things, but he was… rough.” Penny looks off in the distance. “This job was something I needed, and well, now I’m working on figuring out who I am without a man. Oh, and I really like dancing, spending the day at the beach.”
I blink at Penny’s drunk confession, and I don’t know if it’s the alcohol or how Penny makes me feel so comfortable, but I lay it all out for her.
“My mom was an addict. I won a partial scholarship because we were low income, but I still have a shit ton of debt. At school I started… um… dating my professor.” Penny gasps, and she rests her hand on her face like my story is riveting. “I really thought we were going to be endgame. It was great for a while; he taught me so much about myself… but apparently, I surpassed his age requirement. I caught him with one of his students a few weeks ago. I packed up my shit and went on a self-exploratory road trip. I was driving down here to meet my dad when Zach invited me to the funeral.”
“Fuck,” Penny says with her mouth gaping open.
“No kidding.”
