Cassie's Story - Letters To Myself

Here it is Monday again. I didn’t get another blog post in last week after the food one, but I will this week, promise! I’ve been working on the pictures for the colouring book, trying to get as many done as I can. Because they are quite intricate they take several hours each to do, but I’m enjoying drawing them and I hope you will like the finished book.

For those of you who are Zora fans don’t worry, she is next on my list of things to do. I will be finishing off Zora 2, Zora’s Light, in the next few weeks. There will of course need to be editing and so on, but you won’t have too much of a wait for book 2.

Ok, so now back to Cassie and Saffron, by now both decidedly worse for wear. I sure don’t envy either of them the hangover they are going to have.

The world was spinning in an unpleasant way as I stumbled towards the ladies room. I desperately needed the loo, the navigational difficulty I was experiencing seeming to increase the need with each unsteady step. Mentally cursing my decision to forget common sense I breathed a sigh of relief as I finally reached the door, and another one on seeing an empty cubicle as I entered.

I continued to sit once I had experienced the blessed relief that only those foolish enough to allow their bladder to reach hot air balloon proportions could understand. If I stayed here for a while perhaps the spinning would stop. Maybe I should get some water from the bar. Or maybe I should just go home, except that I couldn’t leave Saffron in this state – she was sloshed, there was no other word for it. She would surely get into trouble if I left her.

At the sink I splashed some water on my face and studied my reflection as best as my unfocused eyes would allow. It wasn’t a good idea, I looked as drunk as I undoubtedly was. I groaned, tomorrow – well today – was not going to be a good day. Shrugging, it was done and I would just have to pay the penance in the hours to come, I checked that my clothing was adjusted properly and left the bathroom with as much dignity as I could muster.

Saffron was on the dance floor, gyrating wildly without much co-ordination with her partner, the cute waiter. I grinned, for as long as I had known her Saffron had been an uninhibited and graceless dancer. With the addition of I had lost count of how much wine and cocktails she was even more uninhibited. Sadly, the alcoholic greasing of her limbs had not resulted in more grace.

Seeing me she beckoned me over. I hesitated, not sure I should be dancing when I could barely walk. But then, perhaps the exercise would sweat the alcohol out of me and I might avoid the worst of what I was uneasily sure was going to be an epic hangover. I joined her, and the rest of the crowd on the small dance floor. There were a lot of people, useful for those who fell as they would be cushioned by those around them and avoid a bruising on the floor. This I know from experience. Just now.

“Whoops! Are you ok there?”

I smiled at my rescuer, a very handsome guy who was still holding my hand. “Thanks for catching me. Yes I’m fine, just tripped over my own feet.” That was what I meant to say, what came out sounded slurred and indistinct, but since it was so noisy he just smiled and nodded which meant he hadn’t heard a word anyway.

“Get your hands off my boyfriend, you bitch!”

I blinked, more than a little startled when a small blonde woman shoved her face into mine and glared at me.

“I’m not after your boyfriend, he just stopped me from falling.”

She sneered, her blue eyes unblinking and oddly fixed. “Sure, sure. Nice try bitch. Now get away from him before I punch you in the throat.”

A frisson of fear ran down my spine, she seemed to be a little deranged. I noticed her boyfriend had backed off and left the floor.

“I’m not after him, and anyway he’s gone. Shouldn’t you go with him?”

She spun around, her eyes searching the room until she located him over beside the bar, talking to a woman with shiny copper hair. Oh oh, that was Saffron. The blonde woman left abruptly, pushing her way through the people on the floor. I followed, I had a bad feeling about this. I wasn’t as good at forcing my way through crowds of people though, which slowed me down so that the blonde was already aggressively in Saffron’s face by the time I reached them.

“Who are you calling bitch?”

I groaned, the night had just taken a turn for the worse. Saffron didn’t back down from anyone.

“You, bitch. Stay away from my boyfriend.”

Saffron stared down at the small woman, then glanced at her boyfriend, who was now several feet away and chatting to another man as though he didn’t even know her.

“You mean that guy over there? He’s your boyfriend? Why isn’t he with you then?”

It was quite a reasonable question really. Why wasn’t the guy with his girlfriend, why did he keep on walking away? The blonde reacted with even more aggression, standing on her tiptoes and pushing her face up close to Saffron’s.

“Never you mind why, you just stay away from him or else.”

“Or else what?”

Oh dear, this was going to end badly. I edged closer, but my gaze kept going to the man. He really was acting like he didn’t know the blonde. I veered towards him, catching his eye. He smiled ruefully.

“Sorry about that. I’ve found it best to just get away from her.”

“She’s your girlfriend?”

“No! I went out with her for a while but we broke up because she’s so possessive. But she won’t accept it and keeps on doing this whenever she sees me out.”

I stared at him, this evening was becoming stranger by the minute.

“So why don’t you make her understand, or have her arrested or something? What is going to happen when you start going out with someone else?”

He shrugged. “She will have to accept it then.” He looked up. “Oh, I think I will have to intervene or your friend will be in trouble.”

I followed his gaze, shocked to see Saffron and the blonde nose to nose in a screaming match. As I watched the blonde picked up a glass and swung it at Saffron’s head. I called out a warning, useless since there was no way she would hear me in the general noise of the room. The ‘boyfriend’ had already started moving, putting on an impressive display of speed. I wondered distractedly if he played some kind of sports, then followed after him as fast as I could.

Before the glass could connect with Saffron’s head he reached out and grabbed it from the blonde’s hand. She swung around at him, and picked up another glass which she was clearly intending to use as a weapon against him. This glass wasn’t empty however, or abandoned, and its owner was none too happy to have it taken away from her.

“Hey, blondie! That’s my drink! Go get your own!”

The blonde turned her aggression onto the woman sitting at the round table beside us. I guessed she had been watching the action, it was probably entertaining if you weren’t part of it.

“Stay out of this bitch!” Bitch seemed to be her fall back word.

The woman at the table decided to get involved, or perhaps just rescue her drink. She stood up and revealed herself to be impressively tall. She towered over the blonde, loomed over her in fact.

“Give me back my drink. It took me twenty minutes waiting to get that.”

“I know right? I’ve been waiting for ages and this blonde chick has made me lose my place in the queue.” Saffron sounded more aggrieved about that than about the blonde verbally abusing and attempting to physically assault her.

“Yeah, saw that. Once I’ve dealt with this I’ll help you get served, ok?”

My head was spinning, and not just from the alcohol. There was a crazy blonde woman trying to do physical harm to anyone in her sight, her boyfriend was her ex-boyfriend and was trying to distance himself from her but was now involved in a stand off over a full glass of something red and delicious looking, and Saffron and a strange woman seemed to be bonding over indifferent bar service. Could this night get any weirder?

Yes it could as I saw with unbelieving eyes Matt walk into the restaurant, dressed in uniform. As I watched a man hurried over to him, and his partner I now saw, and pointed in our direction. I cringed when he saw me and frowned, his frown deepening as he took in the bizarre situation behind me. Then I felt something wet on the side of my face, and a thud sounded inside my head. Inside my head? What…

Letters To Myself