Best Friends Forever

A woman leans in close, startling me out of my daydream. She has leafy green eyes and a braid curling over one shoulder.

“Excuse me, would you like to dance?” she asks politely.

I smile apologetically. “Oh… I’m just here with friends.”

Nodding, she steps away from the table. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

“You should totally dance with her!” Wanda hisses at me when the woman walks away.

Reflexively I glance over my shoulder, trying to see if I have any attraction to that pretty lady as she walks away.

“I’m not feeling it, sorry,” I shrug.

“Oh!” Elise giggles. “I thought you were straight, sorry.”

Wanda widens her eyes dramatically. “Penny isn’t anything,” she announces sourly. “I think she’s trying for sainthood or something.”

“That’s not true and you know it,” I scowl, rolling my eyes.

“Or she’s holding the torch for somebody, maybe.”

“Or I’m just a very cautious single mom? Could that be the explanation?” I suggest helpfully.

Wanda’s sips her wine and shrugs one shoulder. “That excuse might’ve worked when Ethan was eight or ten, but he’s almost a teenager now. Now you’re just avoiding it.”

“I’m not avoiding anything!” I reply, probably a little too energetically. “It’s just… I have a lot of responsibility. Men are such a distraction. And as you know, it never works out. Why put Ethan through that? For what?”

“For you! For yourself!” Wanda snaps back, and I notice that her voice is louder than normal too. “You can be happy, Penny. Ethan will understand. He might even like it!”

“I am happy,” I insist.

“You are not,” she sniffs, turning to Elise for backup. “What do you think? Doesn’t a woman deserve to be happy? Even if she is a single mother?”

Elise grimaces and shrugs cautiously. “Yes? If you want to? I feel like maybe I shouldn’t get in the middle of this.”

“You’re very wise, Elise,” I compliment her.

“No! That is not wise! I am wise, okay? I’m the one who knows you. And I know that you need—”

“—maybe you don’t know?” I cut her off as the bartender brings another round of drinks. I’m not sure I need another drink, to be honest.

Wanda’s mouth opens as if to say something, but then she pauses. She looks me up and down, pushing herself back from the table slightly.

“What do I not know? Is it something you need to tell me? Did you find… Did you get online?”

“No, nothing. Forget it.”

“Wait, come on!” Wanda persists. “Hey, I’m sorry. I was being rude. Is something going on?”

Elise nods emphatically. “Actually, now I am also curious. What’s up?”

I find her curiosity kind of charming. She seems like a nice lady, kind of an interesting person. I hope Wanda can keep her around for a while.

“Well, I sort of… I mean, Clay and I have been...”

Wanda’s eyes go wide. “Wait, what? Clay?”

“Who’s Clay?”