Page 85 of Side Trip

Joy can’t. “Give me that.” She takes her phone and clicks through her profile settings to see what Taryn changed.

Taryn looks over Joy’s shoulder. “What are you doing?”

“Finishing what you started. Updating my profile. See?”

Taryn squints at the screen. “Relationship status: it’s complicated.” Her gaze jumps to Joy’s. “Is there something more going on with you and Mark that you haven’t told me?”

Joy shakes her head. She’s drunk and feeling pissy. She wants to be angry at Mark but can only find it for herself. Dylan was right. Relationships, especially marriage, are a complicated mess. When she tripped across the relationship status setting, she couldn’t resist.

“What’s next?” she asks, sliding her phone into her back pocket.

Taryn digs around her purse for loose change and drops a handful of coins in Joy’s palm. “Step two: the Purge, and not like the movie, which was horrible. How about we call it the Dude Purge?”

Joy slides her friend a look. “How drunk are you?”

“No more than you. Just go with me on this.”

Joy looks at the coins in her hand. “How is this supposed to work?”

“It’s a mash-up between this cable show I once saw and our most favorite movie ever,Ten Things I Hate About You.”

Joy groans. “Favorite movie like fifteen years ago.”

“Poor Heath.” Taryn sighs. “Let’s have a moment.”

Taryn prays. Joy giggles. She feels ridiculous. People are milling about.

“All right, let’s get started,” Taryn announces. She retrieves a coin from Joy.

“Do you know what you’re doing?”

“Nope. I’m winging it. Take a coin like this.” She shows Joy the penny. “Close your eyes and say out loud one thing you hate about Dylan. For example, I hate that you never told me about him. Then toss the coin.” She overhands the penny into the fountain.

Joy shoots Taryn a perturbed look.

“It’s true. I hate that about you.”

“Hate you more.” She looks around. “I’m only doing this because I’m drunk. I feel so foolish,” Joy mutters. She weighs a coin in her palm, a dime. Here goes nothing.

She closes her eyes and brings Dylan to mind. She can’t think of one thing she hates about him, so she zeroes in on all the times that he needled her. He’d annoy her for the sole purpose of being annoying, like that evening at the Midpoint Café.

“I hate that he could be the sweetest guy one second and a total asshole the next.”

“Good! But say it like you’re talking directly to him,” Taryn interrupts before Joy can toss the dime. She pats Joy’s shoulder. “This will be very therapeutic.”

“Thank you, Dr. Taryn.” She closes her eyes again. “I hate that you were such an asshole.”

“Better. Now say it with conviction.” Taryn growls, baring her teeth and waving her fists.

Joy would laugh at Taryn if she didn’t feel foolish. “I hate that you’re an asshole,” she yells, and hurls the dime.

Taryn claps. “Do it again.”

She palms a nickel. “I hate that I can’t stop thinking about you,” she shouts, and overhands the coin.

“Feel better?” Taryn asks.

“I do.” Taryn may be onto something.

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