Felix offered her his hand when she struggled to get up on her own and helped her into the backseat of the car. Then he reached out to his teary-eyed girlfriend. “May I give you a ride home too, cariño?”
A silent nod, and Felix repeated the process of helping her into the car. Vanessa gave him loud, drunken directions to her house just a few blocks away. When they arrived, he verified that she had a way to get her car in the morning. She mumbled something about her sister as she climbed out and said good night to Jo. Jo gave a half-hearted wave in return.
He waited until Vanessa was safely inside her house before he reached for Jo. He kissed her hand, but she only stared listlessly out the side window. “I don’t know where you live.”
Jo sniffed. “Can I still come over?”
“Of course.” He kissed her hand again and carefully set it down in her lap.
The drive was silent but mercifully short—one of the benefits of a small town. Inside, Jo flopped onto the couch and buried her face in a throw pillow. Felix fetched a glass of water and a sleeve of crackers. He sat on the rug and offered them to her, but she shook her head without looking at him.
What the fuck had happened? It was eating him up inside to think he might have upset her without knowing it. He ran his hand up and down Jo’s back, letting her know he was there whenever she was ready. Finally, she sniffled and turned her face away from the pillow. Her puffy, bloodshot eyes pierced a hole clean through Felix’s heart.
“Cariño mío,” he whispered. “Please talk to me. Did I do something wrong?”
Fresh tears welled in her eyes. “Oh, Felix, no.” She grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him closer. She touched her forehead to his chest, and he put his arms around her. “It’s me. It’s my stupid brain. I’m sorry. I was so relieved you weren’t mad at me that I lost it, and I’m too drunk to stop crying.”
Felix racked his brain for something—anything—he had done that would lead Jo to believe he’d be angry at her for ignoring a text for a couple of hours. He came up blank.
“Just so we’re clear, Jo,” he said. “You don’t have to respond to me immediately. You’re not beholden to me. You were out having fun with a friend. Getting completely hammered. On a Wednesday.” He injected some levity into his voice and was rewarded with a tiny laugh. Jo’s fist loosened around his shirt.
“I’m so sorry I worried you,” she said.
“It’s all right. I’m just glad you’re okay,” he said. “Besides, I think the hangover will be retribution enough.”
Jo groaned, low and drawn out. “Is that water still around?”
He kissed her forehead, helped her into a sitting position, and handed her the water. She gulped half of it down in one go.
“Thank you for coming to get me,” she said. “And Vanessa.”
“You’re welcome.” He climbed onto the couch and put an arm around her. She leaned against his side. “I guess my next hero’s calling is taking you to work tomorrow, huh?”
“If this water doesn’t do the trick, I might call in sick.”
In response, he handed her the crackers. Jo gave him a grateful look, tore the sleeve open, and ate two of them at once.
Jo didn’t call in sick, but the ache behind her eyes that lasted well into the afternoon made her regret that decision. Despite Felix’s gentle prodding, she hadn’t been able to haul herself out of bed in time to stop at home on the way to work. She kept extra scrubs in her locker in case of any bodily fluid accidents from the residents, so at least she had clean clothes. But she still felt gross all day. Vanessa, the young whippersnapper, was fine—and, luckily, completely nonjudgmental about Jo’s teary sidewalk breakdown.
“We’ve all been there, California,” is all she said about the matter.
Jo managed to make it through the day and dragged herself home to a cantankerous Merry. He yowled the entire time she fed him and cleaned his litter box. “I know, Mer-bear, I’m sorry,” she told him. “At least you didn’t have to wear yesterday’s underwear.”
After a long, hot shower, she made herself pasta with pesto and more parmesan than she could safely endorse as a medical professional. She curled up on the couch and found an episode of the show Vanessa recommended streaming online. She proceeded to watch a man and a couple of robot puppets make fun of a terrible movie from the fifties about giant killer crickets. Partway through, her phone chimed with Felix’s text sound.
Felix
How’s the head? Did you survive the day?
She smiled and paused the show to give him her undivided attention.
Jo
Alive. Pasta is helping. And clean underwear.
Felix
I’m glad to hear it. Pasta solves all manner of problems, I’ve found.
Jo
Speaking of food, I’m excited for our date tomorrow.
Felix
So am I. What do you think about going into Wichita? There’s a place there I’d like to take you.
Jo
Totally. I’d love to see the city.
Should I dress fancy?
Felix
Up to you, but I won’t complain if you do.
