Page 68 of Moon Tamed

“Calden, we literally passed out. On your couch. Frankly, we’re lucky we didn’t get sick from that much wine. I deserve the pain I’m in. Even if there were medications for hangovers, I don’t deserve to take it because I was an idiot. I’m all right with that. I won’t be repeating this form of idiocy, though. Once was enough.”

“It’s been long enough I forgot how bad it hurts the next morning,” he admitted. “I’ll do my best to remember how bad the consequences are. That way, we can make an informed decision. Do we really, really want to spend those hours giggling on the couch and miss work the next day?”

“The giggling part was fun, but the headache is not something I want to repeat.” As hydration would help more than anything else, I guzzled my tea, gasping between chugs, and kept refilling my mug until the pot had nothing left to give.

Then I went back to work boiling more water.

Unlike me, Calden took his time with his drink. “You’re going to float away if you drink tea at that rate.”

“I’d rather float than keep the headache around any longer than necessary. However much I say I deserve this, I am annoyed I’m paying penance for a good time.”

“We can try the same general activity without alcohol. Of course, if we end up on the couch laughing until the early morning, we still might run into problems at work, but at least we won’t be suffering from hangovers while dealing with being tired.”

“Being tired is one thing. Being tired and hungover? A completely different story.”

While Calden took longer drinking his tea, he managed to empty his pot by the time the kettle boiled for another round. “Maybe we should just boil a regular pot full of water, toss in some regular tea bags, and ladle it out. Maybe that’ll work.”

“It would at least save us from having to refill the kettle so often.” He dug out a stock pot, plunked it beside the sink, and used his extending faucet to fill it up. “We can ice whatever we don’t drink right away so we might recover sometime this week.”

We settled in to watch the water boil, and before it finished, Calden’s father returned. He investigated what we were doing and burst into laughter. “Are you two seriously trying to make an entire soup pot full of tea?”

“Yes,” we chorused.

“How many bottles did you two drink?”

“About three too many,” Calden admitted. “I have certain regrets right now.”

“I bet you do, boy. Try to get ready to go to work while Coraline is DNA tested. I’m sure you have some travel mugs you can fill with your tea. We have tea at the office, so you’ll survive.”

“I’m not sure at this point.” Calden sighed, and he sniffed at his forearm. “I could use a second shower. I am not going to work still smelling of wine.”

“You’re going to need a lot more than a single shower and some cologne to fix that problem, but good luck.”

Narrowing my eyes, I sniffed my forearm, too. Sure enough, the distinct scent of having indulged in alcohol wafted off me.

Gross.

“Do the blood test or whatever it is, but I need to take two or three more showers to get this funk off, too.”

“It won’t take but a few moments,” he promised. He left the kitchen, returning a few moments later with one of the Legacy research doctors.

I’d filled in for his secretary a few times. “Oh, Dr. Morriks. How are you doing?”

“Better than you, apparently. Good call on the tea, but make sure you drink some regular water, too. Since I need to steal some of your blood anyway, I’ll do your antibody test and make sure you’re covered for all the various bugs going around. As you’ll have exposure to the Stephans, I’ll also be vaccinating you for interplanetary travel. While Allasandro doesn’t leave the planet often, he sometimes does, which means those who are in close proximity to him are better off vaccinated. On such trips, he usually doesn’t have to quarantine for long, but it’s a safety measure. He avoids interacting with the unvaccinated shortly after his return.”

“Sure, that’s no problem. View my ready acceptance of being poked with more needles as my apology for not showing up at work this morning?”

Calden’s father laughed. “No apology is needed, Coraline. Calden was overdue for making a fuss and missing work, and it comes as no surprise he brought you down to his level in the process.”

“Hey,” Calden complained. “I’m not that bad, and I didn’t bring her down to any level.”

“Go take your shower and leave us to our medical things,” Calden’s father ordered. “Shoo. Take at least thirty minutes, and scrub like you mean it. I don’t want to be catching hints of that stench all day.”

Calden obeyed, and I snickered at his hasty retreat. “I think it’s safe to say we’ve learned our lesson.”

“For a little while, at least. Let’s get you tested, then you can take another shower and we can go to work to handle the rest of the paperwork. I’ll even make arrangements for lunch so you two don’t starve or try to sustain yourselves solely on tea. I might be old now, but I remember being young, and it took me at least twenty such hangovers to learn my lesson. If you learn from one, I’ll be impressed.”

FIFTEEN

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