When I walk through the front door of my great aunt’s house ten minutes later, Aunt Veronica offers me a mixed drink heavy on coconut liquor. I don’t ponder how my great aunt seems to know what I need, I just swallow the drink. It burns my throat and hits my stomach with the force of a hurricane, but I ask for a second. Aunt Veronica complies, though warns me to go easy this time around.

I don’t want to, but I take my great aunt’s advice and sip my drink. Now the alcohol seems nonexistent, just the way I love my cocktails. My jarred nerves settle, and after a quick sandwich, I explain what happened at the Kings’; about all I’ve seen and heard with the Kings’ and their girlfriend since working there. Aunt Veronica listens without asking questions.

“I sort of feel bad,” I conclude.

“Why?”

“What if Jenna’s right and I ruined the relationship?”

Aunt Veronica frowns. “Did you sleep with either Adam or Crystal?”

I recall my belief that Adam flirted with me but don’t mention it. As far as I know, I never made an outward display of reciprocating his intentions. “No.”

“Did you in any way convince the Kings to lose interest in Jenna?”

“No, but—”

“Then you carry no blame. Jenna’s made the bed she’s now sleeping in.”

“I know I didn’t help matters.”

Aunt Veronica leans back in her chair. “It does seem you tried hard to piss Jenna off whenever you could.”

I swallow more of my drink. “She deserved it.”

“I’m sure she did. That woman is one of the biggest bitches I’ve ever met.”

I sigh. “I guess I should look for a new job tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“Well, the Kings can’t possibly want me back.”

“Because their girlfriend flipped her lid? That’s no reason to get rid of good help.”

“I know, yet—”

Aunt Veronica touches my hand. “You should go get some rest, okay? You’ll stop saying stupid things.”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Aunt Veronica smiles. “Probably not. Stupid is a hard disability to overcome.”

My eyes widen, and my great aunt bursts into laughter. Despite my dejected mood, I giggle a second later. Tension loosens from my shoulders and I down the remainder of my drink.

“Okay. I’ll take a nap.”

***

At eleven-thirty that night, my cell phone rings. I bolt out of bed, and search, half-asleep, for it. I find it in the pocket of the pants I wore earlier, pull it out, and answer the call.

“What?” I sound like an ornery ninety-year-old man.

“Hey, it’s Adam. Sorry to bother you so late.”

His voice clears away my mind-fog. “Oh, no, it’s fine. Um...What’s up?”

“I need to head out of town tonight. My mom’s been in an accident and needs surgery. But I don’t feel comfortable leaving Crystal alone after today. Can you...come over, to keep her company?”

“Well, I, uh...”

“I’ll pay you. Please. She really needs someone right now. I’d call one of her other friends, but no one’s close-by.”

I smile when Adam calls me Crystal’s friend. Then it disappears as quickly as it came. Why did that simple statement bring so much happiness?

“Um, okay. I guess I can.”

“Thank you so much! You don’t know how amazing you are.”

Adam’s compliment makes my heart skip a beat, but I write it off as a residual surprise from being woken up so abruptly. “Yeah, sure. I’ll be by in a few minutes.”

“Well, I got to leave at this moment, but no worries. The door’s unlocked and Crystal is still up.”

“Okay.”

“Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome.”

We hang up.

In a flash, I change into the sweats I wear on my period, slip on a pair of flip-flops, and retrieve my purse. At the last minute, I decide to leave Aunt Veronica a note, though I figure my great aunt won’t care where I go as long as it doesn’t land me in jail. Once done, I creep out of the dark house, and head for the Kings’.

All the lights are on when I pull into their driveway, even the lights in the garage. I itch to turn them off (a habit born from years of my mother screeching every time someone left an empty room illuminated for longer than two minutes), but I barrel through the front door instead. Crystal pounces on me as soon as I step into the house; almost spills the drink she holds.

“Hi!” Her voice has a familiar too-high pitch, and I can safely guess the dark liquid in Crystal’s cup isn’t juice.

I set my purse on the small table in the main hallway and turn to Crystal. She doesn’t look good. She hasn’t bothered to wash off her makeup, and her crying has smeared it all over cheeks. Her nose and eyes have a red tint, and repetitive tugging from fingers has turned Crystal’s hair into a knotted mess.

“Hey.” I want to add more, maybe apologize for earlier (though I know Aunt Veronica was right about me having nothing to feel guilty about) but decide against it. I fear upsetting Crystal, the very opposite of what Adam would want. “So, um, want to watch a movie or something?”

Crystal’s bottom lip trembles. “Jenna and I liked watching movies together. You know she’s a big screen junkie, right? She can tell you anything about any movie, actor, or—” She sobs.

“Uh, okay, no movie. W-what do you like to do?”

Crystal rubs her eyes with her free hand and sniffles. “I like games.”

“Like Boggle?”

Crystal frowns. “Boggle?”

“A game where you look for words in little tiles in a set amount of time.”

Crystal shakes her head. “Never heard of it. No, I prefer games like D and D.”

“Oh. That wasn’t allowed in my house.”

“Seriously?”

“My dad thinks games should only be played that have real-world applications. Anything else turns your brain to mush, so he says.”

Crystal snorts. “Oh, he’d hate me then. D and D is my life. I even started a club for it, both in high school and in college.”

“Sounds...”

“Geeky, I know.”

I smile. “A little, maybe.”

Crystal giggles and seems more tipsy than happy, but I don’t complain. It sounds nice regardless. “I’d show it to you but starting a campaign at midnight is ridiculous.” She drains her cup and belches. “Oops.” She giggles again. “Hey! How ‘bout we play Elysium?”

“That is?”

“More complicated than Boggle but easier than D and D. You’ll love it!”

Crystal gives me her empty glass and flees into the sitting room where Jenna conducted my job interview.

Before I can decide whether I should follow or not, Crystal returns with a thick, square box with Greek buildings and a woman on the front. She shoves it into my free hand and takes off for the kitchen. In a heartbeat, she comes back, and now carries a full bottle of wine.

“To the bedroom!”

I follow Crystal to the second floor and watch Crystal’s every step; her balance has left with her volume control. If she falls down the stairs and brakes a bone, Adam will never forgive me, and likely fire me.

Crystal leads me to the enormous master bedroom, fully furnished with all the fantasy elements Crystal loves. The sheer amount of decor made me laugh the first time I saw it, but then I remembered how much Harry Potter merchandise my own room in North Carolina consisted of and my amusement faded. I might not be as big of a geek as Crystal, but I’m not far behind.

In the bedroom, Crystal arranges pillows on the floor. Then she flops down on her ass, reaches for Elysium, and sets it up after I hand it over. Once done, she gestures for me to join her.

I sit and eye the game. “This looks difficult.”

Crystal pours herself another glass of wine. “It’s deceptive. By the second run-through, you’ll have it.”

She’s wrong. Half-way through the first epoch, I’ve fully grasped the game. I do well, but in the end, lose the game by three points. I agree to play again and do better my second time, though I don’t feel victorious. By the end of the first game, Crystal consumed most of the wine. I have no clue how she’s still conscious.

As we play, I try to keep the conversation away from anything that will remind Crystal of Jenna. Mostly, I needle Crystal with questions about D and D. For a while, my plan works. But then Crystal gets full-blown drunk, and at one point during the second game bursts into tears.

I console her the best I can, but I’m a failure. I was never the one my friends went to for comfort after a break-up, and I don’t have enough personal experience to pull wisdom from. My one and only relationship ended on good terms.

Crystal rubs her snot-covered nose. “What did we do w-wrong?”

I shrug. “Sometimes people...uh...drift apart. No one’s at fault.”

“But everything was fine before I left f-for Paris.”

I doubt that. The way Adam and Jenna fought told me they had serious problems for a few months, at the least. Maybe both put on a front for Crystal, but neither seems the type to hide their feelings. Crystal had to have suspicions. She’s too smart to not see the obvious.

I think of my parents. My father should have caught on to my mother’s spending and hoarding problem, no matter how busy he got over the years. My mother hid it from him, but not with any skill.

No, even smart people run from reality.

“I’m sorry,” I tell Crystal, unable to think of anything better to say.

Crystal drinks the rest of the wine straight from the bottle. “It’ll get...b-better...right?”

“If you want it to.”

Crystal’s brow furrows and I want to kick myself. That’s not what upset people want to hear. They need reassurance, especially when the unhappy person is your boss.

“I, uh, meant you will—”

“Can you help me to bed?”

I set aside the wine bottle. “Sure.”

I pull Crystal to her feet and half-drag her to the bed. Crystal doesn’t bother to assist, but I don’t expect her to. The fact Crystal can still form intelligible words surprises me.

As I tuck the comforter around her, Crystal reaches up and grasps my face between her hands. In an instant, she brings me close and kisses me on the lips. Shock freezes me in place.

Crystal pulls away with a smile. “I knew they’d feel like that.”

She sighs, closes her eyes, and falls back against her mattress.

The snoring that quickly follows makes me jump. In a daze, I take care of the game and turn off Crystal’s light. Then I drift across the hall to the guest bedroom where I know I won’t sleep.