“I know. Neither am I. But I can still have a beer with my wings and toast to my friend who’s doing something she’s really into.”
“Do you think they’ll make it?” Larissa asked her.
“Who? Murphy and Della?”
“Yeah. They’re so young, only eighteen and nineteen. Did you know who you were at nineteen?”
“I’m not sure I know who I am rightnow,” Harlow returned.
“Here are your beers,” their waiter said, placing them on the table, along with two water glasses.
“Can I get a shot, too?” Larissa asked him.
“Sure. Of what?”
“A shot?” Harlow laughed. “You? When was the last time you did a shot?”
“College.” Larissa shrugged. “I’m going to try to have fun, like you suggested.” She turned to the waiter. “Can I get a shot of tequila?”
“Any kind?”
“Whatever is fine,” Larissa told him.
“She doesn’t mean that,” Harlow said quickly. “Don’t bring her the top-shelf stuff. She can’t tell the difference anyway.”
“She’s right,” Larissa added.
“Do you want one, too?” he asked Harlow.
“No, I’m driving. But can you bring her two shots instead? Should be fun.”
“Hey!” Larissa laughed.
And it made Harlow think about the first year of their friendship when Larissa had been a little more open to going out and having a good time. Her first year of grad school had been relatively easy, or so Larissa had told her more than once, but the second year had been a lot harder, and after that, she’d been all about studying. Harlow supposed Larissa had always been that way, but it had gotten worse the harder school had gotten for her. She’d been a TA and then teaching more and more the longer she was in school as part of her Ph.D. program, which had added to her load, and their nights out every so often had turned into once or twice a year. Grabbing food at the diner because they had to eat was one thing, but actually going out just for the fun of it wasn’t something they’d done in a long time.
She knew part of that had been her fault and had nothing to do with Larissa’s propensity for staying in with her books and laptop. Harlow had been in relationships, which meant going on dates and spending time with someone other than Larissa, and since Larissa didn’t have any other close friends outside of her sister, most of the time, she was staying in.
“Here you go,” their waiter said and placed two shots in front of Larissa.
“Thanks,” Larissa replied and tipped one back without hesitation. “Oh, that’s awful.”
“Hold on a second. You don’t–”
But Larissa was already downing the other shot.
“Have to do them both right now,” Harlow finished her sentence. “Lou, you haven’t eaten since when?”
“I had toast for breakfast.”
“Should I take these away?” their waiter asked of the shot glasses.
“Yes, please,” Harlow said. “And can you bring her that turkey burger as quickly as possible? She’s about to get really drunk if she doesn’t eat something soon.”
“Yeah, no problem.”
The guy laughed a little and walked away.
“See? I can have fun.”
