“Really, it’s chocolate in general, but chocolate ice cream is even better.” She sets the vat down on the stainless-steel counter and begins opening cabinets and drawers. “Where’s the spoons?” She holds up a giant serving spoon. “This should give you an idea of how much ice cream I plan to eat right now. Come on, bring your whiskey. We’ll use it as a chaser.” She hops up on the counter and begins removing the lid from the vat.
“Are you just gonna eat it straight outta that thing?”
“At this point I’ve lost all sense of decorum in most areas of my life, Alex. Why start implementing protocol now? I’ll leave a note if that makes you feel better. They can charge it to my room.”
I shake my head. “Some things never change.”
“Who would want them to?”
She’s right. This is the Dani I fell in love with and I wouldn’t want anything about her to be different. I hop up on the counter alongside her. She pries some chocolate ice cream onto the big spoon and tries to shove the whole thing in her mouth. We’re both laughing. She’s trying not to spit it out, but I know she has brain freeze. Some of the ice cream is running down her chin. She bends completely over and wipes her mouth on the underside of her dress hem.
“Dani, I’ll look for a towel or a napkin.”
“Oh my god, that’s delicious ice cream. What is this thing?” She turns the vat around. “Häagen-Dazs. I should have known.” She spoons up some more and hands it to me. “Your turn,” she says while she sips the large glass of whiskey that we’ve barely made a dent in.
We sit side by side in silence, eating ice cream and drinking the whiskey.
She sighs. “This is nice. See, wecanbe nice.” There’s a noise outside the door. She jumps off the counter. “Hurry up, get down.”
Now we’re both on the floor, hiding behind the counter. We hear muffled voices having a conversation. It might be a while, so we both sit on the floor. “Smells like Lysol down here.”
“Could be worse,” I say.
“True. Who is this new glass-half-full Alex?”
“What are you talking about?”
“There’s a reason why I’ve called you a grumpaholic for the last five years.”
“I’m working on it,” I say.
“So, what’s new, Alex? What did you think of the wedding? Is everyone happy? Are you following me aroundThe Shiningbecause you’re trying to avoid Kate?”
Dani’s MO is rapid-fire questions before the other person hasa chance to respond. “What’s new? Nothing,” I say. “The wedding was great. Amanda, Josh, my parents are happy. And no, I’m not intentionally avoiding Kate.”
“Areyouhappy?”
“I don’t know. At the moment, I’m drunk.”
“Me too.”
She giggles loudly. I shush her and she gets quiet. The voices are still outside the door, but it seems like they’re getting farther away.
“Tell me something I don’t know, Alex. Just one thing. Tell me a secret,” she whispers.
Dani always asks this question and I know she means something personal. “Did you know that some cats are actually allergic to humans?”
“Fascinating,” she snaps. “Tell me something I don’t know aboutyou.”
Right now, I don’t feel guarded or mad. I feel tired. Tired of pretending that everything always has to be right or a certain way.
“I still think about you when I…you know.” I arch my eyebrows.
She doesn’t get it at first, and then her eyes get big. She realizes. “You still think about me when you jerk off?” she says, laughing.
I smile. I give up. “Yes. It’s true,” I say in all seriousness.
She stops laughing. “Really?”
