The coffee pot fizzed and snapped, and its earthy, burnt smell filled the kitchen. Tania poured a cup and took a cautious slurp from the top while she groped around in her purse for the pills, the daily kind. The kind she didn't try to hide. They had been working moderately well for her, all things considering. Her moods were still variable and operated independently of her concious mind, "like a boat on the ocean," as Dr. Bhide used to say. "The feelings will come in waves, but the right help will be like a lifeboat. It isn't going to take the waves away, but the when we find the medication that works for you, it's going to help you ride them out. Safely."
After years of trial and error she had finally settled on a cocktail that seemed to do just that. Recently, though, her internal chemical scale had been tipped firmly toward recreational drugs, and the nice, steady hold she had had on her feelings was slipping.
She pulled out the bottle. Dust. Dust? What the hell happened to the pills? Fear crept further up her spine. "No. No way." She said, and hurried toward the door.
Chapter 2
The place was lit up like church when she got in. Her eyes hurt anyway, but the sight of last night's spilled beer, peanut shells missed in a hurry to get out of here last night ,it overwhelming to keep them open. If the open-mic night regulars only knew what this place looked like during daylight hours, they'd never come back, she thought, "Well they for sure wouldn't order the food." She laughed out loud to herself as Joe stepped around the corner.
"Hello!" His smile consuming the lower half of his paunchy face. "Glad you could make it back in."
"Hey Joe, I know. I'm sorry."
"Yeah Tania, the thing is, you're always sorry, and you're always late. The wierd part is, I always forgive you. Keep you on good shifts even. I got Marie, two kids, drunk husband, needs the money about a thousand times more than you, working Monday Apres Ski, and a bunch of shit lunch shifts, so you can keep Saturdays. And lo and behold, here I am, come Friday night, and you're conspicously absent. Conspic-u-ous-ly," He liked to draw out the word, "absent. Linda running around like a crazy person behind the bar, here til 2:30 in the morning. This isn't New York City Tania, we don't work til 2:30. Made a shit ton of money though. Look at this fucking place, she's cleaning up alone til 4:30. You need to tell me what's happening here T. This cannot go on."
Panic. "I know. I know. I need this.
After years of trial and error she had finally settled on a cocktail that seemed to do just that. Recently, though, her internal chemical scale had been tipped firmly toward recreational drugs, and the nice, steady hold she had had on her feelings was slipping.
She pulled out the bottle. Dust. Dust? What the hell happened to the pills? Fear crept further up her spine. "No. No way." She said, and hurried toward the door.
Chapter 2
The place was lit up like church when she got in. Her eyes hurt anyway, but the sight of last night's spilled beer, peanut shells missed in a hurry to get out of here last night ,it overwhelming to keep them open. If the open-mic night regulars only knew what this place looked like during daylight hours, they'd never come back, she thought, "Well they for sure wouldn't order the food." She laughed out loud to herself as Joe stepped around the corner.
"Hello!" His smile consuming the lower half of his paunchy face. "Glad you could make it back in."
"Hey Joe, I know. I'm sorry."
"Yeah Tania, the thing is, you're always sorry, and you're always late. The wierd part is, I always forgive you. Keep you on good shifts even. I got Marie, two kids, drunk husband, needs the money about a thousand times more than you, working Monday Apres Ski, and a bunch of shit lunch shifts, so you can keep Saturdays. And lo and behold, here I am, come Friday night, and you're conspicously absent. Conspic-u-ous-ly," He liked to draw out the word, "absent. Linda running around like a crazy person behind the bar, here til 2:30 in the morning. This isn't New York City Tania, we don't work til 2:30. Made a shit ton of money though. Look at this fucking place, she's cleaning up alone til 4:30. You need to tell me what's happening here T. This cannot go on."
Panic. "I know. I know. I need this.
