But at least for tonight, it bought him a dreamless sleep.
NATION OF CAROLINIA, County Court, Buncombe County
In the matter of the adoption of
Dara Shirazi,
a4year-old child assignedmalesex at birth, by
Calix Lehrerand
[single parent adoption], their spouse.
I,Buncombe County Department of Child Welfare, do hereby consent to the adoption ofDara Shirazi, born inAsheville, Carolinia, onOctober 25, 2104, to biological parentsNazreen Shirazi & Younes Shirazi, by adoptive parent(s)Calix Lehrer.
My reason for giving this consent isfor the best interests of the child.
Dated at Asheville, Carolinia, this4thday ofFebruary, CE2108.
(Attach seal of court)Buncombe County Dept. of Child Welfare
Brent Michaels,Judge
Cx Lehrer,Adoptive Parent
Status of biological parents:Deceased
Citizenship of biological parents:Carolinian
Citizenship of child:Carolinian
Note appended to record:Please advise that the child’s parents were witchings who died under suspicious circumstances at their home. Despite the adoption of the child, this remains an open investigation. Homicide has not been ruled out.
CHAPTEREIGHT
DARA
Given his track record, Dara thought, it wasn’t a surprise that he should end up here: draped over the bar in the pub below his apartment peeling the label off a bottle of bourbon, closer to unconscious than sober.
The bartender had been giving him that look for the past hour or so, the look that saidI’m thinking about cutting you offbut simultaneously saidI want you to suck my dick.
Dara peeled another strip off the bottle label and poured himself a glass. An eighth glass, he was pretty sure. Or maybe eleventh.
“You’re out of peanuts,” he said, lifting his voice so the bartender would hear him.
“You ate them all.” The man was making someone a martini; he barely even glanced up.
“That’s not the point.”
Dara took a sip of whiskey. What was Noam doing right now?
Probably also drinking whiskey. Probably an old fashioned, complete with imported bitters and a delicate curl of orange peel trapped beneath the ice.
Noam didn’t know how to make old fashioneds. Someone else would’ve made it for him.
Dara finished the rest of his glass in a single swallow.
“What’s the point, then?” the bartender asked, humoring him.
