By a Thread (9 page)

Stella was hard at it with school and work, and before she knew it, it was St. Patrick’s Day. Millie and Patrick were sitting next to each other at the bar waiting on drinks, while Billy and Stella remained at the table. St. Patrick’s Day happened to fall on a Friday and the four had been at Finnegan’s since 5:30. The band playing traditional Irish music had the entire bar singing along. They were singing the “Unicorn Song.” Stella had become very familiar with the song because every Saturday night right after midnight the band played it. The “Unicorn Song” required the crowd to stand up and do the body motions along with the song. It was hilarious to see grown men singing about unicorns and other animals. She was shocked to find out the song was actually a Shel Silverstein poem, set to music.

Stella leaned into the table, her face a few inches from Billy’s, “I’m hammered.”

“It’s only midnight,” Billy laughed and leaned back in his chair. “You’re gonna puke tonight.”

“Bullshit,” she said, and looked over to see Millie and Patrick making their way back to the table with drinks. “I can out-drink all of you, probably most people at this bar.”

“Sadly, that’s a true statement.” Billy winked at her and took his beer from Patrick. “Let’s put a wager on it. The one who pukes first has to take us all out to dinner tomorrow night.”

“I’m not puking,” Patrick said.

“Well, then you don’t have to worry about it, do you.” Billy ran his hand through his hair and pulled his glasses off, hanging them in the collar of his shirt. “The rules are as follows: (1) Everyone drinks the same amount. First one finished forces everyone to get another round. (2) You bow out, you lose. (3) You pass out, you lose. (4) You puke…”

“You lose,” Stella finished for him. “Millie’s out. She’s a ‘normal’ girl, she can’t hang.”

“Excuse me, I can drink with the best of ’ em.” Millie pouted, offended that Stella didn’t think she could hold her liquor.

“Mill, this isn’t about you being able to drink or hold your liquor. This is about being able to drink as much as me
and
hold your liquor.”

Millie had seen Stella drink several bottles of wine by herself in one night without even getting a hangover the next day. “Okay, I’m out.”

“Good,” Patrick said. “I’m in, and I’ll win.”

The three of them kept up with each other until 3:30 in the morning, when Stella decided she wanted to go for a swim. As she got up she teetered on her heels and then walked to the bathroom. She heard Millie come in after her, giggling.

“I’m so drunk,” Millie commented. “I still look okay though,” she said looking at herself in the mirror.

Stella exited the stall and looked at Millie in the mirror. “I hope you groomed yourself today. We are going skinny dipping.”

A squeal escaped Millie’s lips, “I’ve never been skinny dipping. Where is there a pool?”

“There’s a hotel with an indoor pool a couple of blocks from here,” Stella opened the door.

“We’ll have to sneak in,” she whispered.

They walked to the bar, “George, we need our tab. We’re going swimming ,” Millie said looking around cautiously. “Naked.”

George’s eyes crinkled with laughter, “That should be fun, Millie.”

“I’ve never been before… shhh, don’t tell anyone.”

“Mill, just act like you’ve done it before. Haven’t you learned anything in law school? Perception is 95 percent of the game.” Stella released a loud hiccup and then put her hand to her mouth. Millie burst out laughing. Stella put her debit card on the receipt and winked at George, ignoring the hiccup. “Right, George?”

“Something like that,” he replied.

Stella and Millie waved goodbye to him as they grabbed Billy and Patrick on their way to the door. “It’s this way,” Stella said, gesturing for the group to follow.

“What’s this way? Our house is this way.” Billy motioned towards their house, confused. Stella put her arm through the gap between his arm and his body, linking their arms together to steady herself.

“We Are Going Skinny Dipping,” Stella said smiling. She hiccupped again and started laughing.

“We are?” Patrick asked with a giggle. Everyone stopped walking and turned to look at him.

“Did you just giggle?” Millie asked, shock on her face.

“You may be the one to puke tonight…” Stella winked at Billy as they laughed at their usually stoic roommate.

“No puking, just naked swimming with beautiful people,” Patrick said with a wide grin.

“Thanks, Patrick,” Billy said laughing.

When they got to the boutique hotel on King Street, Stella shushed them and told them to follow her lead. She walked confidently up to the clerk at the desk.

“Hi, I’m drunk and I lost my room key.” Stella said cheerfully.

“Okay, give me your ID and I will get you another key.”

The clerk took in the four of them, trying to stifle a grin.

“Oh wait, aren’t you Missy’s dad?” The clerk examined her, “Yes?”

Stella pointed at herself, “Cooper.”

His entire demeanor changed, “You mean the runner with the huge tattoo?”

She awkwardly pulled her collar down in the back to show him her tattoo. “The one.” She turned to face Millie, Patrick, and Billy. “Cooper loves Missy, his dog,” she stage-whispered. She racked her brain trying to come up with his name before turning around and realizing it was on his nametag. “Steve,” she smiled. “Can I ask a favor?”

“Of course,” he replied.

“I’m here with a friend of mine and we just want to get him back to his room. He lost his entire wallet and he’s so hammered he doesn’t know what room he’s in. He knows it’s on the fifth floor in the very back of the hotel.” She smiled, “He said the window was useless.” She whispered the last part, as if trying to preserve the reputation of the hotel.

“Let me check,” he starting looking on the computer. “How is Cooper doing?”

“Great, he’s obsessed with the cookies at the dog bakery around the corner, but that’s why we run.” She chuckled and so did Steve.

“520?” He said looking at Billy.

Billy nodded his head, “That’s it.” He hit himself in the forehead with his palm to overdramatically show what an idiot he was.

“Okay, Mr. Williams, I’ll just need you to sign this saying we issued you another key.”

“Sure,” he walked over and signed a name so messy no one would be able to tell what it said. Steve handed the key to Billy and looked back at Stella.

“It’s so good to see you, I didn’t recognize you without spandex on.”

Stella giggled playfully and said, “That sounds dirty, Steve.”

He blushed and watched them make their way onto the elevator.

“I’m glad you wear spandex all the time,” Patrick slurred, nodding appreciatively.

“Me too,” agreed Billy.

Millie giggled and pointed at the sign showing the way to the indoor pool. They used the key to get into the pool area and started taking their clothes off. Stella pulled off her shirt, jeans, bra, and underwear unceremoniously and jumped in the pool.

“Hey,” scowled Billy, “I didn’t even get to see anything.” He and Patrick both turned to Millie, who was demurely taking her jeans off and folding them on a pool lounger.

“What?” Millie blushed, “I’ll make you both turn around if you don’t stop staring.”

Patrick and Billy busied themselves with their own clothes. Patrick jumped in the water splashing Stella, and Billy eased down the stairs.

“Not bad, fellas,” Stella said enthusiastically of Patrick and Billy’s physique.

Stella was trying to dunk Patrick under the water when Millie attempted to run to jump into the pool and had just yelled “CANNONBALL,” when she tripped and fell before reaching the pool. Everyone erupted in laughter; Millie started crying she was laughing so hard. Then she crawled the couple of feet to the pool and rolled in unceremoniously.

The next morning Stella woke with Millie in the bed next to her, both with their hair slicked back to their heads. Her head pounded. She walked to the bathroom quietly for some pain medication. She hadn’t been this hung over in a very long time. After swimming last night, they had lain on the lounge chairs talking until the morning, all partially dressed. When Steve woke them up, scolding them for passing out in the closed pool, Stella had been draped over Billy. Millie and Patrick spooned on the lounge chair next to them. Stella had apologized profusely while pulling on her jeans. All of them were still drunk and silent for most of the way home. She still wasn’t sure how they’d made it home. Her memory took her up and until Billy had put his arm around her shoulder and held her upright as they’d exited the pool. Patrick had puked in the trashcan and then followed them out, dragging Millie by the hand. As soon as they got home they all respectively passed out again.

“Holy shit,” Millie groaned from the bed. “Did I throw up?”

“Patrick.” Stella replied and smiled.

“Ugh, I feel horrid.”

“You look it too.”

“Oh my God, did you notice Patrick last night? Naked?” Millie pulled the pillow over her face.

“Yes.” Stella responded and got back in bed.

“He is the hottest man I’ve ever seen naked.”

“Really? That’s pretty sad.” She laughed.

“No. I’m serious. How can you not think he has one of the hottest naked bodies you’ve ever seen?” Millie turned and looked at Stella. “I mean, seriously hot. Did you see he has that arrow muscle?”

“What?” Stella was confused.

“You know, the muscles that point to his dick, the
arrow to his dick
. Good God,” she groaned. “I almost jumped him last night.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. It would’ve been a little gauche.” Stella had her arm draped over her eyes.

“Did you just say gauche?” She laughed, “You’re so weird.”

Stella laughed briefly, but stopped because it made her headache worse.

“He will be mine.” Millie put her feet on the floor. “We need food that’s really bad for us. Let’s go.”

The last three months of law school were a blur of reading and studying for finals. She and Millie had worked out a schedule to study with the group for a couple hours a day, then by themselves. Stella had created a “finals” playlist full of soothing music on her phone, and listened while she studied.

After her last final, which had been that morning, she’d come back to the house to lay outside in the sun. For five hours she alternated between sleeping and reading a fiction book she’d been pining after for the last year. At around four, she opened a bottle of white wine that had been cooling in the fridge, turned up Mumford & Sons, and started cooking. She was making dinner for the house tonight for the boys.

Singing and swaying to the music, she cut the vegetables. Cooper, knowing their old routine, came into the kitchen and looked at her expectantly. Stella smiled. “What? You want to dance?” she asked. She used to always cook dinner for Jamie while listening to music and dancing around the kitchen. Back then, Cooper would hear the music and stand on his hind legs, big paws on her chest, and let her guide him around the kitchen. That was when she was happy. They hadn’t danced in awhile. Stella patted her chest and Cooper obliged. They danced around the room for a few minutes before Patrick came into the kitchen, unnoticed because the volume of the music.

Cooper ran over to Patrick wagged the entire back half of his body in hello. “Hey man, you got pretty good moves for a fat guy.” Patrick talked directly to Cooper. He looked up at Stella, “What you cooking?”

“Whatever I want and you’ll like it,” she replied.

“I’m sure I will.” Patrick moved past her and into his room.

She began making the stuffing for the eggplant that was roasting. Singing to herself, she stiffened when she felt arms around her waist pulling her into a hug. “What?” she asked.

“It’s just that seeing you a little bit happy or lackadaisical makes me feel all warm and cozy inside.” Patrick laughed. Letting go of her, he grabbed her wine, taking a huge gulp.

“You’re weird,” she said, nudging his arm and forcing him to back up. Cooper stood in between them and looked hopefully at Stella for a scrap. “You don’t eat eggplant, Coop.”