Christina lays her head on Bennett’s shoulder. “Here we go.”
“They did studies in Japan because there were so many cases and they didn’t know why! Soda is their water. Or was! I hope they’re cutting back. I mean, it’s a huge revelation. Few survive pancreatic cancer, and all because our bodies can’t process that crap!”
Zia smirks, “What an uplifting conversation. Let’s talk about politics next.”
I laugh, and she cuts me an amused glance, black eyes glimmering in the moonlight, hair outlined in fragmented warmth from propane space-heaters people continually pass in front of. Cocking my head I ask, “How about religion next?”
“Great idea!” She points to Tempest, “Why don’t you start?”
Bennett dryly offers, “Sex. Let’s talk about sex. Now we’ve covered the three taboo conversation topics you’re not supposed to have at parties.”
Making fun of herself, Tempest laughs, “Four, now add soda and all of its many evils.”
As if memorizing it, Zia nods, “No religion, politics, sex, or soda. Got it!”
Tempest stares at the moon a moment, “Almost full.”
But Christina’s not done with the discussion, demanding to know, “Why can’t we talk about sex? What is so wrong about that? It’s how we all got here!”
That makes everyone laugh except for Josh who only smiles and glances to me as I throw in my experience working on movies, telling our circle of six, “It’s not like that in Europe. There has to be nudity in films for foreign distribution or they won’t take the movie. Why? Because nudity and sex is accepted in Europe as a healthy and needed part of life. To leave it out of a story means you’re not telling the whole story. But here in America violence is more acceptable than a woman’s naked breasts.”
Zia mutters, “So bizarre.”
I add, “More acceptable than a sex scene. Making love.”
She looks at me.
Tempest turns all of our heads by throwing out her hand. “It’s not just bizarre, it’s shaming! Like our bodies should be hidden. It really gets in your head.”
“Go to Brazil, they’ve got it right,” Josh offers, “Half-naked all of the time there. Nude beaches aren’t uncommon. Going topless, even less uncommon.”
I cough, “God bless them!”
Zia grins at me, and we hold a look until Christina’s whispered, “I knew you’d wear a suit tonight,” draws our attention to the happy couple.
It’s so wild to see Benny cuddled up like this. All through college the guy was a wall with legs. Anyone he dated complained about the lack of public affection. When he met Joy, she was so similar they fit, coldly admiring each other’s aloofness.
I glance to Josh and see him watching them, too, before his gaze drifts to the gravely rooftop under our shoes. I give his shoulder a friendly I’m-here-for-you shake, focusing back on Zia and Tempest to snap him out of it. “When the three of us were in college we spent a lot of time out here in Brooklyn, going to parties.”
Zia asks, “Where did you go?”
“N.Y.U.”
Gaze still down, Josh adds with nostalgia quieting his tone, “Comedy nights in people’s apartments, those were great.”
I explode, “Oh yeah! Forgot about those,” grinning at the memories. “Ladies, you ever been to one?”
They exchange a look, shaking their heads, Zia saying, “I don’t think so. I went to Sarah Lawrence so my college years weren’t in the Burroughs.”
Spreading my feet I gesture with my hands, telling the story with drama so they can feel what it was like. “In the comedy clubs there’s always a cover charge plus a drink minimum, right? Usually two drinks. Plus tip. Well there you are, on a budget, and thinking, that’s outrageous! So what happens? Some kid comes up with the genius idea to host a night in his pad. He’s friends with some of the best comics. All they want is a warm room — that means receptive audience in the comedy world — so they’re in, right? Then there’s us, forking down a small cover charge for the beer they’ll supply at no extra charge. No minimum no fee past getting in.”
Bennett interjects, “Same as if it was B.Y.O.B.”
Josh looks up. “Yeah, you always bring a bottle anyway.”
Tempest smiles at him, “You can’t arrive empty handed.”
“We left our bottles on the beverage table.”
She blinks. “Oh, I wasn’t implying you came empty handed tonight. I just meant…”
He looks down again, leaving her to trail off and cut a confused look to her sister, deciding not finishing the sentence is better than this.
Forcing us back on track, I take over. “Right. But this way, you paid a cover. Didn’t have to bring anything. Didn’t have the hefty markup from the club’s liquor costs, and you’re in this cool space with the comics telling jokes right in front of your face.”
Bennett smirks, “Which was great unless they sucked.”
Zia smiles, “I’ve never been to one of those, but I have seen some bombs at the clubs. You’re just sitting there wishing you could take the mic from them and buy them a drink to make it go away.”
Tempest sighs, “You want to go up and hug them.”
I laugh, “Bet they’d like that.”
Zia locks eyes with me, “Can you imagine?” and looks at her cousin, “Tempest, I will give you money if we go to a comedy club and you hug the first comic who bombs. The first one who really eats it.”
“How much?”
Zia points at Tempest, “Fifty bucks,” with one of those long fingernails Josh mentioned earlier.
Now I’m thinking about scratch marks.
Zia
Our conversation bounces across multiple topics for quite some time, so many in fact that the third time their sons interrupt asking to taste a beer, Bennett’s redheaded temper flares. “How many times do we have to say no? Elliot, you’re good at math. How many has it been?”
The bespeckled ginger I’ve learned is ten-years-old, inspects his father with a gaze that would level
