Page 44 of Liquid Courage
“Vaguely.”
Kat stood in front of Vivian. “Shari’s got something she wants to say to you, Vivi. I’ll be just a shout away if she gets to be too damn much.”
“You knew she was coming?”
“Aw, she didn’t tell you? I must have really left a mark on you, then.”
Man, what a bitch.
“Look,” Shari continued, “Kat convinced me to come apologize to you. About our date last week.”
“Apologize, huh?” Vivian played dumb. “For what?”
“For being an asshole, obviously. Apparently, my comments really hurt you. Not my intention.”
Vivian had no idea what to say. Why was this woman here? Why did Kat know about it? Hell, why did it seem like Kat hadfacilitatedit? Not to mention… Shari didn’t make a lick of sense! There was no need for her to apologize, when she could’ve just disappeared forever! Vivian was content to never see or hear from this woman again. Was it too hard to ask for that feeling to be mutual?
Shari pulled a folded up printout from her pocket. It looked like it had come from either Web MD or Wikipedia.
“You see this? I’m not using it as an excuse, but it’s what I’ve got.” Shari slid the piece of paper over to Vivian. “The bad attitude is all me, though. Sorry.”
Vivian could barely believe what she saw on the paper. Some seemingly made-up disease that made it impossible for people to recognize others based on photographs. There were other symptoms, too, beyond the eventual degeneration. Not remembering what things taste like, how to read directions… according to this, it would one day be a miracle if Shari was able to dress herself, let alone remember how to put her pants on.
“You’ve got this? For real?”
“Yes. It’s why I didn’t recognize you last week. I took my frustrations out on you. Because, honestly, you’re not my type, but I couldn’t tell that from your photo. I ended up wasting my time, but I only had myself to blame. It wasn’t your fault.”
Kat groaned from the other side of the bar. Was she also thinking that this was a terrible apology?Well, she did say that the nasty attitude was all her…
“It’s not your fault,” Shari said again. “I could’ve handled it better.”
Vivian handed the paper back to her. “Is this supposed to make me feel sorry for you?”
“Not at all. I don’t want your pity. It’s not going to make my condition better. It’s not going to change my fate. If anything, it will just make me resent you more.”
Jesus. What a piece of work.I really, really dodged a bullet with her. Even if she is hot…Kat was hotter. Ahem.
“I don’t want pity or even forgiveness. Just to clear the air, because Kat says I really hurt your self-esteem, and that wasn’t necessary.”
“As long as you know it wasn’t necessary to hurt my self-esteem.”
“Whatever. Personally, I don’t think you should let one random woman’s comments make you so fucking fragile, but here we are. Guess not everyone can be as ebony-souled as me.”
Kat slapped her hand over her face and muttered something to Harriet. The bar patron guffawed into her drink.
“You’re not the only one I’ve hurt with my words. I’ve got a lot of people to apologize to, apparently. I started with Kat and have gone to you. Don’t know who I’ll apologize to next, but my therapist says it’ll be good for me.”
“You apologized to Kat? For what? Hurting my feelings?”
“Please, no. I apologized for hurtingherfeelings a long time ago. We used to date. She never told you?”
“No.” Vivian searched for Kat, but she had gone back into hiding. “She failed to ever mention that.”
“It was a long time ago. I had honestly forgotten her, and I don’t know if it’s just me being me or because of the degeneration… but whatever. Point is, I’m on a fucking tour apologizing to people before I no longer have the capacity to do so. So here I am. I’m sorry, Vivian. For hurting you and other people.”
“Do you actually mean that? Or are you saying it to make me feel better?”
“Honestly? It’s to make you feel better. I don’t give a rat’s ass either way. But I try to have a little empathy, and when I put myself in your shoes… blah. It sucks. Sorry.”
“O… kay.” That was the biggest non-apology Vivian had ever received. She would’ve rather gone on living her life thinking Shari was just a big bitch with projection issues. “Thanks, I guess. At least it clears a few things up.”
Shari huffed. “Obviously, you’re not a hideous person who is unworthy of love. Puh-leaze. Give yourself more credit than that. Why would you take my opinion of you as the word of God? I’m not that full of myself. I don’t give a fuck if you find eternal happiness with someone else. It just wasn’t going to work out with us. Big deal.”
Vivian still didn’t know what to make of this. But before she could ask another question, Shari slid off her stool and slung her bag strap over her shoulder.
“I’ve gotta go. See you around, although don’t take it personally if I don’t recognize you.”
“Wow.” Vivian stared at the empty stool long after it was unoccupied. “What the fuck?”
Silence befell the bar. Then, with one crack of Kat’s voice back in the office, Vivian and Harriet joined her in laughing their asses off. What the hell else could they possibly do? Sometimes people were too ridiculous to ever take seriously.
