“Not quite. You need to say it twice more,” I said.
After playing the game for an hour, we were well on our way to getting blitzed, and no one could successfully repeat any of the tongue twisters presented on the cards.
“Let’s get some blow,” Mary said.
Jaime pointed at Mary. “You read my mind.”
“I’m in,” I added, making my enthusiasm clear.
Jaime called Reese over, since he had the connections. “We want to get some coke.”
“Great minds think alike, baby. I just spoke to Don, and he’s got plenty. I’m taking orders.”
I chipped in the twenty bucks in my wallet and Pete threw in another thirty. Tez was broke as usual, but since he’d brought the weed, no one cared.
“I need to stop by the automatic teller,” Mary said, referring to the new device installed outside her bank that dispensed cash twenty-four hours a day.
“You mean the coke machine,” Pete joked, garnering laughs.
Reese and Mary were gone and back with the drugs in short order, and the party kicked into high gear. Everyone huddled around the massive square coffee table in the living room, using different glass sections to prepare their cocaine. Pete and I split a half-gram. He chopped up the blow with the razor blade and scraped it into lines. Using the blade, he severed the straw Reese provided in half, and used it to snort a line up each nostril. He passed the straw over to me, and I bent down and sniffed the powder up my nose. It was easier this time, much to my relief, and I didn’t mind the numbness in my mouth after rubbing the powdery remains on my gums. It felt kind of good.
Pete let me chop the coke and form it into lines the next round. I got the hang of it after an awkward start.
The chatter in the room grew louder and more intense. Exhilaration kicked in, my heart beat faster and I felt the same thunderstruck-like energy surge I had the first time. My alcohol buzz evaporated, like it never existed.
I leaned back on the sofa, taking in the scene of huddled heads, sporadic laughter and shining eyes.
Reese glanced at us. “Good blow, huh?”
“Excellent,” Pete said.
I shrugged. “I’m no expert, but I feel like I could do anything right now. Run a mile. Repaint my bedroom. Write a short story in ten minutes.”
Reese chuckled. He leaned over and placed a Police album on the turntable. On cue, Tez came air-guitaring out of the kitchen and into the living room, scrunching up his face during guitar licks in perfect synchronization with the music. With his long hair and ratty jeans, he looked like a bona fide rock guitarist.
As Pete talked with Reese. I speculated how long we would last. His behavior threw me. He acted jealous and controlling one minute, super sweet the next. The romantic in me wished we’d last forever. I envisioned myself as Anna O’Reilly and snuggled closer to him.
The evening flew by, another night of sex, drugs and rock ’n roll, as we were fond of saying. The cocaine sped everything up, not just my heart rate, and I lost track of time.
The clock chimed once. “Oh crap! It’s one o’clock?”
Jaime checked her watch and nodded yes.
“I’m late!” I jumped up, running to find Pete.
We fled Reese’s and Pete drove me home in record time. I got out of his car, shut the door noiselessly and crept to the front door. Poised to insert my key in the lock, the door flew open.
“Get in here. Now!” my father demanded.
“Sorry, Dad,” I said. “I really am. I didn’t realize how late it was. Once I did, I came right home, I swear.”
“That’s unacceptable, Anna, and not an excuse.”
“I know. It won’t happen again.”
“Do you have any idea how worried your mother and I have been? You’re over an hour late! We were about to call the police.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“Where were you?” my father asked, his dark eyes narrow and beady, boring into mine.
“With Pete. And our friends.”
“He should know better. So should you. I’m disappointed in you and too angry to talk any further about this tonight. Go to bed. We’ll discuss it in the morning.”
I walked into my bedroom, changed into an oversized cotton shirt and slid under the covers, knowing sleep would elude me. I was so wired! My heart raced, my mind exploded with thought after thought, and now it was coupled with anxiety over being in trouble. I picked up my journal and started writing, anything to expend some energy. Hours later, when the birds began their morning songs, I finally passed out.
The next morning, my father gave me a stern warning about my behavior and said if happened again, I would be grounded. He added that if Pete couldn’t return me home on time, I could kiss dating him goodbye.
Inwardly, I seethed. My father had no right to dictate whom I dated or be so harsh. True, I missed my curfew, but only once in my entire life! Not a major infraction in my book. I hid my irritation, enduring his tedious lecture so I could go back to sleep, or at least my room.
§§
Christmas Eve, my parents allowed me to attend the O’Reilly’s annual holiday party. When I arrived, the first floor was packed with guests. Pete deftly steered me around, introducing me to various relatives. Zigzagging through the crowd, the abundant holiday trimmings filled me with good cheer. Realistic faux garland hung across curtain rods and the fireplace mantle, and bountiful bowls of holly peppered with gleaming ornaments graced several flat surfaces. An enormous Christmas tree crowded with decorations and
