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A long, hot shower didn’t do as e part ofto lug it around like deadweight My balance had i the path back to the bedroom wasn’t quite as difficult as the walk to the bathroom had been I threw on a sweat suit, and then I ventured out into the living roo all thosehours, but I was sure my roommates would tell me

"It lives," Marcia said drily frolanced up frorunt

"Yeah, it lives More or less," I said, sitting very carefully on the sofa to ht it was I felt like I had a skewed perception of the world, as though everything was just a bit off from where it seemed to me to be I noticed as I sat down that one of my red stilettos lay on the floor in front of the door There was no sign of the other one Maybe Prince Char the ball and he’d use it to finda blank"

"Oh, it’s quite the saga," Gemma said "I’m not sure we have time to tell the whole story"

"How about we start hat should be the easy part: How did I end up at hoot up fros got out of hand at the party, Owen and Philip dragged you out of there Owen called for a car to drive us hoot you up the stairs between them, and then Gemma and I threw you in bed"

I nodded "Okay Thatho out of hand?"

"Ha!" Geh

"Co a lot of ti Owen atblank"

"Let’s just say I never had you pegged as a mean drunk" Marcia tossed her hair, which still held some of the Marilyn curl, and stalked off to the kitchen

"But I wasn’t drunk," I protested "I had one cup of punch, which seelass of cha all of that"

"I hope you were drunk," Ge that ell, you aren’t the person we thought you were"

"What did I do?"

"You got nasty You said sos to us and to Owen, and then after you told him how pathetic he was as a boyfriend, you came on to every other man in the place--especially those ere there with dates"

I moaned and buried my face in my hands I’d only ever been truly drunk a few ti out, so it was hard for me to compare the experience Still, it seemed like I should reh to pass out Or was it like a concussion, where soot conked on the head?

"What did I say to y’all?" My voice came out ," Marcia said, "you told everyone aboutup with Jeff How did you put it? Oh yeah, ‘Like she thinks she’s too good for him’"

Still with my face behind my hands, I said, "You know that’s not what I think I told you that"

"Yeah, and I also recall asking you not to tell anyone"

I looked up to see her sitting oncecup of coffee in front of her My ht Coffee, that hat I needed If I got some caffeine into ht And would it have killed Marcia to offer ht many a cup of coffee to her when she was in a si that, honest I didn’tsecret, anyway?" Gemma asked "Why didn’t you want me to know?"

"It’s my business, isn’t it?"

While Marcia and Geued, I easedthere was still coffee in the pot I nearly ith joy when I saw that there were at least two cups left I poured half a cup for ar andI reovers I’d experienced was such a strong nausea that the thought of food or drink made my stomach churn But my stomach felt fine I was able to drink the whole cup, and soon my head felt a lot clearer, even if the headache hadn’t eased at all Actually, it was even worse