Halfway There by Aubrie Elliot

Author:Aubrie Elliot
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Walrus Publishing
Published: 2015-08-29T04:00:00+00:00

6

The Good Life

There was a heaviness on my chest. I didn’t want to open my eyes, so I rolled over instead. I heard my cat thud on the floor beside me. He wasn’t happy. I knew he would be coming back to lie on my head in revenge. I turned over again and hid my head beneath my pillow. Plop. I could feel his little kitty paws digging into the fluff just above my eyes. He was in full assault mode and nothing would appease him. I sat up and pushed the cat off. The room began to spin. I reached over to wake Ellen, but found only covers. I lay back down. The cat moseyed back onto my chest.

I closed my eyes, trying to figure out why I felt so bad. With a little work, I determined that it was Saturday. I risked opening my eyes a bit to look out the window. It was late Saturday morning; that meant something had happened the night before. Friday night. Ah, that was it: Friday night had happened. Ellen had come home unexpectedly, so our neighbors had come around too. Ellen was their magnet. Where she was, they gathered. Beth came over after her husband came home. It was her husband’s job to watch their son a couple of evenings a week to give Beth a break. Eric, one of the gay boys next door, had stopped by for a chat. Glenda might even have come by later, but for most of the night it was only Ellen, Beth, and me.

There was wine, scotch, beer, and pizza, lots of pizza. Pizza when you’re drinking is almost always better than sex because when you drink, sex is usually unfulfilling, while pizza never fails to please, especially Saint Louis’ famous pizza, Imo’s.

Imo’s is a monument to all that is gooey, crunchy, and delicious. It comes piping hot, thin-crusted, smothered in sweet sauce, and topped in great quantities with Provel cheese. It is an acquired taste, but once you have a taste for it, there’s nothing better.

I inched up onto my elbows. Thinking about Imo’s pizza was helping my dry mouth and aching head come together to sour my stomach. I couldn’t hide my pain in sleep anymore. It was time to put my feet on the floor and face the day. I looked down at my cat.

“This is all your fault, you know?”

He licked his paw with a self-confidence that dripped with indifference, and closed his eyes. As far as he was concerned his job was finished.

I made my way downstairs into the kitchen.

“Hey there, little one, you don’t look so good. Want some hair of the dog?” Ellen came over and slipped her arms around me. I let my head fall on her shoulder. A little moan escaped me. “How about a Bloody Mary?” she continued.

“You’re not funny.”

“You thought I was hilarious last night.” She pulled away and went back to making coffee.

“I’ve also been known to carry on conversations with myself

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.