ninanevermore

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Today on my drive into work, I was thinking about Shelly and Chris, a couple I used to know though my old coworker Bren, who had grown up with the two of them.

Shelly was an Amazon of a woman, tall and big boned. She liked to have fun, and for her that usually involved getting drunk. I've never met another person – man or woman – who could drink like Shelly. She is the only person I've ever met who always ordered two beers at a time so she could have one in each hand.

She enjoyed drinking, and was grateful that she didn't the kind of issues that would mean she shouldn't drink. Holding her beer in each hand, I often heard her say (no doubt because she had forgotten she'd mentioned this before), "Both of my parents are alcoholics. Thank God I'm not one!"

( Mixed Emotions, Shaken Not Stirred )

Today on my drive into work, I was thinking about my friend Joy and remembering the time I spoke with her ex on the phone. I would bet he still remembers talking to me, even though he never learned my name. This is fine, since he gave me a new name during the conversation.

I met Aaron only once, when he visited Joy at the Toll Road Authority with their newborn daughter shortly after she got back from maternity leave. I disliked him the moment I saw him. I though that he had the cold, distant eyes of a sociopath. Joy let me hold the baby for a moment that day and introduced us, but Aaron barely glanced at me. If he'd known what would happen the next time we talked, he would have made note of my full name and no doubt an additional future restraining order would have been filed against him.

( Smile when you call me that… )