Page 26 of Liquid Courage
“So how do you know the owner?” Vivian fished for any topic that took the pressure off her. “Old girlfriend of yours?”
“No. That would actually be illegal in some states.”
Vivian made a sour face.
“She’s my cousin,” Kat explained. “First cousin, too. We kinda grew up together for parts of our childhoods.”
“Whoa. Really?” Vivian was impressed. “Is she here today? I’d love to meet her.”
“Doubt it. Pretty sure she’s at her mom’s house with the husband and kids.”
“What about your mom?”
Kat didn’t miss a beat. “What aboutyourmom?”
“I asked first.”
“You probably have a better story than I do.”
I see.Vivian certainly didn’t want to drag up any bad feelings on their first official date.She must not have a good relationship with her mom.But she clearly had a good enough relationship with her cousin to get a discount at a place like this. “So then you must be from around the area.”
“Grew up one town over. You?”
“My family moved here when my sister and I were in high school.” Phyllis had been a senior and Vivian a freshman. “But my parents recently moved out of state. My sister and I stayed here because we had jobs. I live with her to save on rent.”
“You live with your sister?” The waitress brought the crackers and waters. “Must be awkward when you bring women over.”
The waitress pursed her lips, as if to say,“Oookay, then.” She left as quickly as possible.
Vivian shrugged. “I’ve never brought anyone over. Not like that, anyway.”
“Aww.” Kat propped her chin up on her hand. “I find that hard to believe. Unless you happen to know every lesbian in the county with her own little cozy place.”
How do I tell her that it’s been ages since I properly hooked up with someone?“My sister and I have only been living together since I came back home from college. So, a couple of years. Spent half that time getting over being sick.”
“Oh, right.” Kat ripped open one of the cracker packets. “I forgot about that.”
I wish I could forget about it.“It was rough. Was in the hospital for a few weeks, and when they finally let me go home, I spent most of my time either in bed or on the couch. When my sister wasn’t around, my mom came by to baby me. I had no life. No appetite, either. Whenever I wasn’t asleep, I was watching daytime TV, and I don’t have to tell you how mind- numbing that is.”
“Did it fuck up your work?”
“No, they were really good about giving me medical leave. Unpaid after my sick time ran out, but it was better than having no job to go back to.” If Vivian had anything other than a desk job, she may have been in real trouble, for she had absolutely no energy to do anything beyond sitting at her desk. She was a lot better now, but every so often she had to stop running errands and sit down for a few minutes. It was like her lungs threatened to explode if she didn’t mind her breaths. “You know what I want to know? How I evergotsick. And why did I get it so badly? I thought I was the perfect age for a quick recovery. Turns out I’m really unlucky.”
“Must’ve been a really bad strain.”
“I guess. The doctors didn’t really have any answers. They said I could’ve gotten it from someone at work or on the bus. Just had to be close enough for the right amount of time. I guess people can be carriers while hardly ever showing any symptoms. How fair is that? I’m probably going to have some problems for the rest of my life.”
“Hopefully nothing too serious.”
“My stamina is greatly affected.” Vivian’s face lit up when she received her minestrone soup and salad. “I used to jog for fun. Not anymore.”
Kat chuckled.
“What? You think it’s funny that I get winded after five blocks now?”
“Not what I thought you were going to say after you mentioned that you have no stamina.”
Vivian locked her fingers together. She could purse her lips just as well as the waitress, too. “You really only have one thing on your mind, huh?”
