Love Thy Neighbour (Friend-Zoned 2)

Stilling, I whisper, “That’s a good one. ”

He kisses my lips and I close my eyes.

To happiness.

***

Fuck my life!

I’m running late to work for the first time in ever, but in my defense, I seem to have drunk too much last night and am hungover.

I didn’t say it was a great defense.

My head throbs, my stomach aches and I can barely open my eyes. I feel like I’m gonna ralph any second and as I walk through the door to Safira’s, Tina booms, “Good morning, hon!”

Okay, so she doesn’t say it all that loudly, but it feels like my eardrums are going to explode.

Cringing, I tell her, “Quiet, please. I feel like crap. ”

A look of guilt crosses her face and she whispers, “Sorry!”

Great, now I feel like shit. Making my way over to her, I hug her and tell her, “Don’t be. It’s my fault. I’m hungover. ”

Tina looks confused before saying, “Okay, well how about you do some nice relaxing inventory today?”

Sitting on my ass all day at a computer rather than having to listen to whiny customers and see the light of day which, by the way, is burning my retinas to a crisp, sounds like a plan. I’ll take inventory with a big yes please!

Squeezing her, I tell her, “This is why I love you, babe. You’re the greatest. ”

Shuffling my way into the store room, I throw my bag down, take out my bottle of water and aspirin, chug two and sit behind the desk. I don’t think I’ve ever been so hungover before. When I click on the inventory software to open, all the letters and numbers look jumbled together. I can’t see clearly and the screen is making my headache worse. Lowering my forehead to the cool wooden surface of the desk, I breathe deeply and try to calm myself.

Now is not the time to get frustrated. Besides, if I am going to be frustrated at someone, I only have myself to blame.

No sympathy. Walk it off and get to work.

Shaking my head to clear it, I try again. Looking up at the screen, it seems a little clearer and I get to work.

Before I know it, three hours have passed and I’m almost done. My stomach rumbles and I realize I skipped breakfast. Taking my bag, I walk out of the store room and Tina greets me with a big smile. “Hey, you look a lot better. How are you feeling?”

Smiling back, I tell her, “A lot better. Thank God for aspirin. Are you hungry? I thought I’d go get us some subs from Silvio?”

Tina scrunches her nose and pats her belly, she explains, “I shouldn’t eat deli meat while I’m pregnant, so I’ll pass, but get me a cookie. ”

Waving to her, I walk out the door and over to Silvio’s. As soon as I’m through the door, the smell of meat, cheese and baked goods hit me and I cover my mouth.

Oh shit. I’m going to ralph!

Quickly stepping back out to the sidewalk, I breathe deeply and decide on going to the drug store for some seltzer tabs. Once inside, I grab the stomach settling remedy and walk toward the counter. Looking to the left hand shelf, I stop suddenly. My heart skips a beat. I grab another few items off the shelf, just in case, and take it all to the register.

The little mature woman smiles knowingly, “Green around the gills, are we?”

Chuckling, I tell her, “Just a little. ”

Needing to get somewhere quiet quickly, I basically run back to Safira’s and take my bag of medicine into the bathroom with me. Thoughts of lunch disappear with a new wave of nausea. I turn quickly and kneel, just in time to throw up in the toilet bowl.

Thoughts rush through my head and I open the drug store bag with shaking hands.

I hold up the long narrow box and open it before I can change my mind.