Falling back to sleep isn’t easy when every time you close
your eyes, you’re met by the image of Astrid in a naughty nurse’s costume. But
soon enough, my eyes became too heavy to handle. As the room softened into the
quiet of sleep, I heard someone knocking at the door.
A part
of me hoped it was Astrid with her trench coat while the rest of me just wanted
sleep. “Go away,” I groaned.
The
door opened anyways and someone clomped through the living room.
“Florence?”
I sat straight up in bed. Was that my dream coming true? Was that Astrid?
The bedroom door creaked open and Astrid peaked in, “Hey,” she said. Sadly, she was fully clothed without a trench coat.
“Hi…”
“Tedd
couldn’t come over so I’m filling in. He made his Hangover Soup for you,
though,” she held up a shady looking liquid in a clear container. “Are you
hungry?”
I
nodded and crawled out of bed. Following her, I had the awkward realization
that I had forgotten pants. I crept back into the room and tried to make myself
half way presentable – this time pants were included.
“Sorry
the soup is… well let’s just say Tedd doesn’t cook for good reasons. But he
always insists his Hangover Soup is the perfect remedy. I personally believe
he’s still drunk when he eats this…well I don’t know what to call it. It
certainly isn’t soup. But I’ll suffer through the concoction with you. Besides,
I’m sure Renolds doesn’t have anything better to eat.”
“This
is true,” I took a spoonful of the soup and gagged at the smell of it. “No
thank you…”
“Oh… I
forgot how horrid this really is… Okay, we’re going out.”
“Out to
where?”“Out to dinner, of course. Come on, go shower, put on some clothes and let’s go.”
I
couldn’t argue with her on that. So I took a shower, and threw on a pair of
Renolds’ jeans and a plain black shirt. I found Astrid vacuuming when I walked
back into the living room.
“This
room is repulsive. How the hell do you stay here?”
“We’re
generally only here when we’re drunk or hung-over so it’s been fairly easy.”
“You
poor thing. I’m sure you were a lovely lady until Renolds came along. I bet you
went to church every week and never drank. You were probably a virgin too. I’m
so sorry…”
“I
know… I was a terrible bore before Renolds threw me into her chaotic mess.”
Astrid
snorted and hooked her arm through mine. “So where are we going?” I asked.
“You’ll
see! As you were making yourself presentable, I was scheming. Renolds has had
all these nights to show you around but it’s my turn now! I’m sure you haven’t
seen anything other than the clubs this town has. I’ll show you everything
else.”
“Well
thank you. It’d be nice to not be intoxicated for a night.”
“Oh, I
never said there wouldn’t be any alcohol!” She grinned, pulling out a flask
from her jacket. “Renolds and I do have a few things in common.”