“Hey, Daniella, are your boobs real?” one of the women asked and then broke into a fit of giggles.
“No more real than yours,” Daniel shot back. There was no need to say anything further. It was going to be taken as an offhand, one-upmanship remark. Holly dissolved into a fit of giggles. Daniel shrugged and made sure she stayed on her stool. At least laughing was better than the tears.
“Howard and I tried to be good,” Holly said as she drank some more coffee. “Mom wanted me to stay pure before I got married, but pffft.” Holly swayed, but managed not to fall off. “That ship sailed a long time ago. And Mama has already asked me how long we’re going to wait before having kids.” She sipped some more coffee and Daniel half held her up. “Can you believe that? My own mother asked me, when I told her I was getting married…”
“What?” Daniel asked.
“She asked me if I was pregnant,” Holly said, speaking louder as anger set in. “My mom was asking me if I had to get married.” There was nothing like the drunken wheel of emotion. Spin and see what you get from second to second.
“You had to get married?” Rachel asked from behind them. “Really.”
Holly shook her head. “No. My mama asked that. There are no buns in this oven.” Holly rested her head on the bar, and Daniel realized a few seconds later that she was sobbing for no apparent reason.
“Holly, you’re drunk,” Rachel told her. “Come on out here and dance. It’s a party.”
Somehow Daniel figured the party was over for Holly. It was well after midnight. Daniel called James and explained where they were. “Can you come pick up Holly and me?”
“I’m on my way,” he answered without hesitation and hung up. Daniel did his best to get Holly to drink some more coffee. It helped for a little while and the crying at least died away. The partying continued around them, and Rachel managed to pull Holly onto the dance floor again. How she remained upright, Daniel didn’t know.
“Where’s Holly?” James asked as he hurried into the room. Daniel pointed, and James retrieved her while Daniel got his handbag. Holly made a huge show of saying goodbye to everyone, hugging all of them and making a huge fuss like she was never going to see them again.
“Let’s go,” Daniel said gently, guiding Holly out of the bar and into James’s car. He got into the back seat with her, hoping that as they rode along everything she’d had to drink wouldn’t make a reappearance.
“Holly,” James snapped lightly to get her attention. She lifted her gaze to him before bursting into tears.
“You hate me…” she cried, and Daniel rolled his eyes and held her as James drove. After about five minutes, she quieted and went to sleep, drooling on Daniel’s shoulder.
“How was it…before Sleeping Beauty there drank herself stupid?” James asked.
“It was fun enough. But god, those women can party, and they’re bitchy when they’re drinking.”
James chuckled and then laughed. “I think it’s all the repression. It comes out when they drink. The guys were the same way.” They drove awhile and eventually pulled into the driveway. Daniel pushed Holly upright, lightly tapping her cheek to wake her up.
“Come on, Holly. We need to get inside,” Daniel told her, and thankfully James got her out of the car, walking Holly to the door and inside, where their mother met them with stern looks.
“I’ll get the bride to bed,” she said with surprising gentleness, tinged with a slight undertone of disapproval, and took Holly down to her room.
“I feel like I ran a marathon,” Daniel commented as he followed James into the kitchen. Thankfully their mother had set out some cake, and James sliced each of them a piece.
“Me too. I only had one beer because I knew I was going to have to drive, and I found out something. These parties are awful when you’re the only one who’s sober.” He pulled out the next chair to sit, and they ate in silence.
“You didn’t drink and drive, did you?” Grace asked as she barreled into the kitchen.
“No,” Daniel answered. “He drank soda all night and put up with Howard and all of his drunk friends.” He was getting a little pissed at her attitude. “Your son is a good police officer and a nice man.” He finished the cake and pushed his chair back. “I’m going to bed.” He needed to leave the room before he said something stupid. Daniel had had just enough to drink that his tongue was loose, and the best way to counter that was not to be in the room.