“All I'm saying isthat he obviously likes her, right? He's mentioned her a few times, and she really is pretty, so, you know, why wouldn't he like her?” I gesture at nothing with my wine glass.
Elle and Max share a look.
“No. No secret looks. I know what you're going to say and I am not jealous!” I plonk my glass down a little too hard on the table, garnering a disapproving scowl from the older couple at the next table. We're having a rare girls’ night out at our favourite pub, The Four Sails, and I may or may not be drinking on an empty stomach.
Jaime appears next to the table, removing her rain-soaked jacket and shaking the droplets from her hair. “Sorry I'm late, traffic was an absolute bitch! The road to Isaiah's is flooded. Again. Such a nightmare!” She drops down next to me, shoving me along the bench to make room. It puts me closer to thebarred cave entrance in the wall, which always creeps me out a bit. I keep thinking someone will reach through the bars to get me, so I grab our jackets and block as much of the hole as I can.Shudder.
“Hey, babe, that sucks the road is flooded again. I thought they fixed the drainage back in April?” Elle says, pouring Jaime a glass of rosé.
“Thanks, hun,” she takes a big sip of the wine, “and yeah, they did, but I think the council's version of fixing it is different to literally everyone else's. Anywho, what did I miss?”
“Well! Shari here is insanely jealous of a pretty girl that Brad keeps talking about, but in true Shari style, she's living in denial. Ooh, that rhymes!” Max the traitor fills her in.
“Oh, is this that Melissa or Clarissa or...something issa chick?”
“Larissa,” I grumble into my suspiciously empty glass. I reach for the bottle and fill 'er up.
“That's the fella! Yeah, I'm not even a little surprised at that.” At my questioning look, she adds, “You've mentioned her several times since she dropped Brad at yours a few weeks ago.”
“What? Noooo, I have not! And don't say me doth protest too loudly. I'm not jealous. I'm not,” I point my finger at all of them.
“Uh-huh. Whatever you say, dear.” Max shakes her head with a chuckle. “Ooh but speaking of jealousy, did I tell you guys that my brother is going home to Malaysia for a whole month over Christmas and new year?”
“Oh man, I'd kill to go home for a month! The sun, the heat, the food! And my parents and family and whatever but the foooood! Damnit, now I'm hungry.” Maybe I should eat something, my head is feeling rather floaty already. Floooaty. You know what I haven't had in forever? An ice cream float. I used to love those as a kid! I wonder if they'd make me one here if I asked nicely.
I claw out of my reverie to realise that my glass is empty again, so I refill once more. “Do you guys think a prosecco float could be a thing?” I muse. Clearly the conversation had marched on without me because they pause talking about the kids and school to ask me if I'm feeling ok.
Kids. Plural. What if I wanted another one? Ideally, I wouldn't want my babies to have different dads. Call me old-fashioned, but that's just how I'm programmed. I wonder if Brad would consider babying me up again. I snort out loud at the thought and realise three pairs of eyes are staring at me questioningly.
I clear my throat, “Ahem, sorry, just thought of something funny. What are we talking about?” I look down and notice my glass is empty again! I can't be drinking that fast, can I? Squinting at the glass one-eyed, I accuse, “Are you guys somehow siphoning my wine? Ooh, I love this song!You were a bump in the road, I thought I’d pick myself up from this fall, just a bump in the road…Jenna Hendricks is a songwriting genius.”
Elle bursts out laughing, “Babe, I think you might need to eat something, you've pounded most of that bottle solo. What would you like?”
“I have? Well, fuck! Can I please have a burger? Ooh, or fish and chips. Or maybe pie and mash. What's the fish of the day?”
“At this point, we just need to get some food in you, little lightweight. I’m ordering whatever is quickest to prepare,” Max says as she shimmies over to the bar.
“Do you guys think Brad would put another bun in my oven if I wanted him to? I mean, assuming he's single at the time. I doubt Larissa would be very happy about it if they start dating and I ask to screw her boyfriend, ya know?”
“Shari, my love, my sweet, deluded friend,” Elle takes both of my hands in her and leans across the table so I can focus on her face. “Do you think that maybe you should just tell Brad how youfeel? And before you ask, I don't mean the baby thing. I mean the ‘you want to be with him but are still too scared to try’ thing.”
“I don’t?—”
“Shari Thea Jones?—”
“Jaime Cora Young,” I quip back, snickering to myself.
“—you're only lying to yourself! You've always had feelings for Brad, but you freaked out and pushed him away. Repeatedly. And now that he might actually be interested in someone else for real, you're freaking out again because you know you've prooooobably made a mistake.” Jaime's face is all kinds of disappointed, and Elle nods her agreement from across the table, still holding my hands.
“I ordered you a burger and a diet coke,” Max states as she hands me the glass of pop. “And I agree, you should just tell him how you feel before it's too late. He's obviously always been into you, I don't think that's changed. But if you don't say anything and he does start dating Larissa, you'll always regret not taking that chance.”
I stare blankly at the table. I know they're right, even in my inebriated state. But it's a terrifying prospect. “You really think he still wants me?”
Jaime wraps her arm around me and squeezes my shoulder, shaking me slightly in her frustration. “Definitely, babe. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
“Ok. Yeah. You're right!” Nodding resolutely, I fumble to unlock my phone, “I’ll text him right now and?—”
“Do not tell him in a text!” Jaime grabs my phone off me and her jaw drops as she looks down at the screen. “Seriously? How did you already text him ‘Hi’ in that split second?”
